Brighton Historical Society – Di Reidie Collection

There are certain people who come into your life who make a significant impact. One of those people for me has been a women who has become a dear friend and colleague. A woman who puts all other people and causes before herself and so she would not want me to say too much or make too much of a fuss. In respect of her wishes, I will not say much more, but I will say that it gave me great pleasure to do one small thing to recognise her substantial body of volunteer work, most particularly her discovery, sorting, storing, recording, and advocacy of the substantial community treasure which is the costume collection of Brighton Historical Society. Assessed as of State Significance with a collection that dates from c.1820 and holds in its racks a great many stories not only of the Brighton community but of Melbourne and the early years of its European settlement until today.

Di recently donated a substantial collection of items from her personal wardrobe, and her costume and ephemera collection to the society and I have had the privilege to interview Di, and document ten key pieces to Victorian Collections. These ten pieces tell a story of Di, her humour, interests, warmth, generosity, adventures, generosity (did I say that twice? ?). These stories also reference landmarks, celebrities, local and international events, weaving together a picture that speaks a thousand words.

I invite you to investigate these items and the interview which is attached as a downloadable PDF accessible here on Victorian Collections  Search for Di Reidie for her collection only.

The interview will also be published in the next BHS Journal, after which time I will upload a copy here. 

If you love community history I would encourage you to support your local historical society. It is small amount of money that contributes to the enrichment of our understanding of ourselves and our past.

cheerio,