The Swampdogs Rugby Union Club will document four decades of Territory rugby history with support from the Northern Territory History Grants Program.
The Government has invested $63,000 this year to support 11 projects that will research, record and share Territory history.
Minister for People, Sport and Culture, Jinson Charls said he was proud the initiative was continuing to ensure the stories of those who shaped the NT are preserved for future generations.
“Each year, the History Grants uncover new and unique stories that deepen our understanding of who we are and where we’ve come from,” he said.
“This program supports local historians, writers, artists and community organisations to bring Territory history to life – from sporting legacies to cultural connections and family stories that might otherwise be lost.”
This annual program provides grants of up to $7,000 for original research projects that tell uniquely Territory stories.
The Swampdogs Rugby Union Club will use the grant funding to create a book of the history of the club.
Club volunteer, Melanie Henggeler said it will be great to have the Swampdogs’ story captured in one place.
“This history book is more than just a collection of memories, it’s a celebration of the people who have built, supported and believed in this club over the past 40 years,” she said.
“From those who were there in the early days, rolling up their sleeves to get the club off the ground, to the players, families and volunteers who continue to make it what it is today, every contribution matters.”
Projects funded this year span the full breadth of NT life from the story of the bicycle in the Territory from the 1890s through to the 1950s, to a new volume by renowned Darwin photographer David Hancock, to new work documenting 40 years of environmental protection in the NT.
Established in 1978 to mark the attainment of NT self-government, the History Grants program has now supported NT researchers, community groups, historians, creators and storytellers for 47 years.
This year’s successful projects include:
- Swampdogs Rugby Union Incorporated – Swampdogs Union Club: 40 years of Territory Rugby
- David Hancock – Decades in Darwin Vol. 2
- Steven Farram – A Judicious Use of the Wheel: The Bicycle in the Northern Territory 1890s–1950s
- Nicole Lorimer – NT Oral Histories for Salient People
- Derek Pugh – Hanged: Execution in the Top End
- Christopher Howse – Aboriginal justice reform initiatives: 1994-2007
- Music NT Incorporated – NT Music History Podcast Series
- Northern Territory Education Mob incorporated – Re placing lost history, in collaboration with the Anindilyakwa Land Council
- James Pilbrow – Building a general account of contemporary efforts to revitalise cross-cultural connections between East Arnhem and South Sulawesi
- Amanda Lilleyman – A historical overview of over 40 years of environmental work in the NT
- Francisca Tenorio, Charles Darwin University – Exploring the history and cultural significance of two recently discovered Murrinh heritage items
Applications open annually in July and close in August and more information about the program can be found here.
