Genealogical Society of Queensland - GSQ

06/02/2026

Old wedding photographs and the stories behind them. Thanks to Chelsea Mitchell's from the National Library of Australia for Trove

05/02/2026

Using birth, death and marriage records to explore your family history. Thanks to the National Library of Australia

Find out how to access and use BDM records to link generations and branches of your family.

05/02/2026

The Strathairlie Private Hospital, Taree, New South Wales. Thanks to MidCoast Stories

“Strathairlie” Private Hospital in Taree was one of several small private hospitals that once played a vital role in local healthcare but have since disappeared. In the 1900s…

05/02/2026

The first hospital in Yass, 1850-1889. Thanks to Yass & District Historical Society Inc

04/02/2026

Brooklyn's Sanatorium Hotel and St Catherine's Orphanage. Thanks to Hornsby Shire Historical Society

04/02/2026

Eagle Farm Women’s Prison and Factory Site. Thanks to The Dave & Malou Channel

03/02/2026

Driven Car Exhibition at the State Library of Queensland on until 8th February 2026.

03/02/2026

Melbourne's first newspaper, the Melbourne Advertiser, published January 1838. Thanks to the State Library Victoria

03/02/2026

An aerial view of Parliament House and its surrounds, a century ago. Image thanks to Parliament of Victoria

A remarkable glimpse of Parliament House and its surrounds from a century ago.

At the time, the federal parliament was still borrowing Victoria’s Spring Street chambers, ahead of its move to Canberra the following year. Meanwhile, the Victorian Parliament was meeting at the Royal Exhibition Building.

And in the distance, St Patrick’s Cathedral—still without its iconic spires, which wouldn’t begin construction until the mid 1930s.

Image: Ernest Ebell, courtesy of State Library Victoria.

Ernest was an Air Force pilot trainee stationed at Point Cook. He took photographs over Melbourne and Sydney in 1926 while a trainee. Sadly, he was killed during a solo training flight in September 1926 near Geelong.

02/02/2026

The loss of Melbourne's wetlands. Thanks to the Royal Historical Society of Victoria

For millennia, the wetland between the Yarra River and Moonee Ponds Creek sustained the life and cultural traditions of the Kulin nation. Their deep knowledge of this landscape - its seasonal rhythms, plants, and waterways - represented generations of careful observation and connection to Country.

The wetlands were home to a wealth of biodiversity, including Banded Stilts, coots, and numerous duck varieties. Pobblebonks grew from tadpole to frog in the shallows, yabbies hunted in the water, snakes navigated the reeds, and the now-critically endangered Grassland Earless Dragon lived in the surrounds. The ecosystem thrived in a delicate balance.

When European settlers arrived in 1835, some recognized the swamp's beauty, but most saw it differently. What had nourished the Kulin people and countless species for thousands of years was labelled "noisome" by the colonists - something to be drained and "reclaimed." By the end of the century, engineering had reshaped the land, and with it, the habitat that so many creatures depended upon vanished.

Today, only the Dynon Road Tidal Canal and a small wetland reserve remain of what was once Batman's Swamp.

On World Wetlands Day, we reflect on what traditional knowledge understood all along: wetlands aren't wastelands to conquer, but vital ecosystems to protect. Learning from the past - both Indigenous wisdom and our mistakes - helps us safeguard the wetlands that remain.

Learn more about the loss of Melbourne’s wetlands at our online exhibition, The Swamp Vanishes, available here: https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/online-exhibitions/the-swamp-vanishes-digital-exhibition/

The image featured in this post is of the view from Batman's Hill looking North-West toward the swamp, drawn on February 5 1844 by surveyor Robert Russell. The image is courtesy of the State Library Victoria Collection, object H24487.