Archive for 2020

Meet Renata Ware, Volunteer Greeter

Meet Renata Ware, Volunteer Greeter

May 19, 2020

Our stories:

It’s National Volunteer Week, and we want you to meet some of the amazing and inspiring people who volunteer with us! Today, we’re introducing Renata Ware, who works as a… Read More ›

The day the Sea Fury came to visit

The day the Sea Fury came to visit

May 18, 2020

Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:

It’s not every day that you see an aeroplane parked outside the Library, but this was the sight that greeted Victorians when they came to visit in 1953.

Olivia Muscat, Volunteer Storyteller

Meet Olivia Muscat, Volunteer Storyteller

May 18, 2020

About us, News, Our stories:

Meet Olivia Muscat, writer, theatre critic, disability advocate,
educator, 2020 recipient of the Lesley Hall scholarship and Family
Programs volunteer!

Player payments and the great bribery scandal

Player payments and the great bribery scandal

May 5, 2020

Sport, Such was life:

In 1900, the VFL prohibited player payments. The upshot? Shady dealings with players, investigations, suspensions- and a pay rise.

The marvellous and macabre Waxworks, part two: sideshow magic and human curiosities

The marvellous and macabre Waxworks, part two: sideshow magic and human curiosities

May 4, 2020

Social life & customs, Such was life:

Part two of the story of the Melbourne Waxworks, featuring a water nymph, the Chinese giant and the ‘half lady’ illusion.

Quarantine and the Little Red Bluff

Quarantine and the Little Red Bluff

April 27, 2020

Such was life:

Dr Barry Cotter (Melbourne’s first medical doctor) was preparing to leave for an extended tour of Europe when, in April 1840: On the eve of his departure the ship Glen… Read More ›

Make your own 19th-century paper puppy

Make your own 19th-century paper puppy

April 17, 2020

Our stories:

Today we paws to celebrate the work of 19th-century Australian artist ST Gill, the subject of our new exhibition Australian sketchbook: Colonial life and the art of ST Gill.

On the ‘shick’ in Little Lon

On the ‘shick’ in Little Lon

April 16, 2020

Buildings & streets, Social life & customs, Such was life:

Of all the slums in inner Melbourne, ‘Little Lon’, was the most notorious. But there was more to the precinct than met the eye…

Jazz Head, 2016

New Sights and Sounds in Arts

April 6, 2020

classical music, Dance, Film, jazz, Music, Musicals, opera, Popular music, Rare Books & Arts, rock:

Some great new arrivals include recent releases and acquisitions in popular, rock, musical theatre and film music, classical, jazz, chamber, ballet and opera on CD and Blu-Ray.  All CDs listed… Read More ›

Blondin and his imitators

Blondin and his imitators

March 26, 2020

People & professions, Such was life:

In the 1870s, a visiting French tightrope walker inspired others to try the same- often with disastrous results.