Family matters, Victorian history:
Australian Rules Football’s first superstar George Coulthard dominated the early days of the Victorian Football Association. A supreme athlete he was also a fine cricketer, both playing and umpiring Test cricket. Sometimes, though sport’s great triumphs collide with life, and life is not always fair.
![Detail of Blinky Bill and Mrs Koala, Dorothy Wall, [between 1933 and 1940?]; H2015.180/28](https://blogs.slv.vic.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/is009117-120x120.jpg)
Collection Care, Conservation:
Blinky Bill has been a favourite amongst Australian children since he first made an appearance in the 1933 book Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian. A collection of drawings by author and illustrator Dorothy Wall (1894–1942) were recently acquired by the Library – several of which have come to the Conservation Lab for assessment and treatment.
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
This year the Victorian Artists’ Society, East Melbourne, celebrates its 150th anniversary. We look back at the early years of its artistic journey.
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Reference desk, Victorian history:
Learn about the mysteries that have surrounded Black Rock house since its construction over 160 years ago
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
We mark World Rivers Day with snapshots of Victorian rivers, celebrating some of their history and the diverse roles they play.
Social life & customs, Such was life:
The Royal Melbourne Show has been cancelled this year so let’s look at how it came to be- and the fun times we can look forward to next year.
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
Melbourne’s Elizabeth Street was once a waterway known as Williams Creek. Today, the creek runs underground, but every now and then, it returns with a vengeance…
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
What do Melbourne’s first amusement park, a cafe and a court case have in common? The answer may not be what you think!
Ask a librarian, Collection spotlights, Our stories:
Most of us are very familiar with the wonderful stories of Roald Dahl, but did you know about his life-saving invention in the field of neuroscience?
Explores some often overlooked aspects of the migrant’s journey, including their motivation for emigrating, making preparations, leaving home for the last time, arriving at the port of departure, the voyage and life on board the ship.
The early 1900s was an exciting time to be a detective. Innovations in science and technology, combined with the popularity of detective stories shifted crime fighting away from the seedy world of informers, which had influenced the early years of policing, towards the detection of crime using scientific methods and forensic evidence. Find out about how one Victorian detective contributed to the development of police forensics.
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.
