The map that changed the world
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.
People & professions
Lights and shades of city life
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
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
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
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?
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.
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.
Prince down a mine shaft!
People & professions, Such was life:
The most conservative of commentators would describe the 1867-8 Australian visit of the Duke of Edinburgh as ‘eventful’. Even before the Duke survived an assassination attempt, he raised eyebrows by voyaging… Read More ›
Tales of crime in Australia
People & professions, Such was life:
The 1894 book Tales of crime and criminals in Australia, which can be viewed online, is an absorbing look at Victoria’s early criminal history. Far from being just a record of… Read More ›
