People & professions

Guide Alice

Guide Alice

April 18, 2016

People & professions, Such was life:

Alice Manfield, or ‘Guide Alice’ as she came to be known, had a strange, romantic childhood on Mount Buffalo. She grew up to become a talented naturalist, photographer and writer, as well as an unlikely feminist figure.

Law making and breaking in colonial Victoria

Law making and breaking in colonial Victoria

March 9, 2016

People & professions, Social life & customs, Such was life:

Criminals, crime and justice in colonial Victoria!

The discovery of a plan

The discovery of a plan

February 17, 2016

Buildings & streets, People & professions, Such was life:

Edna Walling created beautiful watercolour designs of her gardens and now Manuscripts staff have just discovered another one, found in the papers of a former Victorian Premier.

The Howard Arkley Archive

The Howard Arkley Archive

December 14, 2015

People & professions, Such was life:

Howard Arkley (1951-1999) is acknowledged as one of the most important artists in contemporary Australian art. His archive was acquired by the Library in 2011 and consists of hundreds of drawings, sketches, watercolours, photographs and diaries which give insights into Arkley’s planning processes, influences and reading.

The map that changed the world

The map that changed the world

November 17, 2015

People & professions, Such was life:

This year marks the bicentenary of the publication of the first geological map of England and Wales, laying the foundations for geological surveys across the world.

Rev Wong with children in Collingwood, holding oranges. Photographer: T. W. Cameron

Lights and shades of city life

June 19, 2015

People & professions, Such was life:

In the 1920s Reverend George Wong was a minister at the Collingwood Methodist Church, helping the poor, teaching at kindergarten and lecturing around Victoria about the life of Melbourne’s poor with the help of a limelight projector.

Tiger in the goldfields

Tiger in the goldfields

June 9, 2015

People & professions, Such was life:

Ballarat: Sunday 8th July, 1855: ‘Got home and found the tent afloat and my blankets wet…Kindled fire and cleaned up tent. Boiled kettle and prepared supper. Ironing my blankets, I burned one of them.’

Dan Morgan: bushranger

Dan Morgan: bushranger

April 7, 2015

People & professions, Such was life, Uncategorized:

It is 150 years since the death of the bushranger known as Dan Morgan.

Making an exhibition of yourself

Making an exhibition of yourself

March 18, 2015

People & professions, Such was life:

Want to meet some ordinary Melbournians from the 1880s? About 500 of them lurk in the pages of a ‘security album’ from the spectacular Melbourne Centennial Exhibition, held in 1888.

Does my bustle look big in this?

Does my bustle look big in this?

February 20, 2015

People & professions, Such was life:

The Centennial Exhibition of 1888 at Melbourne’s Exhibition Buildings was a motza for women. Posh citizens complained about the lack of servants – young women had flocked to the better pay and free fun down at the exhibition.