Behind the Lines 2020
This years edition of ‘Behind the Lines the year in political cartoons 2020’ sheds light on our own shock, fears, and human foibles as we grappled with a very tough year. A humble roll of toilet paper will never look the same again. Until 1 September 2021
Protest Melbourne
Ongoing exhibition. Public protest has a long history in Victoria. From as early as the 1840s Melburnians took to the streets to express their views on a wide range of issues, from the right to vote to workers’ rights.
Yarra: Stories of Melbourne's River
Ongoing exhibition. This exhibition charts some of the history of Melbourne’s Yarra River and of the people who lived along it.
Women Work for Victory in WWII
Discover the roles of women on the home front during the Second World War. Women Work for Victory is an important reminder of the contribution played by women across Australian society in the cause of an Allied victory.
A Nation Divided: the Great War and Conscription
Open until 2021. Debate over conscription during the Great War is described by some historians as the most bitter, divisive and violent ever to consume the nation.
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.
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...
Lost Jobs: The Changing World of Work
Exhibition opens online November ...
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Wayward Women?
Discover ten stories about women’s lives in the past, all of whom could be described as ‘wayward’, either intentionally, or through force of circumstance.
The Invention of Melbourne: A Baroque Archbishop and Gothic Architect
The Invention of Melbourne presents a rare opportunity to see some little-known treasures of gold rush Melbourne and to reflect on the careers of two remarkable men – James Alipius Goold, first C...
Christmas at Old Treasury 2019
Immerse yourself in a time gone by! Visit the Old Treasury Building’s annual Christmas display from the 1920s.
By the 1920s there were quite sophisticated Christmas decorations for sale in the shops, b...
Gold Rush: 20 Objects, 20 Stories
Discover the turbulent tale of Victoria’s gold rush through the individual stories of just 20 objects.
Gold was first discovered in Australia in 1851 – first in New South Wales and then in Victoria. The...
Behind the Lines 2018
Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Political Cartoons 2018 celebrates another year in Australia’s unique, vibrant and fearless tradition of political cartooning. No politician, party or policy is saf...
Christmas at the Old Treasury 2018
Immerse yourself in a time gone by! Visit the Old Treasury Building’s annual Christmas display from the 1920s.
By the 1920s there were quite sophisticated Christmas decorations for sale in the shops, b...
Behind the Lines 2017
Roll up, roll up to Behind the Lines 2017 and marvel at the political cartooning spectacle that is The Three-Ring Circus.
Showcasing the year’s best political cartoons, The Three-Ring Circus c...
Christmas at the Old Treasury 2017
Following a highly successful Christmas display in 2016, the Old Treasury Building is once again showcasing homemade decorations of the 1920s!
By the 1920s sophisticated decorations were available...
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...
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.
Wild Colonial Boys
If you thought you knew all about Victoria’s bushrangers, think again. There’s far more to it than the story of Ned Kelly.
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....