Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories:
Do you have a fondness for fondue, a preference for piroshki, a hankering for empanadas, or wish to savour strudel? Well, our Food and Drink in History database has these recipes and many, many more from many countries and many eras. The database explores the historical evolution of food and drink through the ages and through cultures across the world.
State Library Victoria is saddened by the passing of Sir James Gobbo, AC, CVO, QC., 25th Governor of Victoria.
News:
In celebration of the spooky season, we asked staff at the Library to share some eerie, mysterious and spine-chilling tales from their years, and sometimes decades, walking its historic halls.
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Discover the diverse collection of works on religion and spirituality held at the State Library Victoria – they are for everyone no matter what path you travel.
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The Mahlstedt Fire Insurance Plans show Melbourne’s CBD in precise detail. Learn how these incredible resources can be used to track changes to the city throughout the years.
Some of the Library’s volunteers have been correcting the text of digitised historical Victorian newspapers, and in so doing, revealing more about our past.
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
Spanish flu arrived in Australia in January 1919. With masks, closures, quarantine, inter-governmental squabbles and death, the events of a century ago resonate very keenly today.
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What do frogs and salamanders have in common? What’s the largest coral reef on Earth? And who wrote the picture book, ‘Possum Magic’? The Britannica Kids online encyclopaedia doesn’t just offer answers to these questions.
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What do Paris’s Eiffel Tower, Seattle’s Space Needle and Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building all have in common? Read on to find out!
What are your favourite festive food memories? Have you ever enjoyed Christmas Day lunch on the beach, up a mountain or aboard a ship? Do you remember pineapple glazed ham? Would you like the 100-year-old recipe for walnut stuffing? The State Library’s historic menus, cookbooks, photos and magazines trace Christmas foods from early colonial tables to the festive flavours celebrated by our diverse migrant communities. Dive in and rediscover your favourite Christmas dishes — or find inspiration for this year’s feast.
John Hinds, an artist, photographer and active ROAR member from 1986 to 1992 spent time capturing artists he personally knew and the spaces that they used to create their works. His photographs captured a unique and often unseen time and place, creating an invaluable insight into the art scene in Melbourne.
