Victorian history

Wycheproof: heart of Victoria’s wheat belt

Wycheproof: heart of Victoria’s wheat belt

July 26, 2024

Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:

Wycheproof is a tiny Wimmera town set amid wheat fields and flat plains. It’s famous for the railway line running down the middle of the main street. Mount Wycheproof, the lowest mountain in the world, rises above the town. Wycheproof is no stranger to flood and drought. Join us to learn more.

Pro Feminis a Feminis: Dr Constance Stone and her hospital ‘for women, run by women’

Pro Feminis a Feminis: Dr Constance Stone and her hospital ‘for women, run by women’

July 5, 2024

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

On the 125th anniversary of its opening, we take a look at the story of the Queen Victoria Hospital for Women and its founder, Constance Stone – the first woman to be registered as a doctor in Australia.

Trapped in the snow: Alpine huts and the story of Cleve Cole

Trapped in the snow: Alpine huts and the story of Cleve Cole

June 28, 2024

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

From as early as 1860, cattlemen built huts on Victoria’s high plain to protect themselves from the elements. In 1937 the Cleve Cole memorial hut was built to honour a lost Victorian skiing pioneer. Read on to discover this piece of Victoria’s alpine history.

Kathleen Gawler: Uncovering a local connection

Kathleen Gawler: Uncovering a local connection

May 10, 2024

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Librarian Daniel Giddens discovers a local connection through the photograph albums of Kathleen Gawler, WWI nurse with the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve.

Strange lights in the sky: The Westall UFO event, 1966

Strange lights in the sky: The Westall UFO event, 1966

April 6, 2024

Ask a librarian, Cities & towns, Our stories, Victorian history:

On 6 April 1966, in a quiet suburb south east of Melbourne, reports emerged of something strange in the sky…

Caroline, the immigrants’ friend

Caroline, the immigrants’ friend

March 26, 2024

Ask a librarian, Our stories, Such was life, Victorian history:

When you follow your heart, your achievements often multiply. The remarkable philanthropist Caroline Chisholm achieved so much for us all. Read about an incredible woman who changed the lives of so many for the better.

From the Travelling Library to the Internet: a Library beyond the building

From the Travelling Library to the Internet: a Library beyond the building

February 1, 2024

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Since our opening we have looked at ways to connect with people who cannot come to our building. This includes a Travelling Library, a Country Member Postal Service and a Lending Library

The unsolved mystery of the ‘Pride of Australia’

The unsolved mystery of the ‘Pride of Australia’

November 3, 2023

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

In 1991, a seven-kilogram gold nugget was stolen from its display case in a daring raid on the Museum of Victoria. Speculation was rife that it was an inside job, but neither the thieves, nor the gold, were ever found.

‘Believe me to be your fellow laborer and friend’: The friendship between Redmond Barry and Augustus Tulk

‘Believe me to be your fellow laborer and friend’: The friendship between Redmond Barry and Augustus Tulk

October 24, 2023

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Sir Redmond Barry and Augustus Tulk are significant figures in the story of our State Library, as the first President and Chief Librarian. But what was their relationship like? Their personal correspondence provides an insight.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: ‘a lost masterpiece’

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: ‘a lost masterpiece’

September 27, 2023

Ask a librarian, Victorian history:

Last year marked the 75th anniversary of the publication in Melbourne of a novel compared by some to Leo Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace’, and described as ‘a lost masterpiece’. The novel in question, ‘Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow’, was by M. Barnard Eldershaw, the pseudonym adopted by Marjorie Barnard (1897-1987) and Flora Eldershaw (1897-1956) in a remarkable literary partnership that produced novels, short stories, literary criticism, essays and lectures.