100 Years Down Under

It may be a relatively short time to those of us in the UK but it's still 'history'...
Australia was colonised on 26 January 1788. It became 'The Commonwealth of Australia' upon federation of the states in 1901.
The Mitchell Library in Sydney, opened its doors on 9 March, 1910. So, they are currently celebrating one hundred years of collecting, collections and service to the people of New South Wales and Australia with an exhibition of pieces from their archives.
Along with the exhibition, they created this beautiful typographic alphabet using the collections in their archive.

Working closely with the State Library, Design agency Frost* came up with a way to take fragments of visuals of our collections and compose them into letters of the alphabet. This creative process began with O, U and T, and so began our campaign to take the Library OUT into the community.

You can take a closer look at how they have made up the letters from their collections on the website

They also have over a million photographs from their archives online...which is where I've been all morning! I LOVE old photos...Here are a few of my favourites...
Taken by Sam Hood on 17th June 1935, in the middle of the recession, these carpenters have all applied for just one job and are waiting in Philip Street to hear the result.
A couple saying goodbye as ships take soldiers from Sydney harbour to fight in World war II, Sam Hood, 1940-1945
The super stylish actress Helen Twelvetrees with her son Jack Woody (interesting surnames!), Sydney, 1936, taken by Sam Hood
Nine girls who entered a Shirley Temple look-a-like contest set up by Fox Films and the Daily Telegraph on 2nd October 1934. The prize was £100. Taken by Sam Hood.
Mitchell Library Reading Room, 1911-1912, by unknown photographer
See more pictures here