History of CSIRAC & the Australian computer industry
Research, collection development and documentation of the history of CSIRAC as a case study in Australian innovation. CSIRAC (1949-1964) was the first automatic electronic stored-program computer in Australia and one of the first in the world. It is the only first-generation computer still in existence. Research and collection development relating to the computer industry in Australia, from the 1940s-1970. Analysis of local computer innovations and new technologies, and their application in universities and industry.
Project contact: David Demant
Australian Women Cyclists in the 1890s
This research, for a recently completed Masters thesis, surveys the diversity of cycling activities that Australian women enjoyed in the 1890s, including sport and recreational cycling, and examines the variety of women who became cyclists. Drawing on photographs and cycling newspapers, the project also explores notions of femininity and identity.
Project contact: Fiona Kinsey
Communication Collections
Research into the origins and significance of the museum's collections relating to printing, phonography, pre-cinema technology, radio, telephony and telegraphy. These collections include early radio, telegraph and telephone equipment, the internationally significant Francis Collection of pre-cinema technology and items from the Victorian Government Printing Office and local printing businesses.
Project contact: David Demant
Technical innovation in Australian industry
Case studies on technological innovation in Australian industry, 1880-1940, including the Thomson steam car, Victorian steam traction engines, mining and manufacturing machinery and EPEX engineering products for the retail petroleum industry.
Project contact: Matthew Churchward
HV McKay & Sunshine Harvester
Research and collection development relating to the history of HV McKay and the Sunshine Harvester as a case study in Australian innovation, workplace and community history. The project includes ongoing collection documentation, oral histories and the development of the next stage of a museum website.
Project contact: Liza Dale-Hallett
The Great Melbourne Telescope
The Great Melbourne Telescope was the largest steerable telescope in the world for decades. Erected at Melbourne Observatory in 1869, it was an icon of Marvellous Melbourne. Relocated to Canberra in 1946, it was heavily modified for modern astronomy. Now 90 percent of its original parts have been returned to Melbourne. The aim is to restore this historic “scientific giant” for public and educational use.
Project contact: Richard Gillespie
Pioneer Aviator, John Duigan
This research involves a detailed examination of the life and work of John Robertson Duigan, who in 1910 became the first person to achieve controlled powered flight in an Australian designed and built aircraft. The work looks at Duigan’s training and influences, development of his various aircraft designs and his later career, including service as a military pilot during the First World War.
It is intended that a book will be published by Museum Victoria in mid-2010, to coincide with the centenary of Duigan’s first flight.
Project contact: David Crotty