Entrance to slum pocket, Carlton, gelatin silver photographs, F Oswald Barnett Collection, gift of Department of Human Services, Victoria, 2001, H2001.291/12

Frederick Oswald Barnett was a significant figure in Australian social reform, whose use of documentary photography increased public awareness of inner-city poverty. In 1934 he formed a study group that focused on housing reform, including slum demolition and the establishment of a state-financed housing authority, the Housing Commission of Victoria.

Hubert Opperman, American wrestler Rudy La Dieta and American middleweight boxer Ken Overlin accompany Alf Williamson on his epic Melbourne–Sydney tricycle ride, 1938, MS 10640

Entrepreneur, showman and publicity genius Bruce Small (1895–1980) grew Malvern Star bicycles from a single shop on Glenferrie Road to a nationwide icon. Small sponsored and employed endurance cyclist Hubert Opperman, or 'Oppy', who was as famous in his day as cricketer Don Bradman.

Guide Alice, Mt Buffalo, c 1900–30, gift of Anne Shannon, 2003, H2003.95/11

Known as the 'Maid of the Alps', alpine resident and intrepid walker Alice Manfield was much admired for the tours she conducted for alpine visitors. She also spent many years studying the native flora and fauna of the area, gaining an intimate knowledge of the mountain ecology and environment. An enthusiastic photographer, she captured aspects of her life and time on the mountain.

Original Brymay Redhead matchbox, 1946

The State Library's Bryant and May Collection provides a detailed picture of working life at the company's Richmond factory from its opening in 1909. With photographs, correspondence, press cuttings and advertisements, the archive also includes a collection of historical tinderboxes and the firm's own matchboxes and labels, the best known being the famous 'Redhead', first introduced in 1946.

Miss Hopton's 50th-anniversary celebration, silver gelatin photograph, 1965, Vera E Hopton Papers

Vera Hopton (1900–93) was an influential figure in Melbourne's calisthenics scene, running the Clifton Calisthenics College from 1925 to 1977. Combining gymnastics, dance and theatricality, calisthenics was born in Victoria in the 1890s and introduced to state schools in the 1930s.

Sword suspension illusion, realia, WG Alma Conjuring Collection

William George Alma (1904–93) was an Australian magician, and a fine manufacturer of conjuring apparatus and props. His passionate interest in every aspect of magic and his lifelong dedication to the art of conjuring combined to create a research collection of great range and depth, now held as part of the Arts Collection.

Rennie Ellis, Big Saturday, 1981, H2011.130/901

Every year over the Easter long weekend, surfing enthusiasts flock to the coast to watch surfers compete in the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro. The Library's collection of more than 60,000 images shot by Melbourne photographer Rennie Ellis include those from the 1970s and '80s, which capture an important time in Australian surfing history and include some of the people who have shaped today's surfing industry.

Ruth Maddison, Molly Hadfield, 69, 1991, gelatin silver photograph with watercolour; purchased with the assistance of the Friends of the State Library of Victoria, 1997, H97.76/6

Ruth Maddison's photographic series Women over 60 focuses on Victoria's older generation and features portraits of Victorian women. The images are accompanied by the words of each sitter as they share their experiences, responsibilities and day-to-day pleasures as Victoria's older generation.

John Gollings, 875.00M E 145° 12' 31.12' S 037° 25' 15.95' 2009, 2012, from Aftermath: Landscape photographs from Black Saturday series, ink jet print, H2013.61/1

February 2019 marks 10 years since the Black Saturday fires tore through parts of Victoria. Saturday 7 February was hot, dry and windy, perfect fire conditions that were fuelled by sparks from fallen power lines swept up in the rising winds. John Gollings' series of aerial photographs were taken on 13 March 2009, revealing the destruction caused by the devastating fires.