Visitors to the State Library of Victoria are invited to leave a message of condolence for His Excellency Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
A special condolence book will be available near the Information desk in the Information Centre from 10am until 6pm each day until after the State Funeral is held in South Africa.
The iconic domed reading of the State Library of Victoria, first opened to the public in 1913, turns 100 today. Read the rest of this entry »
Last Friday at the State Library, the Melbourne Press Club announced their 2013 Victorian Media Hall of Fame inductees and that the Melbourne Press Club and State Library are working together to create a permanent home for the Hall of Fame at the Library.
The State Library is an appropriate home for the Hall of Fame – containing the most complete collection of Melbourne newspapers anywhere, dating back to the city’s first newspaper handwritten in 1838. The Melbourne Press Club’s Victorian Media Hall of Fame at the Library will feature information about people who have made significant contributions to journalism and the history of the news media in Victoria. Meanwhile, the State Library has been making some news of its own.
Yesterday the Premier of Victoria Denis Napthine announced the State Library of Victoria will stage a world-first exhibition about Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables coinciding with the musical’s return to the Melbourne in 2014.
Tonight, in a Melbourne exclusive, the Library hosts the Golden Globe and Grammy award winning composer of Les Misérables, Claude-Michel Schönberg in conversation with Julia Zemiro.
Last Wednesday the Library announced the donation of a letter written by Scotsman, Donald Sutherland, containing an eyewitness account of Ned Kelly’s capture. This remarkable document sheds new light on one of Australia’s most scrutinised historical events. We put it on public display this week for the first time since it was written 133 years ago.
Library Board of Victoria President John Wylie said he was very excited by these announcements.
‘When you look at what the State Library is doing today it’s incredibly exciting. Our collections, our exhibitions and our events make the Library a first class cultural destination. Victorians can be proud of their State Library, it is one of the world’s finest and we’re bringing extraordinary experiences to Melbourne.
This year the Library celebrates the centenary of its iconic domed reading room. It is a timely reminder of how the Library has inspired great thinking for generations. We will continue to do so for generations to come.’
After 133 years, a letter containing an eyewitness account of the dramatic capture of Ned Kelly during the 1880 siege at Glenrowan has been donated to the State Library of Victoria by the descendants of its author – Scotsman, Donald Gray Sutherland.
The letter addressed to Sutherland’s family on 8 July 1880 proclaims ‘… the Kelly’s are annihilated. The gang is completely destroyed…’. It continues describing Kelly’s famous armour and the gunshot wounds that finally brought him down.
‘He was wounded in 5 or 6 places, only in the arms and legs – His body and head being encased in armour made from the moule (sic) boards of a lot of ploughs. Now the farmers about here, have been getting their moule boards taken off their ploughs at night for a long time but who ever dreamed it was the Kellys and that they would be used for such a purpose. Ned’s armour alone weighed 97 pounds. The police thought he was a fiend seeing their rifle bullets mere sliding off him like hail. They were firing into him at about 10 yards in the grim light of the morning without the slightest effect. The force of the rifle bullets made him stagger when hit but it was only when they got him in the legs and arms that he reluctantly fell exclaiming as he did so I am done I am done.’
Sutherland enclosed a lock of hair from Kelly’s horse with the letter, noting in the postscript, ‘The hair enclosed is from the tail of Ned Kelly the famous murderer and bushranger’s mare. His favourite mare who followed him all around the trees during the firing. He said he wouldn’t care for himself if he thought his mare safe.’
Sue Roberts, CEO and State Librarian described the donation of the letter as extremely generous and a significant addition to the Kelly story.
‘This letter is a very personal account of events that have become part of Australia’s folklore. We are delighted that Mr Sutherland’s family chose the State Library of Victoria as caretaker for this remarkable document. It will join Ned’s armour, Jerilderie Letter and other important items in our Kelly collection – one of the largest and most significant in the world.’
The letter will be on display in the State Library’s Changing Face of Victoria exhibition from Monday. It is also available online with a full transcript via the State Library website.
A new Ned Kelly app developed by the State Library explores the compelling details of Kelly’s life. With more than 60 pages of content and images of fascinating historical items including his armour, photos, letters and more, the State Library’s unique collection of Kelly material comes to life. It is free to download from iTunes and Google Play now.
About Donald Sutherland
Sutherland sailed to Australia in 1876 when he was 24. He worked at the Bank of Victoria in Oxley, eight miles from Glenrowan.
He moved from Victoria to NSW and was married for a short time before his death at age 36. He is buried in the Waverly cemetery in Bronte, NSW.
Discover more about Ned Kelly online:
Donald Sutherland letter
Last night CEO and State Librarian Sue Roberts spoke with Lindy Burns on ABC Radio 774 about love poetry and one of the Library’s most treasured and mysterious books, a 1499 copy of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili or ‘The Strife of Love in a Dream’ is widely considered to be the most beautiful book of the 15th century. Illustrated with more than 170 woodcuts, it is renowned for its typographical design and coded messages.
Authorship is attributed to Francesco Colonna, a Dominican friar who lived in Venice. Colonna’s name is revealed by taking the first letter of each of the 38 chapters to spell out ‘Poliam frater Franciscus Columna peramavit’, meaning ‘Brother Francesco Colonna loved Polia dearly’.
Poliphili’s love for Polia takes him on a fabulous journey through history, revealing the author’s great knowledge of language, architecture and landscape design, as well as engineering, painting and sculpture.
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is one of many great works purchased for the Library collections from the library of Robert Carl Sticht in 1923. These included a number of early Bibles, a 1482 copy of Euclid’s Elementa (one of only three complete copies in the world) and 137 volumes of the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe — amongst dozens of other prized works now known as the Sticht Collection.
The purchase of the Sticht Collection was made possible with funds from the Felton Bequest, the same bequest that allowed the National Gallery of Victoria to procure many of its masterpieces.
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is one of many treasured books on display in the Library’s permanent exhibition, Mirror of the World: Books and Ideas.
The full story of how the Library acquired Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and the Sticht Collection is told in The La Trobe Journal.
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
The domed reading room has been a place of inspiration and creativity since its completion in 1913. It also proved to be a stunning location for a powerful performance by composer Iain Grandage and mezzo-soprano Dimity Shepherd at the announcement of Victorian Opera’s 2014 season titled ‘Chapter Two’.
The duo performed a piece from a new opera called The Riders. Based on the Tim Winton story, The Riders was commissioned by Victorian Opera as part of a season inspired by significant works of literature.
‘Finding its origins from historic and modern texts, next year’s season pulls from the page-to-the-stage epic stories of love, sacrifice and the fleeting illusion of ‘happily ever after’,’ said Richard Mills, Artistic Director of Victorian Opera.
The literary themed works presented in the 2014 season include:
The Library holds a wonderful selection of theatre programs dating back to the earliest opera performances in Victoria. A selection of these was made available for viewing at the launch.
Find out more about the Library’s theatre program collection.
View the full Victorian Opera season.
Iain Grandage and mezzo-soprano Dimity Shepherd perform. Image Charlie Kinross.
From left: Minister for the Arts Heidi Victoria, Jane Hemstritch Board Chairman Victorian Opera and Richard Mills Artistic Director Victorian Opera view programs from the State Library collection. Image: Victorian Opera.
The State Library congratulates Ross McMullin who last night won the Australian History award in the 2013 Prime Minister’s Literary Awards for his book Farewell, Dear People. Read the rest of this entry »
On Wednesday 14 August the State Library will host a special Storytime with best-selling children’s author Jeannette Rowe as part of Play Group Victoria’s state-wide library playgroup week. Read the rest of this entry »
A partnership between the State Library and Alliance Française de Melbourne will see French language classes begin at the Library on Monday 15 July. Read the rest of this entry »
The Library is open seven days a week, excluding some public holidays.
328 Swanston St,
Melbourne, Victoria
3000 Australia
Tel +61 3 8664 7000
