The Royal Daimler Project
Time flies when you’re really busy. The Museum’s conservators are working hard at our Mitchell location preparing the Royal Daimler for the Museum Workshop exhibition that opens on 25 October 2012.
Museum Workshop: The Art, Science and Craft of the Conservator will be a dynamic exhibition where visitors can meet our conservators and experience the work behind the scenes as they observe, discuss and participate in the process of museum conservation.
I recieved a letter and photograph from Barbara Salter of Somerville, Victoria who shared a fascinating story about the young Queen Elizabeth on her first tour to Australia in 1954.
Provided by Barbara Salter, Photo by Michael Maros
I lived in Adelaide (my home city) at the time and saw many of the cars come in to a garage attached to my boss’ office.
In researching our Daimler’s lengthy past, I was not the least bit surprised to discover that the car’s ceremonial duties did not cease with the completion of Queen Elizabeth’s royal tour in 1954. After all, in the aftermath of the royal visit, what else could be done with such a cumbersome and imposing motor car?
David Hallam and I dropped in to the Canberra Antique & Classic Motor Club to present on the conservation of moving collections and provide an update on our progress with the Royal Daimler Project.
A hot topic of discussion was An EIS Method for assessing thin oil films used in Museums. David has previously published a paper on this topic and is available on the Museum website here
Thank you to the CACMC and their members for having us and for laughing at my terrible jokes.
From Left: David Hallam, Heidi Bock & CACMC President David Wyatt
The Royal Daimler Project is an expensive exercise with a $300,000 expected cost. In order to meet the 2014 deadline the National Museum of Australia needs to raise $60,000 towards the conservation of the vehicle.
A big thank you to the members of Friends for their generous donations totalling over $1,000 to the Royal Daimler Project. This contribution has increased our overal fundraising to $5,540.
In order for the project to stay on track for the 2014 deadline, we hope to reach $20,000 by the end of the year.
All donations over $2 to the National Musuem of Australia and the Royal Daimler Project are fully tax deductible. If you are looking for a last minute tax deduction, an online donation to the Royal Daimler Project could be just the ticket!
All online donations promptly generate an automatic receipt sent to you via email. Only two days remaining – hit the Donate Now button on the right and help us make the Royal Daimler fit for a queen again.
Chassis number on original brass plate
A long hard day for our team in Mitchell led to some exciting news when the chassis number was revealed.
The process involved location and lubrication of the fastening bolts before removal. The bolts at the rear of the guard were hidden underneath the body coach work and required particularly careful extraction. The front bumper bar also had to be removed to allow the guard to be moved forward to free it from the body.
On a warm sunny autumn day in Canberra outside the National Museum of Australia’s storage repository in Mitchell, the conservation team gave the Daimler a high pressure hot wash to remove heavy accretions of dirt and road debris from the undercarriage. Prior to the wash, ‘truck wash’ and degreaser were applied to all surfaces.
As part of our conservation treatment, we have begun work on the body of the Daimler to remove internal carpets, floor panels and seats.
In the pictures below, you can see that we have had some interesting finds.
As I have just joined the Museum, I have been exploring and discovering the interesting facts about the 1954 Royal Tour and this majestic Daimler.
In 2004, we held an exhibition called Royal Romance that examined Australia’s passionate response to Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit in 1954, and whether the nation has fallen out of love since.
It is incredible to see the effort that went into the 1954 Royal Tour.
| 510,000 | pounds approximately in total contributed by the federal government |
| 500,000 | miles registered by the cars of Royal Visit Car Company |
1948 Daimler landaulette
