The Community Heritage Grants for 2022 have recently been announced with funding of $420,097 awarded to 57 projects, enabling community led and volunteer run organisations to support them in their work of preserving significant local collections.
Australia’s first and longest-running independent Indigenous education provider will be using the grant to preserve the archives of Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative Limited. Jacinta Bailey, Research & Community Projects Manager said:
‘For 65 of 65,000 years, Tranby has been a central point of social action, self-determination and community connection for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout Australia. Our incredible history speaks to the enduring civil rights movement in Australia. As a not-for-profit Aboriginal community organisation, we are deeply grateful for this funding support towards maintaining and preserving our unique archival collection as a vital step towards sharing this important history with all Australians and upholding Aboriginal archival sovereignty.’
Tranby joins an ever-growing community of grant recipients who are caring for nationally significant heritage in their local communities. Many organisations have received multiple grants across different grant rounds to help them with the ongoing care of their collection.
Fiona Clarke, Chair of the Expert Panel making final recommendations on applications, noted the increasing diversity of the applicants.
‘This year, we have awarded funding of $420,097 to 57 regional and community projects to help staff and volunteers assess their collections or to assist them with preservation activities. We are delighted such a diverse range of organisations from all around Australia have applied this year,’ Ms Clarke said.
Since the Community Heritage Grants (CHG) program began in 1994, more than 1,600 projects have received grants totalling over $8.4 million, helping to preserve significant Australian community history and heritage for future generations.
CHG is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts; National Library of Australia; National Archives of Australia; National Film and Sound Archive and National Museum of Australia.
New South Wales
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| St. Thomas Anglican Church | Preservation Needs Assessment of St. Thomas’ Anglican Church collection | $5,950 |
| Lithgow City Council Libraries | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Lithgow Library Local History Collection | $6,193 |
| Moore Theological College Council | Conservation activities and collection management of the Reverend Frank Cash Negative Collection | $4,973 |
| National Trust (NSW) | Collections Care Workshops | $11,546 |
| Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children | Significance assessment of the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children Archives | $5,500 |
| National Trust of Australia (NSW) | Miss Porter’s House Preservation Needs Assessment | $6,351 |
| Shoalhaven Historical Society Inc. | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Shoalhaven Historical Society’s collection | $6,600 |
| Tamworth Regional Gallery | Collection re-housing and storage for the Utopia Silks | $11,574 |
| Wagga Wagga Art Gallery | Significance Assessment of the National Art Glass Collection | $6,736 |
| Shoalhaven City Council | Preservation needs assessment of the Shoalhaven City Art Collection | $5,500 |
| Stanton Library | Conservation activities and collection management and collection management project for the Luna Park framed artworks | $7,700 |
| Norman Lindsay Gallery | Restoration of Lindsay’s ship models | $7,075 |
| Australian Railways Historical Society NSW Division | Preservation Needs Assessment | $6,276 |
| Georges River Libraries | Preservation and digitisation of oral history audio tape collection | $13,630 |
| Tranby Aboriginal Co-operative Limited | Preserving and Safeguarding Tranby’s nationally significant Indigenous collections | $7,593 |
| National Trust of Australia (NSW) | Preservation Needs Assessment for Bedervale Homestead Collection | $6,440 |
| Armidale Folk Museum | Preservation Needs Assessment of Armidale Folk Museum collection | $7,129 |
Victoria
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Gliding Museum Inc | Training in the application of Significance 2.0 Standards | $2,850 |
| Australian Gliding Museum Inc | Significance assessment of selected aircraft in the Australian Gliding Museum collection | $5,700 |
| PMI Victorian History Library Inc. | Training in Disaster Response and recovery | $2,642 |
| Melbourne Holocaust Museum | Preservation of Holocaust survivor testimony | $13,630 |
| Trafalgar Holden Museum Inc | Storage requirements for the Trafalgar Holden Museum | $13,025 |
| Carmelite Memorial Library of Spirituality and Mariology | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Carmelite Rare Books collection | $5,000 |
| Nhill & District Historical Society Inc. | Preservation Needs Assessment | $6,353 |
| Montsalvat | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Montsalvat Art and Archive Collections | $6,050 |
| The Melbourne Athenaeum Incorporated | Melbourne Athenaeum Archive Preservation & Significance Survey | $5,500 |
| Talbot Arts & Historical Museum Inc | Cataloguing and collection management software upgrade for Talbot Arts & Historical Museum | $3,124 |
| National Trust of Australia (Victoria) | Significance Assessment of Mulberry Hill Collection | $5,500 |
Queensland
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| The Royal Historical Society of Queensland | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland Collection | $5,500 |
| Tablelands Regional Council | Preservation Needs Assessment for the Herberton Mining Centre and Museum Collection | $8,340 |
| Bundaberg Regional Council – Hinkler Hall of Aviation | Significance Assessment of the Hinkler Hall of Aviation Memorabilia Trust Collection | $5,510 |
| The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland Ltd | Conservation activities and collection management activities | $9,480 |
| Emu Park Historical Museum Society Inc | Preservation Needs Assessment of Emu Park Historical Museum’s Collection | $6,353 |
| University of Southern Queensland | The Chronicle Archives Collection Conservation Project | $13,556 |
| National Trust of Australia (Queensland) Limited | Significance assessment of the Cooktown Museum collection | $6,851 |
| Queensland Braille Writing Association | Significance Assessment of the Queensland Braille Writing Association (Braille House) Collection | $5,400 |
| Ninth Battalions Association Inc | Significance Assessment of the 9th Battalions War Memorial Museum collection | $5,500 |
Western Australia
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Northcliffe Pioneer Museum Inc | Preventive Conservation Training for the Northcliffe Butchers Collection | $3,564 |
| Royal Western Australian Historical Society Inc. | Disaster Preparedness Plan | $5,500 |
| The Perth Diocesan Trustees Trading as Anglican Parish of Swan | Preservation Needs Assessment of the All Saints Anglican Church | $5,500 |
| National Trust of Australia (WA) | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Strawberry Hill/Barmup Collection | $6,591 |
| City of South Perth | City of South Perth Art Collection management, display and conservation initiatives 2022/23 | $13,392 |
| Gay And Lesbian Archive of Western Australia | Significance Assessment of the Gay and Lesbian Archive of Western Australia Collection | $5,500 |
South Australia
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Peterborough History Group | Digitisation and Archival Storage for the Peterborough Times Printing Office Collection | $11,919 |
| Flinders University Museum of Art | Digitisation of at-risk magnetic media in the Flinders University Museum of Art collection | $12,385 |
| The Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Adelaide | Significance assessment of the Church Office Archives Collection | $5,500 |
| Flinders Palaeontology | Significance Assessment of the Flinders University Vertebrate Collection | $7,250 |
Tasmania
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Roman Catholic Trust Corporation of the Archdiocese of Hobart | Archival storage for de-framed photographs | $3,992 |
| Mawson’s Huts Foundation | Significance Assessment of the Mawson’s Replica Huts Museum Collection | $5,500 |
| The Royal Society of Tasmania | Significance Assessment of the Royal Society of Tasmania Art Collection | $6,050 |
Australian Capital Territory
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Village of Hall and District Progress Association (Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre) | Conservation activities and collection management measures for the Gillespie Collection at Hall School Museum | $10,620 |
| Australian Academy of Science | Fenner Archives Preservation Needs Assessment | $5,500 |
| Manning Clark House Incorporated | Environmental Management for Manning Clark House | $7,169 |
| Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra | Conservation treatment of at-risk works in the Faculty of Arts and Design Indigenous Art and Artefact Collection | $12,095 |
| The Heraldry & Genealogy Society of Canberra Inc. | Significance Assessment for the Father Brian Maher Collection | $6,425 |
Northern Territory
| Organisation | Project Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Alice Springs Town Council | Significance Assessment of the Alice Springs Collection | $5,500 |
| Charles Darwin University Art Gallery | Preservation Needs Assessment of the Charles Darwin University Art Collection | $8,232 |
| Ngurratjuta/Pmara Ntjarra Aboriginal Corporation | Significance Assessment of Ngurratjuta Art Collection | $9,607 |
