Subject Search Guides

Explore and search using our Subject Guides
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An image of an archived will from 1876

Wills and probates

Fashion Shot, VPRS 12903/P1 Box 356-03

Family history

two athletes hug

Melbourne 1956 Olympics

Church plan for Aboriginal Reserve, Framlingham, May 1931, VPRS 3686/P1 Unit 370

Aboriginal Victorians (1830s – 1970s)

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.

Learn more about PROV
hands flipping through books
Victorian Community History Awards

Shortlist announced

Presented by Public Record Office Victoria in partnership with the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, the Victorian Community History Awards are held annually to celebrate the people involved in community history. Congratulations to the 39 community groups, historians, writers, and creative talent shortlisted for a 2024 Victorian Community History Award (including main prize - the Victorian Premier’s History Award). Winners will be announced on the 24th of March. 

See the shortlist

Visit us

Our Locations
Plan your visit
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

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

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

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

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

Please note: the centre will be closed on Wednesday 2 April. 

Geelong Library and Heritage Centre
51 Little Malop Street, Geelong

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

Before your visit please check the individual location for opening times and any upcoming closures.

What's On

Events, talks, exhibitions and publications
All events
Bendigo School of Mines
Talk

Bendigo Regional Archives Centre events

The Bendigo Regional Archives Centre (BRAC) is a repository and research centre for North Central and Western Victorian history based in the Bendigo Library. BRAC provides a variety of events that showcase the history of the Bendigo region and the breadth of the region's archival collection.
01 Jan 17:30 PM - 01 May 17:30 PM
Black and white illustration of Melbourne
Article

City views

Professor Andrew May's article examines the history of the construction of a scale model of Melbourne 1838, made for the 1888 Centennial International Exhibition. Reception of the model reveals that it held, at times, contradictory meanings for a variety of audiences and was a touchstone for nostalgic reflections about Melbourne’s past, the progressive achievements observable in its present and uncertainties about urban development in its future.
a 1940s ad of a woman with a camera and the word 'kodak'
Exhibition

Belongings: objects of a family life

We’re surrounded by objects, but have you thought about how important these things are in your life, or what they represent? This exhibition at the Old Treasury Building looks at the stories behind some of the objects that have shaped the family in Australia over the decades. It considers how families make and preserve cultural traditions through craft, food, and belief.
03 Jan 10:00 AM - 31 Dec 16:00 PM
Old map of Emerald Hill, Melbourne
Article

Reshaping the Yarra

Government archives, like those held at Public Record Office Victoria (PROV), provide documentary sources that allow us to visualise changes to natural and built environments over time. Using maps and plans from PROV’s collection, Sebastian Gurciullo's article explores plans and decisions associated with the Yarra River and the developing Port of Melbourne from the 1850s to 1973. The article explores changes to the course of the river and the surrounding area, as well as proposals for changes that were never implemented.