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Build and maintain our historical collections

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

  • Accession objects into the National Historical Collection, including reducing backlog via the Legacy Project.
  • Make more objects available online, via Collection Explorer, by digitising our historical collections.
  • Storage of our historical collections in accordance with Museum standards.

OUR TARGETS

  • 3250 objects accessioned.
  • Increase by 12,500 objects.
  • 80%.

WHAT WE ACHIEVED

  • A total of 3388 objects were accessioned into the National Historical Collection and other Museum collections.
  • The Museum made 12,724 more objects available digitally via its online Collection Explorer.
  • 82% of objects were stored in accordance with Museum standards.

Analysis

The Museum continued to digitise its collections and make these images available to the general public via the online Collection Explorer, with 12,724 objects added in 2018–19. Digitisation of objects this year included objects previously available via Open Collections at the Museum’s Acton site, which were removed as the Museum prepares for works for its new Discovery Centre and Life in Australia gallery.

Accessioning the collection

The Museum accessioned 3388 objects this year, an increase of 223 over the 3165 objects accessioned in 2017–18. These included:

Yoshiko Ishikawa’s wedding dress

The Yoshiko Ishikawa collection comprises objects belonging to a Japanese woman who married an Australian soldier based in Japan in the aftermath of the Second World War. She subsequently migrated to Australia with her husband. Included in the collection are her wedding dress and ring, wedding photographs and naturalisation certificate, along with a number of Japanese kimonos and accessories and a traditional Japanese doll.

Joan O’Brien’s ‘wheat’ costume

Joan O’Brien, aged 12, wore a ‘wheat’-themed costume at the Public School Children’s Festival held at the Sydney Cricket Ground, 6–7 April 1938. This festival was a key part of the sesquicentenary celebrations in Sydney. The Joan and Aileen O’Brien collection also includes the Singer sewing machine on which the costume was made, a medallion that was given to all of the children who participated and a copy of the Sydney Mail, dated 13 April 1938, in which the event was featured.

Bunkangrill Country (Three Rivers) painting

The Rover Thomas collection no. 1 comprises a painting by renowned East Kimberley Aboriginal artist Rover Thomas (1926–1998). Bunkangrill Country (Three Rivers) was painted by Thomas in 1989 at Warmun in the East Kimberley, Western Australia.

John McDouall Stuart’s watch

The John McDouall Stuart collection comprises a pocket watch presented to the Scottish explorer by the Royal Geographical Society, London, in 1859, and a selection of personal documents and letters. McDouall Stuart (1815–1866) led the first successful European expedition to traverse the Australian mainland from south to north and back, through the centre of the continent.

Improvements to collection storage facilities

The Museum continued to place the highest priority on maintaining a safe, secure and accessible collection, with 82 per cent of the National Historical Collection stored in accordance with appropriate Museum standards. In 2018–19, several improvements were made to the Museum’s collection storage standards and capacity at Mitchell. These included:

  • development of an additional storage unit that provides a further 87 cubic metres of collection storage space
  • delivery of a mezzanine crate storage area to consolidate and expand collection storage areas
  • review of mezzanine upgrades to increase storage and staffing capacity
  • installation of records storage to free up more space at the Acton site
  • upgrades to the ventilation system in the hot works area of the Conservation workshop
  • implementation of targeted pest mitigation measures for susceptible collections
  • relocation and arrangement of more than 2000 Indigenous cultural objects to ensure high levels of preservation and community access
  • commencement of lease negotiations for all storage facilities, aimed at clarifying the responsibility of the building owners for providing appropriate building conditions.
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