The politics of poster making: the RedPlanet archive
People & professions, Such was life:
The years 1992 and 1993, when RedPlanet artists produced 24 house posters, can arguably be called the golden years of poster design in Australia.
Such was life
Murder at the Grand National
On Saturday 14 July, 1906 the Grand National race meeting was held at Flemington. During the afternoon young bookmaker Donald ‘Big Mick’ McLeod was beaten to death by an angry crowd after failing to pay out on winning bets. This shocking event gave great impetus to the strident anti-gambling campaign.
The Ern Mainka photographic collection
People & professions, Such was life:
Nature photographer Ern Mainka had a gift for capturing the divine. Pictures manager Madeleine Say tells us more about Mainka’s extraordinary photographs in her guest blog this week.
Oscar saves the day
People & professions, Such was life:
Antarctica, January 1916…exhausted, ill, running out of food and 650 kilometres from their base on Ross Island, the Ross Sea Party had little chance of survival. Whatever hope they had relied on their four sled dogs…
The erasure of Melbourne’s wetlands
Buildings & streets, Cities & towns, Such was life:
Creative fellow and author, Dr David Sornig, shows us how the library’s maps and manuscripts chart the demise of West Melbourne’s wetlands in his special guest blog this week. Welcome David.
Poetry of the pongo
‘Pongo’ was a term used by Australian troops in World War One to refer to the common foot soldier of the infantry battalions. The songs, stories, art and verses of the pongos tells us much about the Australian soldiers who fought in the Great War.
Jean Stewart’s ballet photography
Jean Stewart’s atmospheric ballet photographs capture the drama and beauty of the Victorian Ballet.
Glorious news! Separation at last!
Cities & towns, Such was life:
Victoria is celebrating the 165th anniversary of its own Brexit, the day colonists won independence from the British colony of NSW. To mark the occasion, an exhibition of rare historical artwork and records has gone on display at the Library.
Settlement at Sullivan Bay
Cities & towns, Such was life:
Was the British settlement of Sorrento in 1803 Victoria’s first attempt at a desalinisation plant?
So, you want to be a librarian?
People & professions, Such was life:
From 1948 up until 1969, the Melbourne Public Library’s training school educated nearly 300 aspiring librarians. Many things have changed since then, but some things still remain the same…
