This guide provides information about the Victoria University Archives, the collection and how you can access it. The VU Archives holds materials dating back to 1915 with the establishment of the Footscray Technical School. The archives document the history of VU and all of the institutions which are counted as its predecessors.
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Victoria University Archives
Address: PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001
Phone: (03) 9919 4724
Email: archives@vu.edu.au
Location: PB127, Bld P, Footscray Park Campus, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
University Archivist: Kim Burrell, kim.burrell@vu.edu.au
The VU archives collects material considered of permanent value to the University, and/or to the State of Victoria. As VU is established under an Act of Victorian Parliament, it is required to follow the Retention and Disposal Authorities established by the Public Record Office Victoria. These list minimum retention periods for various types of records, and identify records considered of permanent value to the State of Victoria. These identified permanent records are transferred to the archives when they are no longer required for day to day work by University Faculties and Departments.
The University Archivist also has a mandate to collect material considered of historical value to the University, but which may not fall into a permanent category as set out by the Public Record Office Victoria. This includes historical artefacts and memorabilia, records of interest to the University but not to the State more broadly, and records of associated but separate organisations, in particular Student Unions.
Some of the items in the VU Archives: Volume of Council minutes,
photograph from the 1950s and the University Seal
The archives holds original records relating to Victoria University and all of its predecessor institutions. Some institutions are better represented in the archives than others. For specific information about what is available about each institution, visit their individual page on this guide. In general, the following records are available for all institutions:
Donations of materials relating to Victoria University and its predecessor institutions are welcome from former staff, students or members of the public. Due to a fire in the offices of Footscray Technical School in 1953, there are gaps in the collection prior to 1953, and donations of pre-1953 items are therefore particularly sought.
Examples of items donated to the VU Archives in the past include: academic robes, football blazers, photographs, prefect caps and ties, report books, badges, teaching equipment, workbooks and other memorabilia.
Footscray Technical School Old Boys' Football Club Blazer,
donated to the VU Archives by Thelma York,
in memory of her husband, Milton York
If you are doing research which utilises the VU Archives collection, you may also interested in the following organisations:
If you are interested in the history of VU and its predecessor institutions, you may be interested in the following publications, which draw on material in the archives collection.
Hours of operation: By appointment, within standard business hours, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
Please contact us before you visit to arrange a time and ensure a member of staff will be available when you visit.
The archives are located in PB127, Building P, Footscray Park Campus, corner of Ballarat and Geelong Roads. Location and parking information is available on the Footscray Park Campus page.
Basic copying and scanning facilities are available, and powerpoints are available for laptops and chargers. You are also welcome to bring a digital camera and take photos of the records.
While most of the records held in the archives are open to the public, some records have access restrictions, due to privacy or confidentiality reasons.
If you are not able to visit the archives, we are happy to provide a basic research and scanning service for the materials we hold. Please contact us with your enquiry and we will be happy to assist.