Articles by: Kylie Best

‘Doing the Block’: promenade on Collins Street

‘Doing the Block’: promenade on Collins Street

June 27, 2025

Ask a librarian, Buildings & streets, Social life & customs, Victorian history:

‘The Block’ was a section of Collins street bounded by Elizabeth and Swanson streets. As early as the 1860s is was considered one of the primary places to see and be seen in the Melbourne CBD, but it reached its zenith during the economic boom years in the 1880s and 1890s. ‘Doing the Block’ was a common term to describe the endless promenading of Melbournians up and down Collins street, often dressed in their finest as they frequented the fashionable cafes, tea houses and shops

‘Shooting the chute’ at Princes Court

‘Shooting the chute’ at Princes Court

January 24, 2025

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

What could be considered Australia’s first major amusement park – Princes Court – opened in 1904 on the banks of Melbourne’s Yarra River. Visitors had a range of amusements to choose from, including the 70-foot-high water chute ride, toboggan tracks and a Japanese tea house.

The clairvoyant and the magician: Mystic Mora and Doc Rowe

The clairvoyant and the magician: Mystic Mora and Doc Rowe

October 31, 2024

Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:

A clairvoyant and a magician – a magical pairing you might say. For the celebrated entertainment duo Mystic Mora and Doc Rowe, it was a union that brought extraordinary success and fame, and a life full of exotic travels and uncommon adventures.

Digger’s wedding, Melbourne 1853. Watercolour by S.T. Gill; H25973

Something to write home about: Melbourne in 1852

September 9, 2024

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Shipboard journals provide a fascinating insight into the migrant experience, and if we’re lucky they continue once the passenger stepped off the ship onto dry land. When John Askew arrived in Melbourne in 1852, he encountered a bustling city full of gold-diggers and the upwardly mobile. His impressions are both insightful and amusing.

Online Collection Spotlight: Socialism on Film

Online Collection Spotlight: Socialism on Film

May 5, 2023

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights:

Snapshots of the past, documented by films. From the birth of Karl Marx through to the Russian Revolutions and into the1980s, explore the communist world through the eyes of socialist film makers.

1866 in 3D: the isometrical plan of Melbourne & suburbs

1866 in 3D: the isometrical plan of Melbourne & suburbs

February 6, 2023

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Victorian history:

Sometimes called ‘bird’s eye view’ maps, isometric maps depict a view ‘from above’. This plan, produced in 1866, shows a remarkable point-in-time layout of Melbourne streets, the Yarra, Port Phillip Bay, and parts of Collingwood and East Melbourne. A closer examination reveals some of the fledging city’s most important social, economic and civic locations and buildings, as well as parks and reserves, including many which remain today.

Christmas and holiday traditions we love

Christmas and holiday traditions we love

December 19, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Victorian history:

Take a festive jaunt through our image archive as we explore some of our most beloved Christmas and holiday traditions.

The family that grew up with the Melbourne Zoo

The family that grew up with the Melbourne Zoo

October 5, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Victorian history:

Learn how one family’s singular obsession with the natural world contributed to the Melbourne Zoo we know today.

Celebrating 150 years of public education

Celebrating 150 years of public education

May 3, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Victorian history:

This year marks the 150th anniversary of public education in Victoria, and a chance to reflect on our long-held belief that every child deserves a high-quality education, regardless of their background.

Humans of Melbourne, 1930s style

Humans of Melbourne, 1930s style

April 16, 2022

Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories, Victorian history:

The Library holds a set of images with a particularly intriguing name – Street characters: a series of photographs taken of Melbourne street personalities, about 1930. They are compelling snapshots of the social fabric of Melbourne at that time, images of characters long gone, likely long forgotten, their stories spent.

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