Brighton Historical Society Inc.

First Floor,
Brighton Arts & Cultural Centre (Old Brighton Town Hall),
Corner Carpenter & Wilson Streets,
Brighton, Victoria, Australia

Open Thursdays from 12 midday until 5pm.
Other times by appointment.

Patron Weston Bate

Welcome to the Brighton Historical Society website.

The BHS was founded in 1963 to collect and preserve material and provide present and future generations access to the history of Brighton.

BHS is the home of a unique costume collection and extensive research facilities which include a photographic and art collection and many artefacts of local significance.

The Brighton Historical Society is a member of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, the Bayside History Network, the South Metro History Group and Museums Australia and has been appointed by the Public Record Office of Victoria as a Place of Deposit.

'The Lure of the Beach'

Commended in the Victorian Community History Awards, Small Book Publications, 2016

On sale now at the Brighton Historical Society

Price: $20.00 (add $10 for mail orders)

Brighton’s love affair with the beach began with early European settlement in the 1840s and has continued to the present day. The Lure of the Beach relates the story of sea bathing in Brighton from early horse-drawn bathing machines to the smart pop-up tents that dot today’s beaches, from paddling at the shoreline to serious competitive swimming. Like most love affairs this story is not without conflict – debates about ‘decency’ on the beach, bathing boxes encroaching on public land, and endless costly repairs to storm-damaged baths surface throughout. But for generations of Brighton families who spent their summers at the beach, sea bathing was, above all, fun.

Published with the aid of a Local History Grant from the Victorian State Government.

All proceeds from sales will assist the future research and conservation work of Brighton Historical Society.