We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the place now called Victoria, and all First Peoples living and working on this land. We celebrate the history and contemporary creativity of the world’s oldest living culture and pay respect to Elders — past, present and future.
Please be aware that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this website may contain culturally sensitive material — images, voices and information provided by now deceased persons. Content also may include images and film of places that may cause sorrow.
Some material may contain terms that reflect authors’ views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Victorian Collections.
Users of this site should be aware that in many areas of Australia, reproduction of the names and photographs of deceased people is restricted during a period of mourning. The length of this time varies and is determined by the community.
Reuse of any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander material on this site may require cultural clearances. Users are advised to contact the source organisation to discuss appropriate reuse.
The waterways of central Ballarat were channeled to prevent flooding and contain sludge during the mining era.
Video of the confluence of Canadian Creek and Yarrowee River near Anderson Street, Ballarat flowing down a channel.
ballarat, w.b. withers
Photograph of Bendigo Cemetery.
bendigo cemetery
Photograph of the Guildford Big Tree around a month after two big limbs dropped.
guildford big tree, guildford
Lidded Ceramic Jar
ceramics, australian studio pottery
Stephen Drew was Nintingbool Potteries Stephen (Steve) Drew studied at the Ballarat Technical Art School (a division of the Ballarat School of Mines) and RMIT. He worked as a secondary school teacher for a short time before setting up Nintingbool Potteries in a bush setting at Smythes Creek, near Ballarat, in 1974. He made a wide range of functional pottery high-fired in stoneware and porcelain, later concentrating on one-off sculptural pieces. Steve Drew was instrumental in setting up the Ballarat Ceramic Group, which operated for twenty years, and is a member of the Golden Plains Art Trail. His pottery mark is recorded as an impressed 'N' in a circle, or an incised 'Drew'.
Bell shaped bottle by Nintingbool Potteries
Glazed jug with Aboriginal motif and the work 'Hepburn'.
studio anna, jug, aboriginal, hepburn
Garry BISH (1950- ) Born Charlton, Victoria After training as a secondary school art teacher in Melbourne in 1968-69, Gary Bish moved to Bendigo, where he established the Potters Arms Studio in Epsom in 1972 while studying for a Diploma of Art and Design in ceramics at the Bendigo Institute of Technology, graduating in 1974. Establishing an independent studio in Epsom in 1972, Garry Bish has lectured in Ceramics for many years. Bish marks his work with his signature or an impressed 'B' with a stem like a feather, or in later years the Initial GB in a square.
Plate by hand drawn glaze design
ceramics, gary bish, australian studio pottery
Grashir Pottery was based in Kyabram, Victoria, and between 1984-1999 was registered by ASIC under the trading name Grashir Handcrafts. The pottery was set up by Graham and Shirley Howard after Graham had worked for John Stroomer for many years. The pottery made functional stoneware marked with an impressed 'Grashir Pottery' or 'Grashir Kyabram' with a map of Australia.
Small hand thrown jug by Grashir Pottery
australian studio pottery, ceramics, jug, grashir pottery
Gembrook Pottery was based in Gembrook in the Dandenong Ranges of Victoria. The pottery, run by Ian and Robyn Burgher, was registered as a business from 1987 to 2007. Marks include Gembrook Pottery (impressed), Gembrook Pottery Wirilda (impressed) and Wirilda (painted).
Lidded bowl with incised carving.
ceramics, australian studio pottery, warilda, gembrook pottery
A lidded vessel
ceramics, australian studio pottery
Springmount Pottery is located in Creswick, Victoria, and produces and sells works designed by its owner, Tina Banitska, who also owns the Convent Gallery in Daylesford. Banitska came to Australia with her family from Greece in 1956. She trained at RMIT and Franklin State College, before taking over Doug Alexander's Springmount Pottery when he moved to Tharwa in 1976. Retaining the pottery name, she developed it as a workshop, employing throwers and decorators to make works to her design, and initially selling these through the Springmount Pottery Gallery on Main Street, Ballarat. The pottery now operates with its own gallery onsite. Banitska's initial interest in ash glazes is continued in the Pottery's ashware line and there has also been a wide range of other Springmount designs. Works are signed with a painted 'Springmount' often split over two lines.
A hand thrown, glazed and decorated vase.
ceramics, springmount pottery, tina banitska, australian studio ceramics, australian studio pottery
Robert GORDON Robert 'Andy' Gordon is a potter supplying ceramic wares to stores across Australia as well as exporting to Canada, the U.S.A. and New Zealand. to China. Robert and his wife Barbara started making pottery in 1979 in a tin shed at Gembrook in the Dandenongs, Victoria, which they called the Pack Track Pottery, selling their wares at the St Kilda markets. In 1987, they expanded to purpose-build premises in nearby Pakenham where they are still based today. Wares made at Pack Track Pottery are painted 'Robert Gordon' or 'Gordon' in oxide. Wares made at the Robert Gordon Pottery are stamped 'Robert Gordon Pottery Australia', 'Robert Gordon Pottery Australian Made' or 'Robert Gordon Australia'.
Glazed jug with cork stopper
robert gordon, australia studio pottery, ceramics, pack tack pottery, jug
Robert GORDON Robert 'Andy' Gordon is a potter supplying ceramic wares to stores across Australia as well as exporting to Canada, the U.S.A. and New Zealand. to China. Robert and his wife Barbara started making pottery in 1979 in a tin shed at Gembrook in the Dandenongs, Victoria, which they called the Pack Track Pottery, selling their wares at the St Kilda markets. In 1987, they expanded to purpose-build premises in nearby Pakenham where they are still based today. Wares made at Pack Track Pottery are painted 'Robert Gordon' or 'Gordon' in oxide. Wares made at the Robert Gordon Pottery are stamped 'Robert Gordon Pottery Australia', 'Robert Gordon Pottery Australian Made' or 'Robert Gordon Australia'.
Glazed jug
robert gordon, australia studio pottery, ceramics, pack tack pottery, jug
An Italian born bearded man who settled at Dunach near Clunes.
giovanni brusaschi, dunach, clunes, brusaschi's hill, swiss/italian
House at 49a Webster Street. 2020
webster street, ballarat, architecture
Chellowdene was demolished c1996, and four units were built on the block. It has two owners. The Wood Family and the Gervasoni Family.
A cream brick house in Wills Street, Kew. It was known as Chellowdene.
chellowdene, 37 wills st kew, architecture
Chellowdene was demolished c1996, and four units were built on the block. It has two owners. The Wood Family and the Gervasoni Family.
A cream brick house in Wills Street, Kew. It was known as Chellowdene.
chellowdene, 37 wills st kew, architecture
Chellowdene was demolished c1996, and four units were built on the block. It has two owners. The Wood Family and the Gervasoni Family.
A cream brick house in Wills Street, Kew. It was known as Chellowdene.
chellowdene, 37 wills st kew, architecture
![Photograph, Clare Gervasoni, [408?] Armstrong Street South, Ballarat, 19/01/2019](https://victoriancollections.net.au/media/collectors/57a00a4fd0cdd1210422a51e/items/6607d07a1466534a78f0f164/item-media/6607d0e51466534a78f0f3e9/item-fit-380x285.jpg)
A brick house at Armstrong Street South, Ballarat under restauration, showing lath and plaster..
armstrong street south, ballarat, brick, bluestone, architecture
A brick house at 404 Armstrong Street South, Ballarat with an iron fence in bluestone.
armstrong street south, ballarat, brick, bluestone, architecture
Walter EBATARINJA
walter ebatarinja, aboriginal, hermansburg
Colour photograph of Tenth Street, Hepburn Springs looking towards the Hepburn Springs War Memorial.
10th street hepburn springs, hepburn springs war memorial, autumn leaves
Leather shoes
shoes
The Big Tree is listed a a tree of State significance on the National Trust's Register of Significant Trees of Victoria for its outstanding size, curious fusion of branches, as an outstanding example of the species and as an important landmark.
A photographs of Guildford's Big Tree - a River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). The tre-es is believed to be one of the largest examples of the species in Victoria, and has been recorded as having a height of 30 metre, a canopy spread of 34 metres, and a trunk circumference of 9.35 metres. The tree was already an ancient giant when white settlers first arrived in the 1840s. On Saturday evening, February 28th 2015, just as dusk was falling, Guildford was hit hard by tornado-like winds, felling the big cottonwood tree down by the river, and tearing limbs from the iconic Big Tree, reducing it by an estimated one third. The debris has been cleared since then and the tree seems to have survived its ordeal, though its size is certainly diminished.
big tree, guidlford, river red gum
The Big Tree is listed a a tree of State significance on the National Trust's Register of Significant Trees of Victoria for its outstanding size, curious fusion of branches, as an outstanding example of the species and as an important landmark.
A photographs of Guildford's Big Tree - a River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). The tre-es is believed to be one of the largest examples of the species in Victoria, and has been recorded as having a height of 30 metre, a canopy spread of 34 metres, and a trunk circumference of 9.35 metres. The tree was already an ancient giant when white settlers first arrived in the 1840s. On Saturday evening, February 28th 2015, just as dusk was falling, Guildford was hit hard by tornado-like winds, felling the big cottonwood tree down by the river, and tearing limbs from the iconic Big Tree, reducing it by an estimated one third. The debris has been cleared since then and the tree seems to have survived its ordeal, though its size is certainly diminished.
big tree, guidlford, river red gum
Weary Dunlop Statue at the Australian War Memorial.
australian war memorial, weary dunlop, edward dunlop, peter corlett
Australian War Memorial
stained glass, australian war memorial
Memorial Window at the Australian War Memorial, 2022
stained glass, australian war memorial
Luigi Fanettu, Johanna Fanetti (nee Gervasoni) and Steve Fanetti
luigi fanetti, johanna fanetti, johanna gervasoni, steve fanetti
Black and white wedding photograph of John Joseph Gervasoni and Santina Gervasoni on the steps of St Peter's Daylesford.
john joseph gervasoni, santina gervasoni, st peter's daylesford
Victorian Collections acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn and work.
