Articles by: Paul Dee
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.
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.
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.
Collection spotlights, Painting:
These works by Rick Amor depict a quiet Port Phillip Bay, where constructions stand among nature, bearing the stains of passing time.
Such was life, Victorian history:
William Strutt’s painting of the Burke and Wills expedition captures the daunting task facing the explorers.
People & professions, Such was life:
During her 1854 voyage to Melbourne, the ‘Marco Polo’ published a weekly newspaper for passengers- which provides a vivid description to life on board.
Once upon a time a staff member sat in the dais in the La Trobe Reading Room, watching over any chattering public. I asked two long term SLV librarians how this used to work.
People & professions, Such was life:
The Fred Boyle Photographic Collection portrays Echuca in the 1950s and ’60s as a town driven by community spirit.
Cities & towns, Such was life:
‘I can readily imagine why most people speak of this part of the country with a certain dread for there is actually no grass and no water to be found.’
Buildings & streets, Such was life:
In the 1840s a burgeoning Melbourne needed a robust wharf, one to replace the current bog built over swamps.
