The 2025 Public History Awards were presented during History Week at Customs House in Sydney, as part of the History Council of NSW’s Annual History Awards.
The 2025 Public History Award is supported by the Professional Historians Association (NSW & ACT), and the Australian Centre for Public History at the University of Technology Sydney. The purpose of the Award is to encourage historians to produce a creative work of public history drawing on their research. It aims to promote the value of public history, and the pursuit of history as a rewarding professional career.
The winning entries demonstrate excellence in writing or other media, and the ability to use original source materials, or demonstrated originality of interpreting the past in a contextual way. These works engage with the field and practice of professional, public and applied history, using the past to inform contemporary concerns, issues and topics in creative ways.
FIRST PRIZE
The winner of the 2025 Public History Award First Prize was Jane Curtis for her audio documentary Kangaroo Dog.
On winning the 2025 Public History Award, Jane said:
‘So many other historians shared their time, and their interest and support, for this project, and many before – so thank you, all of you for your generosity. I’m passionate about public history and I love sharing what I learn in creative, playful and hopefully accessible ways. So it’s a massive affirmation by the NSW History Council to be recognised in this way.’
SECOND PRIZE
The Second Prize for the 2025 Public History Award was awarded to Hurstville Museum & Gallery for their exhibition Makers and Manufacturers. The Hurstville Museum & Gallery provided the following statement on receiving their Second Prize:
‘Makers and Manufacturers explored the industrial history of the St George region, from the early 19th century through to the 1970s. It highlighted the evolution of local industries and the people behind them, from oyster farming and shipbuilding to shoe making, pottery, and bakeries. Hurstville Museum and Gallery, which is part of Georges River Council, is committed to sharing local stories and connecting with our community through exhibitions and programs that bring together art, history, and lived experience, and we thank History Council of NSW for recognising our exhibition.‘
COMMENDED
This year the judges also awarded a commendation in the Public History Award category to Dr Kath Kenny for her creative essay Walking on Water. On receiving her commendation, Kath said:
‘A photograph of Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and friends by a swimming pool, and a week living in the Whitlam Prime Ministerial Home in 2024, led me to think about the many ways water has shaped, and been shaped by, our cultural and political histories. In a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Whitlam government, I’m enormously grateful the History Council of NSW has recognised this experimental and playful work that blends history and creative non-fiction. Congratulations to this year’s winners and the commended entries. And thank you to the HCNSW, The Monthly, Varuna and The Whitlam Institute for their support of public history, particularly at a time when historians who research and teach are facing so many challenges to their survival.‘
Congratulations to all the winning and commended entries.