Exhibition labels: The changing face of Victoria
The changing face of Victoria
Learn from the past.
Change the future.
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In pursuit of fresh water, Victoria’s first European settlers had little choice but to get crafty with this barrel. They fashioned a filter system using sand, grass and sticks inside the wall of the cask to try and purify seawater – the only source available to them at Sullivan Bay, where they had landed. The contraption failed and soon after the site was abandoned.
1. Water cask from a European settlement at Sullivan Bay, Sorrento, 1803
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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The woman undressing in the photos devised a smart way of washing herself at the same time as her clothes during the millennium drought, when low rainfall placed extreme pressure on water supply in much of southern Australia. Victorian residents had to save water during enforced government restrictions, and make every drop count. The images are part of a photographic project that documented the widespread effects on communities, industries and the environment.
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2. Julie Millowick
Recycling Water, 2008
Exhibition prints
3. ‘Blackout chaos as dust hits city’,
The Herald, Melbourne, 8 February 1983
4. Quote from ‘Blackout! Dust makes night from day’,The Sun News, Melbourne, 9 February 1983
5. Victorian Railways
Settler’s home in the Mallee, c.1945–54 Exhibition print from glass lantern slide
6. Victorian Railways
15 Ton Truck Mallee Roots, c.1930–50 Exhibition print from glass lantern slide
7. Alexander Mitchell
Scalded Land in the Victorian Mallee, 1970
8. General Plan of Subdivision of Mallee
8A, 48B, 60A
Surveyed by George D. Murdoch, 1894
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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THE SUN NEWS, MELBOURNE,
9 FEBRUARY 1983
‘MELBOURNE RESIDENTS CAN EXPECT TO TASTE THE DUST FOR A FEW MORE DAYS.’
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The promise of rain writ large in the Mallee land poster is typical of the propaganda that up-sold farming prospects in water-starved regions of northern Victoria more than 100 years ago. These schemes dramatically altered landscapes that had been carefully managed by Aboriginal people for thousands of years. New settlers uprooted the predominant scrub, which bound the soil and kept it in place, to eke out a living from introduced crops and cattle.
It would take a giant dust storm that swept tonnes of dry Mallee earth across Melbourne to compel greater urban action on regional drought.
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A local invention called the ‘Detheridge wheel’ is among the apparatus putting water to work in the journal pictures. It was born of a need to manage water supply in a sustainable manner due to a rapid expansion of land irrigation. The wheel measures the flow diverted to individual farms from the main water channels. Cheap, robust and simple to use, it gained popularity in Australia and other countries, only recently superseded by electronic meters.
9. Aqua: Official Journal of the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission Victoria
Issues on display: November 1957,
November 1958, August 1959, April 1960, June 1960, November 1960, November 1962, February 1963
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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10. Salote Tawale
Get Floaties, commission for Climarte
Poster Project II; ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE 2019 Festival
11. Julie Millowick
Gordon Miller with his Rain Gauge,
Fryerstown, 1989
22. Extinction Rebellion
Open-source designs for placards and posters, downloaded September 2019
13. Samuel Calvert
‘The break-up of the drought - a welcome shower’
Engraving published in the Illustrated Australian News, 13 May 1882
14. Crosbie Morrison
The Menace of Water, booklet published by the Argus, 1936
15. Thomas Morrison Diary, 1890-1901
16. School Strike 4 Climate
Protestor at the Melbourne rally,
15 March 2019
Digital photograph courtesy of Beth Johnson
17. Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology Rainfall Map of Victoria, September 1972 and September 1974
18. ‘The day the cars floated in the city’,
The Age, Melbourne, 18 February 1972
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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The menace of water is felt during Victoria’s flooding rains. Rising sea levels and coastal erosion are other reminders of water’s impact on the land and its inhabitants. In an effort to predict the flow of water, human endeavour has prevailed. Here, a selector’s diary notes the erratic seasons curtailing his luck at clearing land; official rain charts seek a pattern in monthly measures; and a news report describes a record downpour that floated cars in Melbourne’s CBD.
More than ever before, people are calling on governments and fellow citizens to act now and recognise fluctuating weather systems as human-caused climate change. The City of Melbourne has joined councils around the world in declaring a climate emergency.
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The man who stands in reverence at a welcome shower in the news illustration evokes a sentiment first expressed in the late 1800s: ‘Don’t pray for rain, dam it!’ The slogan became associated with Bishop of Melbourne James Moorhouse, notorious for instructing people to stop their pleas for rain and to conserve it. His views sparked a heated theological debate yet helped shift attitudes towards drought relief, encouraging preventative action rather than short-term aid.
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The photo of a man in hat and glasses includes an inscription, written by him, which reads:
This is Gordon Miller of Fryerstown with a rundown of rainfall records kept by him and his wife since 1956, also records of rainfall kept by the postmaster of Fryerstown since 1883. These records were presented to me by the postmistress when the Fryerstown Post Office closed quite some years ago. I can just remember the 1914 drought when the total yearly rainfall was 352 mms or 14 inches by the old measurement.
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The hourglass symbol in the green and blue placards represents time running out to save the planet. It is the unifying logo of Extinction Rebellion, an international movement whose members promote non-violent civil disobedience in an effort to compel urgent action on climate change and on the mass extinction of animal species. Extinction Rebellion’s eye-catching protest materials are free for activists to download and use.
This open access encourages participation and spreads the word about the group’s aims.
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The poster above this case is part of a research project undertaken by Hartley Briggs as the first recipient of the library’s Indigenous Research Fellowship.
His fellowship extended the grassroots research he had commenced when he moved back to home Country, which focused on the significance of the waterways to the culture and economies of Indigenous Victorian Aboriginal people. Briggs regarded cultural practice as the best opportunity for economic development for Aboriginal people, as it allows them to maintain their cultural integrity while earning a living from their cultural knowledge and skills.
Briggs based his research on the accumulated knowledge of his Elders, and through the fellowship he applied this to the written records held in the collection, such as lists of Aboriginal words and dialects compiled by colonists from the Ancestors during the colonial period. An example on display here, open at the entry for water, says much about misguided attempts to classify an oral language that he described as one that ‘flows through the environment’.
23. Hartley Briggs
Member of the Goulburn River Clans
Kialthra Ban Park, 2019
On loan from Min-Jaara Cultural Association
24. Aboriginal Dialects, 1867
Compiled in association with the
International Colonial Exhibition, 1866
25. A.W. Reed
Aboriginal Words and Place Names, 1977
26. Vocabulary of Dialects Spoken by Aboriginal Natives of Australia, 1867
Compiled in association with the International Colonial Exhibition, 1866
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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MOITHRA . BAN PARK
MOI
THE WIND BLOWS OVER MOITHRA THROUGH YALKA BONEYA AND BENDS THE REEDS AS IT CROSSES MOIRA LAKE.
THRA
THE THOROUGHFARE THROUGH THE THREE PARKS CONNECT UPPER AND LOWER GOULBURN REGIONS.
BAN
THE COUNTRY BETWEEN TWO WATER WAYS SHARED BY TWO CLANS, IT WAS THEIR COMMON GROUND.
PARK
A PLACE THAT IS MARKED BY STANDS OF LARGE TREES THAT ARE FED BY UNDERGROUND WATERS.
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Hartley Briggs developed the poster above this case and the one on display nearby during his Indigenous Research Fellowship at the library.
The posters explain the significance of parks located on the Lower Goulburn River, which were gathering places that provided hunting grounds and points of trade for Indigenous Victorian Aboriginal people. The visual symbols represent oral traditions and landscapes that identify these parks, which can be decoded by the surrounding written narratives.
Briggs undertook grassroots research to strengthen traditional knowledge and maintain a living culture. With skills inherited from his Ancestors, he produced a health tonic from the plant known as Gerk Wurrung Dorook or ‘Old Man Weed’. When something in nature is given a name that characterises it as an old person, it shows that it is greatly revered.
19. Hartley Briggs
Member of the Goulburn River Clans
Moithra Ban Park, 2019 On loan from
Min-Jaara Cultural Association
20. Ferdinand von Mueller
Plants Indigenous in Victoria, plate XLI, Myriogyne Cunninghami, 1860
21. Hartley Briggs
Member of the Goulburn River Clans Australian Aboriginal bush medicine made from Old Man Weed, 2019 On loan from Min-Jaara Cultural Association
22. Gerk Wurrung Dorook (Old Man Weed) On loan from Min-Jaara Cultural Association
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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KIALTHRA BAN PARK
KIALLA
THE RIVERS BROKEN AND THE GOULBURN ARE CLOSE AND THEY GREW OUT OF THE SAME CATCHMENT.
THRA
THE THOROUGHFARE THROUGH THE THREE PARKS CONNECT UPPER AND LOWER GOULBURN REGIONS.
BAN
THE COUNTRY BETWEEN TWO WATER WAYS SHARED BY TWO CLANS, IT WAS THEIR COMMON GROUND.
PARK
A PLACE THAT IS MARKED BY STANDS OF LARGE TREES THAT ARE FED BY UNDERGROUND WATERS.
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Camping is transformed from a back-to-nature pastime to an act of resistance in urban protest movements such as Camp Sovereignty, Occupy and Extinction Rebellion. A world-renowned site for this form of political activism is the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, established in Canberra in 1972. By occupying space, the tent can be a physical marker that brings visibility to important issues. Pitched en masse, the tent can also create a community base for collective action.
1. Iain McIntyre
How to Make Trouble and Influence People: Pranks, Protests, Graffiti & Political Mischief-making from Across Australia, 2013
2. Marcia Langton
After the Tent Embassy, 1983
3. Lisa Bellear
Language/Cultural Group: Minjungbul/ Noonuccal/Kanak
Welcome to Camp Sovereignty (PH 5409) Commonwealth Games,
March 16–26, Delays Expected (PH 5911)
Lisa Bellear, Camp Sovereignty (PH 5489)
Gary Murray and Men Leaving Meeting Ground (PH 5681)
Ringo Terrick Faces the Media (PH 5501) Respect Each Other (PH 6740)
All from 2006
Digital photographs courtesy of the Koorie Heritage Trust Collection
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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This colourful canopy is constructed from tents that were left behind at local festivals.
Although it is commonly believed that the abandoned tents will be salvaged and reused, they are more likely to end up in landfill. Eco-conscious initiatives, such as upcycling and the right-to-repair movement, challenge throwaway culture and its impact on the environment. The artist who created this work hopes to inspire change and motivate people to find ways of living more sustainably.
4. Georgina Humphries
You Forgot Your Tent, 2020
With support from Budget Direct
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5. State Rivers and Water Supply
Commission of Victoria
Young woman in the bush, dressed as a swagman, 1900–40
Exhibition print from glass negative
6. Max W. Plate
Australian Bushcraft, 1971
7. Quote from Henry Lawson,
The Romance of the Swag, 1939
8. Sun clock used during the search for
explorers Burke and Wills, 1861
9. Eugene von Guérard
Yarra Rivulet, 1858
10. George Brown
Survival in the Bush, 1979]
11. Maurice Dunlevy
Stay Alive, 1981
12. Richard Graves
Bushcraft: A Serious Guide to Survival and Camping, 1974
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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The figures who stand among towering bushland in the watercolour sketch say much about the vastness and extremes of the Australian landscape. The landscape has been the backdrop for infamous expeditions and has tested many a traveller’s skills and ingenuity.
A national symbol of surviving the great outdoors is the swag. Known by many names, this portable camp came about to provide a makeshift home for on the road, when seasonal workers walked huge distances in search of jobs – and water.
Modern conveniences have lessened the need for a survival spirit in nature, but not the impetus to be prepared. DIY manuals such as Stay Alive are indicative of survivalist movements that endeavour to bring reassurance through self-taught expertise.
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TRAVELLING WITH A SWAG IS ALSO KNOWN AS
HUMPING BLUEY JABBING TROTTERS WALKING MATILDA
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13. Matthew Sleeth
From the series Rosebud, 2006
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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14. ‘Your forest. Their heritage’
Exhibition print from Forests Commission of Victoria advertisement in Wild Life and Outdoors Magazine, November 1952
15. Tom Carment, Michael Wee
Seven Walks: Cape Leeuwin to Bundeena, 2014
16. ‘Lightweight camping’, Wild Life and Outdoors Magazine, February 1953
17. John and Sue Brownlie
Wilsons Promontory National Park, 1972
18. National Parks Authority
Wilsons Promontory National Park Birds List
19. A.J. Campbell
The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria photograph album, 1887
20. ‘Damage for protection’, Wild Life and Outdoors Magazine, May 1953
21.Shine a Light Prom Protest,
Wilsons Promontory National Park, 2013
Digital photograph courtesy of the Victorian National Parks Association
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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Proudly posing in the bookplate photo are some of the first members of the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria, widely thought to be the oldest conservation group founded in Australia. These enthusiasts used their bushwalking skills to conserve the natural environment. Working in a grassroots way that would now be termed ‘citizen science’, they collated data to advocate for safeguarding native fora and fauna. The club was instrumental in establishing Wilsons Promontory as a national park, and its current members still energetically campaign for its protection.
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In the aerial photo, protestors at Wilsons Promontory are laying their bodies on the sand to spell out a message for Victorian state government about private development. A growing appreciation for national parks has brought a much higher footfall, meaning the parks face increased threat from commercialisation and pollution.
‘The Prom’ is one of Victoria’s most loved natural icons. But it is not an untamed wilderness. Exploited by whalers, used for military training and decimated by forest fires, this habitat has been radically altered by humans. Visitors are now encouraged to practise lightweight camping and leave only footprints.
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22. Amy Spiers
Our Future, commission for Climarte Poster Project II; ART+CLIMATE=CHANGE
2019 Festival
Exhibition copy
With thanks to the people of the
Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung
language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation, and the linguists and Elders who assisted this project.
23. Larry Dean
Outdoor Survival Skills, 1973
24. Paul Memmott
Gunyah Goondie + Wurley: The Aboriginal Architecture of Australia, 2007
25. Raymond Lindsay
Illustration of an 1854 canvas town in Melbourne, 1934
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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The examples of Aboriginal bark architecture originating in eastern Victoria demonstrate a respectful use of natural resources and the connection to Country that is vital to Aboriginal culture.
The poster above the case is a call to action to meaningfully engage with Indigenous practices of caring for Country. In the local Woi Wurrung and Boon Wurrung languages, the text states: ‘Our future depends on respecting Country and Indigenous ways of being’.
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The sweeping view in the painting takes in a camp settlement on the banks of the River Yarra and the beginnings of a city skyline in the distance. During the gold rush, Melbourne’s population grew so rapidly that new arrivals resorted to building an informal city of tents. Only canvas shelters were permitted, forcing people to reconsider how they inhabited the land as they adapted to a new environment.
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1. Quote from Julia Church, Per L’Australia: The Story of Italian Migration, 2005
2. Gaggia Espresso Machine, 1948
On loan from Sylvester Longo
3. Duchessa Coffee Grinder, c.1954
On loan from Sylvester Longo
4. Scai Arca Coffee Grinder, c.1954
On loan from Sylvester Longo
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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The emblem on the front of the Gaggia machine announces a new style of coffee for its era: an espresso with a creamy top. Before the arrival of such decorative models, machines were relegated to the kitchen. But good-looking design earned the coffee machine a prominent place in stores and cafes.
Many Melburnians have laid claim to unveiling the first proper espresso machine. But it was Pellegrini’s and Legend Cafe that introduced the mainstream to a new way of drinking coffee in sophisticated espresso bars. A cafe scene was established in the city by European migrants who settled in Melbourne after World War II, introducing a connoisseurship for the humble bean.
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NANDO VARRENTI
‘WHEN I INSTALLED ONE OF THE FIRST ESPRESSO MACHINES IN MELBOURNE THE INSPECTORS DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO MAKE OF IT. THEY SAID I HAD TO OBTAIN A BOILERMAKER’S LICENCE BEFORE I COULD USE IT.’
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5. Home espresso machines
Collection of Sylvester Longo
Row 1, top:
Kim, c.1970
Gaggia Gilda, c.1954
La San Marco, c.1956
Row 2:
Cafematic, c.1959
‘Atomic Age’ design, c.1957
Gaggia Gilda, c.1951
6. ‘Tea break – the best 10 minutes of the day’
Tea Council Australia advertisement in the Australian Women’s Weekly,
7 August 1963
7. ‘How to make wonderful creamed coffee’
Nescafé advertisement in the Australian Women’s Weekly, 26 June 1957
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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Compact yet stylish espresso machines, like the models in the photos, brought the allure of cafe life into Australian homes in the 1950s. At the same time, instant coffee was receiving a makeover and held new appeal. Adverts in the Australian Women’s Weekly promised Nescafé drinkers the glamour of America and the perfect cup every time. It was not long before coffee quashed the influence of British tea-drinking customs. Deemed old-fashioned, the traditional brew was rebranded
in advertising campaigns led by the Tea Council
of Australia.
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With its symmetry and pastel hues, the building depicted in the 19th-century plans would be at home in the fictional worlds of filmmaker Wes Anderson. The curious blend of architectural styles was a trademark of architect William Pitt, who played to the extravagant tastes of the newly rich in Melbourne’s boom years following the gold rush.
The designs are for a ‘coffee palace’ that never did get built. Those that did were hubs of activity during the times of the temperance movement, a moral and political crusade that sought the improvement of the working classes through abstinence from alcohol. Publicans symbolically set fire to their liquor licences and served coffee instead.
8. William Pitt
Architectural drawings of the proposed
Peoples Coffee Palace, Melbourne, 1890
9. William Pitt
Architectural drawing of the Federal
Coffee Palace, 1885
(on opposite wall)
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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10. Hilary Bradford
Negrita Coffee Store, 2011
From the series Captured in Time
Exhibition print
11. Viva Gibb
Café owner Guisseppe Lanteri at
Don Camillo’s, Melbourne, 1981
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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Standing out in the growing coffee market requires distinctive branding. These coffee logos and labels are new additions to the library’s collection, received during an open call to current cafes and roasters in Victoria to submit their designs.
In the opposite case are historical labels from a large collection assembled by the Victorian Patents Office, which oversaw copyright law. Including packaging and labels for food products, tobacco and beverages, this collection offers a glimpse into tastes and trends of the past.
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12. Coffee labels and logos
Row 1, top:
Pool House Coffee logo
Pool House Coffee label
poolhousecoffee.com
Padre Coffee logo
shop.padrecoffee.com.au
Omar & the Marvellous Coffee Bird logo
Omar & the Marvellous Coffee Bird label
coffeebird.com.au
Beat Coffee logo
beatcoffee.com.au
Two Amici logo
twoamici.com.au
Row 2:
Mikro Coffee Roasters logo
mikro.coffee
Proud Mary logo
proudmarycoffee.com.au
Minor Figures logo
minorfgures.com.au
Crivelli Fine Coffee logo
crivellifinecoffee.com.au
Market Lane Coffee logo
marketlane.com.au
Five Senses Coffee logo
Five Senses Coffee label
fivesenses.com.au
Row 3:
Seven Seeds logo
sevenseeds.com.au
Selvática logo
selvatica.com.au
Rumble Coffee Roasters logo
Rumble Coffee Roasters label
rumblecoffee.com.au
Griffiths Bros. Coffee Roasters logo
griffithsbros.com.au
Grinders Coffee Roasters logo
grinderscoffee.com.au
Wood and Co Coffee Roasters logo
woodandcocoffee.com.au
Row 4:
Streat Coffee label
streat.com.au
Industry Beans logo
industrybeans.com
Beraldo Coffee label
beraldocoffee.com.au
Custom Coffees logo
Custom Coffees label
customcoffees.com.au
Small Batch logo
smallbatch.com.au
Aucuba Coffee Roasters logo
aucubacoffee.com
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13. Specialty Coffee Association and World
Coffee Research
The Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel, 2018 Exhibition print
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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14. ‘Hundreds of jobs lost as Starbucks shuts 61 stores’, The Age, Melbourne, 30 June 2008
15. Charles Troedel
Label for fourteen-pound canister of finest plantation coffee, 1871
16. Charles Troedel
Label for one-pound canister of coffee with chicory, printed in red and green, 1871
17. Charles Troedel
Label for fourteen-pound and twenty-eight-pound canister of coffee, 1871
18. James F. McKenzie & Co
Label for Eagle Brand coffee, 1871
19. James F. McKenzie & Co
Label for one-pound canister of finest
plantation coffee, 1871
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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As the newspaper headline declares, Starbucks faced an unexpected downturn and was forced to close 70 per cent of its Australian stores when coffee consumers refused to conform to a global chain. It was a show of commitment to the independent cafe scene that thrives throughout the country and is quintessential to Melbourne. Local neighbourhood traders offer a connection to community that extends far beyond serving a decent cup of coffee.
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The photos of men drinking coffee, playing cards and catching up on daily news are from a series documenting Greek cafes and clubs around Melbourne. They capture the role of these social spaces in upholding a sense of cultural identity and creating a place of belonging.
On the opposite wall is a photo of Don Camillo in the Italian cafe-restaurant he founded in 1955 and named after himself. This is shown alongside a picture of George Theophanis, proprietor of the Turkish coffee roastery and wholesaler Negrita, established by George’s father. Both places are Melbourne institutions that have thrived for decades and continue to influence the cultural life of the city.
20. Georgia Metaxas Greek social clubs, Melbourne, 2003–04
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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21. Henry Maas, Red Letter Press
Cafe Najla, 1990
22. ‘Bird’s eye view of Melbourne’,
supplement to Federal Coffee Palace Visitors Guide, 1888
23. Evolution of the KeepCup, 2007–20
On loan from KeepCup
24. Federal Coffee Palace Visitors Guide, 1888
25. Nacho Varone
Melbourne Coffee Tour, 2014
On loan from Nacho Varone
26. Double-page spreads from Jonette George, Specialty Coffee Melbourne, 2018
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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KeepCup started in a Melbourne cafe with a simple idea: keep it and use it again. Responding to the demand for takeaway coffee and the problem of throwaway containers, the cafe’s owners designed their own barista-standard reusable cup.
Just over a decade on, the KeepCup has evolved into a range of designs and is used in more than 65 countries around the world. The product has come to represent the enormous benefits that can come from modifying a daily habit.
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Keep Cup 2007 - 2020
Original 8oz
KeepCup started in Melbourne, with the standard reusable cup. Like disposable cups, it was produced in 8oz and 12oz sizes. A grip band and twists of taste allowed the barista to mark up the customer’s order, right down to the required number of sugars.
Original 12oz branded
As the reuse movement gathered momentum, KeepCup developed branded designs for organisations, including State Library Victoria. Customised cups were gifted to employees promote the organisation’s commitment to reduce waste and behave sustainably.
Original 4oz
Exemplifying the bright colourways that are a KeepCup trademark, the 4oz was designed to hold the perfect short black and macchiato, catering to the specialised tastes of and clientele.
Original 6oz
The elegant 6oz KeepCup was developed in response to a growing preference for stronger
Brew 12oz
The tempered glass KeepCup was introduced to match the sensory experience of drinking
Brew Cork 8oz
Natural cork and tempered glass were combined to create a cup that is comfortable to hold and satisfying to drink from. Functional, sustainable and aesthetically pleasing, response to contemporary design values.
Brew Longplay 12oz
Ideal for tea drinkers, Longplay has a clear plastic sleeve that makes the glass interior more durable and keep the contents hotter for longer.
Original 16oz
Lightweight, durable and retaining the clarity of glass, the 16oz clear plastic KeepCup has become a popular choice for cold beverages and quick takeaway service.
Thermal 12oz
Designed for maximum durability and thermal insulation, this stainless- steel cup provides temperature stability for cold and hot beverages in varying climates, providing for the perfect drink on the go.
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The intricate black-and-white street map came with a visitor guide for the Federal Coffee Palace, a popular tourist destination in Melbourne in the late 19th century. Today, people can take self-guided walking tours of the city to experience its vibrant cafe culture.
From the crop to the cup, coffee in Melbourne is renowned for being cutting edge. Cafe staples such as cappuccino, fat white and espresso have been joined by ever-expanding forms of prepping and serving, such as cold drip, V60 and syphon.
Baristas have fostered this innovation through scientific research and experimentation. The Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel, on display nearby, is a kaleidoscopic tasting tool for the adventurous coffee drinker that shows the growing complexity of coffee.
Time’s up on the traditional nine-to-five work day. The routine hours that were won by Victorian workers more than 150 years ago no longer service the 24-seven cycles under which people operate today. What has endured is the pursuit for a fair division between work and personal time.
The posters and images assembled here champion aspects of work equality for women, who generally bear the brunt of household labour, take career and pay hits if they become mothers, and are poorly represented in conventionally male-dominated sectors. Gender discrimination remains one of the major divisions in the workforce.
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1. Time’s Up!, 1985
Exhibition print
2. Samuel Calvert
‘The factory girls of Melbourne leaving work’ Exhibition print from an engraving published in the Illustrated Australian News, 20 May 1873
3. Mary Cox
May Day, Melbourne,
1984 Exhibition print
4. Dianna Wells, Another Planet Posters
A Story of Labour and Love, 1989
Exhibition print
5. Australian Council of Trade Unions
Women and Men Equal in Unions, 1980–89 Exhibition print
6. Central Highlands Women’s Collective,
Another Planet Posters
Country Women Mean Business, 1989 Exhibition print
7. Rick Amor, Australian Council of Trade Unions
A Shorter Working Week? It’s About Time, c.1985
Exhibition print
8. Mama… The Unpaid Worker, 1984
Exhibition print
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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9. Badges from the Riley and Ephemera Collection
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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10. Patrick John O’Flaghartie Fingal Harford
Yarra Bank Meeting, 1923
11. May Day Bash – Storey Hall, c.1980–89
12. May Day Bash – Collingwood Town Hall, c.1980–89
13. Resist, c.1980–89
14. ‘Anarchy’ fag, c.1920s
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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The bright red ‘Anarchy’ fag was once a regular fixture at local demonstrations and debates. It belonged to J.W. (Chummy) Fleming, a prominent unionist and agitator for the unemployed, who was instrumental in starting the May Day marches to mark Victoria’s gain of the eight-hour working day. He delivered impassioned orations at the Yarra Bank speakers’ corner, a weekend ‘outdoor parliament’ and the subject of the painting adjacent to this case.
When Melbourne was first laid out it was designed without a civic square, in fear of it being used for public protests. Yet people still found a place to make their opinions heard.
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The illustrations that zigzag across the concertinaed book spell out more than the word ‘union’; the groups of workers that form the letters speak of strength in unity. The illustrator’s inventive style of political graphics has its origins in early union banners, which promoted collective action through a sophisticated blend of slogans, images and metaphors.
This tradition can be seen in the preparatory designs of a local banner painter. Men in uniform symbolise the skills and tools of their craft, while female figures represent the virtues of the trade and wider labour movement. Women rarely appear as workers in the historical banners, a situation that contemporary artists have addressed.
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YARRA BANK DEMONSTRATION HANDBILL
ORGANISE!
AGITATE!
EDUCATE!
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May Day and Labour Day celebrate the triumphs of workers, particularly the right to work no more than eight hours in a day. This milestone was a turning point in the labour movement, which saw the beginning of working-class representation in government and the establishment of trade unions.
The eight-hour motto is visible in the illustration of a red-and-navy banner that was unfurled at the first triumphal Eight Hours Procession, in Melbourne. The march became a major annual event throughout Victoria. Workers paraded with banners, floats and bands through the city and country towns, cheered by crowds of people. So popular were the events that Labour Day was declared a public holiday, still honoured today and used as an occasion to profile work issues.
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15. United Carters & Drivers in Eight-hour day procession, 1914
16. Quote from a Yarra Bank demonstration handbill, International Labor Day, 1895
17. Mary Cox
May Day March, Melbourne, 1986
Exhibition print
18. Sam Wallman
Vital Signs: Australia’s Collective Institutions, 2017
19. John Hennessy
Preparatory design for Trade Union Banner: Victorian Operative Plasterers’ Society, c.1900
20. John Hennessy
Preparatory design for Trade Union Banner: The Union of Labor is the Hope of the World, c.1900
21. March on May Day, 1967
22. Francis Henry Bromley
Illuminated address presented to the Right Honorable the Earl of Hopetoun on behalf of Eight Hours Anniversary Committee, 1890
23. Front cover and title page of W.E. Murphy, History of the Eight Hours’ Movement, 1896
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Victoria’s hidden workforce is put in the picture in this series of posters, which were displayed in public places for the 150th commemoration of the eight-hour working day.
The candid portraits of frontline workers are juxtaposed with the impersonal jargon of industrial relations. One poster includes the names of a former prime minister who introduced strongly divisive workplace reforms, and a pioneer of workers’ rights. The pairing serves to highlight the continuing cycle of workplace struggle.
24. Grant Hobson
Industry of Working, 2006
From a series of 15 posters
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The delicate ‘8-8-8’ embellishment at the centre of the photo mounts symbolises a labour movement that argued for the benefit of eight hours’ work, eight hours’ recreation and eight hours’ rest.
The right to regulate working life, without loss of pay, was first won by stonemasons on the construction site of the University of Melbourne. Sparked by long hours of toil under the ‘burning sun of the colony’, the demands of the eight-hour pioneers set an international precedent.
25. Grouzelle et Cie
Pioneers of the 8 Hours Movement, 1856
Further information for collection items can be found here: slv.vic.gov.au
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