Congratulations to the new recipients of Grants and Sponsorships!

Grants

The ESU is pleased to announce the recipients of grants for projects that contribute to the appreciation and promotion of the heritage, culture, identity and fellowship of the English-speaking peoples. We thank all applicants for the time they devoted to making submissions for the award round that closed on 31 July 2021.

Minor Project Grant

The ESU congratulates the two winners of grants in this round.

Institute of Australian Culture – for development of new content for the website. This site already provides a wealth of Australian cultural assets, enabling access to a wide range of resources about our nation’s history and heritage, and thereby increasing appreciation of Australian culture. The site received 99,631 visitors in the 2020 calendar year. The ESU grant enables the website team to purchase historic Australian pamphlets and ephemera so that they can be transcribed and/or scanned, and then added to the site.

Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network Ltd – for historical research into significant points along a newly-created waterside walk, ‘Birrarung to the Blue Lake’. The research will provide a comprehensive connected account of central Melbourne’s rich maritime heritage. When completed, it will supply content for an historically accurate and engaging digital App. Users of the App will learn about key historical points along the well-used but little-understood trail which threads its way from Birrarung Marr, past the former falls and turning basins, through Docklands, around Victoria Harbour and thus to Ron Barassi Senior Park, part of the site of the now lost ‘Blue Lake’. The ESU grant enables the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network to commission professional historian Emma Russell, of History@Work, to undertake the research.

Sponsorship

Recognising the strengths of another ‘project grant’ application, the ESU Council decided to sponsor the Jane Austen Society Melbourne by contributing $1,000 for their Website Update project.

Congratulations!

We applaud the Institute of Australian Culture, the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network and the Jane Austen Society Melbourne on their success in winning this financial support.

On behalf of the ESU Victoria Branch, President Robert Furlan says: "The ESU understands the many challenges facing small organisations. Websites and walking trails are essential methods for communicating accurate information about our heritage, culture and identity, and for strengthening the bonds of fellowship. Victoria's pandemic-related lockdowns have demonstrated the importance of walking as a daily form of exercise and the value of exploring new destinations via trails and apps. The lockdowns have also revealed the need for information and resources to be accessible and discoverable online. I look forward to seeing the results of the activities that each of these funded organisations will now undertake."

The next round of the Minor Project Grant closes on 15 December 2021. Do you have a project that needs support? Click HERE for details.

The photograph below was taken by Jeff Malley, a Director of the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network. It shows sculptures on the north bank of Melbourne's Yarra River that are reminiscent of the figureheads on sailing vessels that once contributed to Melbourne's maritime activity. The Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network's forthcoming walking trail, ‘Birrarung to the Blue Lake’, will help people learn more about our maritime history.

This page was posted on 29 September 2021.