Over 45 events between 24 July and 2 August in the 11 th year of the Melbourne Rare Book Week. , culminating in the Melbourne Rare Book Fair , in its 51st year. All events are free. Have been the official sketcher on location since 2016. Each year I take the week off work and sketch at as many events as I can, sharing my sketches with the MRBW and MRBR Teams and the organisations that I sketch at for them to use in any social media.

I will be doing a blogpost every few days or maybe everyday, as I keep my own personal record of the events. On my sketchbook pages I sketch on location, and write the event name, place, organisaiton etc.

On my blog posts, I will also add the information about the session from the MRBW program descriptions.

This is as much about sharing with you as about keeping my own record. I hope/plan to write my own thoughts about my time at these events,

Melbourne Rare Book Week Day 1 Thursday 24 July 2025

I attended two of the three events

William Strutt’s Victoria the Golden: Sketches of Early Melbourne

Victorian Parliamentary Library

Speaker: Alisa Bunbury

Victoria’s Parliamentary Library is the second oldest library in Victoria. The highlight of its collection is William Strutt’s illustrated album Victoria the Golden. Strutt arrived in Melbourne in 1850 and captured key events in the colony, from the goldrush to the departure of the Burke and Wills expedition. Later, in England, he compiled his sketches into albums, aware of their historical importance. Join Alisa Bunbury, art historian and curator, to learn about Strutt and his years in Victoria, followed by a rare viewing of the album, alongside other Strutt material held by the Library.

Victorian Parliamentary Library. The parliamentary library was completed in 1861. It continues as a fully functional library used by members of Parliament and staff. The parliamentary library holds more than 50,000 books, and reports.

I was invited to arrive early to sketch inside. I have been to Parliamtary Library a few times as a Librarian and for MRBW. I arrived very early and sketched for 30 minutes outside.

I was then shown around the rooms that were going to be used and sketched.

Tha talk – fascinating.

Viewing the books – people moved a lot around the viewing tables, where library staff explained what was on display

Melbourne Rare Book Week Day 1 Thursday 24 July 2025

Doctors in Melbourne in the Time of La Trobe

The C J LaTrobe Society

Speaker: Dr Jonathan Burdon AM MD FRACP

Join historian Jonathan Burdon for this illustrated lecture as he delves into the early medical practitioners in Melbourne and the Port Phillip District of New South Wales (now Victoria) – who they were, where they came from, their experiences in town and country, and their notable contributions to the Colony.

Presented by: The C.J. La Trobe Society
at Tonic House, 386 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

Charles Joseph La Trobe was so controversial in so many ways. Relatively little is popularly known about him, and yet he achieved so much during his tenure as Superintendent of the Port Phillip District and as Lieutenant-Governor of the colony of Victoria.

The official first evening talk is presented by the La Trobe Society. It begins with drink and food and chatting to lots of friends, familiar faces and new people.

It is an incredibly busy week and I will gradually add all of my sketches, and thoughts.

I add them to Instagram daily alissaduke1 and Facebook Alissa Duke Art.