Curate Your Own Adventure

Happy International Women’s Day! To celebrate, here is a review of “A Fit Place for Women” currently on show at New South Wales Parliament House on Macquarie Street. I visited this exhibition quite some time ago. My memory of what was on display is a little hazy so thankfully I have pictures to help me remember!

The aim of the exhibition is to trace the role, history, and achievements of women in state politics. I have close to zero knowledge about New South Wales politics having been born and raised in Queensland. I am glad that my formal introduction to this topic was through this exhibition. On display is a collection of artefacts, artworks, photographs, rare documents, and newsreels each providing some insight into women in politics. The overall vibe I had of the exhibition was that it was trying to cover as much as possible without being overwhelming. At times, however, it did feel as though a history textbook had been printed on a panel.

When you walk inside the front doors of Parliament House, it is literally the first thing you see. Exhibition panels, display cases, and textiles are located around the perimeter of the reception room. It’s great that the exhibition is so exposed. It would be difficult to visit Parliament House and not see at least some of its contents. One ‘object’ that stands out in particular is a mannequin dressed in suffragette garments and sash.  As I walked around with my friend, Imogen, I frequently saw people coming in and out of Parliament stopping to see the mannequin and read the label.

I’m going to divide the rest of the blog post into what worked well and what didn’t work well. These points will include exhibition design, content, and presentation.

~ What Worked Well ~

1. Design

The interior of the Parliament House reception room is essentially a giant circle. The exhibition ran around the circumference of the room allowing visitors the opportunity to follow a prescribed path or jump between different sections. It was displayed chronologically, however, I felt as though you didn’t have to start reading at one end and finish at the other. I skipped particular sections in order to spend more time reading others.

2. Suffragette Content

My favourite part of the exhibition was seeing the objects relating to the Australian and British Suffrage Movement. Apart from the beautiful sash and garments, there was a medium-sized display case at the beginning of the exhibition containing assorted objects. There was a pair of embroidered tights and a board game that was so fascinating. I had seen a similar cup and saucer in “Disobedient Objects” at the Powerhouse Museum last year. Although the accompanying thematic label was long, it was very interesting. It covered how merchandise was utilized by the movement in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the protests etc. These objects were positioned next to a thematic panel and documents from the movement in Australia. Seeing an original petition from 1900 was incredible. Displaying the movement in both England and Australia was, to me, powerful as it highlighted the wider historical and political context.

3. Biographies

This one is both a positive and a negative so brace yourself for the alternative perspective. What I did like about the biographies was that they were accompanied by photographs and had just the right amount of text on each individual. You could easily skim all of them picking up some interesting information as well as inspiring messages. In saying that, and as mentioned before, it did feel a bit textbook put together. It would have been nice to have some objects related to specific individuals on display.

~ What Did Not Work Well ~

1. Thematic Panels Printed on Cloth

All of the thematic panels and biographies were printed directly onto cloth that was then hung around the exhibition space. This looked fine, for the most part. When it came to reading the labels, however, for some reason it was very hard on my eyes. Not to mention it was difficult to see all of the words where the fabric had creased. I understand this is perhaps a good idea for a temporary exhibition as the cloth won’t have a long time to crinkle and look tatty. This is not the worst thing I’ve seen a thematic label printed on. Please can we stop printing onto mirrors? It is almost impossible to read! Anyway, this is just a nit-picky thing I picked up on concerning the aesthetics of the exhibition.

2. End Message

I like leaving exhibitions with a little bit of closure. If that cannot be provided by the exhibition itself, it’s nice to know I can continue my experience online or through other means. The exhibition finishes by stating there has been limited space so not all stories have been shared. Also, if you have been inspired you can now go on to research more. Whilst this is all lovely, nowhere does it say where you could begin your research. Not to mention raising questions of – whose story was left out and why? How were these particular stories selected? It was a bit of an airy way to leave such an important exhibition raising more questions than answers, and not in a good way.

Thank you as always for reading my ramblings!

If you would like to see the exhibition for yourself it is open until 28 April 2017. Entry is free, and doors are open from 9:00am – 5:00pm Monday to Friday, and from 9:00am-6:00pm on Wednesdays when Parliament is sitting.

I love tours of neighbourhoods that focus on the history and heritage of the area. I was browsing through What’s On Sydney when I came across heritage walking tours of Chippendale – a suburb very close to Sydney’s CBD. Whilst living in Newtown, I often walked through the suburb on my way to work. Seeing it through a heritage and history perspective, however, was refreshing and fascinating. I am going to share with you some of the stops on the tour and the accompanying information.

Stop 1: Kent Brewery

Back in the days, Chippendale was known as the location of the Kent Brewery. According to our guide, you could tell you were in Chippendale because of the smell. The area has undergone significant transformation since the closing of the brewery. If you are interested in the history of the brewery there is some great research going on here. In Kensington street, you can still see some of the original worker’s cottages from 1847 that were used to house brewery employees. Today, they are galleries and small restaurants.

Stop 2: Kent Brewery Boiler House

Whenever I catch the bus into the city I see this building. I’ve never actually bothered to learn what it was. It’s amazing how a heritage tour can open your eyes to what’s basically right in front of you. This was the original boiler house of the brewery that has been transformed into a tri-generation powerhouse. The aim is for this building to generate enough power for all of Chippendale. As the building is Heritage Listed, the original business sign over the doorway remains.

Stop 3: Strickland Park

Opposite Strickland park are some of Sydney’s oldest apartment buildings. At only three stories high it’s amazing to think that these were dubbed apartment buildings. Considering today Sydney has some pretty intense skyscraper apartment blocks! Anyway these were built in 1912 and were utilised as public housing. They still function as public housing today.

Stop 4: Peace Park

Around 1926, this park functioned as Darling Nursery, an important forerunner to the Botanic Gardens. Because of the natural water supply from Blackwattle Bay, ventures such as these could be naturally supported. It would have been wonderful to see different types of plants on display here in the early 20th century.

Stop 5: Blackfriars school

Opening in 1883, Blackfriars was the first school in Chippendale. It was also where the Montessori Method was championed first in Sydney. Basically this method acknowledges that children learn differently and you should allow each child to learn at their own pace. Considered absolutely revolutionary, children, for example, would not sit at desks but on the floor and on pillows.

Stop 6: Brisbane Distillery

Before beer there was gin. A true start to a modern romance novel. The gin distillery operated on the grounds of Blackfriars school before it was transformed into a school. It was founded by ex-convict Robert “the Large” Cooper.

Chippendale most certainly has an interesting past that really came to life on this tour. Our guide was clearly passionate which made an hour and a half fly by. It was a large group which did make it difficult to hear the guide at times. Just means you have to keep up if you want to hear all the information! If would you like to go on the tour you can find the link here. They don’t run that often so make sure you plan ahead!

From the 18th of April until the 21st of May, the Harry Daly Museum will be participating in the Australian Heritage Festival! Although a couple of months away, I am already getting everything prepared. This will be the first in a series of blog posts leading up to the event. I hope to share with you some behind-the-scenes finds from the museum and go through how, exactly, a tour can be pieced together. This first post will look at what exactly is the Australian Heritage Festival and how the museum has decided to participate.

Background 

Since 1980,the National Trust has held the Australian Heritage Festival to celebrate heritage and culture. Each year, thousands of volunteers and institutions band together to support, promote, and enjoy the wonderful heritage on offer. This year, the festival is promising to be bigger and better than ever.

It is an incredible opportunity for museums, heritage places, and other cultural institutions to really showcase the amazing work they do within their local communities. Also, it will expose the larger networks that these places can feed into. I am very excited for the Harry Daly Museum to be part of this national movement.

Each year, the festival has a specific theme. For 2017, the selected theme is “Having a Voice”. Organizers are encouraging institutions and communities to tell their stories through many voices, hence, many perspectives. It will be wonderful to see the variety of participating places and the interesting stories that will be at the forefront. A list of what’s on offer will soon be available in both digital and hard copy form.

On top of all this, the festival is hoping places will hold an event or do something special. For example, opening to the public if they don’t normally do so. With all this in mind, I had to decide how the Harry Daly Museum was going to participate and why.

Harry Daly Museum 

Why we should participate was the easiest question to answer. Why not join other institutions around Australia and promote our heritage? Feeding into the theme for the year, it will also be the perfect time to share stories that emerge from a medical history perspective.

After going through so many options of what to do I decided to settle on a tour. The next stage involved deciding what exactly to revolve a tour around. I considered a general tour of the museum and library, but, wanted something a bit more focused. Drawing inspiration from exhibitions such as a History of the World in 100 Objects, this tour is going to look at specific objects in the collection and the stories they can tell about the history of anesthesia.

Over the past few weeks I spent time narrowing down the objects and content. There were two ways in which I could go – selecting events or major advances and finding suitable objects, or selecting the objects first and talking about what they represent. To find out what happened next watch this space!

The next blog in the series will delve deeper into how a tour can be constructed and how to organize content. I am also hoping by this stage to be able to release more information on how you can join one of our free tours during the festival.

Located a short drive from Sydney is the UNESCO World Heritage Listed Greater Blue Mountains Area. With so much to do, you could easily spend a few days traveling to the different towns and seeing the beautiful scenery from multiple perspectives. In saying this, however, the mountains are also a perfect day trip. I was fortunate enough to have a friend/local guide, Emily, show me some of the highlights. This post will be divided into two segments: why the Blue Mountains are heritage listed and how you could spend a day exploring the sites.

Why are they listed?

In a previous blog post I discussed the various criteria a place is essentially judged against in order to become World Heritage Listed. For those who would like a refresh you can find all the criteria here:

http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/

The Blue Mountains tick criterion ix and criterion x.

Criterion (ix): to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals.

This criterion links nicely to explaining why the region is called the Blue Mountains. The entire area is populated by Eucalyptus trees that fill the atmosphere with droplets of oil. Combine this with dust particles and water vapour and you have yourself a scattering of blue rays of light. Because of this incredible environment, the mountains are representative of a well-balanced eucalypt habitat with a great range of flora and fauna.

Criterion (x): to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.

The Blue Mountains have been listed under this criteria because of its diverse natural habitat that contains 114 endemic species and 177 threatened species of flora. This, in turn, supports a great diversity of fauna.

While its entry on the UNESCO World Heritage List stresses the natural beauty and value of the mountains, it is also important to note that they do have significant cultural value. For example, you can read the Indigenous stories behind the famous Three Sisters rock formation here:

http://www.bluemts.com.au/info/thingstodo/threesisters/

How Should I Spend my Day?

There are many ways in which you could spend a day in the Blue Mountains. If you’re looking for some inspiration then you’ve come to the right place. A huge thank you again to Emily for being a superb guide. I would also like to mention that there is public transport in the mountains. We, however, drove from place to place.

9.30 am

I arrived at Blaxland train station and was greeted by my friend. On our way to the picturesque town of Leura, we stopped at the Corridor of Oaks in Faulconbridge. Since Federation, every Prime Minister, or a representative from their family, has planted an oak tree in this park, known as Jackson Park. It is literally combining a history lesson with a pleasant walk.

10.30 am

We arrive in the town of Leura and spend some time exploring the main street and a cute little Sunday market. Tucked in an arcade is The Candy Store. True to its name, you can find a very wide variety of candy inside. After our visit, we headed to the Wayzgoose Cafe for lunch. I was very tempted to buy their specialty, a scone in a flowerpot. I did, however, settle for their fish ‘n chips.

1.00 pm

We drove for a few minutes to reach the town of Katoomba. Our first stop was the viewing platform for the Three Sisters at The Lookout Echo Point. I was very impressed with how this place has been managed. There is a visitors centre with a gift shop where you can buy hiking maps, vintage posters, and anything you could possibly imagine decorated with koalas or kangaroos.

The lookout has some seating available and a huge platform overlooking the Three Sisters and the Jamison Valley. Selfie sticks were out in force. After taking a few photos and, I’ll admit it, a couple of selfies, we headed off for some afternoon tea. 

1.30 pm

Combining heritage and chocolate is too good to be true. Luckily, it can happen and it can be a magical experience. The Blue Mountains Chocolate Company is located very close to the lookout and makes the most phenomenal hot chocolates. Visit soon, thank me later.

2.00 pm

Filled with chocolate, we headed to Scenic World. Here you can explore the mountains in a variety of ways. There is a skyway gondola, a scenic railway, a cableway, and good old-fashioned walking trails. Because walking down a mountain sounded more appealing than walking up a mountain, we decided to follow the trail into the valley and return via the railway.

The walk was about 45 minutes and included a few areas to stop and take photographs.

I highly recommend returning to the top on the scenic railway. It is the world’s steepest railway and was originally used to transport miners down the mountains. If you continue past the entrance to the railway, you will find some interpretative panels and what remains of the mines. I found the panels to be quite informative and they blended into the environment quite nicely.

So the train is steep. Super, super steep. You are essentially traveling vertically up the mountain hoping that nothing malfunctions. It was a lot of fun even though when I first saw the tracks I felt a bit ill.

5.00 pm

After a full day of exploring the mountains it was time to head home!

If you are spending a day in the Blue Mountains then I hope this post provides you with some inspiration. Why not escape the city for a day and see some truly remarkable natural wonders!

I decided to have a bit of fun today and visit the new exhibition Dogs and Cats All at Sea in the National Maritime Museum. The small exhibition displays a collection of photographs taken by Samuel Hood. Each will leave you saying “nawwwww”. Just so we’re clear, I will pretty much love anything to do with dogs. This review will be biased and will contain pictures of absolutely adorable puppies.

I’ll start by talking about the exhibition design. In total, there are seventeen large black and white photographs displayed on one long wall. In the middle is also a short film on Bailey, Assistant Director of Seagulls and literally one of the cutest dogs with a job I have ever seen. I also thought it was incredibly adorable the way Bailey has been credited for selecting the images and having his “human friends” curate and write the labels.

Anyway, the photographs are displayed against a neutral grey coloured wall. Alongside each photograph is a black and white information label. For kids, there is a trail painted in red containing information and paw prints. Although very brief, the labels established some context for the photographs including year and location. It would have been nice to have slightly more information, however, I can see that this may have cluttered the space. Plus who wants to read a lot of text when it cuts into valuable looking at puppies time.

Additionally, and judging by the introductory panel, more information may not have been possible to attain. In one of the sweetest things I’ve read this year (yes, I know it’s still January) the point is made that despite not knowing a lot about the individuals, their bonds with their pets are what matters. You can really see the affection in the photographs.

My favourite photograph is below. It was taken in 1917 onboard the merchant ship SS Purley. Pictured is the captain holding a newly groomed King Charles Cavalier. If you look really close, you can see that the dog and the Captain have virtually the same facial expression. I love seeing the loose dog hair on his jacket collar because it adds a bit of movement to the photograph. You can imagine this little puppy jumping up for more pats or attention.

There were a couple of group photographs as well featuring pets. It is lovely to see how important these companions were to these sailors.

I remember seeing something similar to this exhibition at the Newseum in Washington D.C. Photographs of the presidents and their pets were displayed along the walkway between two exhibition rooms. It had a very similar vibe and was also targeted at kids as well as adults. I can’t quite remember if it had labels for kids or not. The point is, dogs and anything is a winning combination.

As it was a very short and compact exhibition, that’s about all I have to say. I do want to remind people that entry to the permanent exhibitions at the National Maritime Museum is free! Included are two floors of objects and stories to explore. This particular exhibition is on the top level.