The good news for them all is that both the Victorian Community History Awards and Local History Grants Program will open once again this year, with all historical societies encouraged to prepare an application.
State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland, along with her Victorian Nationals colleagues, successfully advocated for the continuation of the grants program in 2023 when its funding had yet to be confirmed.
“This program has provided historical societies with crucial funding for more than 20 years, and it was so critical that it remains in place,” Ms Cleeland said.
“The funding allocation is critical to the ongoing growth and digitisation of the state’s archives and supports countless community volunteer historical societies, who contribute thousands of hours to build and maintain community-based archives.
“The Local History Grants Program will celebrate Victoria’s history and preserve it for future generations.”
Ms Cleeland praised the special work that historical societies were doing across the region.
“Historical societies are an essential part of our regional communities,” Ms Cleeland said.
“The volunteer-led organisations keep detailed archives of their region, maintaining extensive collections of local artefacts and information, showcasing our local history.
The grants have proven to be popular locally, with the Euroa Historical Genealogical Society receiving $670 for the preservation of collections at the Farmers Arms Museum in this past year’s program.
The previous year, the Nagambie Historical Society received $6302 for the digitisation of its workstation, while the Seymour and District Historical Society received $11,509 for the digitisation of its collections.
Any organisation looking to apply can contact Ms Cleeland’s office for a letter of support.
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