Gather materials
First thing to do is set a guiding question – what do you hope to find out? Then start planning your investigation by gathering materials. Research your story using sources such as newspapers, websites, history books, historical societies, clubs and organisations, council offices, services (For example, the local fire station), and retirement homes. Talk to people, ask questions, be curious: one of these people might point you to someone you can interview, or might agree to be interviewed themselves. Collect photos, documents, letters and other material related to your interviewee's story. Here are a list of research guides and online collections that might help:
Research guides
Small Object Big Story: A guide and range of tools to facilitate research and presentation.
Museums Victoria: Got a question? We can help you to identify an object, make a donation, access the collection or get copies of images. We can also answer your general research questions.
State Library of Victoria Research Guides: Find out where to go to start your research.
Online collections
Museums Victoria Collections: Museums Victoria’s collections in digital form.
The Melbourne Story: Curators at Melbourne Museum talk about objects from The Melbourne Story exhibition.
National Museum of Australia: Search the museum’s online database of objects collected from 1880 to the present day.
Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences: Search the MAAS collections.
Australian History Museum at Macquarie University: View the vast collection numbering over 8,000 items reflecting Australia's history from pre-colonisation to today.
State Library of Victoria: Search the Library's digital image pool for paintings, sketches, and photos, as well as images from our other collections.
Public Records Office Victoria: Search the archives of the State Government of Victoria which holds records from the mid-1830s to today.
Trove: Trove is a free search engine with over 90 million items from over 1000 libraries, museums, archives and other organisations.
National Archives of Australia: Search 20th century records, including photos, created by the Federal government since Federation in 1901.
Culture Victoria: Search the websites and selected collection databases of our cultural organisations, including museums, galleries and historical societies.