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.
Cities & towns
A darkroom on wheels
Cities & towns, Such was life:
An itinerant immigrant from Scotland took some fascinating photos of the Western District in the 1850s.
On a visit to the Cremorne Gardens
Cities & towns, Exhibitions, People & professions:
Opened in 1853 on the banks of the Yarra River, the Cremorne Gardens was Melbourne’s first amusement park. Featuring fireworks displays, tightrope dancers and Australia’s first hot air balloon ascent, the gardens brought theatre and spectacle to the newly established British colony.
The erasure of Melbourne’s wetlands
Buildings & streets, Cities & towns, Such was life:
Creative fellow and author, Dr David Sornig, shows us how the library’s maps and manuscripts chart the demise of West Melbourne’s wetlands in his special guest blog this week. Welcome David.
Glorious news! Separation at last!
Cities & towns, Such was life:
Victoria is celebrating the 165th anniversary of its own Brexit, the day colonists won independence from the British colony of NSW. To mark the occasion, an exhibition of rare historical artwork and records has gone on display at the Library.
Settlement at Sullivan Bay
Cities & towns, Such was life:
Was the British settlement of Sorrento in 1803 Victoria’s first attempt at a desalinisation plant?
The Mallee
Cities & towns, Such was life:
‘I can readily imagine why most people speak of this part of the country with a certain dread for there is actually no grass and no water to be found.’
State Library Victoria: open for 160 years
Cities & towns, Such was life:
On the Library’s 160th birthday we look at events which have shaped Victoria since 1856.
Echuca’s anniversary
Cities & towns, Such was life:
In 1864 the railway connecting Melbourne to Echuca opened. This had an enormous effect on the town, with the resultant increase in trade turning Echuca into Australia’s largest inland port.
Violet Town railway disaster
Cities & towns, Such was life:
On a very hot Friday, 7 February, 1969, just after 7.00am, the Southern Aurora, Australia’s overnight express passenger train between Sydney and Melbourne, collided head-on with an Albury-bound goods train, 174km north of Melbourne. The Melbourne-bound Southern Aurora ran through the Violet Town crossing loop where it should have waited for the goods train to pass.
