Childhood for some is sun-soaked and sugar-coated and for others, full of awkward moments and obstacles; nonetheless, it is a time considerably shaped by the place in which one grows up. Bendigo has been a playground for generations of children, exploring, learning and growing. From local haunts to childhood games and tales of mischief, defining moments and community events, Childhood: growing up in Bendigo presented childhood treasures and memories gathered from individual and shared experiences of childhood in Bendigo.

Rather than drawing on formal collections and archives, the exhibition was curated by calling on the hidden childhood treasures and stories from the homes and memories of Bendigo locals past and present. Treasures and keepsakes sit alongside oral history recordings of childhood memories that were presented on vintage rotary dial telephones at listening posts in the Gallery.

Post Office Gallery worked with ABC Open and LaTrobe University Strategic Communication students to record and edit the forty oral history stories included in the exhibition.

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