The Spare Corner Club
People & professions, Social life & customs, Such was life:
It was a cool summer’s day in 1940 when around fifty members of the Spare Corner Club met in the Fitzroy Gardens for lunch…
Articles by: Sarah Matthews
Elizabeth Batman’s doll
Social life & customs, Such was life:
Elizabeth Batman’s doll is a fascinating relic from the earliest days of Melbourne.
The ancient art of bellringing
Social life & customs, Such was life:
The ancient art of bellringing is harder than it looks. Bellringers require confidence and stamina, not to mention an excellent memory.
Are you being served?
Step back in time to the old-fashioned servo, where consumer choice was de rigueur, and service was king.
The old tin shed
Buildings & streets, Such was life:
‘The Elizabeth Street blot’, ‘unsightly’, ‘deplorable’, ‘an ancient eyesore’. Few buildings in our city’s history excited as much controversy as ‘the old tin shed’.
Convict tattoos
What do the following things have in common: candlesticks, beehives, cock fights, drinking glasses, swans, flowerpots, crucifixes, stags, comets, and roses? Give up? They’re all convict tattoos.
The 1967 referendum
On 27 May 1967, Australians voted in record numbers to alter two sections of the Constitution so it no longer discriminated against Aboriginal people. The landslide ‘yes’ vote was seen as a watershed moment in Australian political history.
Federici’s ghost
Arts & literature, Such was life:
Melbourne’s Princess Theatre has been host to many fine performers over the years, but the most famous performance of all belongs to its ghost, Federici.
It’s just not cricket… or is it?
On Wednesday 23 March, 1895 a large crowd gathered at the East Melbourne cricket ground for an unusual event – a ladies’ cricket match. The ladies had been practising in secret and speculation was rife over what they would wear…
A cargo of fallen angels
People & professions, Such was life:
Children in detention. Stopping the boats. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was recent times but in fact, it was the 19th century.
