History has left only traces of the experience of girlhood. Yet traces do remain, poignant and important. They tell the stories of girls and young women and the central role they have played in our history.
Nineteenth-century Australian society had restrictive ideas about what girls should and should not do, who they should and should not be, and who was and was not a girl. Girls adhered to and subverted these directives. They were creative, resilient and resourceful—active participants in their families, communities and society.
However, girls are hard to find in history and are often only visible in the things they owned, used, made or discarded. Drawing from collections around Victoria, these traces, in the form of handiwork, scrapbooks, writing, archaeological artefacts and photographs, will be displayed throughout Como House. Through these objects, the stories of girls from very different backgrounds who grew up in 19th and early 20th-century Victoria, including those who lived at Como, will be uncovered.
Traces of Girlhood demonstrates the opportunities girls had, the expectations placed upon them, and their ability to defy, refuse and subvert these strictures. It explores girls making and learning, their work and contributions, their health and death, and how they played and connected with one another. It also examines the absence and silence–many girls remain invisible in the traces left behind.
Book tickets for the weekend Open House sessions to view the installation at your own pace, or join a historic house tour to learn more of the history and stories of Como House & Garden.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this exhibition contains images of deceased persons.
We acknowledge the generous support of The Hansen Little Public Humanities Grant, Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne
Presenting Partner 
Image: Studio portrait of Laura Evelyn Armytage, UMA-ITE-1968001100581, Papers of the Armytage Family, 1968.0011, University of Melbourne Archives.
