Living rough in 1960s Fitzroy: the photographs of Alan K Jordan
Alan Jordan was a social worker, photographer and policymaker who influenced Australia's first-ever federal legislation addressing homelessness.
Through the 1960s, Alan conducted over 400 interviews with homeless persons around the inner-North of Melbourne, compiling his research into a thesis that would later become the book Going Bad: Homeless Men in an Australian City. Alongside his research and social work at the Hanover Centre (now Launch Housing) in Fitzroy, Alan began documenting his clients and their surroundings through photography. Alan’s daughter Caroline donated his collection of photographs to the State Library in 2010.
Watch the video above to learn more about Alan and his collection of photographs.
More to explore
- The Alan K Jordan collection of photographs
- A rare photo series showing the Melbourne slums of the 1930s
- The day Melbourne went underwater
About From the Vault
From the Vault is a video series that delves into the surprising, poignant and sometimes funny stories behind the unique archival images held in the State Library Victoria collection.