Royal Exhibition Building & Carlton Gardens
Research on the history and uses of the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens, from 1880 to the present. Extensive collections, images and research files are maintained on the building and events held in the building. Collaborative projects are currently underway on the international exhibition movement in Australia, and fairs and bazaars held in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Archaeological projects are continuing to identify the character of plantings and garden design in the Carlton Gardens.
Project contact: Charlotte Smith
John Twycross 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition
In 2009 John Twycross’ descendents donated his collection of applied and decorative arts to Museum Victoria. Twycross, a wealthy wool merchant and art collector, had purchased these items (and many more) at the 1880 Melbourne International Exhibition. Using the collection as a primary source to the Exhibition, this project will write about Twycross as a fashionable, 19th century collector. The story is enriched by the family’s connection to the collection: three generations of Twycrosses have actively lived with and curated the collection since John Twycross’ death in 1889. The project will result in a book and a virtual exhibition.
Project contact: Charlotte Smith
Collecting India
The museum acquired a large collection of Indian material culture in the mid- to late-19th century. The Collecting India project seeks to uncover the history of these collections including a group of Indian Clay Figures (commonly referred to as ‘Poonah’ figures), and Economic Botany samples. The research will be published in a volume called Collecting India and will be included in the Collecting Southern Asia Online Project.
Project contacts: Charlotte Smith and Cherie McKeich
Melbourne Manufacturing
Research into the development of Melbourne’s manufacturing industries during the period 1850-1980, examining aspects such as the changing geographic location of manufacturing, innovation, technology transfer, import replacement, tariffs, manufacturing processes, product development, branding and marketing, product sales and promotion. Key industries of interest include domestic appliance and photographic products manufacturing, building products, engineering and transport vehicle manufacturing.
Project contacts: Matthew Churchward, David Crotty and Fiona Kinsey
Commonwealth Block (Little Lon)
Museum Victoria and La Trobe University are working together on an Australian Research Council (ARC) funded linkage project, ‘A Historical archaeology of the Commonwealth Block 1850-1950’. The Commonwealth Block is an area in inner-city Melbourne bounded by Lonsdale, Exhibition, Little Lonsdale and Spring Streets. During the mid- to late-19th century, it developed as a working class district, with simple houses, cottage industries, small scale businesses and later a few larger factories.
This project will help Australians understand more about the richness and diversity of urban experience, thereby enhancing the heritage value of Museum collections drawn from urban archaeological sites; will improve our understanding of the consequences of migration, and of the creation of global economies and local identities; and will enrich the social and cultural histories of Australia through a deeper and closer integration of archaeological and written historical information.
Project contacts: Charlotte Smith and Sarah Hayes
Melbourne’s Observatory
The history of the Melbourne Observatory and its role in navigation, timekeeping, astronomical research, meteorology and geosciences. A case study of the cultural and scientific meanings of a government observatory.
Project contact: Richard Gillespie
Spotswood Pumping Station
Research into the history of the Spotswood Pumping Station and associated early Melbourne Sewerage Scheme covering its technical, social and historical significance. The current focus is on improving documentation on a collection of historic images of the Pumping Station and the 1,200-plus artefacts of historic equipment, furniture and tools found within the Pumping Station when Museum Victoria acquired the site in 1989.
Project contacts: Matthew Churchward and David Crotty
Melbourne’s Bridges
In conjunction with the National Trust, a database of 12,000 bridges has been developed as part of a study of Victoria’s heritage bridges. Current work is focused on the history of Melbourne's Yarra bridges, Victorian railway bridges and masonry road bridges.
Project contact: Matthew Churchward
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, Curator Emeritus