Social History
The Old Melbourne Gaol is a vivid and stark reminder of the 19th Century prison life. Only one cell block remains of the original complex, built approximately 150 years ago. The gaol opened in 1845 and closed in 1929, and was the site of 135 executions, including the infamous Ned Kelly. Since closing in 1929 the Gaol has been used as a police storage facility and military detention centre during WWII.Three particular features of our collection are an original suit of Kelly Gang armour, Ned Kelly's death mask and Ned Kelly's pistol. The gaol also house a large number of artefacts. Of...
The Australian Racing Museum is dedicated to the preservation, study and display of the nation's racing heritage. Established in 1974, under the patronage of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, the museum celebrates the past, present and future of racing. It is the only museum devoted to horse racing in Australia.The museum's collection illustrates the diverse history of racing through a collection of artwork, trophies, colours, photographs, memorabilia, riding gear, equipment and ephemera. The collection is continually growing with an active program of acquisitions, donations and loans.
The Performing Arts Museum of the Victorian Arts Centre exists to preserve, manage and make accessible Australia's performing arts history and traditions. The Museum was founded in 1977 and since that time has worked closely with the performing arts community to build a unique collection of material which tells the story of the performing arts in Australia.The Performing Arts Museum collection contains costumes and accessories, stage designs, props, photographs, posters, programmes and personal memorabilia relating to many of Australia's foremost companies and performers including Dame Nellie...
The three houses at Coventry Street are among the few 19th Century prefabricated iron buildings remaining in the world. Students of building, architecture, industrial archaeology as well as social history will find them of interest.
An audio visual tour provides a comrehensive account of these buildings in the history of white settlement in Australia and during the Gold Rush years in Victoria particularly.
An audio visual tour provides a comrehensive account of these buildings in the history of white settlement in Australia and during the Gold Rush years in Victoria particularly.
Completed in 1890, Labassa is a French Renaissance mansion significant for the relative completeness of its richly decorated and finely executed interiors.300 objects. Labassa features detailed stencilling, rich heavy wallpapers and a grand staircase with a magnificent stained-glass window and rare trompe l'oeil ceiling.
Barwon Grange is an elegant intact brick home dating from Geelong's earliest residential settlement. It was built in 1855 and reflects the asperations of middle class businessman Jonathan Porter O'Brien and his family who had emigrated from Liverpool, U.K. The architecture is picturesque Gothic style with steep gables, unusual decorative timber bargeboards and verandah parapet.The interior contains a fine collection of early Victorian furniture and fittings faithfully accumulated according to an inventory compiled when the house was auctioned in 1856. The garden that complements the house...
Built in 1869 for Thomas and Elizabeth Austin by the Geelong architects Davidson and Henderson, Barwon Park is a majestic 42-room bluestone mansion and stables at Winchelsea.The interiors of the house remain largely in original condition. The fine plaster decoration in the elegantly proportioned principal rooms is noteworthy. The grand staircase is also a striking feature which resonates with the glory of Victoria's pastoral heritage.
A visit to the Goldrush era Bendigo Joss House (house of Prayer) at Emu Point provides a glimpse into the Chinese culture and tradition in Australia. Significant as the only surviving building of its kind in regional Victoria, it continues to be used as a place of worship.One of Bendigo's original buildings, it is constructed from timber and local handmade bricks and contains a collection of Chinese artefacts.
The Mooramong Homestead, built in the early 1870s, was extensively altered in 1937 to conform to contemporary American tastes. It reflects the elegant lifestyle of D.J.S. (Scobie) Mackinnon and his wife, the Hollywood silent screen star Clare Adams, and remains furnished as lived in by the Mackinnons.Surrounded by hundreds of acres of operating farmland, the National Trust has established a flora and fauna reserve according to the wishes of the previous owners. It is home to a significant population of the endangered species Eastern Barred Bandicoot and a wide variety of native birdlife.
Very different from modern retailing and pharmacy is Dow's Pharmacy in Chiltern. The extent to which retailing and the science of pharmacy and medicine have changed is well highlighted at Dow's Pharmacy. Built in 1859, the pharmacy remained open until 1968 and was operated by Hilda and Roy Dow
from 1929.You will find many original shop fittings, records and
pharmaceutical equipment.
from 1929.You will find many original shop fittings, records and
pharmaceutical equipment.
Established in 1859, this is one of the few substantially intact provincial newspaper printeries remaining from the gold mining era.Printing presses and related items.
The mission of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) is to be an independent membership organisation committed to the conservation of our heritage by our own action and by involvement and education of the community. Tasma Terrace is the principal office and is open weekdays, 9.00am to 5.00pm for enquiries, joining the trust and purchase of books and gifts. It is not however a museum property.The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) manages and opens the doors of many significant historical properties and gardens across Victoria. See separate Guide entries for Como Historic House and...
Divided into sub-sections: Forestry, Ski Patrol, CFA, Ski Industry, and Early History. The collection contains many pairs of skis, boots, snowbards, ice skating boots, handmade clothing, ski clothing, film footage, photographs, videos, posters, slides, books, magazines, flags, uniforms, lift equipment, T- Bars, and other sking paraphernalia such as 'skins', 'nutcrackers', and 'wax'.Not only is the place of the museum unique, the subject matter of the museum is itself special and because of its individuality it is worthy of preservation and display. Nowhere else is it possible to view the...
Como is one of few surviving large suburbab estates, dating from 1847, just over 10 years after European settlement of the Port Phillip district. For 95 years it was owned by the Armytage family, prominent graziers and well known members of Melbourne society. Much of their original furniture is in the house today. The house is surrounded by 6.5 acres of beautiful gardens.Approximtely 1500 pieces of furniture and decorative arts objects, mostly original to the Armytage family's period of ownership. (1864 - 1959)
The Tilly Aston Heritage Collection is owned by Vision Australia Foundation, an organisation that has operated as a service provider for blind and vision impaired people since 1895. The collection's namesake, Tilly Aston, co founded the Association for the Advancement of the Blind (now Vision Australia Foundation), at the age of 21 and successfully obtained voting rights, transport concessions and a pension for blind people in addition to free postage for Braille material. Many of these achievements were at the forefront of worldwide change. The heritage collection represents this amazing...
Voluntary organisation - collects artefacts, documents, photographs of historical significance relating to Phillip Island and District to preserve our heritage. We maintain and staff a museum open to the public. The society meets on 1st Wednesday of the month at 8.00pm. We have a guest speaker at each meeting and visitors are welcome.The Society's collection consists of local community archival records, many historical photographs. Objects relating to the early settlers.
The Nillumbik Historical Society's aim is to collect and preserve historical documents, articles and historic sites. The society's headquarters is a stone farmers cottage erected in 1865, which it operates as a museum and storage centre. The Society's collection includes some 1800 historic photos, in most cases accompanied with a slide and a negative, biographies of 90 local families and institutions, and artefacts and memorabilia.
A tem of speakers visit schools and local interest groups. Displays of historic photographs are mounted as requested. Because Diamond Creek was a gold mining town,...
A tem of speakers visit schools and local interest groups. Displays of historic photographs are mounted as requested. Because Diamond Creek was a gold mining town,...
This is a substantial collection of material relating to the Women's Liberation Movement in Victoria from 1969 onwards. The collection includes conference papers, minutes of meetings, publications, posters, banners, badges, T-Shirts, articles, photos and leaflets.There are over 400 boxes of material, a map drawer full of posters, ad several special boxes for banners and T-shirts, a unique collection of historical material from the Women in Victoria.
The Kyneton Museum collection is housed in a group of buildings, the most substantial of which was built in 1856 from local bluestone for the infant Bank of New South Wales. The branch was opened to service miners of the region's goldfields. Original outbuildings include kitchens, celler and stables, and these have been augmented by various outbuildings including an original settlers cottage which was relocated here in 1970. The outbuildings house the extensive agricultural display, whilst the kitchen and laundry show authentic household utensils. An original settler's cottage 'Theaden' is...
The museum is housed in an original 1947 Nissan Building which has been given to the town of Camperdown to be managed by the local service clubs. Guided tours of the restored carriages and buggies recall the bygone era of horse-drawn transport.16 carriages in the Ower St building and 6 in the Old Four Mill, all date from before the turn of the 19th century.