The story of the struggle to cross a vast continent and build the telegraph line that would bring Australia to the world and the world to Australia.

The story of the struggle to cross a vast continent and build the telegraph line that would bring Australia to the world and the world to Australia.

This clip shows a group of men posing for the camera at the 1896 Melbourne Cup. Unfamiliar with moving image, the men remain still as if posing for a photograph.

This clip shows the end of the 1896 Melbourne Cup horse race through the onlooking crowd. Newhaven wins.

Summary by Elizabeth Taggart-Speers

'Judy Davis, is a young lioness …' observed The London Sunday Times.

Curator Sally Jackson researches famous faces and fashions of the 1896 Melbourne Cup.

Famous faces and fashions of the 1896 Melbourne Cup.