Water cask from the first settlement at Sullivan Cove, Sorrento, c. 1803, presented by the Sorrento branch of the Australian Natives Association, 1933, H12524

This water cask was used during the short-lived settlement led by Lieutenant-Governor David Collins at Sullivan Cove, near Sorrento. The casks were buried in the sand just above the high-water mark to provide the settlement with brackish, or partially filtered, seawater. The group arrived in October 1803 and, in part due to the the lack of fresh water and timber for construction, departed on 20 May for Van Diemen's Land, less a few escaped convicts – most notably William Buckley.

William Buckley, Reminiscenses [sic] of James Buckley, 1837, Manuscript, MS 13483

William (incorrectly named James) Buckley's reminiscences were recorded by the missionary George Langhorne. The manuscript describes the escaped convict's close relationship with the Indigenous people of the Bellarine Peninsula, with whom he spent 32 years. The Wathaurung believed Buckley was the spirit of their deceased kinsman Murrangurk. Buckley was carrying Murrangurk's spear, which he had found near his burial mound, when several Wathaurung women came across him.

George William Jackson, View of Portland Bay, 1836, watercolour, gift of Mrs HG Lamb-Smith, 1958, H17710

Edward Henty (1800–78) and his brothers have been credited with establishing Victoria's first permanent European settlement, at Portland Bay. A whaling depot had been established there by 1828, and Henty first visited the area from Van Diemen's Land in 1833 in search of pastoral land. On 19 November 1834 he returned with a group of labourers on board the Thistle to permanently occupy land and farm sheep. By 1837 he had been joined by his brothers Francis, Stephen and John. The Hentys imported merino sheep and fruit trees, and also became involved in whaling.

John Batman, Journal 10 May – 11 June 1835, Manuscript, MS 13181

John Batman's journal describes his expedition from Launceston to Port Phillip in the schooner Rebecca, and includes his famous declaration, made on 8 June 1835, that 'this will be the place for a village'. His diary also details his meetings with Aboriginal people and the signing of the deeds that established a land use agreement between the Indigenous Elders and the Port Phillip Association. The names John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner often appear side by side in Melbourne's history, though the two were bitter rivals and both believed they were the rightful founder of Melbourne.

Port Phillip Association, Melbourne Deed, known as the Batman Treaty, 1835, Manuscript, MS 13484

John Batman's Melbourne Deed recorded the purchase of land for the Port Phillip Association, and was executed in triplicate in June 1835. The treaty describes a tract of country 40 miles in length, or 500,000 acres, covering land in the Melbourne area and along the western arm of Port Phillip Bay. The land was purchased for a quantity of blankets, tomahawks, knives, scissors, looking glasses, handkerchiefs, flour and shirts, with an additional yearly rent or tribute of similar goods.

John Helder Wedge, Plan of the Port Phillip District, 1835, MS 13487

This map shows the proposed partition of 600,000 acres of land among members of the Port Phillip Association, as a consequence of the Batman deeds. The mapmaker, John Helder Wedge, was born in England in 1793 and trained as a surveyor with his father. Wedge immigrated to Van Diemen's Land with his brother Edward in 1824, and in 1835 he explored and surveyed the land claimed by the Port Phillip Association. Wedge gave the Yarra River its name, and played an important part in the founding of Melbourne.

Surveyor's chain owned by Robert Hoddle, H16888

Robert Hoddle (1794–1881) travelled with Governor Sir Richard Bourke to Port Phillip in March 1837. On 4 March, Hoddle and Bourke explored the area, tracing the township's general outline. Hoddle employed a grid, a standard plan for colonial townships, using instruments including a theodolite and the surveyor's chain. Consisting of 100 links measuring 22 yards, or a little over 20 metres, a chain is a standard unit of measure that is still in use in some countries.

John Pascoe Fawkner, Melbourne Advertiser issue no 1, 1 January 1838, Manuscript, MS 13486

John Pascoe Fawkner (1792–1869) arrived at Port Phillip from Van Diemen's Land on 16 October 1835. Fawkner published Melbourne's first newspaper, the Melbourne Advertiser, and took an active role in the political and social events of the time. Fawkner outlived John Batman by 30 years, and his public profile combined with his writings on his role in the early years of the settlement earned him for many years the contested title of 'founder' of Melbourne.

Georgiana McCrae, Self-portrait, Aged 20, 1824, watercolour on ivory, Bequest of Lady Cowper, 1988, H89.181/3

Georgiana McCrae was a significant figure in the early days of settlement in Victoria, and is recognised as an important artist for her fine watercolours and miniatures. Born in London on 15 March 1804, she studied at the Royal Academy and later earned her living as a professional portrait painter in Edinburgh. In 1830 she married Andrew Murison McCrae, before he migrated to Australia in 1839. Georgiana and their four children joined him in March 1841.

Thomas Woolner, Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1853, bronze, blackwood, gift of Mrs Edith Wilson, 1967, H29576

In 1839, Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801–75) was appointed superintendent of the Port Phillip District. La Trobe oversaw the formation of many significant institutions in the district, including the Melbourne Public Library (now State Library Victoria), the University of Melbourne and the Melbourne Hospital. He also steered the district to independence from New South Wales, and on separation in 1851 he was appointed lieutenant-governor of the newly created colony of Victoria, a position he held until mid-1854.

Glorious news! Separation at last!!, poster printed as a special edition of the Melbourne Morning Herald, 11 November 1850, letterpress, H25978

Calls for the Port Phillip region to become a colony independent of New South Wales began as early as 1840, when the settlement was only five years old. Supporters of separation petitioned the British Government and eventually Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies, announced that a bill would be proposed – suggesting that Queen Victoria would look favourably upon a new colony named in her honour. The bill was passed on 5 July 1850, but it took more than four months for the news to reach Melbourne.

The squatting map of Victoria, Melbourne, Thomas Ham, 1851, MAPS 820 A 1851 HAM

Thomas Ham was a cartographer, engraver, lithographer and publisher in Victoria and Queensland. He compiled and printed several editions of his squatting map, beginning with A map of Australia Felix in 1847 and changing its title to Ham's squatting map of Victoria in 1851. The 1851 edition was accompanied by a key listing the names of all the squatters within squatting districts and counties. Later editions show the existing counties, but some areas of Gippsland and the Australian Alps are still described as 'unsurveyed country'.

Eugene von Guérard, I have got it, 1854, oil on canvas, H15746

Eugene von Guérard trained as a landscape painter in Europe before migrating to Australia in 1852 to seek his fortune on the Victorian goldfields. As a gold-digger he was unsuccessful, but he did produce numerous intimate studies of life on the goldfields near Ballarat. After a year and a half, an impoverished von Guérard moved to Melbourne to resume his career in painting. The artist eventually achieved great success and was appointed curator of the National Gallery of Victoria from 1870 to 1881.

Samuel Charles Brees, Chinese diggers on Mount Alexander Road, Flemington, on their way to the goldfields, c 1856, watercolour, Gift of Miss Webb, 1954, H17071

By 1859 there were over 40,000 Chinese migrants in Victoria, an estimated equivalent of one in five of the male population on the goldfields. The journey for Chinese immigrants began in Canton or Hong Kong and included several months at sea before arriving in Victoria. Whether destined for Ballarat, Mt Alexander or the Bendigo goldfields, men disembarked in Geelong or Melbourne and began the arduous excursion to the goldfields. As seen in Brees' painting, the men undertook the journey with little more than a basket of food, clothing and some money.

Edward Wilson, Australia Felix: Cartoons from the daily life of an infectionate uncle, 1848–59, watercolour, ink and pencil on paper, H97.136/1-28

Born in England, Edward Wilson migrated to Australia in 1841. He initially settled on a farm on the Merri Creek and in 1842 at Eumemmering Creek at Doveton, near Dandenong. From 1849 to 1855 Wilson was the successful editor of the Argus. This sketchbook of 28 watercolours was drawn by Wilson for the enjoyment of his young niece Anne Wilson in England, revealing the activities of a gentleman farmer of the period. Depictions of giant fruit would have seemed very exotic to relatives in England, but it is unlikely that they grew in abundance, if at all, in this region.

Wilbraham Frederick Evelyn Liardet, View of the North Shore, Port of Melbourne 1862, watercolour on paper, H2017.300

When Wilbraham Liardet travelled from England to Australia in 1839, with his wife and their nine children, their plan had been to go to Sydney. But after their ship spent several weeks in Hobsons Bay, the watercolourist and entrepreneur decided to settle in Victoria. This work, painted during the peak of the gold rush, captures the enormous energy and industry of the city that was growing around the artist.