Sciences
School of Chemistry Collection
The School of Chemistry Collection comprises over 300 items used for chemistry teaching and research at the University of Melbourne from about the 1850s to 1960s. It includes glassware, measuring and experimental apparatus, burners, bottles of chemicals, balances, catalogues and lecture notes. Many items are of historical significance due to their association with key figures in the history of science in Australia such as Frederick McCoy, Henry Joseph Grayson, Ernst Johannes Hartung, David Orme Masson and John MacAdam. In 1980 the collection was placed on long term loan with the Science Museum of Victoria (subsequently subsumed into Museum Victoria). Since its return to the University in 2007 it has been in the care of the University of Melbourne Archives.
Questions regarding the School of Chemistry Collection can be addressed to Associate Professor Michelle Gee, School of Chemistry, email mlgee@unimelb.edu.au.
Earth Sciences Rare Books
This collection is now part of Baillieu Library Special Collections.
The Earth Sciences Rare Book Collection is an important research collection of rare and early geological and palaeontological texts. Approximately sixty-five per cent of the items are the only known copy available in Australia, thus rendering this a collection of national significance. The collection includes many seminal works from the 19th and early 20th centuries. It has particularly strong holdings of early palaeontological works in English, French and German. The collection also include significant runs of many early periodical titles. The collection's origins as the private collections and personal libraries of individuals such as Frederick McCoy and Ernest Skeats, early professors at the University who were eminent in their field, mean the collection is significant to the history of the study of earth sciences.
This collection may be accessed through the Cultural Collections Reading Room in the Baillieu Library. Requests for material can be made online prior to visiting the reading room. To request material, please use our online request form.
F.A. Singleton Earth Sciences Collection
Relates to the history of teaching geology, palaeontology and earth sciences in Victoria. As well as objects and scientific samples, it includes archival material such as maps, books, photographs and staff memorabilia. Selected items from the collection are displayed in the main foyer of the McCoy Building on Elgin Street.
For further information contact John Pederick, email pederick@unimelb.edu.au, telephone (03) 8344 4874.
School of Physics Museum
Comprises some 350 items of equipment and photographs spanning the history of the School of Physics, with an emphasis on scientific apparatus constructed in the School for research undertaken by former professors and staff. There is equipment used in the development of optical munitions during the Second World War and ruling engines and diffraction gratings produced by H.J. Grayson in the School and the CSIRO.
Tiegs Museum
A collection of zoological specimens dating from the late 19th century to the present, the Tiegs Museum holds a working set of all types of animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, used principally in teaching undergraduate classes. The Tiegs Museum is a resource for students, researchers and school groups. Access is by appointment; for further information contact Mandy Parfitt, email mparfitt@unimelb.edu.au, telephone (03) 8344 4874.
University of Melbourne Herbarium
Was established at the School of Botany in 1926. Today the collection contains approximately 80,000 dried, pressed plant specimens from all major plant groups. The specimens are used predominantly for teaching and research. Use of the Herbarium is by appointment only.
Veterinary Science
This collection of skeletons and wet specimens created since the 1960s is used for teaching with the Faculty of Veterinary Science. Objects include models and other early teaching aids.
Dookie Campus Historical Collection
This small collection of documents, photographs and artefacts relates to the history of the Dookie Campus of the University's Melbourne School of Land and Environment, Victoria's oldest agricultural college. Dookie's association with the University of Melbourne began in 1910 when Bachelor of Agricultural Science students spent a year at Dookie as part of their degree studies. It is located in Lecture Theatre C, located in a 1908 building which originally housed a chemistry laboratory and classrooms, and which has since undergone substantial refitting to accommodated a tiered lecture theatre and teaching facilities, and the museum.
For further information on the collection contact Lindy Cochrane, email lindyc@unimelb.edu.au, telephone (03) 8344 9931. For information about Dookie Campus, see http://www.dookie.unimelb.edu.au/
Melbourne School of Land and Environment, Burnley: Rare Books
Includes rare and historic books relating to horticulture and the history of gardening. The collection includes items which have a historical connection to the Burnley Campus (previously the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture).