Author: RHSV Marketing

16 March, is National Closing the Gap Day. Ever since the Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008 governments have pledged to Close the Gap on a set of agreed socio-economic indices concerning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander disadvantage. For ten years progress was slow, which was to be expected given the gap to be bridged, the slow movement of change over each year, and also that First Nations peoples were not fully consulted on the programs.

The Number 2 Goods Shed in Docklands, near Southern Cross Station is one of the most significant buildings in Victoria’s rail and industrial history. Built in 1889, it is the largest and most architecturally elaborate nineteenth century railway goods building in Victoria. Despite its listing on the Victorian Heritage Register, in the early 2000s it was cut in half when Collins Street was extended into Docklands, and the two halves redeveloped as office spaces. In 2022 a developer applied to Heritage Victoria for a permit to demolish more of the shed in order to build two substantial office towers where the sheds are cut by the Collins Street extension.

The RHSV supports International Human Rights Day Saturday 10 December 2022, whose theme is ‘dignity, freedom  and justice for all’.

The RHSV through its collections and publications is endeavouring to fulfill the role of History as a truth seeking and telling discipline. We are decolonising our catalogue to take account of First Nations History and have a dedicated distinguished lecture for Indigenous History, which is then published in our journal. Our current exhibition is about the women of the RHSV who have made such a significant contribution to our organisation and the wider society.

The RHSV has launched a campaign for the Victorian state election, aiming to get candidates to commit to restarting the upper house Inquiry into Planning and Heritage begun last year but terminated without hearings this year. Charles Sowerwine, Chair of the RHSV Heritage Committee, has written to every candidate for the Legislative Council asking them to commit to supporting the Inquiry. We are asking everyone, RHSV members, local historical societies, everyone committed to the preservation of our wonderful heritage,

The next stage in the seemingly endless attempt to rob the Queen Victoria Market of its character and role as a traditional fresh food market has surfaced. Following the approval of a 21 storey building at 432-450 Queen Street, the City of Melbourne has applied to Heritage Victoria to use half the historic 1878 fruit and vegetable sheds (A-E) for hospitality, loading docks and a fenced-off area
for storage. Further, the application requests the addition of modified shipping containers or ‘pods’ 2.4m wide by 2.6m high and either 3m or 6m long ‘painted monochromatically in one of three colours: cream,

The RHSV joins the Chinese Community of Ballarat, local historical societies and the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in calling urgently for the Ballarat Council to reverse the decision to demolish a historic cottage that played a central role in the town’s history. This 1906 classic Edwardian cottage was home to the family of Chinese goldmine manager James Wong Chung continuously until 2008. It played a role in Chinese life and stands as a witness to the participation of Chinese Australians in the Goldfields.

The RHSV is currently awaiting the publication of the final planning application for the development of the Royal Standard Hotel. As we so far know, it involves “partial demolition” in order to construct residential apartments and “a ground level restaurant”. We are very much concerned for the future of this iconic 1865 hotel, remarkably intact and still functioning. The City of Melbourne has a shocking record in allowing the demolition of historic hotels, most recently in granting a permit to demolish the 1864 Great Western Hotel,

The threat of redevelopment of the historic John Curtin Hotel in Carlton has eased after Heritage Victoria announced on 25 July that the Curtin has been recommended for inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register due to its ‘state level significance’.

Concern about the future of the John Curtin Hotel arose when it was announced in February that the hotel was up for sale and that its lease would not be renewed when it expires in November.

Every year, we host the Victorian Community History Awards, a chance for local community history to shine! But, like any award process, there are lots of questions about how to submit your entry, what category does my piece fit into, and again, how do I actually submit my entry? So our VCHA project officer has set out to answer some of the most pressing FAQ’s she gets.

We hope these help, and if you have any other queries about your submission,