HERITAGE GRANTS WILL HELP BRING AUSTRALIAN STORIES BACK TO LIFE

Heritage Minister Mark Speakman today announced this year’s Royal Australian Historical Society’s (RAHS) Historical Research and Local Archive Heritage Grant recipients at the society’s annual conference.

The grants are funded through the Office of Environment and Heritage’s Community, Youth and Senior Heritage grants program.

Mr Speakman said the eight recipients received more than $23,000 to support a range of projects that chronicle local Australian stories.

“These grants help communities research and capture local history and honour people’s lives, challenges and accomplishments,” Mr Speakman said.

“I congratulate the recipients and look forward to seeing the completion of these projects.”

One of the recipients was awarded a grant to produce 17 short biographies of ‘First Fleeters’ who were all buried at St John’s Cemetery in Parramatta – one of the earliest cemeteries in the colony dating from 1790. Another recipient will collect and digitise original 1970s film of northern NSW surf culture.

“As a society it is important to highlight and remember the achievements of the many people who have helped make NSW what it is today,” Mr Speakman said.

“Heritage grant programs can help stimulate and sustain historical research, which allows our histories to continue to be uncovered and appreciated.”

This year’s conference theme was Migration Matters. Bankstown, an ethnically diverse community, was a fitting location for this year’s conference because it has such a strong connection to Australian migration.