Swinging 60s

About this event

Swinging 60s is on at Old Treasury Building (20 Spring Street, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002) on Sun 8 Nov 2026.

Tickets and details are on the organiser’s website, linked on this page. Prices listed by the organiser: Price Free. They’re indicative, so check the final price when you book.

The organiser lists these accessibility features for the event: disability awareness training for staff, step-free pathways, accessible doorbell and lift access.

From the organiser

The 1960s is remembered as a turbulent decade. In contrast to the conservative 1950s, the sixties are associated with changing ideas, youthful rebellion and experimentation. New music, new fashions and new attitudes to authority defined the generation gap.

Young people were much more visible in society, as the baby boom of the 1950s grew into the youth boom of the 1960s. By 1971 almost 40 per cent of Melbourne's population was aged under 21. Young people were also more prosperous than ever before. Full employment and rising wages meant that many young people had money to spend, and marketers took full advantage. Teenagers and twenty-somethings were clear market segments, with their own magazines, fashions and music.

In this exhibition come look at what it was like to live in Victoria during the 1960s. How different were the 1960s from the decades before or after? Was it really all about sex, drugs and rock and roll? Did the sixties really swing in Victoria?

On display will be original protest records and ephemera, costumes including one worn by Seeker, Judith Durham and some designed by Pru Acton. Instruments relating to contraception (the Pill was introduced in the 60s), and a special section for Barbie and her enduring legacy – including a 1960s Barbie and accessories.

The venue’s recorded access

Inclusable’s venue database has an entry for Old Treasury Building at this location. It records wheelchair access, step-free entry and accessible toilet. The venue hasn’t confirmed these details, but visitors have confirmed some are still accurate. They describe the venue in general, not this particular event.

Not yet recorded for the venue: accessible parking and communication and sensory features such as a hearing loop or quiet hours. We don’t know either way, so it’s worth checking before you go.