Leisure is defined as those activities which are not compulsory or necessary, thus excluding work, some forms of education and household chores.
Critical to a balanced and healthy life, leisure includes a broad range of activities such as sport, hobbies, music, dancing, eating and drinking, shopping, travel, sex, games, collecting, photography, using the Internet, reading, talking, gambling, using alcohol and drugs, and attending exhibitions and shows.
This collection comprises objects, images, documents, sound recordings and intangible representations related to leisure activities Victorians have pursued since European settlement.
Items range from small personal items such as swimming costumes, board games, fishing rods, jigsaw puzzles, cameras and show bags to large objects such as cars and a caravan.
Note: for the purposes of this collection, ‘leisure’ refers to popular, amateur and everyday leisure activities, rather than elite, professional activities.
Significant items
- Toys made from Max Mint wrappers by a woman for her grandchildren, 1929–35.
- The iconic Harry Johns Boxing Truck, from the travelling boxing show which roamed eastern Australia, 1950–75.
- 276 items associated with racehorse Phar Lap's racing career and subsequent memorialisation.
- 216 items associated with Fitzroy's Black Cat Café, 1982–2001.
- 141 puppets and associated items from Melbourne's Le Forgeron puppet theatre, 1920s–1956.
- Ephemera and objects relating to both sportspeople and spectators at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
- Little Men, mechanical hen and tokens from Cole’s Book Arcade.
- Skyline caravan, 1957.
- Tourist brochures produced by state tourist bureaus and travel companies, 1920s–1970s.
- Bay paddle steamer models, 1880s–1920s.
- Image collections with representations of leisure activities, 1880s–1960s, especially in the State Electricity Commission, Biggest Family Album and Laurie Richards collections.
- Australian Children’s Folklore Collection: archive, artefacts and oral histories documenting children’s games and playlore, 1940s–present.