Buildings & streets, People & professions, Such was life:
The Crossley Building on Bourke Street holds the history of one of Melbourne’s earliest, pre gold-rush retail and residential developments. For 60 years it was home to the iconic haberdashery business, Job Warehouse, which closed in 2012. Untenanted ever since and significantly run-down, where to next for this important piece of Melbourne’s built heritage?
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Reference desk, Victorian history:
A grandstand made out of a tree stump? A racecourse in a forest? Join us as we ponder our question of the week.
Collection Care, Our stories, Preservation, Social life & customs:
Collectible cards as we know them today have a very long tradition, dating back to the mid-late nineteenth century with the production of cigarette cards. A small, but unique collection of these wonderful items were recently rehoused by our Preservation team.
Ask a librarian, Victorian history:
‘Everyone agreed the day was just right for the picnic to Hanging Rock…’
By Paul Dee, Senior Librarian Victorian and Australian Collections Trove is the National Library’s online portal to more than 6 billion artefacts, curiosities and stories from Australia’s cultural, community and research institutions.… Read More ›
Buildings & streets, People & professions, Research guides, Research tips & tricks, Social life & customs, Such was life, War:
The second and final part of a blog about flâneurs and research in the time of covid-19 As you can read in part one, this blog was inspired by daily… Read More ›
Buildings & streets, People & professions, Such was life:
Bell hangers and nightmen, leech merchants and lightermen; these are just some of the nineteenth century characters you may find lurking within the pages of a Sands & McDougall directory.
Joseph Jenkins (1818–98) was a farmer and poet from Tregaron, Wales. From his early twenties until his death, he kept a diary, written in both Welsh (his mother tongue) and… Read More ›
Buildings & streets, People & professions, Research guides, Research tips & tricks, Social life & customs, Such was life, War:
This is the first of a two-part blog about flâneurs and research in the time of covid-19 A daily walk has become an essential part of many people’s routines in… Read More ›
Collection Care, People & professions, Preservation, Social life & customs, Such was life:
Coinciding with the reopening of many of Victoria’s restaurants after lockdown, we celebrate the story of Sunnybrae, a much-loved regional restaurant ‘in the middle of a paddock’, and the early innovations in food provenance and seasonal, sustainable produce that it became known for.
In 1934, Australian aviator, Freda Thompson, made history as the first Australian woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Thompson was a pioneer who believed the sky was the limit – she wanted to reach that limit, to feel the adrenaline, to just fly.
Ailsa O’Connor (1921-1980) was a political activist, painter, sculptor, author and teacher. Throughout her art career she was a member of the Communist Party and associated with the Socialist Realist Group.
