Her Majesty’s has been a central part of the cultural life of Ballarat since it first opened its doors in 1875. Australia’s best preserved theatre building, it has been continuously used as Ballarat’s home of live performance ever since. It has been owned and operated by the City of Ballarat since 1987 and functions as Ballarat’s premier performing arts centre. The Theatre was first known as the Academy of Music, a name calculated to overcome religious and temperance scruples against patronising a “theatre.” The Academy had a flat floored auditorium suitable for dances and dinners, and a fully equipped stage. It was built to supersede Ballarat’s Theatre Royal (1858), which stood around the corner in Sturt Street, near where the Myer Department store sits today. While very grand, the Royal had become outdated and no longer met the technical requirements of the touring companies. The Academy was built by the wealthy Clarke family at the initiative of a group of local people who felt that Ballarat, as the premier city of the Victorian goldfields, should have a theatre worthy of its status. They guaranteed to rent it from the Clarkes at 10% of the construction cost, which was £13,000. The building of Ballarat’s handsome new theatre was supervised by Clarke’s architect, George “Diamond” Browne. It was ready ahead of schedule, and opened on 7th June 1875. The first production was a comic opera by the French composer Lecocq, “La Fille de Madame Angot,” presented by the Royal Opera Bouffe Company run by W. S. Lyster, Australia’s first opera impresario. Soon after the Academy opened, the large Supper Room above Lydiard Street was leased to William Bridges, a former miner, who ran it as an art gallery, displaying an excellent collection of European and Australian artworks, including his own tapestries. After Bridges moved his operations to Melbourne in 1883, the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery was formed. The Gallery Society ran the Gallery from the Academy from 1884 until 1890, when the present Art Gallery in Lydiard Street North was opened.Colour photograph of interior detail at Her Majesty's Theatre, Ballarat.her majesty's ballarat, theatre, performing arts, her majesty's theatre, academy of music, george browne

This hand crafted doily, created during war time, features a side on image of a soldier holding a rifle with butt at his feet. In Victorian times, idle hands were frowned upon so women knitted and crocheted. In addition to their decorative function doilies have the practical role of protecting fine-wood furniture from the scratches caused by crockery or decorative objects, or from spilled tea when used on tea trays or with cups and saucers. Off white square crocheted doily with side on image of soldier holding rifle in the centre.Crotched - "Our Hero Were proud of him" "ANZAC 1915"doily, 1915

Ron Setford and his wife Grace Setford lived in Tanner Avenue, East Kew, from c.1946 to c.1995. A keen photographer, he recorded the changing face of Kew over a 20 year period. Apart from 30 photographs of built structures and places in Kew dating from 1960 and 1961, 145 of his 35mm colour slides chronicle the development of the Eastern Freeway through the Yarra Valley over a five year period from c.1972 to c.1977. This important collection was donated to the Society by his granddaughter in 2025.This collection of 175 35mm slides is of local and statewide significance, owing to its subject matter, particularly the major development of road transport infrastructure during the 1970s with the construction of the Eastern Freeway. The photographer also took care to annotate and date most of his slides which enable the researcher to pinpoint temporal and spatial locations.The Kew City Hall in Cotham Road, designed by Harold Bartlett, was intended as the initial phase in a scheme to develop an entire civic precinct. This was representative of a widely-held belief, of the immediate post-war era, that a district's civic centre should be precisely that – not just a single grand building for official use, but a dedicated precinct providing a range of community facilities as well as an administrative function. The Kew masterplan was later abandoned. The City Hall was designed to cater for public or official functions. Its interior had a small stage at one end for intimate theatrical productions, a larger stage at the other (with sunken orchestra pit) for musical performances, plus the most up-to-date equipment for live TV transmission.Nilron setford, photographs -- kew (vic.) -- 1960s

Paul Horton and Stan Langtip from Art Workshop taken at function to raise funds for Aquatic Centre Lakes Entrance VictoriaBlack and white photograph of Paul Horton and Stan Langtip from Art Workshop taken at function to raise funds for Aquatic Centre Lakes Entrance Victoriaarts, exhibition, fundraising

Letter advising that Shirley Admans is retiring and a function will be held to celebrate her outstanding contribution to the Tilly Aston Council, members and the organisation.A4 page with printed border and writingnon-fictionShirley Admans is retiring! Michael Simpson, GM - Policy and Advocacy invites you To celebrate Shirley's outstanding contribution to Vision Australia, the Tilly Aston Council and most particularly to blind and vision impaired members When: Friday 26 August 2005 Where: Community Centre 454 Glenferrie Road Kooyong Time: 12.30pm-2.30pm Light luncheon will be served RSVP: By Friday 19 August Cherry Johnson on 03 9864 9231 or Colleen Thom on 03 9864 9526 vision australia foundation, shirley admans

Oil Industry display in backgroundColour photograph of a group of LERHS members Anne Macarthur, Judy Davies Marie Fish Judy and Neville Beasley Des Thomas and Betty Smith visitor at function in Society rooms celetrating ten years in building on Marine Parade Lakes Entrance Victoria. Plus three other photos of same event.historical society, celebrations, schools