The Rare Book Week program is LIVE! We're so excited to be presenting 'Making Public Histories: Why Republics Die'. rarebooksmelbourne.com

Melbourne’s trams have become moving works of art once more, as the First Peoples Melbourne Art Trams return to the city’s streets, launching as part of Rising. artsreview.com.au/risings-firs...

It's 1867 and Victorian physicians Dr. McCrea and Mr. Hutchison supply responses to a world-wide survey about leprosy. What results is the 'Report on Leprosy by the Royal College of Physicians prepared for Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonies.'

"She had a magnetic presence. You really wanted to be around her and wanted to be part of whatever change she was creating." How is Joan Kirner remembered, 36 years on from becoming our first female Premier? Read our latest blog post: go.vic.gov.au/4dIM0FF

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 27 May – 3 June. For more resources, information and events visit the Reconciliation Australia website www.reconciliation.org.au Artwork by renowned Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung artist Otis Hope Carey. #NationalReconciliationWeek2026 #NRW2026 #AWGSA

An assortment of historic church and marine records, Darebin, Pyrenees and Nillumbik council records, Omeo and Cassilis court registers and commercial building plans are among recent transfers to PROV's collection. Learn more about these most recent additions to our collection: go.vic.gov.au/4dKr69k

Family history researcher Neil is a descendant of Mary and William Oliver. At just 16, Mary was convicted to hang in the UK, but was then transported to Van Diemen's land for a life sentence. She escaped the convict system and married William in 1834...

The 1960s were a time of change. One of the biggest? Skirt lengths! From conservative to scandalous, the decade had it all!

This interactive online workshop from our friends at Oral History Victoria explores approaches and issues in creating written outputs from oral history interviews, using examples from Alistair’s oral history publications and from participants’ own work. events.humanitix.com/writing-oral...

Provenance 2026 is now online! Provenance is our free annual online journal featuring articles that utilise records from our vast historic collection to tell stories of Victoria's past. Read the issue now: go.vic.gov.au/4cOkd7D

Our Map Warper expert, Asa Letourneau, was pleased to host a workshop as part of Melton's Heritage Festival on Wednesday. The Festival continues through to 9 May with fascinating author talks, tours and workshops all related to Melton and Victorian history. 🎟️ www.melton.vic.gov.au/Out-n-About/...

PHA (Vic & Tas) is pleased to invite Australian historians to attend this half-day workshop: From Archives to Algorithms: Digital Methods and AI Tools for Historians. Space for non-members is VERY limited. Fees apply. www.phavic.org.au/event-items/...

ECRs! Don't forget that there's still time to apply for the 2026 Ann Curthoys Award, for unpublished work in Australian, feminist, Indigenous, transnational history, or history and theory! Follow the link for all the info: theaha.org.au/awards-and-p...

The Law Week program is out! Our sold out tour from last year 'The Constitution, the Governor and Royal Assent' is back! events.humanitix.com/the-constitu... Don't miss out on a great collection of events! www.viclawweek.org.au

To celebrate Chinese Language Day we re-share episode 10 of our Look History in the Eye podcast. In this episode, Anna Kyi explains the importance of 19th Century Victorian Chinese petitions in understanding the Australian Chinese immigrant experience of the goldfields. go.vic.gov.au/4mBZpDA

More tickets have been released for April's public tour! Discover the museum beyond the walls with one of our expert guides! A reminder that we do not accept resale tickets.

Revisit our Auslan tour of the archives this #AuslanDay!

Our latest episode of Look History in the Eye, Melbourne follows Sean Reynolds into the archives, where his Melbourne Ghost Signs research leads him through criminal files and forgotten stories of women long overlooked. Listen through Spotify, Apple Podcasts or our website: go.vic.gov.au/4snv2SM

Historians -- entries to the the NSW History Awards close tomorrow! Check out all the details at the link and make sure to get your applications in! www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/nsw-h...

Happy #WorldHealthDay - the perfect opportunity to revisit the history of women working in nursing and midwifery in Australia. Settle in for this hour long talk by Odette Best, Dr Madonna Grehan and Penelope Lee.

Don’t miss the final weeks of ‘Rewind Forward’ at the Victorian Archives Centre! Drawing from the State’s rich archives, five artists reawaken Victoria’s historical narrative: Emile Zile, Sam Wallman, Shannon Slee, Susan Fitzgerald, and Queer-ways. bit.ly/4bWQgjX Photograph by Astrid Mulder.

Now available to watch online! In Names in the Margins, author and historian Sean Reynolds uncovers the hidden lives of women revealed through his Melbourne Ghost Signs research. Watch on our YouTube channel: bit.ly/3MZreZb

It’s amazing what’s hidden in our glass plate negative collection! Our digitisation team have been busy scanning photographs of power stations, and they came across two beautiful portraits of an elegantly dressed woman. The images look slightly too casual to be official.

What can rate records reveal about your family history? So much more than you might think! On our blog, researcher Harry Firns shares the story of his ancestor George Firns using Bendigo rate records from the 1850s: go.vic.gov.au/4bvW3wL

The man she had just read about in the paper was the man she was engaged to! Read The One Who Got Away in Provenance: bit.ly/40rK1iV

Whose histories endure, whose are erased and how should we reckon with them today? Join us at the Victorian Archives Centre or online for a panel talk hosted by Santilla Chingaipe. Book your ticket: bit.ly/4rHi0QB #womenshistorymonth #IWD2026

In 1971, women in this country couldn’t even apply for a bank loan, and they’d had enough! Read our latest blog post: go.vic.gov.au/4sQ7asr

Hosted by Santilla Chingaipe, this Women's History Month talk brings together Dr Scarlette Nhi Do, Professor Zoë Laidlaw and PhD candidate Kacey Sinclair for a timely conversation about women’s influence in shaping Victoria’s past. Book your ticket: bit.ly/4rHi0QB

Bringing together historical and contemporary Australian artists and writers who have shaped how Antarctica is imagined, documented and understood, the RMIT Gallery and Design Hub Gallery presents Creative Antarctica: Australian Artists and Writers in the Far South. artsreview.com.au/australias-l...

Brettena Smyth: Making it better for women Tuesday, 10 March, 6pm Fiona Gatt will speak on how Brettena Smyth used her North Melbourne shop to spearhead feminist and suffrage efforts in late 19th-century Australia. www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/event/brette...

Geoff Bell, barely in his twenties, was placed in a nursing home - but he refused to accept it! Read our latest blog post: go.vic.gov.au/4bDauRd #disabilityinclusion #disabilityactivism #archives

The Winter Olympics celebrate sport on ice, these 1930s skate speak to the migrant experience Packed by 13year old Rob Davids when he left Holland for Australia in 1952, the skate travelled across oceans as a reminder of home, grandparents and a life shaped by winter. Ice skates 1930s 00046060

Not a tram in sight this #TrainsPlanesAutomobiles Tuesday: go.vic.gov.au/3O8AB96

HCV's first Book & Author chat is with Jessica Lake, the author of Special Damage: The Slander of Women and the Gendered History of Defamation Law. Thursday, 5 March, 6 pm at Bard's Apothecary, 24 Crossley Street, Melbourne. www.historycouncilvic.org.au/book_author_... #vichistoryevents

Did you know the OTB has a small collection of historic dresses? Your exclusive chance to view some of them in person is part of the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival’s Independent Programme! events.humanitix.com/crinoline-fl...

Tired of a life lived in secret, Jamie Gardiner OAM studied the law so he could change it. Read our latest blog post: go.vic.gov.au/3Npo68K #queerhistory #queerarchives #equality Interview from Bent TV, 2024. The link to the full interview is in our article.

In June 1983, the Victorian cabinet appointed a working party to investigate how brothels could be better regulated. As a result, in 1984 preparation began on a Bill to decriminalise prostitution in brothels with planning permits. Learn about 1980s sex work decriminalisation: go.vic.gov.au/4sT7Qx9

This small recipe book was compiled by Dr Snowball in 1883. His recipe for cheese biscuits states: Roll pastry and cut into rounds. Bake. Whip cream, add cheese, diced celery, salt and cayenne. Heap on biscuits. Serve on lettuce. 📖 VPRS 16797 P1. Find more of the Dr's records: go.vic.gov.au/3YOO6wQ

Wikipedia turns 25 today! 🎂📚 To celebrate, we’re looking back at its baby pictures—some of the earliest captures of the site, preserved in the #WaybackMachine. Take a nostalgic peek at early Wikipedia ⤵️ web.archive.org/web/20030301... #WikipediaDay #Wikipedia25 @wikipedia.org

OTB is excited to be joining the magnificent line up of events in this years PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival Independent Programme! Discover our events below:

"The reform record of Cain’s eight-year premiership was remarkable..."⁠ To mark the Cabinet records release of 1982-92, Paul Strangio reflects on the leadership, legacy and transformative impact of the Cain-Kirner era: go.vic.gov.au/49Hy1OA 📸 John Cain Jr's children James and Joanne with Paul. ⁠

Did you know? The Old Treasury Building is the third building to hold that title. The first Treasury was in William Street followed by 300 Queen Street. While the William Street building has been demolished, the Queen Street building is still there!

Last year we shared photos of the Victorian Railways toy mascot Tom Train. In 2026 we give you... the Tramways Board's Transporting George! Research other transport records in our collection: go.vic.gov.au/4jEWtER 📸 VPRS 12907/P1, Box 17.

The State Library and Archives of Tasmania is pleased to offer a 12-month fellowship program. In 2026, four Fellowships are available. Applications close: Friday 6 February 2026 libraries.tas.gov.au/slat/fellows... #phavictas

Did you know it took around 60 workmen to build the Old Treasury Building? Their equipment seems basic now, but this was the first documented use of a travelling crane in Melbourne!

Submissions are now open for the Griffith Review, issue 93. They are looking for submissions no more than 4,000 words on the theme: Into the Archive. www.griffithreview.com/for-writers/ #phavictas #griffithreview

There's no better place to be on a hot day than our temperature-controlled archive. Get a virtual sense of "cool" with a behind the scenes of ABC filming our recently opened Cabinet records. Learn more about the Cabinet records: url-shortener.me/3Y2F #Archives #History #Victoria #CabinetRecords

Did you catch 9 News last week? We showed Heidi newly opened Cabinet records including submissions and meeting papers on the Tennis Centre, State Bank and Docklands. Learn more about the records: url-shortener.me/3Y2F #Archives #History #Victoria #CabinetRecords #JohnCain #JoanKirner #1980s #1990s

Are you an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander researcher? There’s still a little time to apply to the Loris Williams Memorial Fund for financial assistance with study, research, or professional development in the archives and records sector. www.archivists.org.au/Web/Web/Care...

What can a Cabinet of “competent, committed people of good will” achieve in ten years? Cabinet records, opened last week, hold the answers! ⁠Learn more about the Cabinet records on our website. url-shortener.me/3Y2F #Archives #History #Victoria #CabinetRecords #JohnCain #JoanKirner #1980s #1990s⁠