On 26 October 2020, a sacred directions tree and place of worship for the Djab Wurrung people in western Victoria, was destroyed to make way for highway expansion. The tree stood just outside of Ararat, on a 12-kilometre stretch of land through which the Victorian Government is diverting the Western Highway – despite ongoing preservation … Read on
Fitzroy’s Blak history is peppered with memorable events, but a visit from Muhammad Ali must be one of its most startling. In 1979, Muhammad Ali visited the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service on Gertrude Street. It was the same year he retired from boxing, and he was in Australia as a special guest at the Logies … Read on
If you’ve discovered a family crest or coat of arms on your old family documents, you’re one of a lucky few Australian researchers. Heraldry refers to the design and use of coats of arms and their related symbols by the noble classes, which developed during the Middle Ages. Coats of arms can tell us important … Read on
Content provided by Old Treasury Building Protest Melbourne, a new free exhibition at the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne, explores the many times Melburnians have taken to the streets to have their voices heard! Melbourne has a long history of protest, dating back to the 1840s. The first protests were about political rights, first for … Read on
Silverton today is characterised by vast horizons, flat terrain and colour – skies of the bluest blue, and rich orange soil dotted with green scrub. These features haven’t changed much since the town’s official naming in 1875, but residents at this time, who hailed from Europe’s cool climate and green landscape, must have found their … Read on
Right from the start, Little Lon was considered a place that respectable people should avoid. The stereotype was that the residents were all miscreants, scratching out crude livings in brothels, opium dens and sly grog houses. But six large-scale archaeological excavations over the past 30 years – including two in 2017 – have revealed through … Read on
At 9.27 pm on Sunday 27 January, a star-crossed bulk iron ore carrier, the Lake Illawarra, struck Hobart’s Tasman Bridge, knocking over two of its concrete pylons along with 127 metres of road that they had supported. The incident The consequences were devastating and immediate: five people in cars plummeted to their deaths in the … Read on
Reg Spiers was once a champion javelin thrower who represented Australia at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, but he is better known as the man who mailed himself from England to Australia than for his athletic prowess. When Spiers failed to qualify for the 1964 Australian Olympic Team, he impulsively set out for London … Read on
Trends and fads come and go – and baby names are not immune. Interestingly, some of the most common baby names from 100 years ago are making a reappearance on today’s top baby name charts in what is known as the 100-year return. Choosing a baby name is no easy task. For some families, culture … Read on
It’s nearly the school holidays and, in Victoria at least, that means thousands of travellers will be making their way down one of the state’s most iconic roads – The Great Ocean Road. While images of this stretch of famous coastline have been made famous on postcards and calendars worldwide, the history behind it may be … Read on