continued ...

With a new identity as the HTAV, during the 1980s the Association continued to evolve towards its current form. Perhaps the most enduring legacy was the 1986 acquisition of a permanent address for the organisation, 'The Bakery' at 402 Smith St, Collingwood. This premise has remained the Association’s home for nearly twenty years and would be barely recognisable by those who knew it then. Somewhat dishevelled, it was transformed in 2003 to include carpets, air-conditioning and retail outlets below.

From around the mid 1980s, with Tim Gurry in the role of the Executive Officer the Association expanded its repertoire of activities. While continuing to conduct professional development and publishing Agora the activities of the Association expanded to the point that in the early 1990s, under the supervision of Bob Lewis, the publication of teaching resources and education kits constituted nearly half of the Association’s income in any one year.

In the early 1990s the threat seemed to be coming from 'Australian Studies'; the HTAV mobilised to meet it by running conferences on how it could be used to increase the amount of History being taught. Most conferences during this period were held at the Collingwood Football Club, of which the Association was a member. The position of Extension Education Officer became a fully-funded Departmental appointment advertised state-wide, and Tim Gurry was appointed to the position for three years.

The middle 90s were a difficult period. In 1992, Jonathan Tapp, an inspiring teacher from Trinity, was elected President, but early in his term of office he fell ill and died of cancer early the following year. Collingwood became a difficult venue once poker machines were installed, and after a long search a move was made to the Veneto Club in Bulleen. In 1994 the Association lost half of its funding for the EEO position, and had to make up the shortfall rather than have a half-time EEO. At the end of 1994 Tim Gurry resigned as Executive Director.

The loss of considerable state government funding during the early 1990s however meant that there was no longer the same level of government support for the association. The decline in education budgets also meant that levels of membership declined through the second half of the 1990s. This had rather significant implications for the financial viability of the Association. This is perhaps nowhere more vividly illustrated than in the annual reports of the late 90s when the association experience a loss of over $60,000.

Despite the financial constraints of the 1990s, under the successive leaderships of John Cantwell and Jacqualine Hollingworth, the HTAV continued to provide for the needs of its membership and the wider History teaching community. As an organisation it represented teachers of History in the development of the Victorian Certificate of Education, the Curriculum Standards Framework and it successor the CSFII. It also continued to support classroom teachers by publishing an array of resources, Agora and conducting professional development and student lectures.

Under Jacqualine’s extended tenure in the dual roles of Executive and Education Officer the Association entered its twentieth year and a new millennium in a more financially viable manner. Capitalising on the possibilities of new opportunities the Association over the last five years has continued to grow with an expanding membership base, an extensive publications list and a broad program of professional development.

In 2005, as the HTAV drew towards its twenty fifth year of incorporation, the board appointed a new Executive Director, Michael Spurr. Since his appointment the Association has expanded its publications program and has enjoyed the highest levels of membership since the early 1990s. In this time the place of History in Australian schools has also been a debate of considerable intensity and the HTAV has engaged in this ‘History War’ with ‘a commitment to leading and nurturing History education’. This mission statement, while only recently drafted by the HTAV Board, serves as a reminder that despite the many changes in staff, board members, organisational structure and financial fortunes, the HTAV still provides the core services and fulfils the same roles it identified for itself in its earliest form. The history of the HTAV, as befits the central preoccupations of its members, has been one of continuity and change.

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