The Museum of Lost Things

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The Museum of Lost Things

The Museum of Lost Things is a place for forgotten history. Exotic locations, fringe personalities a

10/06/2024

It's King's Birthday here in Victoria (and much of Australia), and here is the history of this holiday.

The origin of the King’s Birthday holiday stretches back to the 17th century, and it is now celebrated throughout the Commonwealth. Except: not, in Great Britain.

04/05/2024

Where the Pullman Hotel is now, and where the Hilton Hotel was before was that, used to stand Cliveden: Melbourne's biggest (and grandest) house.

Near the MCG, where the Pullman Hotel is today, used to stand ‘Cliveden’, Melbourne’s largest and most opulent house.

14/04/2024

In the shadow (!) of this week's solar eclipse, I was reading about the first recorded event from history: 3 300 years ago in the lost city of Ugarit.

The first recorded solar eclipse occurred in the ancient city of Ugarit, captured on a clay tablet 3 000 years ago.

29/03/2024

I had some fancy lamingtons the other day (they were great, from a shop called 'Tokyo Lamington' in Carlton) and that sent me on the trail of this iconic food's creation.

Australia’s most famous cake has a long backstory, featuring a French chef and a conservative Lord. This is: the invention of the Lamington.

20/01/2024

Having seen 'Wonka' over the holidays (charming) I was keen to read a bit more about earlier film versions.

For his film version in 2005, Tim Burton deployed a surprising approach: real squirrels in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s nut room.

10/01/2024

Every time the new year rolls around, I am always curious what were the biggest stories and events from earlier time periods (I did also try: 500 years ago, but the available info was a bit spotty 😂).

Here are the biggest events from 20, 50 and 100 years ago.

24/09/2023

I recently read an excellent book about the history of women's football in Australia ('Play on! The Hidden History of Women's Australian Rules Football' by Brunette Lenkić and Rob Hess) and here are a few highlights from this and other readings on this fascinating subject.

The origins of women’s football features department store workers, fancy dress costumes, and a player from the north of England named Trixie.

10/09/2023

Watching 'Oppenheimer' a few weeks back made me interested to learn more about Australia's nuclear history.

Australia’s nuclear test sites are isolated locations used by the British government to test weapons in the 1950s and 60s.

22/08/2023

I stumbled across this story recently: a Tasmanian sea monster from the 1960s, and the wonderful world of 'Globsters'.

In 1960 a huge, unidentified sea creature washed up on a remote Tasmanian beach. This is, The Tasmanian Globster.

22/07/2023

One of the artworks at the Melbourne Now exhibit (currently at the NGV) deploys a visual technique called Pepper's Ghost. I had never heard of this before, and had to dig into such an evocatively named thing.

Pepper’s Ghost is an optical illusion that became the toast of Victorian England. Its creator was one of the first celebrity scientists.

23/06/2023

A story about one of the very best boys, and that rare movie star with no scandal attached.

The first movie star dog was a Collie named Blain, a canine hero for pioneering British film maker Cecil Hepworth.

10/06/2023

I've been reading Hilary Mantel's 'Wolf Hall' series (have one to go), and this is a fascinating footnote in the history of that period.

In the 16th century a mysterious ‘Sweating Sickness’ ravaged England and changed the course of history. Its cause is still unknown.

21/05/2023

With Prince Charles becoming King Charles, a lot of his history with Australia has been revisited. This is one of my favourite stories.

In 1977, Prince Charles appeared on Australian music TV show ‘Countdown’, and the host fell completely apart

08/05/2023

I saw some eye catching paintings at the NGV recently, which led me to this story.

Lina Bryans was a successful female artist and an independent single mother, at a time when both were less common. She also threw a hell of a party.

27/03/2023

I'm a big fan of 'Shapes' and have kindof always wanted to know their origin story. The time, had arrived.

The surprising history of Arnott’s Shapes starts with an adventurous German baker, and a forgotten Australian biscuit company.

12/03/2023

The first music recorded in Australia came about in 1896 in an unlikely fashion: a novelty song about chooks, recorded by a Warrnambool bootmaker.

Australia’s first recorded music was a novelty song about chooks, recorded by a bootmaker in rural Victoria.

04/03/2023

I watched a movie called 'Bound for Glory' the other evening, which features the world's first Steadicam shots. So I was digging into more movie technical firsts, afterwards.

Film as a medium is tied to technology. Here is a history of film, seen through 11 technical advances.

25/02/2023

Pareidolia is one of those weird things our brain does, that are endlessly fascinating.

Facial Pareidolia is the tendency of humans to see faces in random shapes and objects. It has been observed in other primates, and even in Artificial Intelligence.

25/01/2023

I walk past this bright yellow sculpture at ACCA all the time, and have always wondered about the back story. This is: Vault.

In 1980, a public artwork in Melbourne’s new city square provoked public outrage. This is the great Vault sculpture controversy.

10/01/2023

I went for a hike over the holidays on the Kurnell Peninsula, and I read about this interesting piece of local history.

For sixty years, the Tabbigai Cliff Dwellers lived in the sandstone cliffs overlooking the ocean near Botany Bay.

30/12/2022

I was up in Sydney for Christmas and was reading about this interesting piece of trivia: I did not know previously that Granny Smith apples originally came from there.

The first granny smith was grown by the real Granny Smith, an amateur horticulturalist and early migrant to convict era Sydney.

20/12/2022

I really enjoy reading about the origins of holiday traditions, and no holiday has more traditions than Christmas.

The origins of Christmas is a surprising grab bag from different cultures, stretching back thousands of years. Here are the roots of the best known Christmas traditions.

10/12/2022

Going to the video store was something I remember fondly from when I was a kid, right through to when they all shut down. It is hard to imagine, but it all started from just one store.

The world’s first video store opened in West Hollywood in 1977, the brainchild of a former actor and stuntman.

04/12/2022

I really enjoy reading about common, run-of-the-mill stuff that science struggles to explain. Here are seven.

Magnets, hangovers, and the mysterious origins of common English words: here are 7 more everyday things that can't be explained.

16/11/2022

With the Victorian state election approaching, here is the story of a scarcely believable tie that occurred in an upper house electorate in 1985 (re-post). The winner was decided, by drawing lots.

In the Victorian State election in 1985, something straight out of a bad Hollywood movie went down. This is the tied election.

13/11/2022

I really like reading about 'real life' inspirations for fictional things. Until recently, I would not have believed that Freddy Krueger fell into that category.

The real life inspiration for Nightmare on Elm Street was a mysterious psychological condition, linked to the Cambodian civil war. Its cause is still unknown.

05/11/2022

I just got back from a holiday in Indonesia, and this is one of the places I visited: the beautiful remnants of a long ago natural disaster.

In 1257 the Samalas Eruption blew apart a volcano in Indonesia. The effects were felt all over the world.

27/09/2022

It was nice to have the GF back in Melbourne on the weekend, so I was reading a bit about the history of this event.

The history of the AFL grand final involves challenge matches, bloodbaths, skipped years and a Geelong lawyer named Kenneth McIntyre.

18/09/2022

One of Melbourne's great, sorta secret locations.

The Flinders Street Station Ballroom was built to provide leisure activities to railway workers. It is now used as an exhibition space.

28/08/2022

The first feature length film was made in Melbourne in 1906, part of our city's long involvement in the history of movies.

The first feature length film was made in Melbourne in 1906. Its subject: Australia’s most famous folk hero.

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