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Olive Oliver Collection
Image: Travel Diary – Olive Oliver, 1911
Source: Museum Victoria
In 1911 Miss Olive Oliver, a wealthy 32 year old woman from Melbourne, embarked on a round-the-world tour of the United States of America, Britain and Europe. The extensive journey took her to many grand cities and places of natural beauty. Olive travelled with her father, William Oliver, her brother, William Donald ('Don'), and her friend, Gretta Nicolls.
Throughout the trip, Olive kept a travel diary and collected brochures, postcards, menus, concert programs and maps from the places she visited. Museum Victoria has acquired these items as well as Olive's large wooden sea chest, and together these make up the Olive Oliver collection. The diary is a small, leather-bound paper diary in which Olive wrote of her daily activities from 9 March 1911 to 31 December 1911. As the trip lasted about a year, it is likely that there would have been a second diary covering the months of the trip during 1912 but unfortunately it has not survived.
The diary and colourful ephemera enable Olive's travels of almost a century ago to come to life. Yet more than simply recording the story of one woman's travels, the collection gives insights into early 20th century Australia and the cultural outlook and identity that Australians engaged with at this time. It demonstrates the desire among early and subsequent generations of Australian settlers to return 'home' to Britain and Europe, as well as visit other 'new world' countries, and it highlights the importance placed on gaining a cultural education outside of Australia through the 'grand tour'.
The collection is also a record of an era when the world was opening up to women, especially middle and upper class women, as they were granted new economic and legal rights, and presented with unheralded opportunities for travel and recreation, as well as for work.
Apart from the details of her journey, little is known of Olive except that she returned to Australia, did not marry or have children and died in Melbourne 1961. If anyone has any further information about Olive Oliver, please contact the Discovery Centre at Museum Victoria.
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 21 - 30) 87 items
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Postcard - 'Cypress Point, near Del Monte, on line of Southern Pacific', California, U.S.A ...
'Cypress Point, near Del Monte, on line of Southern Pacific', is a postcard from 1911 with a black and white image of Cypress Point, near Del Monte, in California, U.S.A. On the other s ...
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Booklet - 'Hamburg-American Gazette', Ship News, New York, U.S.A., 1910
'Hamburg-American Gazette' is a newsletter focused on shipping news published by the Hamburg-American Line. This issue is Vol. XX., No.1 from October 1910. It includes articles on the b ...
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Timetable - 'Canadian Pacific Railway', Winnipeg, Canada, 1911
'Canadian Pacific Railway' is a timetable issued by the Canadian Pacific Railway, Canada, on January 1, 1911. It details time tables for trains within Canada, and between Canada and the ...
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Booklet - 'California for the Tourist', California, U.S.A., 1910
'California for the Tourist', a booklet issued by Southern Pacific in California, U.S.A. in 1910, provides detailed travel information about California, the 'Land of Sunshine'. This is ...
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Booklet - 'California for the Tourist', California, U.S.A., 1910
'California for the Tourist', a booklet issued by Southern Pacific in California, U.S.A. in 1910, provides detailed travel information about California, the 'Land of Sunshine'. This is ...
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Card - 'The New Cliff House, San Francisco', San Francisco, California, U.S.A., 1905
'The New Cliff House, San Francisco' is a souvenir card of admission to the New Cliff House, a restaurant in San Francisco, U.S.A. The card was published by the Whitehead & Hoag Co., Ne ...
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Booklet - 'Yosemite Valley, Southern Pacific', California, U.S.A., 1911
'Yosemite Valley, Southern Pacific' is a booklet from 1911 that was issued by Southern Pacific, a major railway company of the U.S.A. The booklet provides travel information about the Y ...
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Leaflet - 'Pebble Beach', Monterey County, California, U.S.A., 1911
'Pebble Beach' is a leaflet issued by the Pacific Improvement Company in Monterey County, California, U.S.A, in 1911. It provides travel information about Pebble Beach Lodge, as well as ...
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Timetable - 'Salt Lake Route, The Way to the East', Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., 1911
'Salt Lake Route, The Way to the East', is a timetable issued by the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., in Spring 1911. It details time ta ...
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Map - 'Latest Map, City of Los Angeles', Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., 1911
'Latest Map, City of Los Angeles', is a fold-out map of Los Angeles issued by the Trans-Continental Freight Company, Los Angeles, U.S.A, in 1911. This is one of about eighty travel bro ...
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