The day the Sea Fury came to visit
Ask a librarian, Our stories, Victorian history:
It’s not every day that you see an aeroplane parked outside the Library, but this was the sight that greeted Victorians when they came to visit in 1953.
Meet Olivia Muscat, Volunteer Storyteller
Meet Olivia Muscat, writer, theatre critic, disability advocate,
educator, 2020 recipient of the Lesley Hall scholarship and Family
Programs volunteer!
Player payments and the great bribery scandal
In 1900, the VFL prohibited player payments. The upshot? Shady dealings with players, investigations, suspensions- and a pay rise.
The marvellous and macabre Waxworks, part two: sideshow magic and human curiosities
Social life & customs, Such was life:
Part two of the story of the Melbourne Waxworks, featuring a water nymph, the Chinese giant and the ‘half lady’ illusion.
Quarantine and the Little Red Bluff
Dr Barry Cotter (Melbourne’s first medical doctor) was preparing to leave for an extended tour of Europe when, in April 1840: On the eve of his departure the ship Glen… Read More ›
Make your own 19th-century paper puppy
Today we paws to celebrate the work of 19th-century Australian artist ST Gill, the subject of our new exhibition Australian sketchbook: Colonial life and the art of ST Gill.
On the ‘shick’ in Little Lon
Buildings & streets, Social life & customs, Such was life:
Of all the slums in inner Melbourne, ‘Little Lon’, was the most notorious. But there was more to the precinct than met the eye…
New Sights and Sounds in Arts
classical music, Dance, Film, jazz, Music, Musicals, opera, Popular music, Rare Books & Arts, rock:
Some great new arrivals include recent releases and acquisitions in popular, rock, musical theatre and film music, classical, jazz, chamber, ballet and opera on CD and Blu-Ray. All CDs listed… Read More ›
Blondin and his imitators
People & professions, Such was life:
In the 1870s, a visiting French tightrope walker inspired others to try the same- often with disastrous results.
The marvellous and macabre Waxworks, part one: ‘…the more murderers, the more it thrives.’
Social life & customs, Such was life:
Before true crime podcasts and books on serial killers, where did Melburnians go for their taste of the macabre? To the waxworks of course.
Such was life
Arts
‘It really belongs to you people anyway…’: The story of Ken Pound
To celebrate the Children’s Book Council of Australia Week, we pay tribute to the life of children’s literature collector, Ken Pound, and the collection he has left for us all.
