Christmas and holiday traditions we love
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Victorian history:
Take a festive jaunt through our image archive as we explore some of our most beloved Christmas and holiday traditions.
Victorian history
Luna Park: 110 years of fun
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
You can’t visit Melbourne and not at least have a selfie with the iconic entrance of Luna Park, a favourite spot for fun-seekers of any age.
Your local milk bar
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Victorian history:
Take a walk down memory lane as we explore a newly digitised collection of photographs of milkbars from the 70s and 80s taken by Melbourne photographer, Christopher van der Craats.
Melbourne’s murals: capturing a history of our street art scene
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Melbourne is famous for its cafes, laneways and of course, its street art. CBD sites like Hosier Lane and Duckboard Place boast bright murals that people from all around the world now travel to see and to take that quintessential selfie in a painted laneway. We truly own our title as the street art capital of Australia!
Modern dance individualism: the art of Sonia Revid
Arts & literature, Ask a librarian, Dance, Such was life, Victorian history:
In 1932 Latvian born Sonia Revid brought expressionist dance to Melbourne. In Berlin in 1921 Sonia had studied under Mary Wigman, but developed her own unique style. Her performances included spoken word and introduced Melbournians to modern interpretive dance. She opened a dance school and was a notable figure in the local art scene of the 1930s. Unfortunately she died in 1947 at age 45.
Federation Square — a brief history
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
A look back, tracing some of the history of Melbourne – on and around the site of Federation Square.
From Bavaria to Ballarat: wild times with Lola Montez
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
From love affairs with kings, to political intrigue, to wild times in the Australian goldfields and cities, few have lived lives as riotous or colourful as Lola Montez.
The family that grew up with the Melbourne Zoo
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Victorian history:
Learn how one family’s singular obsession with the natural world contributed to the Melbourne Zoo we know today.
From Frankston to Melbourne on foot: marathon running in Victoria
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
On 10 October 1909, 54 runners lined up at Frankston to compete in the first ever Victorian Marathon. Since that date marathon races have been a constant, and much loved, feature of the Victorian sporting calendar.
Message in a bottle
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
There is always a romance to a bottle washed up on a lonely shore, containing a message from the past and from far away. This may be a message of greeting, of despair, for science or sometimes even a hoax.
