The riotous Williams
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Melbourne’s Elizabeth Street was once a waterway known as Williams Creek. Today, the creek runs underground, but every now and then, it returns with a vengeance…
Articles by: Sarah Matthews
Fireworks in Little Bourke street
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories, Victorian history:
There’s an air of intrigue around these deserted Chinese shopfronts, captured by artist Eric Thake in Melbourne during World War II
Time travelling with Sands & McDougall
Buildings & streets, People & professions, Such was life:
Bell hangers and nightmen, leech merchants and lightermen; these are just some of the nineteenth century characters you may find lurking within the pages of a Sands & McDougall directory.
‘On the shick’ in Little Lon
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…
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…
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.
