Books given to the Public Library from his Excellency CJ La Trobe, 1853, manuscript, reproduced with the permission of the Keeper of Public Records, Public Record Office Victoria, VPRS84/P0000/1.  

Books for the Library were ordered from London, interstate and local booksellers; they were also donated. This list is testimony to Charles Joseph La Trobe’s interest in the physical sciences, in particular geography, geology and the theories surrounding glaciers, volcanoes and the history of the Earth.