State Library of Victoria Local History treasures

I am going to tell you today about some of the treasures at the State Library of Victoria. They have lots of treasures, but these ones relate specifically to local history.  Firstly, they have  a huge range of digitised photographs and secondly they have  a great range of digitised historic maps. I did  a search on Gembrook, but could have chosen any other town in Victoria and I found this Real Estate poster, advertising 'Holiday home blocks'. It isn't dated but it is after 1900 when the Ferntree Gully to Gembrook railway line opened on December 19. This railway line is, of course, the Puffing Billy line.

Gembrook Hills holiday home blocks [cartographic material]. 

State Library of Victoria collection.

People came to Gembrook for the fresh country air and the spectacular scenery, as shown in these images below.

Fairies Delight, Gembrook 1908.
State Library of Victoria  Image H2009.192/3.

 

Ferns in the Gully, Gembrook.

State Library of Victoria Image H32492/2170

If you want to know what resources the State Library of Victoria  have in their collection which relate to your town, then go to their website www.slv.vic.gov.au and just type in  a name.  You can then narrow the search by item type such as Maps or Photographs. Happy searching!

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Ash Wednesday Bushfire Photographs

Over the past year we have been involved with a State Library of Victoria initiative, the Memory Victoria Project. This has been a three part project with the aim of better management of the Local History collections in Victorian Public Libraries. History Collections in our Library and other public Libraries were assessed by professional historians. Library staff were then given training to help conserve these collections. Thirdly ‘treasures’ were selected from the collections and toured 12 Libraries in Regional Victoria in a Memory Victoria Roadshow.

The material selected for the Roadshow told the unique story of a local area and all the material displayed was linked to the themes of life on the land and community connections. Photographs taken immediately after the Ash Wednesday fires at Cockatoo, by Shire of Pakenham Officers, were chosen from our collection. These photographs documented the aftermath of the fires and the devastation that they caused to the town of Cockatoo. They also show how the Community came together after the Fires.

The Memory Victoria project had a number of benefits for us – our collection was assessed by a professional historian and expert advice was given to help conserve the collection. Secondly, the Roadshow display gave many people a chance to view a part of our collection not normally on public display. Finally, material was displayed from only five public libraries, so it was a privilege to be part of the Roadshow. It is also an honour that Casey Cardinia Library Corporation has a collection of photographs considered to be of State significance, some of which are shown here.

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Preserving family treasures

Your family would own many precious historical documents and items. You might have a collection of old photographs, papers from Grandpa's business, old love letters or letters sent back from the Front in the First World War, Grandma's wedding dress or even Aunty Joan's 1950s belle of the ball gown.

There are many useful Internet sites with information on preserving your family treasures. The Collections Australia network is the public gateway to Australian Collecting Institutions such as Museums and Galleries http://www.collectionsaustralia.net/ Type in ReCollections in search box. ReCollections provides professional advice for the preventative care of items such as books, photographs, papers, leather, wood and textiles such as clothing or embroideries.
The State Library of Victoria http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ also provides information on correct storage of precious books, papers and photographs. Click on Services then Conservation advice then Information guides or follow this link http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/services/conservation/index.html
Finally the National Archives of Australia http://www.naa.gov.au/ The N.A.A provides a range of preservation information. Click on Records Management then Secure, store and preserve or follow this link http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/secure-and-store/index.aspx

Proper storage of family treasures will help preserve them for future generations. Sadly, we no longer have Grandma's wedding dress, but this is the wedding photograph of my Grandparents, Joseph Rouse and Eva Weatherhead, who were married at the Methodist Church at Garfield on November 22nd, 1922.

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