By Jesse Graham
NEARLY three decades of commitment to documenting the region’s history has been recognised, with a historical society president receiving a state-wide honour for her service.
At a meeting on 5 November, Lilydale and District Historical Society president Sue Thompson received an award from the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, “in recognition of distinguished service to history in Victoria”.
Ms Thompson said the Award of Merit, handed over by RSHV president Don Garden, came on her 29th year in the society, after joining up in 1987.
“It’s recognition of my contribution, not only locally, but to history in general,” she said.
“And I think it’s a credit to all the people … my family, in particular, because my husband, Wally, has put up with a lot over the years – and my two boys.
“Over the years, mum’s been off doing this, that, or the other, or writing books or on deadline … so they’ve been terrific, too.”
Ms Thompson’s start at the society came when she was a journalist at the Lilydale Express, working on an edition for the centenary of the paper and gathering stories from the past.
“I contacted the Historical Society and met with the then-president Leigh Blackburn and Sandy Ross, who was the archivist at the time – he had photographs, so we got our heads together and selected a whole bunch of photos from the society’s collection to go with the stories in the 100-page newspaper edition we were putting out,” she said.
“That linked my great interests in family history and journalism and local history.
“They convinced me to join the society and I joined and I’ve been there ever since.”
She said the society had been a welcoming group, and that members are able to follow their own passions when it comes to history, whether it be research, writing or another avenue.
“I think the society has been fantastic, because they’ve allowed everyone to develop and grow their own interests in the society – my forte was writing books, so they’d write the stories and I’d knock them into shape,” Ms Thompson said.
She said some of her favourite work at the society was in promoting Dame Nellie Melba’s life, as well as times when the council and land owners have sought help to find the history of old houses in the area.
Though so much information is posted online every day, Ms Thompson said historical societies were still important to help document how areas, such as the Yarra Valley, became the way they are.
“What you have today was created by people and events that happened in the past – the fact that Healesville is where it is … Healesville was there because it was at the foot of the mountain, it was the last post before you climbed up over the range,” she said.
“But things evolve from events and circumstance and geographic locations and we have to keep that alive, so people know that what they’ve got today, they have to treasure as well, because that’s for future generations as well.”
Ms Thompson said the society will be working on a fourth volume of As it Happened, documenting Coldstream’s history, to release next year – her 30th year with the group.
