Ron Rathbone Local History Competition

Ron Rathbone was first elected Mayor of Rockdale in 1968 and held the position of Mayor for a record four terms. He was a passionate historian who loved the local area.

More information:

• Ron Rathbone's biography

Open Category

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1. How closely the work relates to the history of the Bayside Council Local Government area.
   
   Research may be submitted on any topic that is related to any part of the Bayside Council area. Bayside covers the suburbs of Arncliffe, Banksia, Banksmeadow, Bardwell Park, Bardwell Valley, Bexley, Bexley North, Botany, Brighton-Le-Sands, Carlton, Daceyville, Dolls Point, Eastgardens, Eastlakes, Hillsdale, Kingsgrove, Kogarah, Kyeemagh, Mascot, Monterey, Pagewood, Ramsgate, Rockdale, Rosebery, Sandringham, Sans Souci, Turrella and Wolli Creek.

2. How much original historical research and consultation of primary and secondary sources the work involves.
   
   Entrants must submit an original piece of research. If the research work has previously been submitted to an academic institution as an assignment or has been used as part of or in connection with any other project, it may still be submitted; however, it must be presented in a style appropriate for entry into the Award.

3. How well the sources used are documented in footnotes and/or in a bibliography.

4. How much new information, or how many new historical connections or interpretations, the work provides.

5. How strongly the work adheres to its chosen topic or theme. It is suggested that works submitted have a clearly stated aim or objective, or that entrants include in their introduction an outline of their chosen topic or research subject.

6. The professional quality and the style of the work and the writing itself (presentation, pagination, spelling, grammar, layout, etc.).
   
   It is expected that an entry will be a significant piece of work that makes a genuine contribution to our knowledge of the history of the Bayside Council area, or that offers a new interpretation of existing historical knowledge. There is no prescribed maximum word limit for an entry, a minimum length of twelve A4 pages is generally expected.

High School Category

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

1. Does the work relate entirely or substantially to the Bayside Council area?

2. Does the work fit within the scope of the task?

3. How much research has been undertaken and what source material has been used?
   
   The judges will look highly on entries that draw on a number of different sources. Many general local history books and photographs are available through the Bayside Library Service
   
   Students are also encouraged to consider searching the National Library’s Trove website where numerous early newspaper articles, maps and photographs can be found.

4. Is the work entirely the student’s own?
   
   Students are encouraged to use and quote from different sources, however any quotes used should be placed in quotation marks and the source of the quote given in a footnote. The work should be in the student’s own words and not copied from a book or website.

5. Does the work acknowledge what sources have been used?
   
   The judges expect that students will include footnotes and/or a bibliography to show where they found the information on which their work is based.

6. The overall quality of the work.
   
   The judges will grammar and spelling, the use of images and appropriate captioning, adherence to entry requirements regarding length, and expression.

Your submission can be about any location within the Bayside Council area, which includes all or part of:

• Arncliffe
• Banksia
• Banksmeadow
• Bardwell Park
• Bardwell Valley
• Bexley
• Bexley North
• Botany
• Brighton-Le-Sands
• Carlton
• Daceyville
• Dolls Point
• Eastgardens
• Eastlakes
• Hillsdale
• Kingsgrove
• Kogarah
• Kyeemagh
• Mascot
• Monterey
• Pagewood
• Ramsgate
• Rockdale
• Rosebery
• Sandringham
• Sans Souci
• Turrella
• Wolli Creek.

Our library catalogue is a good place to start your research, we also provide access to several online databases and research resources, including the popular family history database Ancestry.com:

• Library databases
• Electronic resources

The National Library Trove site also has useful resources, including photographs, available online.

You must submit your written piece in PDF or Word (doc, docx) format through email.

If you prefer, you may submit a hard copy of your entry to Rockdale or Eastgardens libraries.

Open Category

1.  Entrants must complete and sign an official entry form and lodge it together with their entry.

2. Entries in hard copy or soft copy may be submitted online, via email or in person at Eastgardens or Rockdale Libraries. A soft copy entry must be in Word or PDF format.

3. All entries will be acknowledged upon receipt. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that his or her entry is properly submitted and received.

4. Entries must be typed in English, with a minimum of 11-point font.

5. Entrants may submit more than one piece of research if they wish. A separate entry form is required for each submission.

6. Copyright of any research work and writing submitted remains with the author of the work at all times.

7. Entries may be placed in the Bayside Library Service Local History Collection and be accessible to the community.

8. Entries may also be made available on Bayside Council’s website and social media.

9. The judges shall have the discretion to divide the prize money between entrants whose works are considered to be of equal merit.

10. The entries will be judged anonymously on individual merit. The judges reserve the right to award no prize if they deem there are no entries of sufficiently high quality. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

11. Entrants do not need to be residents of the Bayside Council Local Government Area.

12. Only individuals, not organisations or societies, may enter, however entries with joint authors are permitted. Works cannot be submitted on behalf of someone else.

13. Do not include your name on the work to ensure it can be judged anonymously.

14. Winning entrants may be asked to give a presentation about their research at a local history event.

15. Where possible entrants should seek permission to use images in their work.

16. Bayside Council employees and/or contractors are not eligible to enter. 

High School Category

1. Category Two is open to any NSW student enrolled in years 7 to 12.

2. Students must complete and sign an entry form and lodge it together with their entry. 

3. Students may work together to submit a joint entry.  

4. At the conclusion of the competition, entries will be placed in the Community History Collection of Bayside Library Service and, if appropriate, will be placed on Bayside Council’s online platforms.

5. If necessary, the judges have the discretion to divide the prize money equally between entrants whose works they consider of equal merit.

6. The entries will be judged on individual merit. The judges reserve the right to award no prize if they deem there are no entries of sufficiently high quality. 

7. The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

8. Entries may be submitted in hardcopy or emailed in a soft copy PDF format. Soft copy entries may also be submitted on a USB.

9. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that his or her entry is properly submitted and received.

10. Winner details may be published in media sources subject to the approval by entrant / carer / guardian