Author: Steven Cooke

Ashley Smith’s latest article for Docklands News (Feb 2022) has just been published.

“Whilst hauling goods and passengers to and from the nearby wharves and the city, a single steam engine stops at Spencer Street Station (now Southern Cross Station) to smile for the camera.

This photo was taken by photographer Charles Nettleton, who extensively recorded Melbourne and its people (including Ned Kelly) for over 30 years but the exact date of this image is unknown.

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Monday 31 January 2022
The RHSV’s Heritage Committee, chaired by Emeritus Professor Charles Sowerwine has just made its submission to the Parliament of Victoria, Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee Inquiry to examine Planning and Environment Act

The Royal Historical Society of Victoria (RHSV) is the peak body representing approximately 340 community historical societies throughout Victoria. Our members are concerned at the increasing loss of precious heritage and so we welcome this Inquiry. We believe there has been a calamitous decline in the protection afforded local heritage by the Heritage Overlay (HO) as well as a decline in support for Councils to ensure that sites are covered by the HO.

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Cheryl Griffin’s wonderful article on St James Old Cathedral in King Street, facing Flagstaff Gardens, has just been published in the February edition of CBD News.

“There are so many reasons why you should visit St James Old Cathedral, located on the corner of King and Batman streets, just across the road from Flagstaff Gardens.

The oldest church in Melbourne, it is the only surviving work of colonial architect Robert Russell who had been employed in Melbourne’s earliest days as a surveyor.

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The Royal Historical Society of Victoria is looking for a part-time project officer to work approx 1 day per week for about 7 months (April – October 2022) from our 1938 heritage-listed home on Flagstaff Gardens and a short stroll from Queen Victoria Market. The full position description can be read by clicking on the link below. 

THE POSITION

We are looking for someone with strong administrative skills to work on the application and judging process of the Victorian Community History Awards (VCHA) which are run annually.

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The RHSV is looking for a fabulous tech-savvy marketeer to join our team in the Drill Hall on Flagstaff Gardens. This is a part-time position which focuses about 90% of the time on social media but there is also more old-fashioned marketing involved too. And endless possibilities as we get into creating more digital content etc

The closing date for applications is 5pm Tue 1 February 2022 so get your skates on if you want to apply or want to alert the perfect person for this job.

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A wonderful victory for the City of Melbourne and future Melburnians with their huge heritage study covering the City of Melbourne’s Hoddle Grid being almost fully accepted. The independent Planning Panel’s report, recently handed down, supported the proposed new heritage overlays covering 137 sites plus five new precincts (only 9 sites were rejected).

The RHSV’s Heritage Committee made major submissions to Future Melbourne Committee and to the independent Planning Panel which was appointed by the Minister for Planning to consider the amendment and submissions to Melbourne Planning Scheme Amendment C387.

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Our Vice-President, Elisabeth Jackson, was interviewed on 3AW this morning on the problematic issue of whether Moreland Council should change their name.  It  has been discovered that Moreland was the name of a Jamaican sugar plantation manned by slaves. Elisabeth was Mayor of the City of Brunswick in 1990-91 in the lead up to the merger of councils in 1994 when it became the new Moreland Council. Elisabeth is also President of the newly re-vitalised Brunswick Community History Group which is already making its mark as an active society (if you are interested in more info or joining Brunswick Community History Group contact them on bch*****@gmail.com)

You can read more and listen to the interview on 3AW here https://www.3aw.com.au/former-brunswick-mayor-says-council-name-caused-considerable-disquiet-in-1994/

 

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The history profession and the wider history community have lost a great advocate and generous contributor with the death of Stuart Macintyre. Among his many gifts to history was his support for the RHSV, particularly in advising on heritage issues and acting as referee and reviewer for the Victorian Historical Journal. His assistance as Chair of the Victorian Heritage Council was invaluable to the society’s Heritage Committee after its formation in 2015. It’s hard to believe that such a vibrant presence and repository of knowledge and wisdom has gone while he still had so much to give.

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A terrific interview to get up to speed on changes to Queen Victoria Market. Charles Sowerwine, the chair of our hard-working heritage committee, was interviewed on Sammy J’s Breakfast Show on ABC local radio, 774 at 7:15am this morning (Thu 18 Nov). The interview was all about the City of Melbourne’s inappropriate plans for Queen Victoria Market which will turn this vibrant market into just another food mall.

You can listen to the interview here:https://www.abc.net.au/radio/melbourne/programs/breakfast/breakfast/13627736 
This is show’s full recording which started at 5:30am and finishes at 8am.

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Cheryl Griffin’s latest story in CBD News has hit the streets: check it out here  (scroll down to P20)

Based on a photo from the RHSV collection of a group of telegraph dispatch operators at the Central Telegraph Office at Elizabeth St, taken in the early 1920s before its removal to Post Office Place. It looks like the a contender for the ‘Worst Workplace Award’ – everything looks dark, uncomfortable, cold and gloomy –

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We are thrilled to announce that Emily Maiolo has been appointed to the position of Administration Officer for the RHSV.  Emily started volunteering for the RHSV about 3 years ago and, for the last 2 years, she has been the project officer for the Victorian Community History Awards – helping steer those awards through major changes brought on by COVID. Emily has a degree in Archaeology but is looking at more part-time study to segue into Information Management so she is in a good place to assist with those studies.

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17th October 2021

With our Premier, Dan Andrews, announcing today that Victoria will be leaving lockdown on Friday 22nd October 2021, earlier than expected, we all breathed a huge sigh of relief. The RHSV will be staggering our opening to ensure that we meet government health directives. On Friday the bookshop and exhibition gallery will be open however it will be a few days before researchers are able to return – please contact Jillian Hiscock (collections@historyvictoria.org.au)  if you want to come to the RHSV for research purposes.

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Every month Cheryl Griffin and Ashley Smith write fabulous history articles for CBD News and Docklands News respectively. The articles are based on photographs from the RHSV collection.

This month Cheryl has been inspired by another Pierre Robin photo taken in 1959 from Hardware Lane, looking east down Lonsdale Street towards ICI house, Melbourne’s first skyscraper. You can read the full story here: Taking a walk through Melbourne streets with Pierre Robin –

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RHSV President and historian Richard Broome, author of Aboriginal Australians, in this BBC interview discusses the experiences of Australia’s indigenous peoples after the arrival of white settlers, uncovering stories of exploitation and oppression, but also of agency and cultural independence. Click on this link or the image below to listen to the podcast: https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/aboriginal-australians-modern-history-podcast-richard-broome/

To buy a copy of Aboriginal Australians click on the book’s title to take you to our bookshop.

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Cheryl Griffin’s latest CBD News article, a delightful story about St Francis Church, on the corner of Lonsdale and Elizabeth streets, can be read here: https://cbdnews.com.au/st-francis-a-church-among-the-gum-trees/

 

 

 

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