‘Here for you’: a new original artwork
The Library forecourt has been the backdrop for 163 years of social change. Now it is emblazoned with the faces of influential change-makers from Australia’s history.
Our stories
A love story in the archives
Letters from the Victorian goldfields reveal a love story, filled with dramatic highs and lows.
Women in science at the Library
Believe it or not, science is a vital part of the State Library’s day-to-day operations. In the Library’s Preservation and Conservation department we celebrate 16 brilliant women of science.
Bushfire and aftermath
Flying over fire-ravaged land, photographer John Gollings looked down on the Hume Highway as Victoria reeled from the deadliest fires in recorded history.
New Gold Mountain
Our stories, People & professions:
For the Chinese immigrants who flocked to Victorian goldfields in the 1850s, the journey began in Canton or Hong Kong and included several months at sea before arriving in Victoria, or ‘New Gold Mountain’.
What about the women? – Part 2
Our stories, People & professions, Social life & customs:
Piece together the stories of Mary Ann and Eliza Henty and their role in Victoria’s first European settlement.
2018 in ebooks
Our Ebook collection is growing each month. We currently have over 16,000 ebooks available, including autobiographies, literary fiction, travel guides, young adult non-fiction, health and medicine, home and garden and much more. Explore the titles that were most popular in 2018.
What about the women? – Part 1
Our stories, People & professions, Social life & customs:
Uprooted to join your husband of no more than a couple of years to settle in an unknown place. This is the story of the wives of the Henty brothers, early settlers credited with establishing Victoria’s first European settlement.
A nation of immigrants
Learn about the history of immigration in Australia, from the First Fleet and the Gold Rush to WWI and the White Australia policy.
Illustrated children’s books: Willy Pogany (1882-1955)
Willy Pogany (born Vilmos Andras Pogany) was a prolific contributor during the Golden Age of children’s book illustration, whose career broadened from children’s book illustration to portraiture and set designs for opera and ballet.
