Awards

Oral History Victoria (OHV) believes in supporting excellence and innovation in oral history practice through state and national awards.

From 2015 to 2018 OHV staged its own awards, but from 2020 onwards we have partnered with the Public Records Office Victoria and the Royal Historical Society of Victoria to instead present a dedicated oral history award as part of the Victorian Community History Awards.

We love to showcase oral history practice and each year generally provide an event where you can hear from oral history award finalists. You can also find details of previous winners in this section of our website. (Access dedicated pages in the right-hand column of this page.)

Victorian Community History Awards

Established in 1998, the Victorian Community History Awards are held annually to recognise the contributions made by Victorians in the preservation of the state’s fascinating history, published during the previous year. Presented by Public Record Office Victoria in partnership with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, the awards celebrate the people involved in community history projects who are dedicated to telling local stories which help all Victorians to better understand their past.

National awards

Our national body, Oral History Australia (OHA), presents three awards in conjunction with its biennial conference.

The three awards are:

the Hazel de Berg Award for Excellence in Oral History – a lifetime achievement award, first awarded in 2006
the OHA Book Award and the OHA Media Award, which were first awarded in 2019.

OHV life member Gwlad McLachlan received the prestigious Hazel de Berg Award at the 2022 OHA Biennial Conference in Launceston, Tasmania. She is our only life member and only OHV recipient of this lifetime achievement award.