GOLD MUSEUM PARTICIPATION IN FILMING OF NEW DOCUMENTARY On Saturday, 22nd March, the Gold Museum was involved in the events surrounding the filming of British actor, historian and TV host Sir Tony Robinson’s new documentary, Tony Robinson’s Tour of Duty. The program highlights the military history of Australia and New Zealand in the twentieth century. […]
genealogy
Molesworth Family Wedding Dress (1906)
EDWARDIAN WEDDING DRESS OWNED BY THE MOLESWORTH FAMILY In 2010, this magnificent Edwardian wedding dress was donated to the Gold Museum in an old tin trunk, which also included fancy dress costumes and a pair of ice skating boots. These items were owned by a branch of the Molesworth family, descended from Robert Molesworth Jr, […]
Mary Fenton Whitelaw’s Ball Gown (1867)
DRESS WORN BY MARY FENTON WHITELAW FOR ROYAL BALL IN BALLARAT, 1867 Mary Fenton Whitelaw’s green silk gown from 1867 is one of the highlights of the Gold Museum’s Costume Collection. At the age of 17, she wore it to an exclusive ball in Ballarat, to celebrate the visit of His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, […]
Eliza Perrin: An “Ordinary” Woman of the Goldfields
ELIZA PERRIN: THE STORY OF AN ORDINARY WOMAN ON THE BALLARAT GOLDFIELDS Life on the Ballarat goldfields in the mid-nineteenth century was hard enough for a man trying to make a living and survive, but for a miner’s wife it could be even more difficult, as her own fortunes were bound to the decisions her husband […]
Petford Letters Collection
LETTERS OF THE GOLDFIELDS BY JAMES PETFORD, MARY ANN PETFORD AND JANE PETFORD In May 2012, the Gold Museum purchased a collection of 36 letters written by James Petford and his second wife, Jane. These documents follow James’s life from his arrival in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1848, to his time on the Victorian goldfields […]
Miner’s Rights Collection
MINER’S RIGHTS COLLECTION Since gold was discovered in Victoria in 1851, the government has sought to manage the number of prospectors through a licensing system. The high rates of the first Gold Licenses led to protests from the miners, which eventually resulted in the events at the Eureka Stockade in December 1854. Following a Royal […]