In the year 2003, the Baillieu Library at Melbourne University held an exhibition to commemorate the centenary of the University Library's first significant bequest.

What has this to do with Maldon?

George McArthur was a baker in Maldon, in the early days. He was also a collector of of rare books and Australiana. He intended to give his collection of more than 2500 books, pamphlets and newspapers to the State Library of Victoria.

Then something happened to change his mind. Professor John Walter Gregory dined with McArthur in Maldon in 1903. The professor was on a field trip with a group of his geology students. Not long after, George McArthur died, and his collection was left to the University of Melbourne.

Today, when we think of books and Maldon, we naturally think of:
Peppercorn Books