Old Treasury Building

Sitting at the top end of Collins Street in the Melbourne CBD, the Old Treasury Building is one of the most significant 19th century buildings in Australia.

The Old Treasury building design commission was awarded to nineteen-year-old JJ Clark in 1857.

What can I see?

The Old Treasury Building hosts the original gold vaults where gold bullion was stored during the gold rush era, as well as rare and historic documents from Public Record Office Victoria highlighting key moments from Victoria’s history.

Topics in the exhibition space include:

  • Indigenous Victorians – Examine the early interaction between Government and Indigenous people in Victoria. 
  • Early Melbourne – Discover how the Port Phillip district was illegally settled by Batman and Fawkner and why the 1860 Burke and Wills expedition was both a triumph and a tragedy.
  • Ned Kelly – See unique Kelly documents including the only known letter written by Ned Kelly himself.
  • Criminals – Examine two sensational cases in Victorian legal history – the notorious 1920s gangster ‘Squizzy’ Taylor and the Colin Ross case.
  • Victorian Democracy – Learn how gold miners of the 1850s helped to shape Victoria’s democratic future.
  • Victorian Buildings – A showcase of a range of architectural plans for public buildings throughout Victoria.
  • Victorians on Holiday – Tourism posters from the Public Transport Corporation Photographic Collection of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s convey with striking graphics and imagery the allure and appeal of travelling in Victoria.
  • Victorians at Work – These photographs provide insights into industry, innovation, community life, and changes in the nature of work since colonial times.
  • Find Your Family at PROV – Public Record Office Victoria holds many different types of records that can provide helpful information if you are researching your family's history.
  • Built on Gold – The historic vaults.
  • Growing up in Old Treasury – Experience the lives of John Maynard (the Old Treasury’s caretaker), his wife and their eight children who lived in the Old Treasury Building from 1916-1928.
  • JJ Clark – The Old Treasury Building was the first of many major government buildings designed by John James Clark.
  • The Governor – Australia is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy. The Queen is formally Australia’s head of state and is represented by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia and by a Governor in each Australian state.

Opening Hours

The Old Treasury Building is open free to the public on Wednesdays and Sundays, 10am-4pm and extended times over school holidays.

School groups and community groups are welcome at other times by arrangement.