55 community-led organisations have received a 2024 Community Heritage Grant. Recipients include the Robin Boyd Foundation, the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (Queensland), Australian Aircraft Restoration Group, the Royal Perth Hospital Museum, Nutcote Trust, Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Archives of SA, Murchison RSL Sub-Branch, Port Adelaide United Workers Club, Good Shepherd and many others.
A spokesperson for the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (FAIRA) said: ‘These books, reports and papers went into the production of the evidence that supported FAIRA’s action in the courts, the public arena and on the streets, challenging unfair laws; securing compensation for discriminatory treatment, incarceration and wages; demanding the return by museums of Ancestral Remains stolen from their communities. Through this archive, we can track how all that research and advocacy led to direct action in community and on the streets. By making the library and archives more accessible to our community, these stories of family, resistance and community take on new purpose in current research action.’
Since 1977, the Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (FAIRA) has been pursuing the rights of First Peoples of Australia through research, education and lobbying. FAIRA has built a valuable collection of archives, newsletters, correspondence, photographs, audiovisual material and government reports spanning 50 years, that tell the story of this small but influential organisation and the communities it serves. FAIRA and its project partner, the Institute for Collaborative Race Relations (ICRR) are committed to preserving the collection that will be the basis for a future community library. The significance assessment by their nominated historian, is an important step in achieving this goal.
Sarah Toohey, Museum Curator at the Royal Perth Hospital Museum, said: ‘The Royal Perth Hospital Museum is excited to begin working with an independent historian on a significance assessment. The RPH collection provides insight into the role of a major public hospital in caring for the sick, and how that role and its challenges change over time. Thanks to the support of the Community Heritage Grant, we are looking forward to identifying and improving the care of the most significant artefacts in the collection and finding new ways to share our social and medical history.’
The Royal Perth Hospital Museum documents the history of the first public hospital in Western Australia, which has been in continuous use since 1855. The Museum was established in 1979 and cares for a diverse heritage collection including pioneering medical and surgical equipment, uniforms, ephemera and oral histories. It also has a rich archival collection with patient admission registers, correspondence, and staff notebooks.
Dr Marie-Louise Ayres, Director-General of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Library of Australia, said: ‘This year, we have awarded funding of $443,786 to 55 community projects to help staff and volunteers assess their collections or to assist with preservation activities. For three decades, this program has provided long-term support for community organisations across Australia – we are delighted that Community Heritage Grants program continues to be an enduring presence for hardworking groups caring for our national collection.’
The Community Heritage Grants program is celebrating 30 years in 2024. Since the program began in 1994, more than 1,700 projects have received grants totalling over $8.3 million, helping to preserve significant Australian community history and heritage for future generations.
The Community Heritage Grants program is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts; ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Library of Australia; ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Archives of Australia; ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Film and Sound Archive of Australia and ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Museum of Australia.
New South Wales
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Cowra Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre | Preservation of Display Items – Display Cabinets | $12,439 |
| ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Trust of Australia NSW – Miss Porter’s House | Conservation and Collection Management Activities Miss Porter’s House | $8,541 |
| Lithgow City Council Libraries | Training for preventive conservation of collections, collection handling and basic paper conservation | $5,010 |
| Hunter New England Local Health District | Significance Assessment of Hunter New England Health Libraries Historical Collection | $6,300 |
| Shoalhaven Historical Society | Conservation Condition Assessment of Elyard Art Collection | $16,579 |
| Singleton Council | Significance Assessment of the Singleton Library Historical Map and Area Planning Collection | $5,710 |
| Kangaroo Valley Historical Society Inc | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Kangaroo Valley Historical Society Collection | $7,083 |
| Assyrian Australian Association | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Ashurbanipal Library, Sydney | $5,500 |
| Georges River Council | Conservation training, cleaning and archival rehousing of local studies document based collections | $13,230 |
| Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative Limited | Collection Management System implementation | $9,500 |
| Nutcote Trust Pty Ltd | Preservation Needs Assessment and Collection Management of the May Gibbs’ Nutcote Collection | $13,545 |
| Broken Hill Art Gallery | Preservation Needs Assessment – Broken Hill Art Gallery Collection | $7,841 |
| The Fort Street Foundation Inc | Significance Assessment of the Fort Street Archives | $5,500 |
| ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Trust of Australia NSW – Bedervale | Conservation and Collection Management activities – Bedervale Collection | $6,883 |
| Braidwood & District Historical Society | Conservation Project – Jeremiah Jones Clothing | $3,905 |
| ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Trust of Australia (NSW) – Saumarez ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾stead | Significance Assessment of the Saumarez ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾stead Collection | $6,680 |
| Society of Australian Genealogists | Collection Management & Rehousing Society of the Australian Genealogists Archive | $4,377 |
| Wallangang Aboriginal Corporation and the Randwick City Council | Significance Assessment – Timbery Family Collection | $9,721 |
| The Concordians Inc | Significance Assessment of the EM Lane Concordians Museum collection | $5,500 |
Victoria
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Aircraft Restoration Group | Updated Significance Assessment for Moorabbin Air Museum Archive Collection | $5,570 |
| ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Trust of Australia (Victoria) – Mulberry Hill | Preservation Needs Assessment of Mulberry Hill Collection | $5,950 |
| Robin Boyd Foundation | Significance Assessment of the Walsh Street Archive | $5,500 |
| Ethnic Community Broadcasting Association of Victoria Limited | Preservation Needs Assessment of 3ZZZ Historic Collection | $5,500 |
| Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand | Significance Assessment of the Good Shepherd Archives | $5,500 |
| Murchison RSL Sub-Branch | Significance assessment of Prisoner of War Camp 13 Murchison murals | $6,380 |
| Ballarat City Council | Significance Assessment of The City of Ballarat Libraries’ Rare Book Collection | $6,715 |
| Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute Heritage Registered Collection | $6,700 |
| Bendigo District RSL Sub-Branch Inc | Significance Assessment of the Bendigo Military Museum collection | $5,600 |
| Australian Queer Archives Inc | Digitisation project – Bill West Community Radio Collection | $17,400 |
| Mansfield Historical Society Inc | Significance Assessment of the History of the Forestry Industry in Victoria Collection | $6,400 |
| Kew Historical Society Incorporated | Conservation of the Henty Costume Collection | $19,375 |
| Duldig Studio & Sculpture Garden | Preventative Conservation of drawings, ephemera & ceramics collection – Duldig Museum | $1,799 |
| Carmelite Memorial Library of Spirituality and Mariology | Conservation and Collection Management Activities – Carmelite Library Rare Books Collection | $7,550 |
| Australian Aircraft Restoration Group | Updated Significance Assessment for Moorabbin Air Museum Archive Collection | $5,570 |
| ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Trust of Australia (Victoria) – Mulberry Hill | Preservation Needs Assessment of Mulberry Hill Collection | $5,950 |
| Robin Boyd Foundation | Significance Assessment of the Walsh Street Archive | $5,500 |
Queensland
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Queensland Braille Writing Association (Braille House) | Conservation and Collection Management of Braille House Items of Significance | $7,900 |
| Woorabinda Aboriginal Council | Significance Assessment – Woorabinda Cultural Heritage Collection Project | $10,022 |
| Ninth Battalions Association Inc | Preservation Needs Assessment of the 9th Battalions War Memorial Museum collection | $5,500 |
| Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action | Significance Assessment – Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action Archives | $5,500 |
| Buderim Historical Society Inc | Preservation Needs Assessment Implementation | $16,330 |
| Outback Gondwana Foundation Limited | Collection Management Project for Biodiversity and Paleobotanical Collection | $5,952 |
Western Australia
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| East Metropolitan Health Service | Significance Assessment of the Royal Perth Hospital Museum collection | $5,500 |
| Northam Army Camp Heritage Association Inc | Preservation Needs Assessment for Northam Army Camp Heritage Association Inc | $5,900 |
| Discovery Bay Tourism Precinct Ltd | Significance Assessment of Albany’s Historic Whaling Station Collection | $8,542 |
| Edward de Courcy Clarke Earth Science Museum (University of Western Australia) | Significance Assessment of the Edward de Courcy Clarke Earth Science Museum’s Research Collection | $7,795 |
South Australia
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society of South Australia Archives | Significance Assessment of the Royal Agricultural & Horticultural of South Australia Archives | $5,500 |
| ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc | Significance Assessment of the Tandanya Visual Art Collection | $5,500 |
| Flinders University Museum of Art | Digitisation of at-risk magnetic media | $18,182 |
| ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Trust of South Australia, Willunga Branch | Significance Assessment of Willunga Branch collections | $5,500 |
| Archives Office, Anglican Diocese of Adelaide | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Adelaide Diocesan Archives collection | $5,500 |
| Port Adelaide United Workers Club | Significance Assessment of Semaphore Workers Club Heritage Collection | $5,500 |
| Flinders University Palaeontology Research Group | Collection Management, Conservation and Rehousing of the Flinders University Palaeontology Research Group | $17,980 |
Tasmania
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Maritime Museum of Tasmania Inc | Collection Management – enhanced archival storage of eighteenth and nineteenth century works on paper | $1,135 |
| The Royal Society of Tasmania | Conservation Project the Royal Society of Tasmania Art Collection | $6,870 |
| Mawson’s Huts Foundation Limited | Preservation Needs Assessment Mawson’s Huts Replica Museum | $5,500 |
Northern Territory
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Ngurratjuta/Pmara Ntjarra Aboriginal Corporation | Conservation treatments for the Ngurratjuta Collection | $17,190 |
| Warlpiri Media Aboriginal Corporation | The Warlpiri Project | $10,525 |
