News for veterans heritage volunteers
Read on for more details of events, activities and opportunities for volunteers involved in the preservation of Victoria's war-related heritage.
Free Practical Collections Training - Online!
Museums Australia (Victoria) has developed a series of free practical online training sessions reflecting best practice technique on caring for and providing access to museum collections. The first two videos in this series are now available. Check them out:
Do you need a cataloguing system for your RSL or heritage organisation?
Victorian Collections is a new free, easy to use, online cataloguing system that is available to collecting organisations throughout Victoria, including RSLs and military heritage groups. Over the coming months workshops for volunteers to learn this cataloguing system will be held across Victoria. Read more about the Victorian Collections Training Workshops.Looking for volunteers to assist with your collection?
Deakin University has a number of Cultural Heritage & Museum Studies students who are available to volunteer for projects that will help them build experience working with heritage collections. The students are usually grown-ups and are superb time-managers. They know that volunteering is the way to put textbook theory into practice. If your heritage organisation has a project languishing for lack of personnel, and you can put some time into training up a student, let Deakin help by circulating the information to an enrolment of nearly 200 people. Please write up the project, send to Linda Young and they will post it out to an eager audience.
Victorian Veterans Virtual Museum
The Victorian Veterans Virtual Museum contains a number of new resources for veterans, students, historians and others with an interest in Australian war history. The Virtual Museum hosts the Victorian War Heritage Inventory and other important sources of information about war-related heritage in Victoria.
Victorian War Heritage Inventory
The Victorian War Heritage Inventory was developed in partnership with Heritage Victoria. It is a searchable online database containing information and images of places relating to Victoria’s war history including war memorials, avenues of honour, places of commemoration and former defence sites. Users can search for places according to keyword, postcode, region, type of heritage, or conflict commemorated.
War-related heritage in Victoria: a report
War-related heritage in Victoria was commissioned by DCPD and gives an overview of the extent and nature of war-related heritage in the state such as memorials, commemorative buildings, honour rolls and memorabilia. The report estimates the number of war memorials and other sites, and explores the preservation of moveable heritage through a series of case studies involving collections in RSLs, local historical societies and community museums.
World War One unit histories
In partnership with the State Library of Victoria the Veterans Unit has digitised many of Victoria's World War One unit (battalion) histories. A number of these books were originally published in the 1920s and are now rare. This important online library can be read from any computer with access to the web.
'In our words' veterans' digital stories
The Victorian Veterans Virtual Museum hosts the 'In our words' digital stories recorded with Victorian veterans over the past two years. They include personal accounts of war and repatriation by World War Two, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans which make compelling viewing. This project is still underway in partnership with the Shrine of Remembrance and the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI).
Saluting Their Service Commemorations Grants Program
The Saluting Their Service commemorations grants program supports projects and activities which directly commemorate Australia’s servicemen and women who served in wars, conflicts and peace operations. The grants also promote appreciation and understanding of the role those who have served have played in shaping the nation.
Talks & lectures
The Shrine of Remembrance offers regular lectures to the public. Hear more from historians, authors and film makers on a variety of subjects related to Australia's experiences of war. Download audio recordings of lectures given at the National Archives of Australia on a variety of subjects related to Australian history.
Exhibitions
The Shrine of Remembrance has a number of exhibitions throughout the year which shed light on aspects of Australia's war history and heritage. Some of the Shrine's exhibitions are also currently touring Victoria, including the award-winning Indigenous Australians at war from the Boer War to the present.
Walks and tours
The National Trust (Victoria) runs a number of events and activities for history buffs including cemetery walks, exhibitions and walking tours.
Take a behind the scenes tour of the Public Record Office Victoria and learn how to conduct your research. Tours depart 1pm sharp every Friday (excluding public holidays) unless otherwise specified. Groups by appointment. Bookings are essential: 9348 5600 or ask.prov@prov.vic.gov.au
Royal Historical Society Newsletter
The Royal Historical Society Newsletter contains news about the community history sector and a great ‘What’s on’ section. Did you know that RSLs and military history groups are eligible to become members of the Royal Historical Society?
How do I look after fragile material?
The first principle of conservation is if in doubt, consult a professional conservator. However preventive care, such as correct storage and handling, is something that we can all do. For more information about caring for fragile and damaged material see:
- Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM)
- ReCollections: Caring for Collections Across Australia.
Go to the Victorian Veterans Virtual Museum.