Resources & History Collection
The Collingwood Local History Collection is held at Collingwood Library, 11 Stanton St, Abbotsford. The Collection includes books, directories, pamphlets, press cuttings, photographs, journal articles, unpublished essays and typescripts, theses, brochures, research notes, taped interviews, maps and ephemera. People wishing to use this collection are advised to first contact the Local History Officer at Collingwood Library. Collingwood Historical Society does not have its own rooms. Local History inquiries may be dealt with by Collingwood Library staff or by the Collections and Local History Librarian. Queries will be passed on to the Historical Society if required.
Local history books, documents and photos are included in the Yarra Libraries catalogue:
https://coyl.libsvic.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/coyl/
City of Yarra libraries also hold a large collection of microfilm, microfiche and CD-Rom resources such as directories, rate books, local newspapers, and birth, death and marriage indexes which are useful for general family and local history research. See Local History Resources on their website:
https://library.yarracity.vic.gov.au/research/local-history
Most photos in the collection have also been added to the PictureVictoria website. If you want to limit your search to photos held by Yarra Libraries, choose Advanced Search, and select Yarra Libraries.
Non-microform material is held at the Collingwood library. While most general microform material can also be found in many Victorian and interstate libraries, researchers wishing to consult the Collingwood rate books will find them at Fitzroy library, and the local papers at Fitzroy and/or Richmond libraries.
How to find out about Collingwood History
Background
The following two books make a very good starting point:
- A Short History of Collingwood by G M Hibbins, a book of 80 pages covering the history from pre-settlement to amalgamation in 1994. It includes a list of all mayors and town clerks from 1855 to 1994, has a good index, and copious footnotes which provide you with further references to follow up if wanted.
- In Those Days: Collingwood remembered is based on a series of oral history interviews conducted in the 1970s and gives a terrific picture of everyday life for Collingwood people in the earlier part of the twentieth century: school, work, entertainment, the depression, etc. It also includes a good introductory section of general history. In those Days is available as an ebook here.
A more detailed book, but with a narrower focus, is The Inner Suburbs by Bernard Barrett. Based on intensive research carried out for his thesis, Barrett concentrates on land subdivision, the development of the industrial environment in the nineteenth century, the various factions on Collingwood Council, drainage and sanitation, and exploitation of the Yarra. It is out of print but can be borrowed from some libraries or read at Collingwood Library.
For information on three elements which contribute to the architectural heritage and the tapestry of daily life – schools, churches and hotels – consult the following:
- Bitter Roots, Sweet Fruit: a history of schools in Collingwood, Abbotsford and Clifton Hill (2008 book)
- Brimstone to Bunyip: churches of Collingwood, Clifton Hill and Abbotsford (1999 book)
- Collingwood’s 101 Hotels (online database on this website)
These sources give information on every example in the category, whether existing, closed or demolished, and also put them, as social institutions, into the overall context of life in Collingwood – they are more than just buildings.
You can also follow up items in the included bibliographies if you want to undertake more detailed research. For further details of publications, see this page:
https://collingwoodhs.org.au/publications/
Information on individuals, and the history of your house.
Use general genealogical resources such as Births Deaths and Marriages, electoral rolls, Sands and Kenny / Sands and McDougall directories which list all residents alphabetically and in street order up to 1974 (on microfiche at many libraries including Fitzroy branch of Yarra Libraries); rate books which show both the owner and occupant of each house, and the occupant’s occupation (microform at Fitzroy Library; hard copy at Public Record Office of Victoria). The 1856 electoral roll, divided by subdivision, lists all men who owned property, earned more than 100 pounds per annum, or had a university degree; twentieth century electoral rolls include all enrolled adults in each household.
See this page on the Yarra Libraries website for more details:
https://library.yarracity.vic.gov.au/research/local-history
For a database of over 160 Notable People, see:
https://collingwoodhs.org.au/resources/notable-people-2/
Building Heritage
See the following page on the City of Yarra website for heritage overlays, heritage precincts, heritage sites, heritage studies and the heritage database.
https://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/the-area/heritage
Street names – see the page on this website headed Streets, Parks and Lanes.
Photographs
Photographs in the Collingwood Picture Collection have been added to Picture Victoria as well as being included in the library catalogue.
http://www.picturevictoria.vic.gov.au
The State Library of Victoria catalogue has many relevant photos, often viewable online (as well as lots of non-pictorial material). http://slv.vic.gov.au
Royal Historical Society of Victoria has a print, manuscript and image collection and provides assistance with research. http://www.historyvictoria.org.au
The Collingwood Historical Society has a collection of mostly current photos on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/collingwoodhs
There are also great local photos in the Flickr Abbotsford, Clifton Hill and Abbotsford group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/documentingcollingwood/
Many of the above photos, as well as those from other sources, as also available on the National Library of Australia’s Trove portal: http://trove.nla.gov.au/picture
Trove
The National Library of Australia’s Trove website http://trove.nla.gov.au is an absolute gold mine, with material under such headings as newspapers and gazettes, magazine and newsletters, images, books and libraries, people and organisations.
Newspapers
Trove is wonderful for digitised newspapers, which are fully searchable. Not all Collingwood papers have been digitised yet, but The Argus, The Age, Fitzroy City Press and The Mercury are great sources. (Other local newspapers are available on microfilm at libraries.)
FINALLY: did you forget the catalogue?
As mentioned above, documents, books, articles, photos, audiotapes and DVDs in the Collingwood History Collection are included in the Yarra Library catalogue. There are also relevant books in the general collection, including books on general Melbourne history which will provide a context for Collingwood as part of the greater metropolis. When searching the catalogue, you can make your search very general, e.g. Collingwood History or very specific e.g. St Philip’s Church, John Pascoe Fawkner, Peter Nettleton. If you prefer to browse a printed version, you can look at or buy Collingwood: an annotated bibliography, compiled by David Tuck, but keep in mind it does not include material added to the collection since the early 1990s.