Gentlemen Amateur Collectors of Port Phillip
A project to examine several ‘gentlemen amateur collectors’ in Port Phillip who made collections of material from Indigenous people, either directly or through an intermediary, and whose collections are now in European museums. What can be said about their motivations, their actions, and their relationships with the Aboriginal people? What do their activities indicate about the frontier moment in Port Phillip, or about the views of their friends and families back home? This project will also research the provenance of their collections from the Port Phillip district and use the web to make these collections more widely available.
Project contact: Elizabeth Willis, Creative Fellowship, State Library of Victoria
Australian Women Cyclists in the 1890s
This research project surveys the diversity of cycling activities that Australian women enjoyed in the 1890s, and examines the variety of women who became cyclists. Drawing on photographs and cycling newspapers, the project explores women’s perceptions of themselves.
Project contact: Fiona Kinsey
The Glory Box: Marriage, Migration and Material Culture in Australia, 1930-1960
Research relating to the history and cultural significance of the glory box in Australia, from 1930-1960. Drawing upon and expanding the museum's collection, the study will examine the shifts in meanings and customs of glory boxes amongst Australian-born and immigrant women, and will result in developing relevant collections, oral history archives and a representation in the new Melbourne exhibition at Melbourne Museum.
Project contacts: Moya McFadzean
The Artisan Class in the History of Science and Technology at Museum Victoria
The history of Museum Victoria is filled with myriad smaller voices and stories hidden within larger narratives of scientific discovery and development. The collection is full of objects which reveal the secret life of the institution - thousands of scientific illustrations, models, stuffed and prepared specimens. Whilst we often look to the role they have played in scientific stoushes and the politics of display they also reveal an abundance of creative talent working within the institution.
Project contact: Rebecca Carland