Curate Your Own Adventure

The Sydney Observatory is currently running tours to complement the new exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, Egyptian Mummies: Exploring Ancient Lives. The tour runs for approximately one hour and takes place in the observatory’s planetarium. This review is going to be short purely because the tour was short and I want that to be the focus, not the entire observatory.

The tour starts with a forty minute documentary on Ancient Egypt and mummification. It was a bit like the documentaries you watch in eighth grade ancient history – a lot of re-enactments and dramatic music. It was kitschy but I quite enjoyed it. I was glad to have the opportunity to brush up on my general knowledge of Egypt. As my friend Alice pointed out, the video also had a great connection to the exhibition at the Powerhouse. Both observe how medical advancements have increased knowledge of mummies and mummification. The video covered how DNA can be extracted from a mummy and what this evidence may reveal.

After the video, we were taken on a tour of the night sky in Ancient Egypt, around 1200 BCE. At various stages the video of the sky was paused and Egyptian mythology of the stars, sun, and moon was explained. This was accompanied by the corresponding hierogyphs. For example, we learnt how the milky way was imagined as a goddess who swallowed the sun during the night. The name of the goddess appeared in the centre of the screen in hierglyphs. This part of the tour went for around 15 minutes.

Ancient Egypt is a fascinating topic by default. I thought this tour added a new layer of interpretation – it is quite different to what has been done before. I would recommend you see the exhibition at the Powerhouse and then take this tour.

Speaking of the Powerhouse, watch this space early next week for a guest post on this exhibition!

Now that I’m no longer studying, I don’t feel guilty leaving the house. I have seen more of Sydney in the past two weeks than I have during my 18 months of study. To kickstart my weekend I visited Old Government House in Parramatta. Before even entering the house I was surprised to see it has been World Heritage Listed. Currently, there is an exhibition At Home: Modern Australian Design. My visit consisted of a tour around the grounds and house followed by a walk through the exhibition with my friends who are exhibition volunteers, Rachelle and Vanessa.

The house is the former country residence of the first ten governors of New South Wales. It is the oldest public building in Australia. From the outside, the building looks so quaint. Similar to Rouse Hill House it is built in a Georgian style, meaning very symmetrical (think a Wes Anderson film in building form). According to the website it now houses “the nations premier colonial furniture collection”. This will become very important when I discuss the exhibition.

The tour was nice lasting around 40 minutes. I was lucky to be the only person on the tour. We began outside the front of the house where my guide explained the layers of history hidden within the architecture. For example, it was originally a small sandstone house built by convicts for Governor Hunter consisting of four rooms (two on the ground level and two on the top level). Extensions were eventually added over time. We then moved inside to explore the dining room, withdrawing room, servants quarters, kitchen, and bedrooms. Unlike Rouse Hill, the house has been patched up and I must say this was a big plus.

A section I really liked was the Governors office which had a glass covered excavation pit in the middle. Through the glass you were able to see the original foundations of the house. As discussed with Vanessa and Rachelle this seems to be done at a lot of historic houses and museums. A trend that I think can be done well and effectively.

When the tour finished I was free to see the exhibition At Home. Pieces of furniture and home decor were distributed throughout the house mixing in with the colonial furniture. I was disappointed that this did mean some of the colonial furniture had been taken off display. Considering it has the largest collection I was left wanting more.

Sometimes the fusion of old and new worked. Other times it did not.

Seeing a huge black modern chair behind the Governors desk was, to me, not aesthetically pleasing. When the old and new worked together it really worked well. There was a beautiful hanging light in the children’s bedroom that suited the room and enhanced its interpretative capacity. Another highlight was a room filled with textiles that you were able to touch. Whilst there was not a lot of interpretation, only a small sign at the door presenting basic facts, I don’t like a lot Interpretation in a house museum. I enjoy wandering around and seeing the house free from large obvious distractions.

It is a very interesting house to visit for a perspective on Australian colonial history. I actually really enjoy house museums. It’s an experience to not only learn about the history but walk in the footsteps of that history. We visited some amazing Civil War houses in Nashville earlier this year which really sparked my interest.

Tomorrow I am off to the Sydney Observatory for a tour of the Egyptian Skies which complements the Ancient Lives exhibition. A very heritage-filled weekend!

I briefly mentioned this in a previous post but now that it’s 100% confirmed and I have a nice little piece of paper to prove it, I can officially say that I’ve mastered my masters.

I started this blog in mid-2015 with the intention of continuing it throughout my study. According to my first blog post: “In July this year I’m moving to Sydney and beginning a very exciting stage of my life – a postgraduate degree in the area I love the most. I don’t want to forget this experience, so I want to put it on the internet and share it with whoever else wants to listen.”

It has been such an intense 18 month degree that involved moving my life across the border between Queensland and New South Wales, living in a new environment, and balancing jobs and internships with study. It has all been completely worth the hard work. Especially considering I’ve met some amazing people who are insanely supportive.

There is a slight possibility that I will be tackling another degree next year so watch this space.

I am so excited to see how this blog evolves. I have some exciting things planned for 2017 and I cannot wait to share. This does include FINALLY attending a Museums Australia Conference! There will be a couple more posts before the end of 2017. I also plan on opening an Instagram account for this blog that will go live in January. It will be a great opportunity to share more of my photographs.

Until then!

The second stop on our adventure was Hawkesbury Regional Museum. I finally witnessed the flabbit – a local myth first “sighted” in 1985. There is plenty of flabbit merchandise available for purchase.

There were three highlights that I will focus on. Firstly, and without bias at all, was the exhibition curated by Imogen herself! I was very lucky to gain an insider’s perspective! It was great hearing about how the display was curated and the surprise finds along the way. The case contains objects and information on the original inhabitants of the Hawkesbury region, the Darug People. These objects include stone tools, boomerangs, and digging sticks. Each object is accompanied by a label providing an ideal amount of information – just more than a snapshot, yet very informative.

Beneath each of the main display windows are two drawers that contain additional objects. A highlight object is a bark painting by Dick Roughsey depicting a creation story. Other bark paintings by Roughsey can be found in the British Museum and the National Gallery of Victoria. It is a very significant piece of Indigenous art displayed alongside two other paintings from 2008.

Another highlight of the display case is the use of technology. An iPad rests next to the case playing an Indigenous acknowledgment on loop. As this is the first case you see on entering the exhibition space, it provides a fascinating and important introduction to the space.

The second highlight was the exhibition Flood! From a design perspective, it was very effective. For example, here is one of the walls in the exhibition space.

I really like how the photo frames and glass boxes have been positioned on a plain black background. The wall doesn’t appear cluttered yet it is still eye-catching.

The main aim of the exhibition is to thematically cover the history of floods in the area. There are multiple materials utilised to tell these stories. These include engravings, photography, and film. As well as following the history of floods in the area, the exhibition also showcases the history of flood rescue. It made direct and clear links between the past and the present which was a real strength of the exhibition.

Last but not least, the third highlight was the recent acquisitions display in the museum foyer. I have visited a few museums that highlight their recent acquisitions. This, however, was a fully curated case with information such as provenance and significance acompanying each object. It was a great way to see the types of objects that continue to be donated and welcomed into their collection. It was as if you were seeing the museum’s collection policy literally on display.

Thank you again to Imogen for a wonderful day exploring north-west Sydney and for being my guide at Hawkesbury!

I am hoping to visit a couple more exhibitions before the Christmas season well and truly begins. I could not think of a better way to farewell 2016!

Now that I’ve finished my Masters (yay!!!!) I am free to explore more of Sydney and its wonderful museums and heritage sites. Today was a particularly fantastic day exploring Rouse Hill House & Farm and Hawkesbury Regional Museum with my amazing friend Imogen. Make sure you check out her guest post on Manly Museum & Art Gallery! (Manly Museum & Art Gallery – Guest Post) This post will focus on Rouse Hill House & Farm.

We were very lucky to be the only two on the 11 o’clock tour. We were even luckier that our tour guide, Marnie, was incredible. She was unbelievably passionate, eager to share stories, and drove us from the visitor centre to the house in a buggy. Considering how hot the weather was today, we were especially grateful for the latter!!

For those of you who have never heard of Rouse Hill House & Farm here is a very quick overview. It was originally built in 1813 by Richard Rouse and was subsequently owned and lived in by six generations. Rouse came to Australia as a free settler and rose through the ranks very quickly to become Superintendent of lumberyard at Parramatta. At its peak, the house was a social hub welcoming personalities such as Banjo Patterson. In some rooms you can find 19th century furniture mixed in with trinkets and television sets from the 1950s. Both the house and its land have many stories to tell, including those of the original Indigenous inhabitants and those concerning the Great Depression. On the tour we visited the house, stables, and woolshed.

Marnie began her tour in the gardens covering the basic history of the house and its tenants. We were then guided through the ground level which included the living room, dining room, and ladies withdrawing room. We could not access the top level, however, it will soon be opened to the public. In each room Marnie pointed out a few objects and told us a couple of interesting stories. We then walked through the outdoor entertaining area and into the stables. The latter was probably my favourite part of the tour. The stables have been pretty well preserved. It was great to see some 19th century graffiti from two stable boys who etched their names into a wooden door. No photographs of these individuals survive yet their names will remain attached to the house.

Whilst I can appreciate their “letting the house take its natural course and not interfering too much” attitude it was, in my opinion, problematic. There are a few ways you can approach heritage. For example, you can knock it down, do it up, or leave it alone. Each site or place requires a slightly different treatment plan so I want to talk specifically about Rouse Hill. Whilst I think leaving the rooms as they have been for generations is all well and good, there are parts of the house in need of love and care. For example, parts of the ceiling have fallen off and have been left exposed. I think a balance could be struck here without ruining the atmosphere and history. It was too “one end of the heritage spectrum” for me. There will definitely be people who disagree with me on that statement.

After the wonderful tour, Marnie recommended we use the computers in the visitor centre to view the top level rooms and explore the ground floor rooms in more depth. Both Imogen and I agreed this was a great use of technology. Especially considering you could zoom in on some objects to discover more information. In saying that, it would have been great to include more information on the objects as most were quite vague. I’m sure this is a work in progress.

We would like to thank Marnie for our tour and for bringing the history of the house to life. Although this was the only interpretation available, if you can get a good guide it can be all you need.