In 1867 Australia hosted our first Royal visitor. Prince Alfred toured the country, and toured our Library! It was a tumultuous time. Sectarian murders, riots, tragedy and finally an attempted assassination punctuated the Prince’s journey. His resilience in the face of these events won him great respect across the Australian colonies.
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
With the dominance of air travel in the twenty-first century, it’s easy to forget what a massive role ships, ports and piers played in the development and history of Melbourne. We look at the historic evolution of piers at the Port of Melbourne.
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Horseracing is an industry strongly associated with Melbourne, but it took almost three years after colonial settlement for the first horse race to be held. Like many of today’s horse racing carnivals, the reporting was more focused on what happened off the racetrack than on it.
Ask a librarian, New to the collection:
There have been a few new additions to our online eresources lately. These can be explored from outside the Library if you are a Victorian-resident Library member – log in with your Library member number, or sign up for membership online to begin. Let’s take a look at what’s available.
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.
Rarely a day goes by that State Library Victoria’s librarians don’t consult Trove – it is an indispensable resource for a wide range of research. We put a call out to State Library Victoria staff to share their favourite discoveries on Trove. From articles that revealed previously unknown details of their family history, to a bizarre ad for the film Frankenstein, their discoveries reveal what a rich resource for research Trove can be.
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories:
Archives Unbound is a Gale electronic database made up of hundreds of resources, many previously unpublished, from the Middle Ages through to 20th century political history.
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories, Victorian history:
The Historical Maps and Plans Collection is a boon for researchers, containing everything from descriptions of what the landscape was like when Europeans arrived, to the locations of early buildings and houses, pastoral runs, and even shipwrecks.
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Step behind-the-scenes as we tour the Library from Dome to Catacomb. We invite you to explore the layers of history that make up the Library.
Ask a librarian, Cities & towns, Photography, Reference desk:
Read about the time Paris lost itself in Melbourne. Good thing we found it and gave it back to the world! Here’s the fascinating story of a collection that everyone believed to be lost.
