Melbourne's ghost signs: Stories of entrepreneurs and automobiles

What can almost 1,000 inquest records tell us about dark history we should know more about? In the latest episode of Look History in the Eye podcast, Public Record Office Victoria speaks with Dr Jo Wainer AM, one of Australia's most influential feminist campaigners, about the fight to end Victoria's backyard abortion industry. She survived death threats and court challenges but wouldn’t rest until women stopped dying. Dr Wainer reflects on the campaign she and her husband Bertram led fr...

Behind Melbourne’s fading advertisements lie stories that were never meant to survive. In this talk, author and historian Sean Reynolds uncovers the hidden lives of women revealed through his Melbourne Ghost Signs research - stories found not only on walls, but in rate books, police files, directories, inquests, and the deep holdings of PROV. Recorded live at the Victorian Archives Centre in February 2026. This podcast is produced by Public Record Office Victoria, the archive of the state gov...

Unravel the enigma of the 'Sandy Point Man'. Discover how advanced forensic techniques combined with historical detective work put a name to a skeleton discovered off the coast of Victoria in 2017. With Victorian forensic experts Dr. Dadna Hartman and Dr. Runa Daniel leading the charge, hear how they applied complex methods like bomb pulse dating and forensic genetic genealogy to give the body a name and reveal what happened the day he disappeared. This podcast is produced by Public Record Of...

Join us as we journey into the profound stories of Australian women who ventured to the United States during the 1920s and 1930s, leaving their mark on the art world, sport, politics, and society. With historian Dr. Yves Rees as our guide, we uncover research into pioneering artist Mary Cecil Allen, Judge May Lahey, surfer and teacher Isabel Letham and social economist Persia Campbell, whose remarkable achievements built bridges across the Pacific before the second world war tied the knot. A ...

The Brookside Reformatory for Girls was in Cape Clear, ten miles from Scarsdale Victoria. Award-winning education journalist Erica Cervini delves into its cruel and unusual treatment of girls, their multiple escapes, and what we can learn from its ultimate failure. The Brookside girls is episode 14 of Look history in the eye. Erica recently wrote an article for Public Record Office Victoria's Provenance Journal Presented by Tara Oldfield and Public Record Office Victoria. The feature...