The 2013 Community Heritage Grants have been announced and South Australian organisations have done very well, picking up almost $61,000 of the $425,684 allocated this year.
The Community Heritage Grant program is administered through the National Library of Australia and provides grants to assist with the preservation of locally owned, but nationally significant collections that are publicly accessible.
History SA has received two grants for training workshops to be run in the first half of next year. We will be running the popular Caring for Collections program at Port Lincoln for museums and history groups on Eyre Peninsula and also introducing a Digitisation for Preservation and Access workshop, which will be held in Adelaide.
Coober Pedy Historical Society, John McDouall Stuart Society, Parndana Soldier Settlement Museum and Peterborough History Group have each received grants for Significance Assessments of their collections. The Peterborough collection includes the entire contents of a printing office that served the local area for decades. The National Trust has received a grant for the conservation of a work on paper, Mount Lofty Districts Historical Society for digitisation of oral history tapes, while City of Port Adelaide Enfield and the Lutheran Archives have received grants for Preservation Needs Assessments.
The Sheep’s Back Museum has received the largest grant of $10,470 for conservation treatment of several significant archival items, including the first visitors’ book from the Naracoorte Caves and a sale catalogue from the Hynam Stud, considered to be a significant stud in the development of the Australian Merino.