Rare Photos from State Library of Victoria's Historic Collection

The State Library of Victoria has released a collection of rare photographs from its historic archive, offering a glimpse into Melbourne's past. The images, captured by renowned photographers such as Mark Strizic, Rennie Ellis, Wolfgang Sievers, and William Herbert Hansom, span from the 1880s to the 1990s. Highlights include a 1955 shot of a library worker using a Roneo machine, a 1977 discovery of a 1937 time capsule, and a 1950 view of the domed reading room. The library, which opened in 1856 as the Melbourne Public Library, later became the Public Library of Victoria in 1944 and the State Library of Victoria in 1960. The iconic La Trobe Reading Room retains its original 1913 furnishings. Other notable images include a 1969 stock exchange scene, a 1976 Melbourne Cup moment, and a 1990 photograph of the Okuma family home in Kew, part of a 1980s project documenting Victorian homes. The collection also features photographs of the Indo-Chinese Elderly Refugees Association in 1988, a 1938 Moreton Bay fig tree stump removal, and an aerial shot of Bass Strait from 1945. The library houses the largest public collection of Rennie Ellis's work, spanning the late 1960s to early 2000s.