The history of hello
Social life & customs, Such was life:
You’re the first person in the world to answer the telephone- so what do you say; Hello? Hulloa? Hi? Anybody there?
Such was life
Monster Petition
In 1891 women throughout Victoria went door to door, gathering signatures for a women’s suffrage petition, which became known as the ‘monster petition’.
Matthew Flinders’ cat
People & professions, Such was life:
One of my favourite books in our children’s collection is a story written by explorer Matthew Flinders about his cat, Trim. This story languished for many years in the archives of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, until it was discovered and published in the literary magazine Overland in 1973.
Martha Needle – Melbourne’s 19th century serial poisoner
People & professions, Such was life:
In 1894, Martha Needle was sentenced to death for the murder of her prospective brother in law, Louis Juncken, and executed in the Old Melbourne Gaol. She was also said to have poisoned her husband Henry, their three daughters Mabel, Elsie and May, as well as attempting to murder Herman Juncken.
Victoria’s early horse trams
Social life & customs, Such was life:
In 1884 Melbourne’s first tramway- a horse tramway in Fairfield- was built to promote land sales in the area (100 years of Melbourne’s trams, pg 1). Two horses pulled a carriage containing… Read More ›
Romeo Street and Juliet Terrace (what’s in a name?)
Buildings & streets, Such was life:
In the 1870s Romeo Lane and Juliet Terrace in central Melbourne were home to men and women of the night. Supposedly men would ply their trade in Romeo Lane and… Read More ›
The Anti-Football League
Melbourne is routinely depicted as a sport loving city with our devotion to Australian Rules football characterised as an obsession. The writer George Johnston, author of the novel My Brother… Read More ›
Elves and fairies by Ethel Jackson Morris
Arts & literature, Such was life:
For many months a charming illustration of a fairy child and a kookaburra has graced the walls of the Library’s Cowen Gallery in the exhibition Once upon a time: a… Read More ›
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.
Melbourne’s historic skyline
Buildings & streets, Such was life:
Melbourne’s skyline developed rapidly once the first passenger lifts were installed. The L. Stevenson & Sons warehouse in Flinders Lane had two of the first hydraulic goods lifts installed in… Read More ›
