The Burying of Melbourne

When flooding plagued 1850s Melbourne, city officials decided to bury the problem

In the mid-1850s, some areas of Melbourne central business district were buried under a layer of clay at the direction of Melbourne City Council, a rather extraordinary event that until recently had been largely forgotten.

The Burying of Melbourne exhibition tells the story of the events leading up to the burial event, the consequences of the filling, and looks at some of the archaeology discovered beneath the clay.

Curated by Dr David Thompson, with exhibition design by Susan Fitzgerald.