Duels in Melbourne
Social life & customs, Such was life:
Early one Thursday morning in June 1839, two young men at an empty racecourse stood 16 paces from one another armed with pistols. They were preparing to engage in Melbourne’s first duel.
Such was life
The Johnny Crow stories
Arts & literature, Our stories:
In the early twentieth century, author Leslie Brooke developed new techniques that were to influence many in what became the Golden Age of Children’s books.
The chaos and order of Marion Page
Our stories, Social life & customs:
Follow the journey of a large, multi-format Manuscript collection belonging to the late Marion Page from a South Yarra storage room to our Preservation team.
The Chief Librarian and the soap thieves
Our stories, People & professions:
In 1887, someone was stealing the State Library soap- or was it ‘someones’?
From celebrity to the streets, the power of photojournalism
Our stories, People & professions:
Over the course of his 50-year career, news photographer Bruce Postle captured images of the rich, the famous and the powerful. But on many occasions, his work also involved the most humble and vulnerable people in the community.
The Spare Corner Club
People & professions, Social life & customs, Such was life:
It was a cool summer’s day in 1940 when around fifty members of the Spare Corner Club met in the Fitzroy Gardens for lunch…
Liverpool to Melbourne: the newspaper
People & professions, Such was life:
During her 1854 voyage to Melbourne, the ‘Marco Polo’ published a weekly newspaper for passengers- which provides a vivid description to life on board.
King Arthur through the ages
Arts & literature, Musicals, Such was life:
King Arthur has a rich artistic and cultural legacy. Explore the rise and rise of Arthur, a king for the ages.
Walking the blue lake
Buildings & streets, Cities & towns, Our stories:
Dr David Sornig ponders the history of West Melbourne’s lost wetlands, and takes us on a collective journey around the area.
Hang ten with Rennie Ellis
Rennie Ellis combined his two true loves of surfing and photography when he captured the thrills of the annual Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach. A dozen of Ellis’s surf photographs are featured in The changing face of Victoria exhibition, ranging from 1970 to the mid-’80s.
