Unlocking the past
Explore Mildura Rural City Council Libraries collection of locally significant historical items.
If you have items to donate to the collection, click here for further information.
Mildura Rates
Mildura rates books from 1890 to 1925 are now available for viewing at Public Records Office Victoria (PROV).
Click here to find out what's available.
For further information please email enquiries to Mildura Rural City Council Libraries at library@mildura.vic.gov.au
1956 Floods
Learn more about the 1956 floods in the Sunraysia region.
View photographs from the Ted Lawton Collection of the 1956 floods, as well as the significant flood events of 1974 and 1992.
Read online historical newspaper articles related to local flood events.
Visit Mildura Rural City Council Libraries to explore the Local History Collection.
Diary of Nicholas Stapleton
An account of Nicholas Stapleton's arrival and first year in the Mildura district from 4th November 1891 to 31st December 1892.
Read the document.
Frames of History
The Frames of History project is the work of author Ian McWilliams.
Part of the project includes interviewing people from the Sunraysia area on camera and archiving their life stories and experiences.
Explore the Frames of History website and enjoy the podcasts.
The Influenza Pandemic 1919
The document chronicles the 1919 influenza pandemic as reported in local newspapers at the time. The state border regulations, isolation orders and health advisories all lend a sense of urgency to the pandemic and gives a fascinating insight into what we are now faced with ourselves.
Read the document
A companion document to "A local timeline of the influenza pandemic of 1919 for Mildura and surrounding areas as reported in newspapers at the time". The stories of some of the Mildura lives lost.
Read the document
The Mallee's Living Histories
The Mallee’s Living Histories is a local project which is working to enrich the lives of older Mallee residents wishing to share their memories with children, grandchildren and others who may enjoy knowing a little of their journey.
Explore The Mallee’s Living Histories website to find out more about the stories shared.
Click here to view Mildura Rural City Council Libraries catalogue and place a hold on the books.
Memories from a Soldier Settlement
Victorian Collections is a website highlighting some of the collections held by state and community collecting organisations.
Find out more about Victorian Collections here.
Memories from a Soldier Settlement has been contributed by Red Cliffs Military Museum and can be viewed by clicking the link.
Mildura by the Vagabond
On Saturday 24th March 1894 a comprehensive article, on the creation of an irrigation colony at Mildura and the commercial undertakings of the time, was published as a supplement in The Leader (Melbourne) newspaper.
You can read the documents online by clicking on the links below.
Mildura by the Vagabond
Commercial Mildura by the Vagabond
Past Librarians
The first Mildura Public Library was opened over 130 years ago. During this time there have been many librarians who have contributed to the library service. Learn more about these past librarians here.
Myrtle Gallagher
The first librarian appointed to Mildura Carnegie Library upon it's completion, in late April 1908, was Miss Myrtle Gallagher.
Myrtle Gallagher was paid an annual salary of £50 (approximately $11500 today).
We are searching for more information about Myrtle Gallagher and would welcome any information you may have to share about her life.
Photograph supplied by Mildura & District Historical Society.
Jessie Plant
Jessie Plant was the second Librarian at the Mildura Carnegie Library and held the position for just over a year from 1911 - 1912.
During this time James Mathew donated a generous gift of his personal library containing some 600 books, for which Miss Plant would have had the task of adding to the existing collection.
Read the articles which appeared in the Mildura Cultivator on 29 July 1911 on Jessie's appointment as librarian of the Carnegie Free Library, as well as 10 August 1912 on her departure from the library and Mildura to be married.
Photograph supplied by Mildura & District Historical Society.
Elsie Lowe
Elsie Lowe was the third Librarian at the Mildura Carnegie Library. Miss Lowe held the position for 13 years, from 1912 - 1925. She was appointed as Jessie Plant's successor at the ordinary monthly meeting of the Mildura Shire Council held on Friday 9 August 1912.
Read the article which appeared in the Mildura Cultivator on Wednesday 14 August 1912, when Elsie was appointed to the position.
Photograph supplied by Mildura & District Historical Society.
Project HIBAL
Learn more about Project HIBAL and the Australian Balloon Launch Station (ABLS), located in Mildura from 1960 to 1981.
Read the document online or borrow the book from our library by clicking on the book cover image below.
View photographs from the Ted Lawton Collection of Project HIBAL operations.
Read the recent news article How Australia helped the US keep tabs on its nuclear rivals through a secret balloon program.
 |
|
Project Hibal by Steven Thorn
Available in print
Project Hibal, located in Mildura Victoria Australia was a secret shared American/Australian program to sample the upper atmosphere for atomic fallout. This book describes why the United States of America had a stratospheric sampling program for residue from nuclear weapons. The book also describes the problems and method of flying, recovering giant balloons many hundreds of feet in diameter with flown payloads greater than three hundred kilograms in weight, flying at heights above 100000 feet or 30 kilometres. |
Red Cliffs Settler News
The Red Cliffs Settler News circulated within the communities of Red Cliffs, Cardross, Nangiloc, Colignan, Sunnycliffs, Carwarp, Iraak, Stewart, Karadoc, Koorlong and Hattah from December 1992 to November 2015.
Sunraysia Dance Academy - Peta-Lynne Buchanan
Sunraysia Dance Academy, owned and operated by Peta-Lynne Buchanan, has been teaching dancers of all ages for many years.
Originally formed as the Step'N'Time Dancers in 1984, with a name change to Peta-Lynne Dancers in 1988, the students performed at a variety of venues including Mildura Centre Plaza and Langtree Mall. In 1989 the Mildura Arts Centre Theatre became the performance venue and during this time the dance school's name was changed to the Sunraysia Dance Academy. In 2010 the annual performance was moved to the Mercy Theatre.
Sunraysia Gang Show souvenir programmes
The Sunraysia Gang Show is presented by the Sunraysia District Scouts and Guides and has been produced almost every year since 1977.
To find out more about Sunraysia Gang Show click here.
Sun-raysed Children's Book
An assortment of fairy stories, rhymes, limericks, parodies, acrostics edited by C. J. DeGaris (Adjudicator of SUN-RAYSED Competitions).
"This book contains the 14 prize-winning Fairy Stories out of a total of 1358 entries in the SUN-RAYSED Competitions of January, 1919.
It also contains upwards of 80 prize-winning Rhymes, Limericks, etc., in the same SUN-RAYSED Competitions."
Read the document.