Geelong Historical Society
The Geelong Historical Society is an amateur historical society, founded in 1944 to research and publish on the history of the town of Geelong, Victoria and the surrounding district. The Geelong society is the third society of its type to be established in Victoria and represents the state's second city both in size and period of establishment. It is also among the most prolific in terms of size of its collection, its research and number of publications
An earlier meeting aimed at establishing a historical society in Geelong was held in November 1923, when C. R. Long and J. A. Laird (Gordon Institute) called a meeting of prominent local citizens. The minutes and financial records of the society have been preserved at the Geelong Heritage Centre, suggesting the society's origin may date back to 1920. It was at this time that the mayor of Geelong, Howard Hitchcock, proposed that an exhibition of "relics and historical records" be staged at the Geelong City Hall. The exhibition was opened by anthropologist Sir Baldwin Spencer on 27 September 1921, and extended to 14 October. These items formed the basis of the later society's collection. In 1938 a public meeting chaired by L. Bechervaise passed a motion to form the Geelong and District Historical Society.
A local historian, Norm Houghton, was instrumental in helping organise the collection while its past president, the late Peter F. B. Alsop, was one of a number of members who published prolifically on local historical matters.
The society has organised presentations and excursions since the 1950s, and has previously worked in conjunction with the Geelong Heritage Centre (formerly Geelong Historical Records Section), which holds the archival and historical records gathered by the society. It has also been involved in numerous commemorative events and dedicating monuments, and is often cited as the authoritative source on early Geelong people and history. It has also played a major role in the preservation of Geelong's Historic Monuments such as the Barwon Sewer Aqueduct.
The society was instrumental in the establishment of the Geelong Historical Records Centre as an approved place of deposit for historic local government records, through a partnership with the Geelong local government and Public Record Office Victoria in 1979.
The society publishes the quarterly magazine Investigator () in March, June, September and December each year. There is a cumulative index for 1965 - 1984 and an updated digitised index on CD from 1965 up to 2009.
An earlier meeting aimed at establishing a historical society in Geelong was held in November 1923, when C. R. Long and J. A. Laird (Gordon Institute) called a meeting of prominent local citizens. The minutes and financial records of the society have been preserved at the Geelong Heritage Centre, suggesting the society's origin may date back to 1920. It was at this time that the mayor of Geelong, Howard Hitchcock, proposed that an exhibition of "relics and historical records" be staged at the Geelong City Hall. The exhibition was opened by anthropologist Sir Baldwin Spencer on 27 September 1921, and extended to 14 October. These items formed the basis of the later society's collection. In 1938 a public meeting chaired by L. Bechervaise passed a motion to form the Geelong and District Historical Society.
A local historian, Norm Houghton, was instrumental in helping organise the collection while its past president, the late Peter F. B. Alsop, was one of a number of members who published prolifically on local historical matters.
The society has organised presentations and excursions since the 1950s, and has previously worked in conjunction with the Geelong Heritage Centre (formerly Geelong Historical Records Section), which holds the archival and historical records gathered by the society. It has also been involved in numerous commemorative events and dedicating monuments, and is often cited as the authoritative source on early Geelong people and history. It has also played a major role in the preservation of Geelong's Historic Monuments such as the Barwon Sewer Aqueduct.
The society was instrumental in the establishment of the Geelong Historical Records Centre as an approved place of deposit for historic local government records, through a partnership with the Geelong local government and Public Record Office Victoria in 1979.
The society publishes the quarterly magazine Investigator () in March, June, September and December each year. There is a cumulative index for 1965 - 1984 and an updated digitised index on CD from 1965 up to 2009.
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