Winner in our category in the Victorian Community History Awards.

Posted on Thursday, 10th April 2025 by Nick Gammon

Our “Back to School” exhibition won the History Interpretation Award in the Victorian Community History Awards 2024.

Congratulations to the curators of this exhibition.

In order to enable visitors to view this exhibition before it closes, our closing date has been extended to 15 June 2025.

Citation

‘Back to School’: A History of Local Schools in Heidelberg 1852–2000 was a comprehensive exhibition curated by the Heidelberg Historical Society with involvement from Greensborough Historical Society.

⠀⠀The histories of some 72 schools, large, small, government and private, were included in the exhibition. A wide number of sources were used to compile these histories. In addition to its nostalgic appeal for locals, the histories were firmly placed within the wider context of the Victorian government education system.

⠀⠀The exhibition’s design and layout conveyed a coherent narrative of education in the local area. A floor trail, "Çamino di Chalk’, drew visitors through the exhibition which used a multi-media mix of photographs, videos, physical displays, soundscapes and a digital database. Visitors were engaged and feedback was positive.

⠀⠀The lasting value of the exhibition is that it has made the various school histories available for the future through a number of databases. In addition, class photos, sporting information, film strips and videos of everyday school life were sourced and preserved. It has provided a solid base for the history of schools and schooling in the area.