External view of the Victorian Archives Centre
About Us

About Public Record Office Victoria

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is the archive of State and Local Governments in Victoria. We hold over 100 km of digital and physical records from 1836 to the present day. Many records are accessible to the public either online or for viewing in our Reading Rooms. PROV also sets mandatory recordkeeping standards for state and local government agencies and provides advice on recordkeeping to government.

Visit us

Our Locations
Victorian Archives Centre
99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne

Monday to Friday 10am to 4:30pm and every second and last Saturday of the month. Closed public holidays. Visit

Upcoming closures: Closed for Christmas/New Year period from 12.30pm Friday 22 December reopening 10am Tuesday 2 January 2024.

Ballarat Archives Centre
Eureka Centre, 102 Stawell St, South Ballarat Central

Monday to Thursday 10am to 4:30pm. Closed public holidays. Visit

Upcoming closures: Closing Thursday 21 December at 4pm, reopening 10am on Tuesday 2 January 2024.

Bendigo Regional Archives Centre
1st Floor Bendigo Library, 251-259 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo

Wednesday and Thursday 10am to 4pm. Closed public holidays. Visit

Upcoming closures: Wednesday 27 December and Thursday 28 December 2023. 

Geelong Library and Heritage Centre
51 Little Malop Street, Geelong

Tuesday to Friday 10am to 4pm. Closed weekends, Mondays and public holidays. Visit

Upcoming closures: Closed from Monday 25 December, reopening Tuesday 2 January.

What's On

Events, talks, exhibitions and publications
Details of the tree plantings and landscaping in the low-rise part of Debney’s Estate. PROV, VPRS 1808/P0, Unit 60, File D7 Debney Meadows Estate – Part 3, Drawing no. 10781/L.
Article

Reclaiming the slums

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Housing Commission of Victoria (HCV) embarked on building large apartment towers for people on relatively modest means. Sebastian Gurciullo's article shows both the care and attention that the HCV brought to planning housing, but also its overreach in proposing to demolish half of a heritage suburb that was already undergoing spontaneous grassroots renewal.
letter
Exhibition

Yarra: Stories of Melbourne's River

Old Treasury Building presents the history of the Yarra, featuring records from PROV's collection such as William Thomas correspondence and plan de

01 Jan 10:00 AM - 01 Jan 17:00 PM
Royal Melbourne Hospital
Exhibition

Collective City

Featuring contemporary street photography alongside historic images from Victoria's archives, this exhibition explores moments of social connection and disconnection in Melbourne. Now showing at the Victorian Archives Centre Gallery.
27 Jul 17:00 PM - 01 Dec 17:00 PM
girl holing object
Exhibition

Disrupt, persist, invent

From the 8th of December 2023, the National Archives of Australia will be showing their 'Disrupt, persist, invent' exhibition at the Victorian Arch

08 Dec 10:00 AM - 05 Apr 04:30 AM

Material in the Public Record Office Victoria archival collection contains words and descriptions that reflect attitudes and government policies at different times which may be insensitive and upsetting

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be aware the collection and website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

PROV provides advice to researchers wishing to access, publish or re-use records about Aboriginal Peoples