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 much new information, or how many new historical connections or interpretations, the work provides.
    
4. 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.
    
5. How well the sources used are documented in footnotes and/or in a bibliography.

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. 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.
    
3. 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.
    
4. 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.
    
5. 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.

The written piece may be submitted attached as a PDF or Word (doc, docx.) format to the online application form, or emailed direct to local_history@bayside.nsw.gov.au with an entry form submitted online or attached to the email. Hard copies are not accepted unless by special circumstance, please email if needed.

Entrants should use 12-point font (Arial/Times New Roman/Calibri) with 2.0 spacing. 
First person writing to be avoided unless used where appropriate.
APA 7th Edition referencing should be utilised to the best of the entrant's ability.

Below are useful guides from APA
Scaffolded Reference Elements Worksheet 
Creating an APA Style Reference List Guide 
APA Style Common Reference Examples Guide, APA Style 7th Edition 
 

Open Category
Olga Sedneva - Tempe House. Change of Purpose, Change of Landscape

High School
Riya Yeshwant-Suvarna, St George Girls High School - History: Made to Be Remembered

Recognition of Effort - Open Category
Kodie Mason - What does the life of Biyarung reveal about the participation of Indigenous people in Indigenous and colonial society and economy in the 19th century?

Recognition of Effort - High School
Joshua Osei-Agyei, Sydney Technical High School - A Crook Cooks River