PRRLA members – University of Melbourne – Baillieu Library

The University of Melbourne’s Archives and Special Collections (ASC) form a distinctive repository of history, culture and memory. Housed in and accessed through the iconic Baillieu Library, they comprise more than 30 kilometres of rare and unique materials ranging from eighth century manuscripts to 21^st century digital documents. ASC works to ensure its rich and diverse collections are an enduring source of scholarship and creativity. It supports academia through object-based learning initiatives; fosters the creation of new knowledge via research and exhibitions; and facilitates easy access to existing knowledge through an ongoing program of digitisation.

Part of our special collections’ mandate is to interrogate Australia’s history and location in order to better understand our place in, and impact on, the world. To that end, an extensive part of our holdings are focussed on the Pacific, its nations, and their cultures. These include important materials such as:

• Accounts of colonial exploration in the Pacific, including materials collected by James Cook, period monographs on Malcolm Bligh, and multiple records of French voyages through the South Pacific.
  
  
• Early etchings, engravings and records of European interactions with Pacific peoples – especially Maori – cultures and practices.
  
  
• Maps from the 17^th century recording Dutch exploration and trade, and 19^th century British Admiralty charts.
  
  
• Ephemera related to troop movements through the South-West Pacific during WWI.

Rare East Asian Collection

Focusing on Chinese and Japanese language materials, the University’s Rare East Asian Collections are one of the most significant of their type in Australia, holding more than 20,000 items dating from the thirteenth century onwards.  Its strengths are in literature, art theory and production, history, religion, and politics, as well as traditional medical practices. Over the past five years, the University has been acquiring scrolls, examples of early printing techniques, and traditional Asian bindings. Notable collections include:

• The Harry Simon Collection, containing monographs on Chinese literature, language, history and the arts from the 18^th century onwards, including the private research collection of Professor Emeritus Harry Felix Simon, the Foundation Professor of East Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne.
  
  
• The Valery Garrett Collection, comprising Chinese posters, photographs, porcelain figures, textiles, and objects used in daily life dating from the mid- to late-20^th century, with a particular focus on the period of the Cultural Revolution.
  
  
• The Thomas Chong Collection, consisting of classical Chinese texts dating from the 1850s – 1920s, with a special focus on traditional Chinese medicine.

Engagement Programs

The Baillieu Library is home to the Noel Shaw Gallery, in which ASC programs exhibitions and events designed to enable discovery and engagement with rare and special collections, and promote belonging within the library. These are actively tied to teaching, learning, and research, with the intention of demonstrating the relevance and importance of original, period and primary materials as evidence. Two recent examples are:

Here Lives Our Culture which examined the legacy of the four-category classification system used in pre-modern Chinese libraries and its influence on literary production.

The Grand Tour, an exploration of the 17^th- and 18^th-century phenomenon of cultural tourism in Europe; significant developments in science, the arts, and museology; and the ongoing impact of colonialism.

Both exhibitions were directly embedded in the student curriculum through our program of object-based learning, with further components incorporated into practical, work-integrated activities. For instance, Master of Arts Translation students interpreted the content of these exhibitions into simplified Chinese,  enabling increased engagement opportunities for the University’s international student cohort.

Pacific Rim Library

Although only a limited number of our digitised special collections are currently available via the PRL website, the University of Melbourne looks forward to further sharing the wealth and diversity of its rare and unique materials related to the culture and heritage of Pacific nations in future updates. Australia is linked to Asia and the Pacific not just by dint of location, but through a long, shared history of cultural, economic, and political exchange that demands both examination and celebration. In particular, we anticipate that there are many prospective opportunities for collaboration around our Rare East Asian collections, and would invite any expressions of interest in doing so.

For more information on the Baillieu Library and the Archives and Special Collections, please refer to our website HERE.