The story of this place
When the Melbourne Public Library opened its doors in 1854, it made a revolutionary statement: knowledge should be free for everyone, not just the wealthy elite. It was one of the first free public libraries in the world, predating many famous institutions. The magnificent La Trobe Reading Room, with its octagonal dome spanning 35 metres, was the largest of its kind when completed in 1913—a cathedral of books where light floods through 4,000 square metres of glass.
But the library's most dramatic artifact isn't a book: it's Ned Kelly's homemade armour, the very suit of metal plates the bushranger wore during his final gunbattle at Glenrowan in 1880. The armour, with its distinctive bucket helmet, sits in the library's changing exhibition gallery, a reminder that truth is stranger than fiction. With over 2.2 million visitors annually, it's the third busiest library in the world.