Geelong Heritage Centre Archives

Geelong Heritage Centre Archives

The Geelong Heritage Centre Archives include both official public records and private (or community-generated) records, together with objects and ephemera sourced from individuals, community groups, industry and businesses, sporting clubs, social groups, churches and related groups. The Archives provide an insight into the rich history of Geelong and the surrounding districts’ people, places and events.

The Archives are made up of a large proportion of official public records (permanent and temporary) created by local government organisations including minutes, reports, plans, drawings, photos and memorabilia, as well as records from Victorian State Government departments, such as the Geelong Harbor Trust.

Other interesting items include many regional and local newspapers, such as the Geelong Advertiser (from 1840 to present); marriage, baptism and burial records from local churches; maps; parish plans; architectural drawings; estate subdivision sale notices; a vast photographic collection; films; paintings; artefacts; clocks; honour boards; trophies; ceramics; clothing; journals; newsletters; and much more.

Highlights in the Archives include the WG Volum maritime book and photographic collections, the Phillip Brown collection (the working library of a pre-eminent Geelong historian), the Geelong Heritage Centre's special and rare book collection, and a major photographic collection that includes works from early pioneer photographers including Fred Kruger, John Norton, George Massingham and Ernst de Balk as well as local 20th century photographers such as John Lockwood, Robert Pockley and Ian Hawthorne.

The Geelong Heritage Centre Archives provide access to thousands of items reflecting the colonisation of the region and its subsequent impact on the traditional owners of the land – the Wadawurrung people – and their interactions with the rapid arrival of early squatters from 1835.

We invite you to searc the Archives and discover the many treasures that exist within.

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