There has been a library on the Footscray Park campus site since a Mechanics Institute was established there in 1916. Certain rare and valuable items have been acquired or donated to the library during this time. These items form the basis of this collection.

Of particular significance in the development of the Special Collection was the purchase of the personal collection of author and historian, Mr John White.

The Rare and Valuable Books collection is also known as The Special Collections.

What's in the collection

The Special Collection contains rare and valuable books on a diverse range of subjects. The predominant categories are Australian literature, Australian history and Australian art, with smaller sections comprising music, anthropology, local history and town planning, along with a few rare collector's items on European history and literature.

Historical material about Footscray Technical College, Footscray Technical School, Footscray Institute of Technology (FIT), Western Melbourne Institute of TAFE (WMIT) or the Western Institute is held by Victoria University Archives and is not in The Special Collection.

Items within The Special Collection include:

  • The Book of Kells (facsimile): this is one of the 1480 complete facsimile copies of the Book of Kells produced in 1990 by the Swiss publisher, Faksimile Verlag Luzern.
  • Collected poems of John Shaw Neilson: edited with an introduction by R.H. Croll Melbourne: Lothian Book Publishing Co., c1934. Limited edition, No. 37 of 55 (signed and inscribed with a four line hand-written verse by the author).
  • Men who made "The Argus" and "The Australasian", 1846-1923 (2 vols.) [Melbourne : Argus and Australasian Ltd.?, 1923?].
  • The Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Work's sewerage scheme: a history of its inception and a description of the engineering works carried on in connection with the scheme, Melbourne: Periodicals Publishing Company, 1900.
  • Salt: authorized education journal of Australian Army and Air Force, Melbourne [Vic.]: Educational Publications, Army Headquarters, 1941-1946.

A significant item from the collection is a piece of decorative ironwork from the now demolished Federal Coffee Palace (FCP) in the Melbourne central business district. The Federal Coffee Palace was erected in 1888 on the south-west corner of King and Collins Streets in Melbourne. The building was renamed the Federal Hotel in 1897 and was demolished in 1972. The ironwork was donated to the library by Mr. John White.

This historic artefact is on display on level 2 of the Victoria University Library at Footscray Park.

The Special Collection - Transcript

Access to the collection

The Special Collection is a research collection. The items can't be borrowed, but may be viewed on appointment.

In the library catalogue, these items have the prefix FTS SPECIAL COLL. before the shelf number.

To access material in the collection, please email our Special Collections librarians. You will receive an emailed response within five working days (Mon-Fri) and a suitable time will be arranged.

You can view the items in the Special Collections reading room on level 4 of the Footscray Park campus library.

Email: special.collections@vu.edu.au.

Contact us

VU Library welcomes inquiries from the VU research community, and individuals or groups external to the university.

Contact the Special Collections Librarians with your queries or to arrange an appointment.

Email: special.collections@vu.edu.au