Melbourne as National Capital
Ongoing exhibition. By 1900 all of the six self-governing colonies of Australia had resolved to join together to form a new nation, to be called Australia.
Melbourne: Foundations of a City
Ongoing exhibition. From bucolic village to bustling metropolis in forty years – this exhibition tells the story of the astonishing growth of Melbourne.
Wild Colonial Boys
Open until 15 April 2018. If you thought you knew all about Victoria’s bushrangers, think again. There’s far more to it than the story of Ned Kelly.
Victorian Archival Treasures
Ongoing exhibition. Discover the stories attached to rare and interesting original documents, maps and photographs from the state’s archives at Public Record Office Victoria.
Growing up in Old Treasury
Ongoing exhibition. 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.
Built on Gold
Ongoing exhibition. See the Old Treasury Building vaults which were used to store the gold bullion mined during the gold rush.
Melbourne Panorama
Ongoing exhibition. View the restored and re-installed historic photographic panorama, one of the most fascinating and popular interpretative features on display at the Old Treasury Building. This 360...
The Governor
Ongoing exhibition. 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 o...
A Nation Divided: the Great War and Conscription
In 1916 and 1917, during the darkest days of the Great War, two referendums were held asking Australians to decide whether men should ...
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Behind the Lines 2016
The Year’s Best Political Cartoons
Top hat crowns and daggers: what is your political destiny?
In 2016 a sense of destiny seemed to reshape the broad contours of the political landscape both i...
Soldier On: WWI Soldier Settler Stories
The Victorian Soldier Settlement Scheme was heralded as a new beginning. Servicemen and women returning from fighting in World War 1 were offered blocks of farm land to help rebuild their lives. This exhibition...
School Days: Education in Victoria
Travel back in time to classrooms from the late 1800s onwards in this exhibition.
‘School Days: Education in Victoria’ Exhibition features classroom stories, school photographs, old text books, and...
Sailing Into Melbourne
Sailing into Melbourne showcases approximately 20 major records from the collection of Public Records Office Victoria, covering the devastating shipwreck of the Royal Charter in 1856, grim stories...
Streets of Melbourne
This exhibition provides a unique opportunity for Melbournians to explore the stories behind their city. Visitors can put a ‘face to the name’ as they traverse the grid, learning more of our exp...
Trams: Moving Pictures
Between 1978 and 1993 the Ministry for the Arts initiated the ‘Transporting Art’ project. The Ministry and a number of sponsors commissioned famous Australian artists to paint Melbourne’s iconic...
Gold & Governors: 150 years of the Old Treasury Building
Old Treasury Building celebrated its 150th Anniversary during 2012.
JJ Clark
John James Clark was the 19 year old architect of the Old Treasury Building. This fascinating exhibition features...
Missing the Mark
This exhibition displays a large number of the original entries to the Landmark Ideas Competition. The entrants were to submit designs for the area now known as Federation Square.
The entries on the...
Sidestreets and Laneways
Melbourne's laneways exhibition is a photographic exploration of the laneways and little streets of Melbourne's CBD, 'the village within the city'.
This was a photographic project undertaken by a passionate...
Westgate Bridge Collapse: 40 Years On
On 15 October 1970, while it was under construction, the West Gate Bridge collapsed. In a few horrifying seconds thirty-five workers lost their lives in Victoria's worst-ever workplace accident....