Such was life

Sufficiently educated

Sufficiently educated

June 11, 2022

Social life & customs, Such was life:

Maybe you received a Victorian Certificate of Education? Or a Higher School Certificate? A School Tertiary Certificate? Leaving? School graduation requirements have come a long way from having to be ‘sufficiently educated’, as was the case in the 1870s.

Image of a pandemic mask with digital word/ number 'Vote 1

The social distance election

May 14, 2022

Our stories, Politics:

The 2020 Victorian councils elections were conducted by post meaning the Library’s acquisition team had a huge task to ensure the election material was web-archived.

The Library’s virtual volunteers

The Library’s virtual volunteers

October 19, 2021

Our stories, Such was life:

Some of the Library’s volunteers have been correcting the text of digitised historical Victorian newspapers, and in so doing, revealing more about our past.

Book:Top

Book:Top

September 21, 2021

People & professions, Such was life:

Ah Siug Jong came to Victoria from China to find gold but after a series of incidents he was jailed and eventually committed to an asylum. He left a complex diary which was his attempt to clear his name.

Burke and Wills and Strutt.

Burke and Wills and Strutt.

August 18, 2021

Such was life, Victorian history:

William Strutt’s painting of the Burke and Wills expedition captures the daunting task facing the explorers.

Country tennis in Victoria

Country tennis in Victoria

February 8, 2021

Sport, Such was life:

The Australian Open came via courts in paddocks in rural towns and coastal getaways, built to attract tourists, inspire social events and to hold tournaments.

The Show must go on!

The Show must go on!

September 18, 2020

Social life & customs, Such was life:

The Royal Melbourne Show has been cancelled this year so let’s look at how it came to be- and the fun times we can look forward to next year.

‘Dear Yat’: postcards from a prime minister

‘Dear Yat’: postcards from a prime minister

August 24, 2020

Politics, Such was life:

A small collection of correspondence provides glimpses of a life-long friendship between Yatala Ovenden and John Curtin, who met while both members of the Victorian Socialist Party.

Melbourne celebrates Victory in the Pacific Day

Melbourne celebrates Victory in the Pacific Day

August 14, 2020

Social life & customs, Such was life, War:

Melbourne has likely never seen such an outbreak of spontaneous rejoicing and mass celebration, as it did on Victory in the Pacific Day, August 15 1945.

Adam Lindsay Gordon and the Adam & Eve Hotel

Adam Lindsay Gordon and the Adam & Eve Hotel

August 7, 2020

Collection Care, Preservation, Such was life:

A photograph of an old cottage inspires an investigation into the connections between Australian author Adam Lindsay Gordon, John Kinmont Moir and the mysterious Adam & Eve Hotel.