Look History in the Eye, Melbourne
Public Record Office Victoria
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Look History in the Eye is produced in Melbourne, Australia at the Victorian Archives Centre, where a hundred kilometres of historic records about Victoria’s past are carefully preserved in climate controlled vaults. We meet the people who dig into archival boxes, look history in the eye and then wonder why. You can download copies of original records featured in each episode by going to the Look History in the Eye page on the Public Record Office Victoria website here: https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
Available episodes
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Aug 29, 2023
Unearthed: The audacious story of Fanny Finch, pioneer and rule-breaker
Hold on to your hats as we unearth the audacious story of Fanny Finch, an English emigrant who journeyed to Australia in the 1830s. Finch, a woman of colour, dodged open mine shafts and drunken men to succeed as a businesswoman and a trailblazer for women's rights in her efforts to survive as a single mother. We also bring to light how her life inspired an award-winning stage play, which clinched the Victorian Community History Award for innovative historical interpretation in 2021.
Our special guests, historian Kasey Sinclair from La Trobe University and Fanny Finch's descendants, Bill and Alice Garner, offer their unique perspectives in tracing the life of this tenacious woman.
Note: In this episode the host describes Finding Fanny Finch as a 2022 Victorian Community History Award-winning project. Finding Fanny Finch actually won in 2021 and performed at the 2022 award ceremony. See photos of their 2022 performance here.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Jun 27, 2023
The Boy in the Dress
Author, Jonathan Butler shares insight into his book The Boy in the Dress. This gripping family memoir shares Butler's archival research journey investigating the unsolved murder of his serviceman relative. It shines fresh light on Australia’s queer military history.
Today’s episode is a recording of our Melbourne Writers Festival event from 2022 with author Jonathan Butler in conversation with Dr Yves Rees. Dr Rees is an historian at La Trobe University and co-host of the Archive Fever podcast.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Jun 13, 2023
Activism on the goldfields: Victorian Chinese petitions
The Australian gold rush years saw a boom in immigration and prosperity, but it wasn’t always a harmonious time. Racist attitudes towards Chinese people in Victoria led to discriminatory legislation. Standing up against this oppression, thousands of Chinese people presented petitions to government. These petitions are some of Victoria’s earliest examples of activism and they provide a rare opportunity to capture Chinese perspectives and their experiences in the young colony. This is a recording of a guest lecture by Anna Kyi for History Month 2022.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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May 16, 2023
Queer stories from the archives
Talk by Angela Bailey, Vice-President of the Australian Queer Archives.
Queer stories from the archives, episode 9 of the podcast series Look history in the eye discusses the Australian Queer Archives and the records in PROV’s collection that have a unique meaning to Victoria’s contemporary queer communities. This talk was originally given at the Victorian Archives Centre for International Archives Day 2022.
Presented by Public Record Office Victoria.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Jan 24, 2023
The Kamarooka panther
Interview with Desiree Pettit-Keating from the Bendigo Regional Archives Centre.
We're venturing out of Melbourne forThe Kamarooka panther, episode 8 of the podcast series Look History in the Eye. This episode is about the 1907 sighting of a creature known as the 'Kamarooka Panther'. The big cat was first spotted by sisters Alheith and Trine Christensen and made headlines from Bendigo to Melbourne, and right across the State.
In this episode, Bendigo Regional Archives Centre's Desiree Pettit-Keating delves into Public Record Office Victoria and Bendigo Regional Archives records to tell the story of the Christensen family, their life just outside of Bendigo, and their strange encounter with this mysterious creature.
Presented by Tara Oldfield and Public Record Office Victoria.
Visit the episode page here: https://prov.vic.gov.au/podcast-episode-8-kamarooka-panther
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Jun 28, 2022
Charles Troedel Archive
Talk by Amanda Scardamaglia, Associate Professor and Department Chair of the Swinburne Law School and author of Printed on Stone: The Lithographs of Charles Troedel.
Charles Troedel Archive, episode 7 of the podcast series Look history in the eye explores nineteenth century Melbourne through the lens of advertising. This talk was originally given at the Victorian Archives Centre for Melbourne Design Week 2022.
Presented by Public Record Office Victoria.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Apr 26, 2022
Pioneer girls and flappers
Talk by Katie Wood, PhD Candidate in history at La Trobe University and Senior Archivist at the University of Melbourne Archives.
Pioneer girls and flappers, episode 6 of the podcast series Look history in the eye looks at the women who worked in Footscray’s munitions factory during World War One, and earlier. This talk was originally given as an online presentation for International Women’s Day 2022.
Presented by Public Record Office Victoria.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Apr 19, 2022
Pentridge prison escape
Interview with crime writer Susanna Lobez
Pentridge Prison Escape, Episode 5 of the podcast series Look History in the Eye is about the 1955 escape of five prisoners. Yet this was not to be the first escape from Pentridge and it would not be the last.
As guest crime writer Susanna Lobez puts it: "There are three ways to undergo a prison sentence. The soft way. Which is where the prisoner obeys all the rules and works off their time as quickly as they can. The hard way. In which case they cause the authorities as much grief and aggravation as they possibly can and become known as a troublesome prisoner. And, of course, the third way is to escape."
Presented by Tara Oldfield and Public Record Office Victoria.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Apr 12, 2022
Deadtown to musictown
Interviews with food writer Michael Harden, restaurateur Tiberio Donnini, and economist John Nieuwenhuysen
Before the pandemic Melbourne was considered the music and food capital of Australia, and it all happened in just two decades. This episode Deadtown to Musictown for Look History in the Eye, explores the backstory behind how food and music culture became the lifeblood of the City. Some claim it’s all thanks to a person called John. The story begins with the discovery of a protest poster held at Public Record Office Victoria criticising the person brave enough to make drinking alcohol after 6 ... normal.
Presented by Kate Follington and Public Record Office Victoria
View the original archival record on the episode page
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Apr 5, 2022
They called her Madame B
Interview with archival historian and writer Barbara Minchinton.
They called her Madame B is the third episode of the podcast from Public Record Office Victoria, Look History in the Eye. Little was known of famous 19th Century Melbourne businesswoman Madame Brussels, that is until Barbara Minchinton researched her family tree and discovered in 2018 an old photo album which belonged to her family was still in the hands of an ancestor Dennis James. It finally put a face to the rumours which had dominated her legacy in Melbourne for over a century. Presented by Kate Follington and Public Record Office Victoria.
View the original archival record on the episode page.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Mar 29, 2022
Monuments for the masses
Interviews with architectural historians Derham Groves and Seamus O'Hanlon.
Monuments for the masses, episode 2 of the podcast series Look history in the eye explores the reasons why Melbourne was desperate for a landmark in the 1970s and where it all went wrong. Melbourne loves to look back and laugh at the kitschy ideas that were submitted in the Landmark Competition. But the archives tell a different story, one where world-famous architects and artists were let down by a process too idealistic to ever succeed.
Presented by Natasha Cantwell and Public Record Office Victoria.
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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Mar 29, 2022
The silent prison: Pentridge and the panopticon
Interviews with Melbourne archaeologists Adam Ford and Geoff Hewitt.
The Silent Prison*, Episode 1 of the podcast *Look History in the Eye *is about the convergence of ideology and design. Pentridge Prison, in Melbourne and its on-site panopticons were the physical manifestation of criminal reform ideas in the 1800s. Radical concepts of that time were designed into the architectural vision for the prison and introduced a method we now know as one of mankind’s most brutal forms of punishment. *
*Presented by Kate Follington and Public Record Office Victoria *
This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria the archive of the state government of Victoria. To view the podcast homepage and all episodes, and to view records related to this episode go to https://prov.vic.gov.au/look-history-eye-podcast
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