The Prospect Local History Collection was opened in 1986 as part of the SA 150 Jubilee celebrations. It is located within the library, on level one. There are also files located in a dedicated archive area.

The Collection is being developed as a means of preserving various materials and records important to the history and cultural development of Prospect.

Physical Items collected are photographs; documents, including letters and journals; reports; drawings and plans; maps; oral histories; books, including all publications by the Prospect Local History Group; textiles; and three-dimensional objects.

Prospect Family History Group

The Prospect Family History Group is for those with an interest in researching their family history. Members of the Family History Group will be available on the third Tuesday of the month to assist anyone wanting help to research their family history, or use the resources of the Prospect Heritage Collection. Contact the Family History Group for more information.

Prospect Local History Group

The Prospect Local History Group meets in the Irish Harp Room at Payinthi, 128 Prospect Road, Prospect at 7pm on the first Thursday of every month. This group aims to promote community interest and encourage research in the history of the Prospect area and conduct a range of activities related to that history. The group usually presents a speaker at the meetings on odd months.

Membership of the groups and attendance at meetings are free of charge. All those interested are invited to attend. Enquiries via email.

The website prospecthistory.net has been set up to increase participation, and provide guidance for e-searching and digital uploading of relevant items of interest on the net. The aim is to expand the collection by linking existing sources such as the National Libraries of Australia site Trove with user-friendly public sources of information and media. It has been designed to be very user friendly with easy to navigate tabs and instructional videos. It is also linked to social sites such as Flickr and YouTube where people can upload their digital copies to the net at the touch of a button.

If you would like more information on local history, please call (08) 8269 5355 or email us at admin@prospect.sa.gov.au.