From Kylie Minogue's gold hotpants to a 19th-century cloak worn by Dame Nellie Melba, costumes which adorned Australia's stars of the stage will go on show at a new museum.
The $3.5 million Australian Museum of Performing Arts, under construction inside Melbourne's Hamer Hall, is set to open in December.
The space will be used to show off the Australian Performing Arts Collection of more than 850,000 costumes, props, posters and other memorabilia.
The treasures include AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott's leather jacket, Dame Edna Everage's The Scream Dress, and Divinyls singer Chrissy Amphlett's tunic.
There's also a journal by Nick Cave, a model of the Priscilla Queen of the Desert bus, and the puppet Ossie Ostrich from the TV program Hey Hey it's Saturday.
The museum project started with $500,000 in state government funding, with the rest of the budget coming from philanthropists.
At a media event on Monday, performer Lucy Durack paid tribute to the late Olivia Newton-John with a rendition of her 1978 hit Hopelessly Devoted To You, from the musical Grease.
Behind her was a sparkling red gown Newton-John wore in 1980 to sing for Queen Elizabeth II at the Royal Charity Concert at Sydney Opera House.
Arts Centre Melbourne chief executive Karen Quinlan said she was hopelessly devoted to the collection, which was established in 1975 and estimated to be worth almost $80 million, but had mostly been kept in storage.
Putting it on show at the museum would inspire people, she said.
"This is the new kid on the block. This is going to be a game-changing moment for Melbourne and I'm really excited."
The collection also houses items from some of the nation's most prestigious performing arts companies such as The Australian Ballet, Circus Oz, Melbourne Theatre Company and Opera Australia.
The museum will be located on the upper terrace of the Hamer Hall building overlooking the Yarra River.
It will initially have 500 sq m of exhibition space, and a second phase of construction will see this expand to about 800 sq m.
Ticket prices will be accessible, promised Quinlan, and a program of two exhibitions a year will include international shows.
A $1.7 billion program to revitalise Melbourne's arts precinct more broadly, including a new contemporary art gallery, is slated for completion in 2028.
