Museum Victoria
Museum Victoria is responsible for the state's scientific and cultural collections, providing public access through three museums; Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens, Scienceworks and Melbourne Planetarium in Spotswood, and the Immigration Museum in Melbourne's Old Customs House in Flinders Street.
The National Museum of Victoria was established in 1854. The collection contains more than 16 million individual items. These objects are organised within three areas - Sciences, Indigenous Cultures, History & Technology.
- museumvictoria.com.au
- 11 Nicholson Street
- Carlton
- Victoria
- 3053
- Australia
- 13 11 02
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| ID Local | Title | Description Brief | Updated |
| 4332 | A.J. Campbell Collection | The A.J. Campbell photographic Collection came into Museum Victoria's care on 22 December 1915 and forms part of a much larger holding which includes 1,884 specimens and an archive of letters, manuscripts, photographs, notes and sketches. In the early 1990s the collection was separated into two areas: the archival material (which generally relates to Campbell's ornithological activities) and the specimens are placed in the Ornithology Department, and the photographs and glass negatives were registered into the History and Technology Collection. Coverage: Flinders Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania, Australia; Ferntree Gully, Victoria, Austalia; Werribee, Victoria, Austalia; Upper Yarra Valley, Victoria, Austalia; Phillip Island, Victoria, Austalia; Victoria, Australia; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Hinchinbrook Island, Queensland, Australia; Great Barrier Reef, Dunk Island, Queensland, Australia; Dunk Island, Queensland, Australia; Green Island, Queensland, Australia; Riverina, New South Wales, Australia; Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia; Bass Strait, Tasmania, Australia; King Island, Bass Strait, Tasmania, Australia; Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4333 | Albert Edward Kemp Mourning Collection | The Albert Edward Kemp Mourning Collection comprises 69 objects acquired by Museum Victoria in 2006. It represents one family's memoralization of a soldier who died in World War I, leaving a young family to mourn him. His widow and later his daughter cherished the few items remaining from his service: letters and postcards from and to the front, sweetheat brooches and photographs of him in uniform. They also kept the heart-breaking letters advising of his death and how he died, and later correspondence concerning official recognition of his sacrifice: a tree in an avenue of honor, a scroll, medals and a plaque, and his grave at 29 The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium. Coverage: Belgium; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4363 | Anna Apinis: Latvian Migrant Weaver's Collection | The Apinis weaving collection contains over 150 objects made and used by Latvian migrants, Anna, Ervin and Anita Apinis, in the maintenance of traditional skills and cultural heritage associated with the artistic practice of weaving. It includes brought objects, examples of weaving, photographs and audio visual oral histories. It has been acquired by Museum Victoria in stages since the relationship with the family was first established as part of the immigration and artistic practice project in 1992. Coverage: Germany; Victoria, Australia; Latvia; New South Wales, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4372 | Antarctica Collection | Museum Victoria holds a significant collection of over 1600 Antarctic artefacts and images, dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Objects in the collection have mainly been donated by expeditioners with the largest part of the collection acquired through the efforts of Dr Phillip Law. The Antarctica collection consists of objects relating to the history of Antarctic exploration but the Museum's natural history collections also includes many Antarctic and sub-Antarctic specimens. Coverage: Antarctica; United Kingdom; Shackelton's Hut, Antarctica; Casey Base, Antarctica; Wilkes Base, Antarctica; Heard Island; Mawson Base, Antarctica; Davis Base, Antarctica; Australia; Law Base, Antarctica | 30 May 2012 |
| 4394 | Economic Botany Collection | The Economic Botany Collection consists of over 12,000 specimens, models, illustrations and displays. The majority of the collection was established in the 19th century under the direction of the Industrial and Technological Museum's Director, Cosmo Newbry and guidance of government botanist, Ferdinand Von Mueller. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; Paris, France; Calcutta, India; London, England, United Kingdom; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Philadelphia, United States of America | 30 May 2012 |
| 4392 | Fairfield Hospital Collection | The collection acquired by Museum Victoria in 2008 comprises over 200 objects covering the entire period of the hospital's history and represents the areas of nursing, medicine, administration, pharmaceuticals, occupational therapy, infectious disease care and control, disability and mobility aids. Coverage: Fairfield, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4386 | Francis Collection | The Francis Collection of pre-cinematic apparatus and ephemera was acquired by the Australian and Victorian Governments in 1975. It was assembled by David Francis, who is a British film archivist and academic. It contains over 5500 objects related to pre-cinema, including almost 5000 glass magic lantern slides. A complimentary collection of rare books on pre-cinema and early cinema history is held within the AFI Research Collection at RMIT's School of Media and Communication. Coverage: Italy; Victoria, Australia; United Kingdom; France; Germany | 30 May 2012 |
| 4375 | H.V. McKay Sunshine Collection | The McKay collection includes over 13,000 photographs, 750 films, more than 3,000 trade publications, working models of equipment, company archives and other objects. The collection began with donations from Hugh Victor McKay in the first decade of the 20th century, and a number of important family donations were made during the 1960s. The largest donation came as the result of an employee rescuing material from a dumpster in the 1980s. The collection ranges from the 1880s to the most recent agricultural developments and maps the changing fortunes of Australian manufacturing and export markets. Coverage: New Zealand; Australasia; Africa; Asia; United Kingdom; Sunshine, Victoria, Australia; North America; South America; Canada | 30 May 2012 |
| 4318 | International Harvester Collection | Acquired by Museum Victoria from International Trucks Pty Ltd in 1992, this collection comprises a large number of glass plate and film negatives, transparencies, photo albums, product catalogues, videos, motion picture films, company journals, advertisements and newspaper cuttings relating to the Australian operations of the International Harvester Company.The International Harvester Company of America was formed in 1902 by the merger of five leading US agricultural machinery manufacturers. An Australian subsidiary was established in 1912 to manage Australian distribution and sales and went on to establish local manufacturing works at Geelong, Dandenong and Port Melbourne. International Harvester was a major competitor to other Australian manufacturers such as H.V. McKay's Sunshine Harvester Works. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; New South Wales, Australia; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; Dandenong, Victoria, Australia; Gippsland, Victoria, Australia; Geelong, Victoria, Australia; Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4399 | Le Forgeron Marionette Collection | The Le Forgeron Marionette Collection includes 146 puppets and related items. There is also a small archive of newspaper clippings, programs, scripts and other documents, and a short film segment, which document the history and operation of the company. The collection spans the entire history of the Le Forgeron puppet troupe from its establishment in the late 1920s to its last performances in 1956. It is a rare surviving example of the travelling performing troupes which regularly toured throughout Australia until the 1960s. Coverage: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; St Kilda, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4354 | Migration Collection | The Migration Collection consists of over 5,500 items which provide an overview of the many and diverse people who have migrated to Victoria since the 1830s, their motivations for coming, the material they brought with them, items accumulated on the journey, and the objects they made and acquired after settling here. The Numismatics, Transport and Cultural Diversity collections also contain objects which have direct relevance to the Migration Collection. Coverage: Austria; Poland; China; Chile; South Africa; Victoria, Australia; Japan; Italy; Germany | 30 May 2012 |
| 4346 | Dr Thomas George Beckett Collection | Museum Victoria holds over 300 photographs - glass plate negatives and prints - taken by Thomas George Beckett between 1891 and 1911. Beckett's photographs include a wide range of subject matters including domestic environments, hospitals, houses and mansions, portraits, private gardens, shops, streetscapes, wharves and x-ray apparatus. The various suburbs and their environments in which he lived in around Melbourne (Charlton, Northcote, South Yarra and Fitzroy) are the backdrop for much of the collection. Coverage: London, England, United Kingdom; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Northcote, Victoria, Australia; Bendigo, Victoria, Australia; Charlton, Victoria, Australia; Williamstown, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4374 | Daniel Harvey Collection | The Daniel Harvey Collection contains over 450 photographs and glass negatives of the products, staff and premises of Daniel Harvey Pty Ltd Agricultural Implement Manufacturer, Box Hill, Victoria, as well as images relating to the life of Daniel Harvey and his family. The collection covers the company's entire history from its establishment in 1911 until 1963, when it was taken over by Horwood Bagshaw, and the Harvey family history from the 1900s to the 1960s. Museum Victoria also has a substantial collection of Daniel Harvey trade literature. Coverage: Box Hill, Victoria, Australia; Doncaster, Victoria, Australia; Hastings, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4334 | Australian Children's Folklore Collection | The Australian Children's Folklore Collection (ACFC) documents children's verbal folkloric traditions from the 1870s to the present. It includes more than 10,000 card files and over 1,000 pages of letters recording children's stories, games and jokes. In addition, the collection consists of 300 toys and objects used in play as well as photographs and audio visual material. Coverage: Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4337 | Bill Boyd Photographic Collection | The Bill Boyd collection contains photographic items and 256 film negatives and was donated to the Museum in 1991 by Bill Boyd. Coverage: Mallee. Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia; Sea Lake, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4373 | Black Cat Cafe Collection | This is a collection of over 270 objects, photographs and documents related to the Black Cat Cafe, which operated in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy from 1982 until 2001. The owners wanted to create a retro style café similar to those they had frequented in Europe, with music and vintage furniture and conversations a central focus. The decorative objects and CD sample of frequently played music in the collection show how the owners created this relaxed yet sophisticated retro style. The community notice board, along with all of the last notices placed on it, is evidence of the success of the strong community engagement which occurred within the cafe, which the owners worked hard to create. The menus in the collection illustrate the simple inexpensive food, served in the Cafe and the absence of prices, which were not included until the introduction of GST. In February 2001, the café was closed and then converted it into a European style cabaret; all the objects inside the café were sold off at auction or donated... Coverage: Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4335 | Canning Indian Mutiny Collection | In November 1860 over 280 weapons including muskets, pistols and swords were presented to the Trustees of the Library and Museum by order of the Governor-General of India, Viscount Charles Canning. The collection was subsequently transferred to the National Gallery of Victoria, and thence in parts to the Industrial & Technological Museum during the early decades of the twentieth century. At each stage in its history, the collection has been gradually reduced in size through items being presented or disposed of. It now comprises 50 items. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; India | 30 May 2012 |
| 4338 | Cole's Book Arcade Collection | The Cole's Book Arcade Collection comprises over 80 objects, including iconic objects from the Arcade such as a mechanical hen, Cole's 'Little Men' and a symphonion. Acquired over the course of many decades, the first objects were collected by Museum Victoria in the early 1930s, shortly after the Arcade closed. Coverage: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4344 | CSIRAC Collection | The CSIRAC Computer collection consists of over 300 objects, over 300 images and over 1000 documents relating to the CSIRAC computer. The archival material collected when CSIRAC was decommissioned by the University in 1964, contains material documenting the computer from its conception in the late 1940s to its decommissioning in 1964. It consists of nine folders, 18 Archive boxes and one large box of paper tapes. Coverage: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4391 | CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) Collection | The Museum's Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL) collection includes over 500 artefacts from the period 1916 to 1984. The objects were originally collected by CSL staff and its museum volunteers and reflect the vital contribution CSL has made to public health in Australia. Coverage: Parkville, Victoria, Australia; Australia; Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4362 | Laurie Richards Collection | The Laurie Richards Collection consists of approximately 85,000 negatives, mostly large format [5""x 4"" / 12.5 x 10 cm], black and white images, though a significant number are in colour. Most of the images were commissioned for advertising and public relations purposes however they also document, significant changes in Melbourne during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Coverage: Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4361 | Kodak Heritage Collection | The Kodak Heritage Collection documents the history of Kodak Australasia, and its predecessors the Austral Plate Company, and Baker and Rouse Australia Laboratory. With over 3,000 items and archival material, the collection is extensive in its representation of the photographic industry in both Melbourne and Australia, and documents key themes such as photographic manufacturing; marketing and retailing; working life; and the history of photography. It was acquired by Museum Victoria in November 2004, when Kodak Australasia Pty Ltd ceased manufacturing photographic products in Melbourne. Coverage: Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia; Coburg, Victoria, Australia; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Australasia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4402 | John Twycross 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition Collection | The John Twycross 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition Collection comprises approximately 200 objects bought by wealthy wool merchant John Twycross at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition. The collection includes international decorative arts and paintings from China, Japan, England, Europe and India, and a few ethnographic objects from Asia and the Pacific. Coverage: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4376 | John Rodriquez Textile Collection | John Rodriquez became well known for his textile designs in the early 1950s. From 1950 to 1980 John was one of a handful of Australian textile designers who developed a new contemporary style with innovative use of colour. John's designs in the early 1950s were mostly of Aboriginal or geometric style. Later he turned to more abstract designs in the Scandinavian style. Later still he made bold use of colour. John introduced unique Australian styles which have been imitated often since. The John Rodriquez items held by Museum Victoria comprise several smaller samples of fabric designs from the post-war period; 1950s Christmas cards; 1970s wall hangings; domestic items such as tea towels, mixmaster and toaster covers; and potholders with Swiss and Scandinavian style and Australian flora and fauna designs. All items were screen printed by hand. The National Gallery in Canberra and the Powerhouse Museum also hold items made by John. Coverage: Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4353 | Italian Historical Society CO.AS.IT. Collection | The Italian Historical Society CO.AS.IT. Collection contains over 400 objects, representing the stories of thirty Italian migrants and their families and five businesses. It includes clothing, domestic items, travel souvenirs, photographs, commercial products and handcrafts, and has been developed as the result of a cultural agreement between Museum Victoria and the Italian Historical Society CO.AS.IT. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; Italy | 30 May 2012 |
| 4352 | Immigration & Artistic Practice Collection | The Immigration and Artistic Practice Collection contains over 140 artworks as well as related tools and materials used by the artists. It also contains 27 oral histories along with photographs and other support material relating to the artistic practice of over 30 immigrant artists living in Victoria. Coverage: Austria; Italy; Japan; Victoria, Australia; Latvia; South Africa; Chile; China; Poland; Germany | 30 May 2012 |
| 4351 | Harry Johns Boxing Troupe Collection | The Harry Johns Boxing Troupe Collection was donated to Museum Victoria in 1996. It comprises 77 objects, including a tent, trestle tables, loud speakers, spotlight, tickets and clothing. The centrepiece of the collection is a red boxing truck, which reflects Harry Johns' lengthy involvement in the business. The cabin and chassis were purchased by Johns around 1954, and the rear section was grafted from his previous boxing truck. Material from Harry Johns' Boxing Troupe is also held at the National Sports Museum. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; New South Wales, Australia; South Australia, Australia; Queensland, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4371 | Vickers Ruwolt Collection | The Vickers Ruwolt Collection comprises over 1,000 whole plate glass negatives relating to the Vickers Ruwolt Factory in Victoria Street Richmond, taken between 1925 and 1942. It also includes a small selection of factory signage and documents from the same period. The collection was donated to Museum Victoria by Vickers Ruwolt Pty Ltd between 1987 and 1989. Coverage: Richmond, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4383 | Paragon Shoe Collection | The Paragon Shoe Collection comprises 88 objects, largely shoes, as well as advertising and point-of-sale material. The collection dates from circa 1916 to circa 1993. The shoes were largely made by Paragon, but some were purchased from other manufacturers (including some overseas) to guide new Paragon designs. The collection was donated by Diana Gaze; additional shoes have been donated by Linda Bennett. Coverage: Europe; Victoria, Australia; New South Wales, Australia; United States | 30 May 2012 |
| 4384 | Phar Lap Collection | As well as the hide of Phar Lap, the Museum also holds an important collection of over 350 items of racing equipment and memorabilia relating to Phar Lap, including race programmes, winner's sashes, saddles, horseshoes, horse rugs, jockey's silks, a whip and other items collected by his owners and carers during his working life. Since the late 1980s, the Museum has actively developed the collection to further document the social and historical context of Phar Lap's career and the enduring public interest in the horse since his tragic death at the height of the Great Depression. Included in this latter category is an extensive archive of documents and photographs, examples of publicity materials produced by the Museum featuring Phar Lap, and a range of commercial and homemade souvenirs and memorabilia reflecting people's ongoing fascination with his story. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; Agua Caliente, Mexico; New Zealand | 30 May 2012 |
| 4393 | Psychiatric Services Collection | The Psychiatric Services Collection is made up of over 1600 objects and covers the period of 1870-1980. The objects collected from several Victorian psychiatric institutions tell a sad story of neglect and lack of political will. Much of the Museum's collection was assembled during the 1950s by Dr Charles Brothers while he was working within the system to bring about reforms. Coverage: Ararat, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia; Kew, Victoria, Australia; Beechworth, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4355 | Royal Exhibition Building Collection | The Royal Exhibition Collection contains over 6,000 objects and reflects all aspects of the building's history. The collection dates from 1879 to the present day and includes objects, photographs, artworks, oral histories and archival material. Museum Victoria continues to actively collect both contemporary and historic material related to the building and its occupants. Coverage: Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4356 | Royal Exhibition Building Western Forecourt Collection | The Royal Exhibition Building Western Forecourt Collection consists of 1,566 artefacts excavated during an archaeological dig of the western forecourt of the Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne, in November 2009. The archaeological dig investigated and recorded evidence of the 1880 iteration of the western forecourt garden. The dig also recorded evidence of various incarnations of the site over time, prior to its conversion into an asphalt car park in the 1950s. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; Germany | 30 May 2012 |
| 4401 | William Boyd Childhood Collection | The William Boyd Childhood Collection has over 1450 objects and includes most of the childhood possessions of William (Bill) Boyd, who was born in 1947 in regional Victoria. Coverage: Maryborough, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4359 | William Cole Arms Collection | William Cole started acquiring antique firearms in the early 20th century. Cole made his earliest donations to the Museum in 1918 and donated the bulk of his collection to the Museum in September 1943. There are over 250 objects in the collection, which has a particular focus on English, Scottish and Irish gunmakers from the late 18th and 19th centuries. Coverage: Ireland; Victoria, Australia; England, Great Britain; Scotland, United Kingdom | 30 May 2012 |
| 4403 | Melbourne's Biggest Family Album Collection | Melbourne's Biggest Family Album Collection consists of copies of over 1100 photographs taken by past and present Melbourne residents depicting scenes of what they consider to be an accurate portrayal of life in Melbourne. The images range from the mid 19th century and through to 1980, and were collected by Museum Victoria in 2006-2007. Coverage: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4358 | Melbourne Observatory Collection | The Melbourne Observatory Collection comprises over 400 objects and images relating to the operation of Melbourne Observatory from 1863 to 1944. It includes large telescopes, other astronomical instruments, clocks, and scientific instruments relating to the Observatory's work in meteorology, geomagnetism, seismology, geodetic surveying and weights and measures administration. There is also a selection of photos relating to the Observatory's work, including photos of buildings, instruments and observational photos. Coverage: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4398 | May Vale Timber Collection | The May Vale Timber Collection consists of 84 Victorian timber samples. The samples were skilfully hand-painted with representative flowers, seeds and foliage for each species. Some of the species included are the native mulberry, hickory wattle and black sheoak. The collection was commissioned by the Industrial & Technological Museum in 1885 and was exhibited as part of the museum's permanent displays and also in international exhibitions including London and Paris. Coverage: Diamond Creek, Victoria, Australia; Paris, France; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; London, England, United Kingdom; Adelaide, South Australia, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4365 | Masumi Hiraga Jackson Collection | The Masumi Hiraga Jackson Collection is a significant group of over 108 cultural items which represent acts of cultural maintenance as it relates to the migration experience. The collection includes brought objects and objects which reflect Masumi's continued practices of various cultural traditions once in Australia, including Shimotsuke doll making, Japanese tea ceremony and Noh theatre. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; Japan | 30 May 2012 |
| 4364 | Margaret Wood Immigration & Shipping Collection | This collection provides a rare insight into the working life of a female Immigration Officer. It contains nearly 300 items and includes shipboard memorabilia, immigration policy documents, material relating to the processing, management and settlement of migrants and newsclippings. The objects in the collection span Margaret's career with the Department of Immigration from 1951-1961. Coverage: Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4357 | Little Lon Collection | Museum Victoria's 'Little Lon' collection comprises artefacts from four archaeological excavations of the Commonwealth Block area, in inner-city Melbourne: Little Lon (1987-1988), Black Eagle & Oddfellows Hotels (1991), 17 Casselden Place (1995), and Casselden Place (2002-2003). These four digs, along with the Phase 3 Testing (2001) which Museum Victoria holds no artefacts from, produced over 500,000 artefacts which provide fascinating insights into the people who lived and worked in Melbourne in the latter part of the 19th century. Coverage: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4397 | Wax Fruit Collection | The Wax Fruit collection includes over 1800 realistic wax fruit and vegetable models. The majority of these were made by artists employed by the Industrial and Technological Museum between 1873 and 1960. The collection features over 50 different varieties of fruits and vegetables. Accompanying the models are artist sketch books of the earliest pieces and the moulds used to make them. Coverage: Paris, France; Victoria, Australia; Calcutta, India; Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; London, England, United Kingdom; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Philadelphia, United States of America | 30 May 2012 |
| 4395 | Victorian Women on Farms Gathering Collection | The Victorian Women on Farms Gathering Collection consists of 450 items including symbolic 'icons', interviews, photographs, videos and a range of memorabilia. The objects collected from each Gathering symbolise the meaning of place and contemporary issues impacting that rural area. The Collection covers the first twenty years of the Victorian Women on Farms Gatherings, 1990-2009. Coverage: Horsham, Victoria, Australia; Benalla, Victoria, Australia; Bendigo, Victoria, Australia; Hamilton, Victoria, Australia; Berriwillock, Victoria, Australia; Ararat, Victoria, Australia; Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia; Yarram, Victoria, Australia; Warragul, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia; Tallangatta, Victoria, Australia; Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia; Shepparton, Victoria, Australia; Sea Lake, Victoria, Australia; Ouyen, Victoria, Australia; Macedon Ranges, Victoria, Australia; Numurkah, Victoria, Australia; Glenormiston, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4370 | The Biggest Family Album in Australia Collection | The Biggest Family Album in Australia project undertaken by Museum Victoria between 1985 and 1991. It resulted in the collection of copies of over 9,000 photographs from rural and regional Victoria dating from the 1890s to the 1940s.These photographs continue to be a resource for the entire community, appearing in education programs, history books, exhibitions, student projects, and community projects. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4400 | T.N. Mukharji Collection | The T.N Mukharji Collection sits within Museum Victoria's broader Economic Botany Collection and consists of over 1,000 samples of medicinal products, food substances, dyeing materials, fibres, minerals and oils. Coverage: Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom; India; Victoria, Australia; Amsterdam, Holland (The Netherlands) | 30 May 2012 |
| 4369 | State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) Collection | The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) Collection contains glass plate and film negatives, photographic prints and photo albums, relating to the development of the electric power supply industry in Victoria, dating from the late 1880s to 1993. It includes images taken by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and its various predecessors, both private and municipal power supply enterprises. Coverage: South Australia, Australia; Victoria, Australia; New South Wales, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4360 | South Melbourne Oral History Project Collection | The South Melbourne Oral History Project Collection comprises 24 interviews, 1,754 pages of interview transcripts and 257 objects collected in conjunction with those interviews. The interviews focussed on home life and work in the home, and covered much of the 20th century in span, from World War I until the 1980s. The objects in the collection include clothing, handcrafts, food preparation and serving equipment, and games. Coverage: South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4367 | Simpson's Gloves Collection | The Simpson's Gloves Collection comprises over 1200 items acquired in 1989 from the factory and head office of Simpson's Gloves Pty Ltd at 488-496 Victoria Street, Richmond. A few additional items were acquired in 1993. Coverage: Richmond, Victoria, Australia; Collingwood, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4366 | Sigalas Family Collection | The Sigalas family collection contains over 80 items, and includes brought objects, documents relating to working life, clothing and correspondence representing arranged marriage, and documents, and objects and clothing showcasing Melbourne social and cultural life from the 1920s-1950s.The collection helps to document the migration experience of one of Melbourne's key migrant groups, the Greeks, and includes objects from the 19th century to the 1960s. Coverage: Canada; Europe; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; United States | 30 May 2012 |
| 4396 | Victorian Bushfires Collection | Victorian Bushfires Collection was initiated in 2009 following the Black Saturday bushfires. It is a diverse and cross-disciplinary collection and includes nearly 1000 items ranging from artwork, natural science specimens, photographs, videos and interviews, to everyday objects that were melted or destroyed by fire. The Victorian Bushfires Collection is an active collecting project and will continue to document major bushfires in Victoria. Coverage: Victoria, Australia; Marysville, Victoria, Australia; Churchhill, Victoria, Australia; Kinglake, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4479 | Australian Aboriginal String Bags | A wide variety of string bags produced by Aboriginal women are included in this collection. Differing in size, shape, decoration and material composition, these string bags are indicative of the diversity of Indigenous cultural practices across Australia. This collection reflects change over time and the way in which traditional forms are re-interpreted by subsequent generations of practitioners. Coverage: Torres Strait, Australia; Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia; Western Australia, Australia; Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia; Fitzmaurice Region, Australia; Central Australia, Australia; Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia; Kimberley Region, Western Australia, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4486 | Aboriginal Watercraft Collection | A collection of over 60 Aboriginal items of watercraft comprising of canoes, paddles, pandanus sails, canoe thwarts and a double raft. There are two types of canoes: dugouts and bark canoes. A key piece in this collection is a 19th century bark canoe from the Melbourne region. The only remaining canoe from this area, and possibly the oldest surviving example of Indigenous watercraft in Australia, it was collected in the 1850s by Scottish immigrant John Buchan. Coverage: Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia; Victoria, Australia; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4469 | Aboriginal Breastplate Collection | A significant collection of around 30 breastplates. These were given by European settlers to Aboriginal people in eastern Australia mainly in the 19th century. They are crescent- shaped and made from bronze or brass. In addition to personal inscriptions, the breastplates are decorated with engraved pictorial scenes. A very common design element was the kangaroo and emu and similar iconography synonymous with Australian identity today. Other imagery includes crowns, native flora and fauna, Aboriginal people hunting or sitting on horseback with spears or guns, and Aboriginal motifs. Coverage: Northern Territory, Australia; Orbost, Victoria; Western District, Victoria; Snowy River, Victoria; Mannum, South Australia; New South Wales, Australia; Gippsland, Victoria, Australia; Queensland, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4472 | The Donald Thomson Collection | A comprehensive and significant collection of Indigenous cultural heritage material. It was amassed throughout Donald Thomson's academic career mainly as an anthropologist in Aboriginal Australia. The material is primarily from Arnhem Land, Cape York, the Great Sandy Desert and the Gibson Desert in Western Australia, and a small amount originates in the Solomon Islands and West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). In addition to some 7,200 artefacts, the Collection comprises over 5,300 pages of field notes and 11,000 pages of transcriptions; a quantity of maps, language notes, genealogies, diaries and science notebooks; around 11,000 photographs, negatives and glass plates; 25,000 feet of film and various sound recordings; 2,000 biological specimens; and hundreds of scientific illustrations done in pen and ink, ochres and watercolours. Various manuscripts, reports and correspondence relate to both his academic career and his social justice work. Coverage: Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia; West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya); Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia; Great Sandy Desert, Western Australia, Australia; Gibson Desert, Western Australia, Australia; Solomon Islands | 30 May 2012 |
| 4489 | Western Arnhem Land Bark Paintings Collection | A collection of around 190 Aboriginal bark paintings from western Arnhem Land. This includes the first significant collections from this region assembled by Baldwin Spencer and Paddy Cahill. The 38 works collected by Spencer in 1912 are from the Alligator, East Alligator and South Alligator Rivers area of western Arnhem Land and were taken from the inside of wet season shelters. Over the following decade, another 170 or more bark paintings from Oenpelli and the Alligator Rivers area were commissioned by Paddy Cahill for the National Museum of Victoria. Coverage: Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia; Kakadu, Northern Territory, Australia; Alligator Rivers, Northern Territory, Australia; Oenpelli, Northern Territory, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4482 | Tommy McRae Collection | A collection of seven drawings by the 19th century Victorian Aboriginal artist Tommy McRae (c. 1830-1901). Executed in ink and pen on paper, the drawings are characteristic of McRae's distinctive style. Beginning by drawing the ground, McRae worked his silhouetted figures upwards across the paper. The subjects of these works include hunting scenes and ceremonial gatherings as well as contact between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups. McRae was known variously as Tommy McCrae, Tommy Barnes, Yackaduna and 'Chief of the Wahgunyah tribe'. Coverage: Waygunyah, Victoria, Australia; Victoria, Australia; Northeast Victoria, Australia; Lake Moodemere, Victoria, Australia | 30 May 2012 |
| 4476 | Queensland Rainforest Collection | This collection comprises of a significant number of late 19th century objects collected from the rainforest area of northeast Queensland. With over 280 items, the collection contains the distinctive kidney-shaped shields, bicornual baskets and crossed boomerangs, as well as spears, fire utensils, ornaments, traps and wooden clubs. The highlights are the softwood shields, crossed boomerangs and a rare firestick, all painted with the totemic designs for which this region is well known. One very rare object is a blanket made from beaten bark and painted with designs. Coverage: Kuranda, Queensland, Australia; Cooktown, Queensland, Australia; Cardwell, Queensland, Australia; Atherton, Queensland, Australia; Queensland, Australia; Ingham, Queensland, Australia; Russell River, Queensland, Australia; Tully River, Queensland, Australia; Herbert River, Queensland, Australia; Babinda, Queensland, Australia | 30 May 2012 |