The Museums Victoria Archives collects and preserves records of enduring value documenting the administrative, collection, exhibition, education and research history of Museums Victoria.
Image: The National Museum relocating from Museum building at Melbourne University to Swanston Street campus, 1899. Source: Museums Victoria.
The Museums Victoria Archives are the corporate memory of our Museum. Dating from the Museum’s foundation in 1854, these records are a rich resource for anyone wanting to learn about the development and activities of the Museum, our buildings, staff, exhibitions, programs, collections and research. Records in the Archives are preserved because of their continuing value to our staff and to the community, and are an excellent resource for scholars, researchers and interested members of the public.
The Museums Victoria Archives are managed by the Records and Archives team. Records in the Archives document the Museum’s administrative, collection, exhibition, education and research history, and associated programs and activities, including business transactions documenting actions, decisions, policies and fiscal and legal rights and responsibilities of the museum.
The Archives includes records from Museums Victoria and its predecessor institutions: the National Museum of Victoria and the Science Museum of Victoria (formerly the Industrial and Technological Museum). Records date back to the National Museum’s foundation in 1854.
One of the most significant values of the Archives collection is the provenance source material, providing evidence of legal ownership and historical information about State Collection items.
The Museums Victoria Archives is affiliated with the Australian Society of Archivists. View our listing in the Australian Society of Archivists’ Directory of Archives in Australia.
Some material from the Museums Victoria Archives has been digitised and can be accessed via the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Read blog posts from our Archivist on the BHL Blog.
A number of public records related to the National Museum of Victoria, Industrial and Technological Museum, Science Museum of Victoria and Royal Exhibition Building are held at the Public Record Office Victoria. Contact Public Records Office Victoria or search their collection online if you are interested in accessing these records.
Sylvia amassed a collection of thousands of specimens and 167 new species.
Hope Macpherson was a woman who broke barriers.
Meet the woman who started Australia’s first radiocarbon dating lab.
How Melbourne University's System Garden came to be.
The aim of the "George Lyell Collection: Australian entomology past and present" project is to examine the George Lyell collection scientifically and culturally, and to share discoveries with the wider community.
Public access to records in the Archives is available by appointment, 10am-4pm Monday to Friday. Records in the Archives will be viewed in the Library Reading Room at Melbourne Museum.
To arrange a visit, first complete an enquiry providing as much information as possible about the nature of your research.
Please note that a minimum 48 hours' notice is required when requesting access to archives material. Some material is held in offsite storage and it may take longer to provide access.
Access is granted at the discretion of Records and Archives staff and certain materials may be restricted. Restrictions may be imposed for reasons including, but not limited to, confidentiality, personal privacy, cultural sensitivities, special restricted access provisions, the fragility or condition of records, or because the records have not been processed and prepared for use.
We will try to make you aware of any restrictions before you visit.
If copies of material need to be made for research and reference purposes, you are welcome to bring your own digital camera.
Please note it is the visitor’s responsibility to ensure adherence to copyright law. Before an item can be reproduced in a publication or exhibition, the citation of the record and the permission of the copyright holder must be obtained.
Staff from the Records and Archives team are available to help you make full use of the Archives. We can answer requests about our holdings and provide a limited reference service, but cannot undertake detailed research on your behalf.
In most cases you will need to visit the archives in person, with staff assisting you to locate and use the relevant material. To arrange a visit, first complete an enquiry providing as much information as possible about the nature of your research. Archival research can be very time-consuming – please allow yourself sufficient time.
The Archives welcomes donation offers of records and papers from significant contributors to Museums Victoria and/or its predecessor institutions, as relate to their affairs with the Museum and its staff. Such papers provide an important contextual and provenance resource; a valuable supplement to existing records.
Examples of interest may include:
Donation offers of records and papers can be made online. Please include details regarding the relevance and significance of the papers to Museums Victoria in the submission.
Ensure your donation is registered and directed towards supporting the growth and development of the Museums Victoria Archives by providing your details via email to [email protected] or telephone the Museums Victoria Development team on +61 (0) 435 174 216.
The Records and Archives team host a limited number of tertiary students undertaking a relevant course of study, subject to staff availability. See our internships page or discuss this with your placement coordinator if you are required to make arrangements through your educational institution.
We also take a limited number of volunteers – see our volunteering page to learn more.
Museums Victoria acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung Bunurong peoples of the eastern Kulin Nations where we work, and First Peoples across Victoria and Australia.
First Peoples are advised that this site may contain voices, images, and names of people now passed and content of cultural significance.