Names in the Margins: Women’s Stories Rediscovered Through Melbourne’s Ghost SignsBehind Melbourne’s fading advertisements lie stories that were never meant to survive. In this talk, author and historian Sean Reynolds uncovers the hidden lives of women revealed through his Melbourne Ghost Signs research – stories found not only on walls, but in rate books, police files, directories, inquests, and the deep holdings of PROV – Victoria’s State Archives.
From motor-garage pioneers and migrant shopkeepers to reinvention artists and women mis-recorded or misunderstood by history, Sean traces how small archival fragments can illuminate extraordinary lives. A lively journey through the city’s social history and the archive’s overlooked corners.
When: Thursday 19 February 2026, 6-7pmWhere: Victorian Archives Centre, 99 Shiel Street, North Melbourne + Online
Price: $10
About the Speaker: Sean Reynolds is the author of Melbourne Ghost Signs (Scribe, 2024) and creator of the Melbourne Ghost Signs project, where he explores the city’s fading signage and the overlooked histories behind it. His research spans directories, rate books, Trove, and PROV collections, uncovering stories of everyday Melburnians – especially those written out of the record.
Image Captions:
Ghost sign of Miss Watsons Motor Garage. Photograph by Sean Reynolds.
Audrey Brockin’s file in the Central Register of Female Prisoners (VPRS516). Collection of Public Record Office Victoria.
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