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Historical illustration of a black swan on a lake.

Ballarat Libraries’ Rare Books: Treasures from the Collection • Exhibition

Spanning more than five centuries, Ballarat Libraries’ Rare Book Collection brings together remarkable examples of printing, publishing, exploration, science and literature. This exhibition offers a glimpse inside the pages of some of the collection’s rarest and most treasured books. Highlights include Broinowski’s Birds of Australia and Raffaello Carboni’s 1855 account of the Eureka Rebellion.  

In 2025, a significance assessment of the Rare Book Collection was undertaken with support from National Library of Australia’s Community Heritage Grant. Now this process has concluded, Ballarat Libraries looks forward to sharing the collection with the community through exhibitions such as this one. 

This exhibition is on show at Ballarat Library from Saturday 1 August until Monday 31 August.

Featured image:
The Birds of Australia
Gracius Joseph Broinowski
Published by Charles Sturt
Melbourne, 1890
Ballarat Libraries Rare Book Collection

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