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.

See story for image details

Reuse this media

Can you reuse this media without permission? No (with exceptions, see below)

Conditions of use

This media item is licensed under "All rights reserved". You cannot share (i.e. copy, distribute, transmit) or rework (i.e. alter, transform, build upon) this item, or use it for commercial purposes without the permission of the copyright owner. However, an exception can be made if your intended use meets the "fair dealing" criteria. Uses that meet this criteria include research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting news; enabling a person with a disability to access material; or professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney, or trademark attorney.

Attribution

Please acknowledge the item’s source, creator and title (where known)

Caroline Chisholm Scrapbook

This scrapbook is filled with ephemera relating to Chisholm’s work assisting immigrants in, or trying to get to, Australia. Items include newspaper clippings, public notices, correspondence, the constitution and meeting minutes for her Family Colonisation Loan Society, and documents containing her signature.

Posters advertise her lectures; railway tickets stamped for free travel indicate official support for her project; accommodation receipts document her Victorian gold diggings shelter sheds; invitation cards reveal connections in high society, which were the focus of her fundraising efforts; and lists of names record the people she assisted financially to migrate to Australia.

Most of the material dates from 1852-54 during Chisholm’s time in the United Kingdom promoting her Loan Society, and her second period in Australia from 1854-66. It is not known who collated the scrapbook.

Perhaps it was Chisholm herself, but it might also have been a family member. The personal nature of much of the material suggests the compiler was a close associate. Handed down through the Chisholm family, it was presented to Museum Victoria in 2000 by the family of a Chisholm historian.