‘Dear Yat’: postcards from a prime minister
A small collection of correspondence provides glimpses of a life-long friendship between Yatala Ovenden and John Curtin, who met while both members of the Victorian Socialist Party.
Such was life
Melbourne celebrates Victory in the Pacific Day
Social life & customs, Such was life, War:
Melbourne has likely never seen such an outbreak of spontaneous rejoicing and mass celebration, as it did on Victory in the Pacific Day, August 15 1945.
Adam Lindsay Gordon and the Adam & Eve Hotel
Collection Care, Preservation, Such was life:
A photograph of an old cottage inspires an investigation into the connections between Australian author Adam Lindsay Gordon, John Kinmont Moir and the mysterious Adam & Eve Hotel.
The Smith Trams and Trains Collection
Buildings & streets, Photography, Such was life:
The Library has recently digitised hundreds of images of Victorian trams and trains captured by a visiting enthusiast in the 1960s.
The Crossley Building: past, present and future
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?
Cigarette cards: preservation of a small, but unique collection
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.
Discovering Diener’s Ice Works: part two
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 ›
Time travelling with Sands & McDougall
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.
Discovering Diener’s Ice Works: part one
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 ›
The archive of a pioneer ‘slow’ food restaurant
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.
