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March 2023
SEMINAR DAY: MAXIMISE OPPORTUNITIES Strengthen your work within and beyond your society


The seminar days resume in 2023 with the first being held in Melbourne ‘in person’ and ‘by Zoom’. The program is based on information gleaned from calls to societies during lockdowns along with more recent communications. In a day that seeks to strengthen the best of existing work and inspire fresh approaches, all RHSV members are invited to learn from informed speakers and share their society’s successes.
Find out more »April 2023
Law and Order Under La Trobe: The First Prisons of Port Phillip


The Royal Historical Society of Victoria, in partnership with the C J La Trobe Society, presents the annual A. G. L. Shaw lecture delivered by Dr Ashleigh Green, the current La Trobe Society Fellow at the State Library of Victoria. Dr Green's fellowship topic is very interesting and, until her current work, little researched. Dr Green has investigated the planning and construction of the first purpose-built penal and psychiatric institutions in the Port Phillip District and Colony of Victoria during…
Find out more »CATALOGUING CLINICS 2023


Join Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month is this informative and easy-going Zoom forum on all aspects of cataloguing collections for historical societies. Jillian has a different topic each month and is happy to be guided by those who attend as to what they would like covered in upcoming clinics. This is an interactive space where questions are encouraged. The RHSV does not endorse any particular cataloguing software - we believe it is horses for courses - and…
Find out more »Thomas Bent, Francis Bradford and electric tramways in Melbourne 1904-1909


In 1904, electrical and mechanical engineer Francis Edwin Bradford (1869-1927), a recognised American electric tramways pioneer, was controversially contracted directly by Thomas Bent, Victorian Minister of Railways, and Premier, to report on and progressively electrify Melbourne’s suburban railway system. But Bent postponed work on the report, and instead requested Bradford design and supervise the construction of an electric tramway from St.Kilda to Brighton, as a first stage of electrifying the railways. Bent's instructions did not sit well with the Railway Commissioners.
Find out more »May 2023
Tour of Victorian Trades Hall


During those lost COVID years the Victorian Trades Hall underwent a massive renovation which focused on not just the building but the vital cultural heritage that lives within its walls. We have organised a tour for RHSV members only (as we have limited places). The Trades Hall, on the corner of Victoria and Lygon streets in Melbourne, is one of the world’s oldest trade union buildings. It has been the home of trade unionism in the state of Victoria since 1874, and is associated with the history of the Australian Labour Party and with events significant to the whole country.
Find out more »FINDING PLACES: HERITAGE AND LOCAL HISTORY RESOURCES IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES


Did you know the National Archives of Australia holds fascinating records which help tell the stories of local communities and historic sites? This free Zoom session will showcase some of the many items in the national archival collection which document local history and heritage including building plans and drawings, photographs, post office history records and other records. Presented in collaboration with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria during the Australian Heritage Festival. The Zoom log-in details for this event are…
Find out more »Lessons from history: colonial foundations of criminal justice in Victoria


We are delighted that The Hon Justice Chris Maxwell AC will deliver the Society's inaugural Paul Mullaly History and Law Lecture during Law Week 2023. This lecture will explore the value of legal history, both as a window into social and political history and as an aid to understanding the present state of the law. By way of illustration, the lecture will highlight key aspects of criminal justice in colonial Victoria - jury trials, the role of the trial judge,…
Find out more »CATALOGUING CLINICS 2023
An event every month that begins at 11:00 am on day Third of the month, happening 10 times


Join Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month is this informative and easy-going Zoom forum on all aspects of cataloguing collections for historical societies. Jillian has a different topic each month and is happy to be guided by those who attend as to what they would like covered in upcoming clinics. This is an interactive space where questions are encouraged. The RHSV does not endorse any particular cataloguing software - we believe it is horses for courses - and…
Find out more »June 2023
CATALOGUING CLINICS 2023
An event every month that begins at 11:00 am on day Third of the month, happening 10 times


Join Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month is this informative and easy-going Zoom forum on all aspects of cataloguing collections for historical societies. Jillian has a different topic each month and is happy to be guided by those who attend as to what they would like covered in upcoming clinics. This is an interactive space where questions are encouraged. The RHSV does not endorse any particular cataloguing software - we believe it is horses for courses - and…
Find out more »July 2023
CATALOGUING CLINICS 2023
An event every month that begins at 11:00 am on day Third of the month, happening 10 times


Join Jillian Hiscock, the RHSV Collections Manager, each month is this informative and easy-going Zoom forum on all aspects of cataloguing collections for historical societies. Jillian has a different topic each month and is happy to be guided by those who attend as to what they would like covered in upcoming clinics. This is an interactive space where questions are encouraged. The RHSV does not endorse any particular cataloguing software - we believe it is horses for courses - and…
Find out more »