Latest news with #EddieButler-Bowdon

Sydney Morning Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
From mayoral robes to urinals: The hidden treasure chest that helped shape Melbourne
Upstairs in Melbourne's grand Town Hall, inside what was once a 'rabbit warren of old offices', lies a vast 13,000-piece treasure chest of the city's history. Here, the pompous ceremonial robes of lord mayors past share shelf space with gaudy Moomba costumes, gifts from visiting dignitaries, coin-operated parking meters and even models of the city's humble former public urinals. As part of this weekend's Open House Melbourne, the public is invited to hear the stories behind these objects in a special talk by former lord mayor Sally Capp and the city's long-serving curator, Eddie Butler-Bowdon. Their free talk, Heritage Stories of the City, on Monday night at The Capitol will dive into the collection's most fascinating tales. Butler-Bowdon, who has overseen the collection for 22 years, calls it the 'biggest and best capital city collection in Australia'. He says many Melburnians interact with it daily without realising it. 'It's actually a problem that we faced over the years – it's just incredibly hard to communicate that this [public artwork] – for example The Public Purse in Bourke Street Mall – is part of a much bigger thing.' The collection boasts one of the city's biggest archives of Melbourne photography, documenting everything from iconic protests in the CBD to council-taken images of potholes. It's also a place of interactive research. 'There's the land use room, which is amazing,' said Capp. 'If you live in the City of Melbourne ... you can go back and pick an address and go back through the books and see what's been there before.'

The Age
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
From mayoral robes to urinals: The hidden treasure chest that helped shape Melbourne
Upstairs in Melbourne's grand Town Hall, inside what was once a 'rabbit warren of old offices', lies a vast 13,000-piece treasure chest of the city's history. Here, the pompous ceremonial robes of lord mayors past share shelf space with gaudy Moomba costumes, gifts from visiting dignitaries, coin-operated parking meters and even models of the city's humble former public urinals. As part of this weekend's Open House Melbourne, the public is invited to hear the stories behind these objects in a special talk by former lord mayor Sally Capp and the city's long-serving curator, Eddie Butler-Bowdon. Their free talk, Heritage Stories of the City, on Monday night at The Capitol will dive into the collection's most fascinating tales. Butler-Bowdon, who has overseen the collection for 22 years, calls it the 'biggest and best capital city collection in Australia'. He says many Melburnians interact with it daily without realising it. 'It's actually a problem that we faced over the years – it's just incredibly hard to communicate that this [public artwork] – for example The Public Purse in Bourke Street Mall – is part of a much bigger thing.' The collection boasts one of the city's biggest archives of Melbourne photography, documenting everything from iconic protests in the CBD to council-taken images of potholes. It's also a place of interactive research. 'There's the land use room, which is amazing,' said Capp. 'If you live in the City of Melbourne ... you can go back and pick an address and go back through the books and see what's been there before.'