Bushfire and aftermath
Flying over fire-ravaged land, photographer John Gollings looked down on the Hume Highway as Victoria reeled from the deadliest fires in recorded history.
Miss Talbot’s gift
Arts & literature, Such was life:
In 1937 the Library received 24 original works by William Henry Fox Talbot, one of the inventors of photography.
Melbourne Writers Festival moves to State Library Victoria
Melbourne Writers Festival (MWF) and State Library Victoria today announced a major partnership that will see our city’s biggest and best literary arts festival take up residence in Australia’s busiest… Read More ›
A $2 million donation to State Library Victoria puts kids in charge
News:
Young Victorians keen to read and learn will be the main beneficiaries of the most recent $2 million donation to State Library Victoria.
New Gold Mountain
Our stories, People & professions:
For the Chinese immigrants who flocked to Victorian goldfields in the 1850s, the journey began in Canton or Hong Kong and included several months at sea before arriving in Victoria, or ‘New Gold Mountain’.
What about the women? – Part 2
Our stories, People & professions, Social life & customs:
Piece together the stories of Mary Ann and Eliza Henty and their role in Victoria’s first European settlement.
2018 in ebooks
Our Ebook collection is growing each month. We currently have over 16,000 ebooks available, including autobiographies, literary fiction, travel guides, young adult non-fiction, health and medicine, home and garden and much more. Explore the titles that were most popular in 2018.
What about the women? – Part 1
Our stories, People & professions, Social life & customs:
Uprooted to join your husband of no more than a couple of years to settle in an unknown place. This is the story of the wives of the Henty brothers, early settlers credited with establishing Victoria’s first European settlement.
A nation of immigrants
Learn about the history of immigration in Australia, from the First Fleet and the Gold Rush to WWI and the White Australia policy.
Fighting Jack: Melbourne’s first boxing kangaroo
Social life & customs, Such was life:
What are the origins of our national sporting symbol, the boxing kangaroo?
Such was life
Feasts of Christmas past
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.
Arts
Portraits of Melbourne artists in their studios
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.
