By Cam Lucadou-Wells
New blood is needed to help keep history alive in Dandenong and Springvale.
It’s all about organising the sought-after collections of photos and stories at Dandenong & District Historical Society and the Springvale & District Historical Society.
“People can come down and see the past of their town,” Dandenong historical society president Chris Keys said.
“You can see in which directions it’s gone in, and the governance of the place.
“On Facebook, I see images of old Dandenong. I’ve observed that people are interested in them even if they aren’t living in Dandenong.
“We have had queries even from interstate. People will come down to research all sorts of things about where they live and where their grandparents lived.”
But more helpers are needed to keep the memorabilia in order.
Some of the societies’ stalwarts have not returned since the end of Covid restrictions, for reasons of age, illness or a lack of time, Ms Keys says.
In the case of Springvale, membership has dwindled to 10.
The Dandenong society boasts 130 members. But its regular Wednesday crew of volunteers at Clow Street has dropped from 10 to a handful.
At Dandenong, volunteers are needed to record and sort the society’s acquisitions such as photos, maps, articles and pamphlets. This includes computer work and filing.
Another job is for people with deep local knowledge. They cut articles from Star Journal’s weekly newspapers and add them into research collections on issues and places of interest.
Tech-savvy volunteers are also needed to digitise the collections on the eHive cataloguing website.
As well as researchers who are able to dig up information for the public, such as on their families or their neighbourhood streets.
Springvale’s historical society is set to move into the Springvale Community Hub. But volunteers are needed to sort the collection into easy-to-access categories.
“Unfortunately the collection in Springvale was never put in categories. It was numbered and stored in boxes – which is not useful for researchers looking for information on a school or on a family.
“I would say there’s at least a year’s work for people.”
If you can help at Springvale or Dandenong historical societies, contact Chris Keys on Chris.keys@dingley.net
