Hume History at Broadmeadows Museum

04/09/2026

If you've been in Melbourne for more than a few days, chances are you've heard of the "Hoddle Grid." You've traversed it, been stuck in traffic on it, maybe even have blurry recollections of learning something about a "Mr Hoddle" in school.

But you've never seen the Hoddle Grid quite like this.

Our current exhibition, 'The Hoddle Grid: The Great Land Grab', takes a look at the first colonial land auctions in Melbourne, when Wurundjeri land was cut up into pieces and sold to the highest bidder.

Come along to learn more about these buyers - some of whom went on to amass considerable fortunes; others lost everything.

We invite you to join exhibition curator, historian and author Dr Liz Rushen, as she takes us back to where it all began, 1 June 1837.

📍 239 A'Beckett Street, Melbourne
🗓️ 2pm – 3pm, Wednesday September 9
Bookings $5–$10: https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/event/curators-talk-hoddle-grid-the-great-land-grab-sept/

Discover the stories of Melbourne's first land-buyers. Share with a friend who would love this.

31/08/2026

This could be interesting viewing. I shall be checking it out later.

📺 Did you miss our July Making Public Histories webinar? It is now available to watch on YouTube!

Chair of the HCV and Emeritus Professor Peter McPhee moderated a fascinating session on 'Why Republics Die' along with our panel of eminent historians.

Our scholars Ángel Alcade, Frederik Juliaan Vervaet & Julia Bowes, all experts on three distinct periods, considered how democratic and republican regimes fail. Are they vulnerable to authoritarian and military threats, or are they victims of their own shortcomings?

➡️ Watch now: https://youtu.be/F3qQDg7LtP8?si=Ib1sGMujksc8QQv0

Making Public Histories is co-presented by Old Treasury Building & Monash University Publishing.

27/08/2026

26/08/2026

👋 Introducing... Professor Sean Scalmer! Sean will be delivering our prestigious History Council of Victoria Annual Lecture, taking place at the beautiful State Library Victoria theatrette on 24 September.

Professor of History at the University of Melbourne, Sean is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the author of seven books, including the recent 'A Fair Day’s Work: The Quest to Win Back Time' (2025). He is also the co-editor of six books on social movements, labour history, and democracy.

Sean’s research for this lecture draws partly upon prize-winning studies of direct action and democracy, Gandhi in the West (2011) and On the Stump (2017). It also draws upon current research supported by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung.

🗓️ Thursday 24 September, 6pm-7:30pm
📍 State Library of Victoria Theatrette and livestream via Zoom
🎟️ General Public $20 in-person, $10 livestream // Friends of the HCV $10 in-person, $5 livestream.

➡️ Book your spot now! Tickets: https://historycouncilvic.org.au/events/annual-lecture-2026/

25/08/2026

25/08/2026

🏛️𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗘𝗿𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄𝘀🏛️
In 1956, Broadmeadows celebrated the opening of its new Town Hall, a symbol of a growing community and a bright future. With the Governor of Victoria, General Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks, in attendance, the occasion marked a proud milestone in the municipality's journey towards city status. ✨

19/08/2026

"There is movement at Hume History at Broadmeadows Museum, for the word is passing around". (Sorry, Banjo!)

Some updates on conditions around the museum, and improvements on finding it.

New signage has gone up on the intersection of Pearcedale Parade and Johnstone Street alerting people in which direction the museum lies.

And the grasses, a long time feature of the Broadmeadows Town Park, in front of the museum have been removed. New planting is going in today.

16/08/2026

FORD SPECIAL VEHICLES: LOT 6 ‘WORKS’ RACING DIVISION 1969-1974 One Title. Two-Volume Book Set. The Greatest Story Never Told. On Mahoneys Road in Thomastown, behind a padlocked gate and cyclone wire fence, hidden inside a plain saw-tooth roof factory with no signage, Ford Special Vehicle’s sec...