Special collections
Read about our eight special collections and find out how to access these unique resources.
We’re proud to be able to share special collections that showcase our history and culture and support teaching, learning and research across Federation. Items include books, artworks, photographs, maps, documents and artefacts – many unique and rare.
Our collections
Explore more than 10,000 historical catalogued items dating from the opening of the Ballarat School of Mines in 1869. You’ll find manuscripts, artworks, plans and primary source materials that showcase how teaching styles and programs at Federation University have changed over time. Each item is carefully documented with stories, provenance, dates and people, making the collection a rich resource for research, interpretation and discovery.
Location
Geoffrey Blainey Research Centre and offsite store, Mt Helen Library
Access
Search or browse the collection online or book an appointment to view items in person at the Mt Helen Reading Room.
This collection offers a unique look at the social, cultural and environmental evolution of Gippsland. The collection consists of photographs and documents that focus on rural and regional Gippsland from the mid-1880s. There are 35mm colour slides, colour photographic prints, postcards, monographs, newsletters, journals, theses, newspapers, reports, microfiche, manuscripts, unpublished works and archival records from local councils and unions. Many items are rare, self-published or ephemeral.
Location
Uncle Albert Mullett Reading Room, Gippsland Library
Access
Most archival materials in the Gippsland and Regional Studies Collection aren't available digitally. Search or browse the collection online then book an appointment to view items in person at the Uncle Albert Mullett Reading Room.
You can also search the Gippsland and Regional Studies Images and Gippsland and Regional Studies Maps collections or find our items via TROVE and GippsDoc indexes.
Blainey Collection
Named after our inaugural Chancellor, Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Blainey, this collection was generously donated from his personal library through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program. It contains books about Australian history with a focus on mining, Victoria and exploration, as well as literature, and includes some rare, older items that are fragile and need special handling.
Location
Geoffrey Blainey Research Centre, Mt Helen Reading Room and offsite store, Mt Helen Library
Access
Most archival materials in the Blainey Collection aren't available digitally. Search or browse the collection online then book an appointment to view items in person at the Mt Helen Reading Room.
Guidelines
Items can't be removed from the Mt Helen Reading Room. Rare and valuable works may need to be viewed under supervision. Photocopying is limited to post-1900 publications that can handle it (please check with our team first).
This unique collection, generously donated by Dr Brian R Hill through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, explores mining history and practice across the globe. You’ll find works about Australian mining, the Californian Gold Rush, the Klondike Rush and American, New Zealand and African mining history.
Location
Geoffrey Blainey Research Centre, Mt Helen Reading Room and offsite store, Mt Helen Library
Access
Most archival materials in the Brian Hill Collection aren't available digitally. Search or browse the collection online then book an appointment to view items in person at the Mt Helen Reading Room.
Guidelines
Items can't be removed from the Mt Helen Reading Room. Rare and valuable works may need to be viewed under supervision. Photocopying is limited to post-1900 publications that can handle it (please check with our team first).
Explore works about economic history and theory, donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Professor John Creedy, Truby Williams Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne.
Location
Geoffrey Blainey Research Centre, Mt Helen Reading Room and offsite store, Mt Helen Library
Access
Most archival materials in the Creedy Collection aren't available digitally. Search or browse the collection online then book an appointment to view items in person at the Mt Helen Reading Room.
Guidelines
Items can't be removed from the Mt Helen Reading Room. Rare and valuable works may need to be viewed under supervision. Photocopying is limited to post-1900 publications that can handle it (please check with our team first).
The Research Collection brings together works by or about Federation University and its predecessor institutions, patents, rare finds and other fragile items that need a little extra care. Because of their fragility or uniqueness, these pieces are kept off the open shelves to help preserve them for future generations. The collection includes works about central and western Victorian history, the Eureka Stockade, local industrial heritage and mining in Australia.
Location
Geoffrey Blainey Research Centre, Mt Helen Reading Room and offsite store, Mt Helen Library, and Uncle Albert Mullett Reading Room, Gippsland Library
Access
Most archival materials in the Research Collection aren't available digitally. Book an appointment to visit the Mt Helen Reading Room or the Uncle Albert Mullett Reading Room or search catalogue records via Library search.
Guidelines
Items can't be removed from the Mt Helen Reading Room or the Uncle Albert Mullett Reading Room. Rare and valuable works may need to be viewed under supervision. Photocopying is limited to post-1900 publications that can handle it (please check with our team first).
Discover over 1,000 titles written by Federation University staff and academics. From books and book chapters to theses and reports, this collection showcases the breadth of research and storytelling from our university community, from 2000 to today.
Are you a Federation University author and your work isn’t listed? Let us know by emailing cataloguing@federation.edu.au.
Access
Browse works by Australian artists from 1909 to today, with a special spotlight on the creativity of our alumni and staff. The collection includes contemporary prints, ceramics, graphics, paintings and sculptures.
Access
Browse the collection online or contact the Post Office Gallery with any enquiries.
Help us grow our collections
We’re interested in materials concerning the history of Federation University and its predecessor institutions, as well as the history and heritage of the Gippsland and Ballarat districts.
