Royal Historical Society of Victoria Inc, Melbourne

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Royal Historical Society of Victoria Inc, Melbourne

• Formerly Historical Society of Victoria, 1909-1952
• RHSV

• Community

In 1909 the Historical Society of Victoria (becoming the Royal Historical Society of Victoria - RHSV - in 1952) was formed to capture the history of the state of Victoria. This was to be achieved by creating a register of early Victorian colonists.
The society's collection is one of Australia’s significant historical collections focusing on the Victorian experience in Australian history. It was established in 1909 with donations from early settlers, their descendants, amateur and professional historians. The collection continues to expand with donations from the public, historical societies and community organisations. It is a rich and diverse collection covering social, economic, political, and cultural aspects of Victoria’s history.

The Society's objectives are set out at https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/about/society-objectives/

Officer in charge: Executive Director

Items relating to Victorian and local history and cultural heritage - books, manuscripts, photographs and other images, artefacts.

The holdings include:

• Manuscript collection: over 20,000 items range from official government documents to personal letters and diaries donated to the society.
• Pioneer register: the society has collected and maintained a register of early colonists in the state of Victoria containing more than 2,200 forms.
• Image collection: includes paintings, engravings, drawings, lithographs, postcards, maps and parish plans, and items of museum ephemera. Historical photographs date from the 1850s. Major subject areas are portraiture, street scenes – both Melbourne and many Victorian country towns, architectural and occupational.
• Library collection: As well as being an important collection of books, the collection includes rare pamphlets, documents, ephemera, newspaper cuttings on a variety of topics in the Vertical Files, newsletters, family histories and directories.

For further details, see the website.

To search the collection, see https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/search-collection/search-the-collection/

Open Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm, by appointment.

If you want to visit and make use of the collections, please make an appointment to ensure that relevant material is held.
Charges apply for some services, for example, for use of the collection by non-members.

Off-site: A fee is charged for extended research. For arrangements and General Research Enquiry Form, see https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/services/general-research-enquiries/
On-site: If you prefer to visit and use the collection, please make an appointment.

For printing and photocopying services and fees, see https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/location-hours-and-what-to-bring/

Revised 1 September 2022

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