Political Ephemera

This collection was first established in 1970 when labour activist and politician, Fred Riley, donated some of his political ephemera to the Library. Known as the Riley and Ephemera Collection, materials in the collection mostly relate to the Trades Hall Council, the Australian Labor Party and the Democratic Labor Party.

What's in the Political Ephemera Collection?

This collection has hundreds of thousands of handbills, flyers, leaflets, bulletins, posters, badges and stickers from a wide range of Victorian political and community organisations.

While a small portion of the collection contains items from the early 19th century, the majority is less than 35 years old. A wide range of organisations are represented including trade unions, political parties, anti-war groups, university clubs and societies, environmental groups, feminist organisations, third-world lobby groups, and many more.

What's special about this collection?

This collection is particularly strong on materials relating to the peace movement, the environment, land rights and labour issues. There is also a large collection of items from the Vietnam War anti-conscription and feminist movements. Materials relating to Australian support of political struggles in other countries are also well represented.

How can I access material in this collection?

Items in this collection are held in storage and can only be viewed  by appointment in the Heritage Collections Reading Room.