Kayla Willson

We recognise and support the work of The History Council of Victoria, and as such wish to share a message from Emeritus Professor Peter McPhee AM:

The History Council of Victoria has no recurrent funding, and relies on Friends membership fees, tax-deductible donations and, where possible, grants from philanthropic trusts and individuals. I am often struck by the range of activities the History Council is able to sustain with such a modest funding base:

• the Annual Lecture
• the free “Making Public History” online discussions and recordings, in conjunction with the Monash University History Program and the Old Treasury Building
• the “Book + Author” series of live conversations with leading historians
• our annual History Roadshow for VCE students in regional schools.

We also administer the Jane Hansen Prize for Advocacy and the Lynette Russell Schools Prize for First Peoples’ History.

The History Council continues to be active in advocacy work, including recently on:

• new guidelines for heritage classification
• the funding of history programs at universities
• public involvement in archives policies.

We consistently highlight the value of an education in history and the place of historical literacy in the quality of public life, elaborated in our “Value of History” statement: https://www.historycouncilvic.org.au/value_of_history

We are fortunate to have a Board of talented individuals drawn from cultural and educational institutions and heritage bodies; history teachers; academic and professional historians; and other organisations. These are busy people whose commitment to the place of history in our society nevertheless motivates them to organise, participate in and support our activities.

I hope you will feel able to support our work.

Emeritus Professor Peter McPhee AM

Chair