Lane Cove History 2025 Prize – Tell Your Lane Cove Story

Are you a bit of a history buff?  Why not enter the Lane Cove Historical Society (LCHS)  Lane Cove History Prize? The winner will receive a cash prize of $1500. The award encourages Lane Cove residents to research the colourful history of the Lane Cove Municipality.  There is also the chance for a student to enter the 2025 LCHS Student History Prize.

A successful entry must document aspects of the lives of people in Lane Cove and its environs, including beyond modern Lane Cove, which previously covered a broader area.

As one of the earliest settlement sites on the northern side of the harbour, Lane Cove has had a very interesting history, and much of the details have yet to be fully documented. Moreover, into the 20th and 21st centuries, the community of Lane Cove has witnessed many social changes, all worthy of broader reflection and documentation.

A vibrant community like Lane Cove deserves to have its strengths and achievements recognized and celebrated.

Submissions will be accepted on any aspect of Lane Cove’s history; however, this would be a great opportunity to tell your family’s Lane Cove story.

Other possible research topics include:

• interesting Lane Cove individuals or families;
• the history behind your street;
• early settlers or ethnic groups who came to live in Lane Cove;
• bushcare groups;
• your local sporting team’s history;
• your local school’s history;
• your local church’s history;
• your local community group’s history; or
• local roads and transport systems.

This is an opportunity for Lane Cove Seniors to write up their own histories. It is also an ideal time for you or your kids to sit down with grandparents or older family members/neighbours and document their lives in Lane Cove.

For the 2025 LCHS Lane Cove History Prize, entrants may submit EITHER An essay (illustrated where appropriate) of 5,000 to 7,000 words OR An Oral History, either a video or audio recording, of 30 to 45 minutes’ duration. OR A documentary-style video of 7 to 20 minutes.

Judging

The judging panel will consist of two people: one member of the LCHS and another an authority drawn from outside the LCHS. Entrants are advised to consider the criteria below before entering the competition.

Entries will be judged based on the following criteria:

• How closely does the work relate to the history of Lane Cove and its environs? Research may be submitted on any topic that substantially relates to Lane Cove; the relevance of the work to Lane Cove will be one of the main judging criteria.
• How much original historical research and consultation of primary and secondary sources the work involves.
• How well the sources used are documented in footnotes or endnotes and in a set of references in the form of a bibliography.
• Whether or not the work includes new information, be that a genuinely new topic, or new information about some topic that has been documented before.
• Whether or not the work has a consistent theme or a cohesive argument.
• The professional quality, the work’s style, and the writing (spelling, grammar, layout, etc.)
• Whether or not the work complies with the guidelines, especially concerning length/duration.

Guidelines, Submissions and Closing Date

Details, including guidelines and submission criteria, can be found here. The entry must be submitted by 31 August 2025.

If you have any questions about the prize, please email here.

The best submissions will be published in the LCHS Journal, archived in the LCHS Collection, and given to the Local Studies Unit of the Lane Cove Library. This project will primarily benefit the residents of Lane Cove. However, it will also enrich the reserves of historical research within New South Wales and Australia.

2025 LCHS Student History Prize

This prize is open to students 18 years and under.

Entries should follow the above guidelines except be of a shorter length.

Students are encouraged:

• to submit a written text about the life of an interesting person, or an interesting building, or a particular type of sport, illustrated with photos and/or drawings a video or audio interview with some interesting person, accompanied by some written explanation.
• A short documentary on video.

Judging will be according to the criteria listed below but will consider the entrant’s age.

Short-listed entries will receive a certificate, and the winning entry will receive a book voucher valued at $200. To encourage younger students, a book voucher valued at $100 will be awarded to the best short-listed entry from a primary school student.

Entry form links here.

Previous Winners

The prize is now awarded every second year.  Previous winners include:

The 2023 winner was Jane Van Balen.

Jane’s Prize-winning essay was named, ‘A Gentle Artist: The Life of H. Leonard Greening (1904-1984)’.

As the name suggests, the essay celebrates the life of Jane’s grandfather, known as Len Greening, who emigrated from England to Australia in 1924. Trained originally in England as a machinist, Len had also commenced his studies in art before he left England, and he continued his art studies at the East Sydney Technical College. He found work as a commercial artist with WD and HO Wills, eventually joining the advertising department, where his artistic skills found expression.  Read more here.

The 2022 winner was Ruth Benfield, for an affectionate and sensitive account of Ruth’s family connections with Carisbrook Historic House in the 1950s and 1960s.  More details here.

The 2020 winner was  Dr. Susan Ingham for her essay, “Hold Your course. The Participation of Women in the Lane Cove Sailing Clubs”.  This essay arose from Susan’s considerable personal interest in the emergence of sailing as a sport and in the participation of women in the sport.  More details here.