Records relating to underworld crime, an historic murder case and a temporary accommodation for people with mental illness have been made public for the first time.
Every year on January 1, hundreds of archives are made public as part of Public Record Office Victoria's annual Section 9 openings.
Files opened this year offer fascinating insights into a gangland murder and attempted revenge assassination in the 1940s.
Gangland figure Keith Kitchener Hull became infamous in Sydney crime circles after killing Donald 'Duck' Day.
Day's associates caught up with Hull in Melbourne in July of 1947, attempting to shoot him in his truck in St Kilda's Little Neptune Street.
Standover man George Barrett, his accomplice Charles Martin and 'Angel of Death' Dulcie Markham were among the figures who escaped attempted murder convictions over the fascinating revenge killing attempt.
Also released this year is a 1947 capital case file of a murder out the front of a popular fast food restaurant.
Esbert Ridgway became involved in a scuffle outside the Bentleigh hamburger shop, before pulling a knife on Vincent Quinn, killing him in front of a crowd of people.
Royal Park social worker books from the mid 1940s have also been opened.
Royal Park was opened as a Receiving House in September 1907, providing accommodation for patients requiring short-term treatment for mental illness.
The facility temporarily housed approximately 200 patients from 1944-1947, the years covered in the publicly released documents.
The records include background on the patients' families, schooling, work, and friendships, including social workers' personal observations about interactions with family members.
Older records released include Children's Court Registers from 1907 to the 1920s and School Records from 1903.
Director and Keeper of Public Records Justine Heazlewood said the records would be a valuable resource for researchers, historians, students, writers, and genealogists looking into their family trees.
"We can learn so much from these records which reveal intricate details of the lives of those who've come before us," Justine said.
Under Section 9 of the Public Records Act 1973, records of a personal or private nature are closed to prevent the violation of personal privacy.
According to the Act, records primarily concerning adults should be closed for 75 years from the year they were created, records concerning children should be closed for 99 years, and records such as staff records - where the people concerned may still be in the workforce, should be closed for a lesser period of 30, 40, or 50 years, as appropriate.
For more information on records that have been released this year click HERE.
