The items tell the life story of James Robertson and his wife, Ann, who settled in Campbellfield in 1843 after arriving in Melbourne by boat from Errol in Scotland.

Upon their arrival in Campbellfield, Mr Robertson worked as a blacksmith in partnership with his brother-in-law Alexander Gibb, who had arrived with the Robertsons along with his wife, Elizabeth.

Both families lived in tents before moving into primitive slab huts on the property of their blacksmith business in 1845.

The families divided the property. Mr Robertson built a two storey, 10-room house made from bluestone and named it Gowrie Park. It exists today as Gowrie House and falls within the suburb of Glenroy.

Mrs Whatman says the items in the suitcase, which belonged to the Robertsons and their eight children, help fill in a large part of the history of the old Broadmeadows township.

One of the documents in the suitcase reveals Mr Robertson played an important role in the formation of the Industrial School of Arts, which was a major school at the time.

"The items were given to me by a descendant of the Robertsons, Helen Coulsen, who had initially offered it to other descendants of the family," Mrs Whatman said.

"I still can't believe they didn't want the suitcase and I jumped at the chance to have it."

Among the items is a family Bible, a collection of postcards from 1905-1906, a marriage certificate of 1870 and many family photographs.

Mrs Whatman, said the items had been placed on display at the Historical Society Museum at the Broadmeadows Town Park.

"This collection of treasures from the Robertson family is larger than the collections we have for other families who were part of the area's early history," she said. "I'm sure many local residents would like to take a look; the items are quite impressive."