Exhibition: Traces of Girlhood

On Saturday 7th Sept 2024 in Melbourne, we travelled over to South Yarra to visit a National Trust property, Como House. Till 20th October it is open house on the weekend (see times below)

There are links below to provide more about the history and current work on this property. However the real catalyst for this visit was to see the exhibition – Traces of Girlhood. ( see links below)

This house and garden are significant to the National Trust Victoria as it was their first property acquired in 1956. The interiors were of interest, but we both left being puzzled about the condition of the building.

While there are notices about significant work now underway, the question is whether it was not well maintained by the previous owners and/or have there been troubles in the decades since.

I suspect at this rate it will be a couple of decades before this property is anything like the ‘jewel in the crown’.

But that said – it is still worth a visit and the locals obviously use the gardens for their own quiet times – picnics or just sitting around reading etc.

The women who presented the exhibition are doing some important research – some links below. Their exhibition was scattered throughout the house with exhibition objects and accompanying information panels being in most rooms – along with the house furnishings and the residential objects and information panels.

I suspect that some tourists who came to the house to see the heritage property may or may not have fully appreciated the presence of the Traces of Girlhood exhibition.

Hopefully while taking in the house itself, they became aware of the topic and will do later online research. It is an interesting topic given that it is about the girls who were at the bottom of the social hierarchies and that there is little left in the way of objects they owned.

Full marks to the women who are doing the hard work of trying to bring together the traces of these girls and are present e research to assist today’s society to understand these stories. The exhibition is one part of the larger effort to bring to prominence the complex and difficult  lives these children led during these early times in Australia.

here’s a few photographs:

#1 – the photograph at the top of this page – the house from the gardens.

 

#2   The gardens to the side of the house

 

#3   Servant dining & kitchen

 

#4  one of several living/ lounge rooms

 

#5  a ceiling that has seen better days

 

#6  one of many corridors – the house is three storey and has many rooms

 

#7  decorative piece

 

#8   view out of the bathroom

 

#9  one of many small exhibit items relating to the theme/ exhibition Traces of Girlhood

 

#10  photo albums – do not know if there were any inside (not allowed to touch!).

 

 

#11   The chandelier in the ballroom

 

#12   servants’ back stairs – steep and a very tight fit.

 

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Links:

National Trust Victoria web site on Como House and Gardens

Web site on the exhibition: Traces of Girlhood

A pdf about the exhibition – click here

more on the research behind the exhibition

About Reimagining Como House (National Trust Victoria)

 

Note visiting times are restricted as the Trust relies on volunteer guides: