Recent News

Reclaim Her Name: addressing the gender place-name gap

Reclaim Her Name: A collaboration between RHSV and Put Her Name On It Despite making up more than half of...

Urgent: Protect the State Library of Victoria

The State Library of Victoria’s leaders have decreed it shall now be a pleasure dome (‘State Library to slash staff,...

Media release: Royal Historical Society of Victoria announces new Executive Director

On behalf of the Council of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV), President, Robert Pascoe, is pleased to announce...

Suspension of Victorian Community History Awards

The Victorian Community History Awards (VCHA) will not run in 2025. We hope they will return in 2026. Stay tuned.

Spotlight

Explore our MacRobertson collection

Best known for founding Macrobertson's confectionery, Macpherson Robertson was prolific businessman and philanthropist whose contributions shaped Melbourne and Australia

Delve into our MacRobertson collection

What's on at the RHSV

Reclaim Her Name: An introduction to commemorative naming
February 6 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Despite making up more than half of the population, there are significantly fewer places named after women than after men. Kerry W...
Reclaim Her Name: An introduction to the Reclaim Her Name toolkit and how to run a research session
February 13 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am
Despite making up more than half of the population, there are significantly fewer places named after women than after men. Aimed a...
2026 Billibellary Indigenous History Lecture presented by Laureate Professor Marcia Langton AO
February 24 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
We are delighted to invite our members and friends to join us for the 5th annual Billibellary Indigenous History Lecture to be del...

See More Events

The Burying of Melbourne

Curated by David Thompson. Designed by Susan Fitzgerald. - 4 September 2025 to March 2026

In the mid-1850s, some areas of the Melbourne CBD were buried under a layer of clay at the direction of Melbourne City Council, a rather extraordinary event that until recently had been largely forgotten. The Burying of Melbourne exhibition tells the story of the events leading up to the burial event, the consequences of the filling, and looks at some of the archaeology discovered beneath the clay.