On 23 November 2010, the National History Challenge Awards ceremony was held at Australian Parliament House.

The Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, The Hon Peter Garrett, AM, MP, and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, The Hon Warren Snowdon, MP presented prizes along with representatives from the sponsoring cultural institutions.

An activity of the History Teachers Association of Australia, the competition is research-based, inviting entries from primary and secondary students from all over Australia and giving them the chance to be historians. Each year, students submit entries exploring the theme chosen for that year, using primary and secondary sources to produce an essay, performance, multi-media piece or three-dimensional model.

The theme of this year’s challenge was ‘Celebrations, Memories and History’. As one of the sponsoring cultural institutions, the Museum of Australian Democracy invited entries to focus on Australian Prime Ministers in their exploration of the topic. The national winner of the category was Damian Staveley, from Albany Creek State High School, Queensland. Damian’s essay about Gough Whitlam, “The times, they are a-changin’”, can be viewed at our National History Challenge website.

The Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, The Hon Peter Garrett, AM, MP, presented the seven State and Territory Young Historian prize Winners and also the National Young Historian of the Year award. This year’s overall winner was year 12 student, Rohan Howitt from New South Wales with his essay referencing rock festivals: “When does Memory Become History?”

More information about the National History Challenge, including a list of winners, is available from the National History Challenge website.