Staff, students, and our local community are invited to experience highlights of our 50-year history with an exhibition in the Geoffrey Bolton Library called ‘50 years of Murdoch University : the place, people, and stories’.

 Following the wayfinding decals on the floor, you will be taken past displays of interesting artefacts on each floor, including Sir Walter’s very own travelling chess set and pocket watch, a trail of Sir Walter’s life, Geoffrey Bolton’s regalia robe, and news clippings with our various achievements. There will also be digital displays and oral histories to immerse yourself in. 

Claire Fletcher, Manager of Resources and Collections and part of the team who have put together the exhibition, said there is a diverse amount of material that gives a glimpse into our University’s history. 

“It’s a pleasure to be able to showcase our collection of photos, films, interviews, documents and artefacts from and about the University and its history, and share them with the wider University community. This exhibition is a real credit to our Special Collections and Digital Experience staff."

- Claire Fletcher, Manager of Resources and Collections

The exhibition was created by a team of Library staff – Sharon Woodgate-Outram, Heather Teymant, Erin Montagu, Maia Churchill, Meggan Miller, Fiona Thomson, Holly Martin and Claire Fletcher. It includes items on loan from the University Archives and the Student Guild, as well as selected items from a significant collection of materials originally formed under the guidance of Professor Bolton.  

“This collection includes a wealth of photographs taken by Brian Richards, who was the University Photographer for many years, and has been maintained, documented and added to by the Library with the assistance of our History of Murdoch Advisors – Penhale Martin, Nicola Coles, Val Vicich and Kathleen Wilson,” Claire explained. 

“We have such a rich and diverse campus life, and we hope the materials chosen for display go some way to representing the many facets of Murdoch’s community. In addition to what’s on display, we’re constantly adding to our collection of material online in our Special Collections, and we encourage people to go and have a browse through these if they’re interested.” 

The Library team has put in an incredible effort to create this exhibition and source the artefacts on display. The Special Collections team have been developing a History of Murdoch Collection, which has videos, audio recordings and photographs taken throughout the decades and catalogued with dates and key information.  

With over 100,000 negatives still left to scan and sort, we would like to say a big thank you to everyone at the Library who has been part of this project and recognise the tremendous amount of work involved.

We encourage you to check out the History of Murdoch Collection and explore the 50th trail! Download the map and have a go at playing Where’s Walter to see how many you can find.

See our sneak peek video below!