Art - Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery

MISSION
STATEMENT
OUR MISSION IS
TO BE A LEADER
IN THE
INTELLECTUAL
AND CREATIVE
DEVELOPMENT OF
LAUNCESTON AND
THE STATE BY
INCREASING OUR
ENJOYMENT AND
UNDERSTANDING
OF OUR NATURAL
AND CULTURAL
HERITAGE.
TO THE MINISTER
FOR THE ARTS
On behalf of the Launceston City Council I am pleased to submit,
in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993, the 2003-2004
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery Annual Report.
2003-2004 saw the commencement of further capital works at the
Inveresk site, which will enhance the existing world class facilities
currently offered at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.
The Community History Room and Library, which will open early
in 2005, will provide a central location for Launceston and
Northern Tasmania’s historic documents, and will enable the
community to have open access to these wonderful collections.
Council is committed to ensuring that the Queen Victoria Museum
and Art Gallery continues to provide a quality experience for
visitors to the facility. Our current review of operations in the
Museum is focussed on assessing how we can best deliver on this
commitment, and we look forward to the outcomes of the review
early in 2005.
The achievements of the past twelve months at the Queen Victoria
Museum and Art Gallery would not have been possible without the
support and assistance of the State Government and our growing
number of community and business partners. I thank the
Tasmanian Government and our partners for their support and
look forward to continuing our positive relationship in the coming
year and beyond.
Janie Dickenson
Mayor
Launceston City Council

The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery’s permanent exhibitions include (clockwise from top left):
The Chinese Temple, Royal Park; Aspects of Tasmanian Art, the Art Gallery, Inveresk; The Blacksmith Shop, Inveresk; The Launceston Planetarium, Royal Park.

INTRODUCTION
The year saw further substantial progress in the consolidation
of the Museum’s programs and activities onto the Royal Park
and Inveresk sites. As this occurs the Launceston City Council’s
objective of creating two national standard facilities and visitor
destinations within the City is coming closer to fruition.
The most significant project in this program commenced
during the year was the relocation of the Community History
and Library collections and facilities to Inveresk. For the
Community History collections and facilities this required the
short-term transfer of the collections to temporary storage
from December while the staff were housed at the Royal Park
site. The movement of this substantial collection was
undertaken with great professionalism by the Museum’s staff.
While the Community History collection was in storage the
opportunity was taken to complete a significant range of
collection guides, which will greatly increase community access
to the collections once the new Community History and
Library facilities open at Inveresk.
Other projects either completed or underway at Inveresk during
the year included the construction of new office
accommodation for the History Department, the fit out of the
Sports Gallery as well as the fit out of the new Learning Centre.
In addition other Museum staff including Graphics, Public
Programs and IT have been able to be rehoused in muchimproved
office accommodation at both sites.
The range of new facilities particularly at Inveresk has enabled
the Museum to develop a number of partnerships which
contribute to the cultural life of northern Tasmania. These have
included the Australian School of Fine Furniture Lecture Series,
the Musica North Concert Series, Royal Society of Tasmania
Lecture Series and Launceston Historical Society’s Symposium
to mark the Bicentenary of European settlement on the Tamar.
In addition the Museum has provided accommodation and
support to Arts @ Work, a new initiative of the Tasmanian Arts
Advisory Board.
The Museum’s strong program of co-operative projects has
continued throughout the year. Highlights of these projects
have been those with the Forestry Commission to document
and excavate a second Chinese tin miners’ hut and associated
workings in north-eastern Tasmania, and the TAFE Tasmania
Metals and Engineering partnership which centred on the
restoration of a Marshall portable steam engine from the
Museum’s collection.
A feature of the year was the sustained level of community
support for the Museum. The volunteer program continues to
bring a wide range of additional skills to the Museum’s
programs. In particular the Volunteer Guides have continued to
provide an active program of support for the exhibition
program.
The Museum’s collections have continued to develop through
the generosity of so many and this is increasingly seen in the
Museum’s exhibition and education programs. As the new
facilities and exhibitions at both sites are developed, the
importance of the Museum’s collections and the generosity of
the northern Tasmanian community becomes increasingly
apparent.
The changes in the Museum’s operations since the opening of
Inveresk were reflected in the restructure of the Museum’s
management with the establishment of two new
departments–Visitor Programs and Services, and Collections
and Information Services. Over the coming year a review of
the operations of the Museum will ensure that we remain
focussed on providing a quality facility for northern Tasmania.
This year has proved to be a challenging one for the Museum’s
staff, volunteers and Friends. It has been a year in which they
have more than met the challenge with their great commitment
and ability.
Chris Tassell
Director
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MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS
ACTIVITIES
• Providing services and information to more than
250 000 people, both in person and online. More than
86 600 people visited the Museum and another 140 000
actively searched the Museum’s website, which received over
388 300 hits for the year. Lectures, workshops and
information sessions were presented throughout Tasmania
and interstate to more than 7 800 people. Museum staff
responded to more than 16 000 public enquiries. These
ranged from requests for information about astronomical
events and insect identification, to detailed research and
information relating to Museum collections.
• Ranking second in the Launceston City Council Annual
Community Survey. The survey measures residents’
satisfaction with the range of core services, activities and
programs provided by Council. The Museum has
maintained this ranking for two consecutive years showing
the high regard in which the institution is held by much of
the community.
• Naming the John Lees Atrium in memory of
Launceston Mayor John Lees. The Atrium at Inveresk is a
fitting tribute to the life of Launceston Mayor John Lees
who held a strong belief in the Inveresk project and had a
great interest in the arts.
• Displaying Abel Tasman’s 1642 journal. This Australian
icon is the earliest European document relating to
Tasmania. Its Launceston showing was the first time that
the journal had left the State Library of New South Wales
since its acquisition in 1926.
• Exhibiting two important Tasmanian colonial oil
portraits by Frederick Strange. The Portrait of Mr
Jonathan Stammers Waddell and the Portrait of Mrs Ann
Waddell, both painted about 1846, were put on permanent
exhibition in Aspects of Tasmanian Art at Inveresk for the
first time. The paintings have been conserved by Museum
staff and are housed in original William Wilson frames.
Top: Paul Brunton, Senior Curator, State Library of NSW,
with Abel Tasman’s 1642 Journal. Photo courtesy of
the Examiner newspaper.
Bottom: Frederick Strange
Portrait of Mrs Ann Wadell about 1846
oil on canvas
Donated by Christ Church Congregational
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• Letting the tender for the completion of building works
to house the Museum’s Community History Branch and
Library at Inveresk. Launceston’s Johnstone and Wilmot
building, home of the Museum’s Community History
collections since 1988, was sold and staff were temporarily
relocated to the Museum’s Royal Park site. Collections were
stored temporarily until the new Inveresk facility is
complete early in 2005.
• Relocating Museum departments into new office
spaces. The Museum’s Graphic Design and Public
Programs departments were relocated to Inveresk, freeing
up space at Royal Park for much needed IT office space.
The History department also moved into newly completed
offices adjoining one of the History collection storage areas
at Inveresk.
• Partnering with TAFE Tasmania Metals and
Engineering. The Museum and TAFE Tasmania entered a
partnership aimed at developing the skills of TAFE metals
students by undertaking the restoration of a heritage
engineering object. The students are restoring a Marshall
portable steam engine owned by the Museum.
• Featuring on Tasmania 1804 – 2004 Australia Post
Stamp Issue. Two Tasmanian Aboriginal shell necklaces
from the Museum’s collection were featured on the
Tasmania 1804 – 2004 commemorative stamps issued by
Australia Post to mark the bicentenary of European
settlement of Tasmania.
• Supporting the Sir Garnet Creek Chinese Miner’s Hut
archaeological excavation. Museum staff provided on-site
conservation support for an archaeological excavation in
Tasmania’s north east, jointly managed by Forestry
Tasmania, the Forest Practices Board and the Museum. The
excavated material is now housed in the Museum and is
undergoing conservation treatment. Three small
exhibitions featuring material from this site and from the
previously excavated Greenstone Creek Chinese Miner’s Hut
are currently being prepared.
• Participating in the 2004 Bicentenary of Tasmania. This
included the joint presentation of the exhibition Colonel
Paterson at Port Dalrymple with the Launceston Historical
Society.
• Managing internal change. Managers were appointed to
oversee operations in each of two new departments—
Visitor Programs and Services, and Collections and
Information Services.
Frederick Strange
Portrait of Mr Jonathan Stammers Waddell about 1846
oil on canvas
Donated by Christ Church Congregational
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ACQUISITIONS
Emma von Stieglitz (1807-1880)
Church & Dr Gaunt’s Mill at Windermere
watercolour on paper pasted to album page
Purchased with funds from the Launceston Museum & Art Gallery
Foundation with the assistance of the Friends of the Queen Victoria
Museum and Art Gallery, 2003.
• Tasmanian Colonial works of art. With the greatly
appreciated assistance of the Launceston Museum and Art
Gallery Foundation and the Friends of the Museum, the
Fine Art Department was able to acquire two very
significant Tasmanian Colonial works of art during the year.
A large album of watercolour sketches and drawings by
Emma von Stieglitz (1807-1880) was acquired to enhance
the Museum’s important collection of work of early colonial
women artists. Arriving in Tasmania in late 1834, Emma
drew wonderful images of early colonial architecture and
historically significant landscape views. A fine oil portrait of
the Reverend Henry Dowling, Launceston’s first Baptist
minister, was acquired and conserved by Museum
conservation staff. The painting is the largest known
portrait of Rev Dowling painted by his artist son, Robert
(1827-1886).
• Original sheet music by Alex F Lithgow,
composer/bandsman (1870-1929). Alex Lithgow,
remembered as “Australia’s Marching King”, made a
significant contribution to Australian band music. His
arrival in Tasmania in 1894 from New Zealand to conduct
Launceston’s St Josephs Band saw a new enthusiasm for
band music. Included amongst the donation is Lithgow’s At
The Movies suite, published in 1920, and played by Lithgow
at the local theatres in Launceston.
• X-ray equipment. This material, designed for use in the
upper atmosphere, donated by the University of Tasmania,
adds to the Museum’s growing collection of objects relating
to astronomical history and will be incorporated in an
exhibition relating to astronomy and space, currently being
developed.
RSL Brass-band Master Tony Roper, Rex McLean, and
Rhonda Hamilton, Curator of Community History,
with manuscripts written by Alex Lithgow.
\Photograph courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
• Brenda Rhodes Watercarrier. QVMAG accepted the
custodianship in perpetuity of a water carrier made by the
late Brenda Rhodes.
• Lady Ramsay Collection. Costumes, textiles and
accessories from the estate of Lady Ramsay of Launceston
were obtained. These items date from the earlier decades of
the 20th century and many were collected during Lady
Ramsay’s extensive international travels.
4

• Convict-made model plough. This beautifully made
model, believed to have been made by a Tasmanian convict,
is a welcome donation to the Museum’s History collections.
• Errol Kentish (Lel) Field hunting material. The material
was donated by a member of the Field family and is to be
included in an exhibition which will showcase sport in
Tasmania.
• Early surveying equipment. This equipment was donated
by the Friends of the Museum, who recognised the
important role played by surveyors in the early
development of Tasmania. The surveyor’s compass and
level, issued by the Board of Ordnance in Tasmania, were
manufactured between 1816 and 1850 and will be featured
in the Museum’s history collections.
• Olympic Games donation. Launceston’s Wayne Devlin, an
Olympic boxing representative, donated his boxing uniform
and photographs from the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.
Wayne also competed in Montreal in 1976. These items are
a wonderful addition to the Museum’s growing collection of
sporting memorabilia.
• Exeter Masonic Lodge donation. A generous donation of
items of furniture, fittings and regalia, this material was
donated as a result of a Community Documentation Project
in which the Museum’s History and Photography
departments worked with the Exeter Masonic Lodge to
comprehensively record the contents of the lodge building
prior to its sale.
Convict-made model plough.
5

THE COLLECTIONS
The Museum serves as a major centre for the collection,
conservation and exhibition of Tasmania’s natural, historical and
cultural heritage. It collects, researches and disseminates
information in four major areas: Arts, Humanities, Natural
Sciences and Physical Sciences.
ARTS
Includes paintings, works on paper and sculpture from all
periods, the historical Australian and international decorative
arts collections, and the contemporary Australian craft and
design collections.
Provides information to a wide variety of individuals and
organisations as well as undertaking research with particular
emphasis on Tasmanian historical and contemporary art,
Tasmanian historical decorative arts and contemporary
Australian craft and design.
Kitchen utensils folk band, late 1950s. One of a large collection of photographs
donated to the Museum by the Minol family.
HUMANITIES
Includes the collections of Tasmanian documents, photographs
and ephemera that are primarily concerned with the northern
region of the State, as well as the collections of material culture
of Tasmania since European settlement, incorporating the
ethnography, technology and archaeology collections.
Provides information to a wide variety of research workers,
organisations and individuals, as well as undertaking research,
with a particular emphasis on Tasmanian photography, and
industrial and social history. An important area of activity is
the development of the Oral History Collection.
NATURAL SCIENCES
Includes the collections of Botany, Geology and Zoology, with
collections mainly of Tasmanian origin but also including
material from mainland Australia and overseas.
Paul Brunton, Senior Curator, State Library of NSW, examining Colonel Patterson’s pistols
from the Museum’s history collections, with Collection Manager, Louise James.
Provides information to a number of government agencies,
research workers, community groups and the general public as
well as undertaking research in the taxonomy of invertebrate
fossils in Tasmania and the taxonomy and ecology of
Tasmanian flora and fauna.
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PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Includes the Launceston Planetarium, which incorporates both
the Planetarium theatre and the solar telescope facility.
Provides information on astronomical matters and contributes
to international research programs.
COLLECTION MANAGEMENT
• 8342 items were catalogued and 5455 additions were made
to the Museum’s databases.
• Community History collections relocation from the
Johnstone and Wilmot building was undertaken over an
eight week period during December 2003 and January
2004. The safe removal of these materials from this 19th
century heritage listed warehouse presented a number of
challenges which were met successfully, due to extensive
planning and a dedicated team of Museum staff.
• The Community History Series of archival sources
continued to grow and now number 79. Additions included
the papers of pioneer local historian Karl von Stieglitz,
prominent businessman Gilbert McKinlay, the Launceston
Benevolent Society, the Northern Tasmanian Home for Boys
and the Launceston Jaycees.
• Another insect cabinet and a series of unit trays were
purchased and many of the dry insect specimens rehoused
from old wooden cabinets into new steel cabinets.
• An audit of the dry bird collection (skins and skeletal
material) was undertaken.
• Housing of a large whale skeleton was improved and
preliminary work carried out prior to rehousing other large
and medium-sized skeletons next year.
• Registration of new material in the mollusc collection
continued.
• Part of the dry mollusc collection was rehoused in extra
cabinets, greatly relieving the congestion in this part of the
collection.
• Curation of the spider collection continued with many new
collections sorted and labelled.
• A steady stream of specimens was processed using the
dermestid beetle colony to prepare skeletal material for the
vertebrate collections and for exhibition purposes.
• As part of the Museum’s commitment to increasing public
access to its collections, web-based collection guides are
being prepared. The project also aims to improve physical
access by cleaning and rehousing all items in these
collections. Guides currently being prepared include:
Convict clothing
Convict behavioural devices
Japanese arms
Japanese armour
Surveying equipment.
• The Curatorial Specialist completed auditing and curation
of much of the invertebrate holdings kept in alcohol.
• The five Thylacine mounts were X-rayed to investigate the
condition of, and to better document, these valuable
specimens.
• Audits of the ‘gazet’,‘higher invertebrates’‘molluscs’ and
‘lower invertebrates’ databases were completed by the
Curatorial Specialist.
• New racks for the storage of large paintings were installed
in the Fine Art store at Royal Park. Designed to
accommodate the Museum’s growing collection of large
contemporary paintings, the racks will provide safe storage
for these oversized canvases.
• The fish collection audit was almost completed, with a large
number of 15-litre drums purchased and the mediumsized
fish sorted into families.
7

• John Glover’s Kensington Gardens was reframed in a copy of
a William Wilson frame, expertly constructed by Museum
staff.
• The Geology collections underwent a hazardous mineral
audit in which almost 10 000 mineral specimens were
individually examined. The audit identified any potential
hazard, either to the staff or the minerals, created by
incorrect handling or storage. Minerals requiring special
handling were labelled, stored appropriately and the
information recorded. The audit took over 12 months and
the information is now being added to the Geology
database.
• The bulk specimen register was developed and initiated for
the geological collections. The process enables the
recording of minimal data for the storage of bulk fossil
material. The Bullock Creek, Northern Territory, vertebrate
material that has been etched from limestone using acid is
the first collection to be dealt with in this way.
• Reorganisation of the plant fossil collection began. Stage
one, the audit and location of the registered material, is
complete.
COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT
• Work by the Community History Branch focussed on the
Frank Bolt and Minol photographic collections. These two
extensive yet vastly different collections of negatives and
slides are a unique source of images, showing the
Tasmanian landscape and reflections of Launceston society
and commercial activities through the output of a
Launceston commercial studio in the late 20th century.
• Sanja Van Huet’s PhD project resulted in lodging fossil
material from King Island with the Museum. This
collection increases the number of the Museum’s fossil
specimens by over 400.
• The Decorative Arts, Craft and Design collections benefited
from the generosity of a number of key donors this year. Of
particular note were the two collections of costume, textiles
and accessories from the estate of Lady Ramsay. These
items date from the earlier decades of the 20th century and
many were collected during Lady Ramsay’s extensive
international travels.
• The International Textiles Collection received a significant
addition with the donation by Mrs Nancy Hummerston of a
patchwork coverlet made about 1841 by Mrs R Hawke of
England.
• The contemporary Australian Decorative Arts and Design
Collection benefited significantly from donations under the
Cultural Gifts Program with works by artists Janet
Brereton, John Smith, Penny Smith and Douglas McManus
received.
• A number of donations were received into the History and
Community History collections relating to sport in
Tasmania. Several unique and important items have been
incorporated into the Museum’s collections and will be
included in an exhibition currently under development.
COLLECTION RESEARCH
• In conjunction with the National Archives of Australia,
reviews were undertaken on the railway records held by the
Museum in an effort to consolidate collections held in
federal, state and local collections and to identify areas of
duplication.
• BRIDGET ARKLESS and YVONNE ADKINS continued with
research for the publication Bea Maddock Catalogue
Raisonne Volume I 1953-1983. This ongoing research
project has included the locating of works of art in public
and private collections, as well as studying the many works
by Bea Maddock held in the Museum’s own collection. As a
direct result of this research, several important works by
the artist have been donated to the Collection this year.
• GLENDA KING continued research for the publication Bea
Maddock Catalogue Raisonne Volume 1 1953 – 1983,on the
artist’s pottery and papermaking.
8

• LOUISE JAMES and ANN TEESDALE continued researching
Tasmania’s sporting heritage while preparing the exhibition
Replay: Sporting life in Tasmania, which will open in 2005.
• BRIAN SMITH continued work on the Checklist of Tasmanian
Mollusca and on selected species of charopid land snails.
He contributed to work on Cretaceous opalized fossil snails
as a joint project with staff of the South Australian
Museum.
• BOB MESIBOV continued investigations in millipede
taxonomy and biogeography.
• LISA BOUTIN continued her study of New Caledonian species
of the spider family Clubionidae, with many new species
coming to light. Comparative material from Fiji and other
parts of the Pacific was obtained. She continued work with
Dr Schlinger on acrocerid flies that parasitise spiders.
Several new species and association records have come to
light from Tasmania and elsewhere.
• CRAIG REID continued his work on ant identification from a
diverse collection of Tasmanian material.
• TAMMY GORDON began a study of mammalian hair
identification.
EMERGENCY DOCUMENTATION
An innovative program at the Museum ensures that the rapidly
changing face of both urban and country areas in Tasmania is
recorded for the future. Many of the changes are occurring
because of altering economic and social conditions in
industries and community facilities which are no longer viable
or relevant. Frequently the Museum is made aware of the
situation at short notice and a quick response is needed.
The documentation program has recorded a number of these
transitions in recent years.
The program may involve photographic documentation of sites,
work practices and people, the acquisition of memorabilia,
records and objects, archaeological site recording and oral
history interviews.
During the year the following documentation projects were
undertaken:
• Exeter Masonic Lodge
• Ulverstone Playground
• Devonport Athletic Carnival
• Simplot Factory, Scottsdale
• North Eastern Advertiser, Scottsdale.
• IAN NORTON continued his ecological research on the elapid
snakes at Northdown, near Wesley Vale and on selected
Bass Strait Islands. He is also cooperating with research
being carried out in Pathology at Launceston General
Hospital and in Deakin University, Geelong on Rickettsia
disease—a parasite carried by ticks which infest snakes
and other reptiles.
Launceston General Hospital’s Radiology Department manager Garth Faulkner and Museum researcher Craig Reid
taking X-rays of one of the Museum’s thylacine specimens. Watching on are radiographer Graham Kentworthy and
Museum research officers Judy Rainbird and Tammy Gordon. Photo courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
9

COLLECTION CONSERVATION
The Museum’s Conservation section—including Objects, Paper
and Paintings Conservation—was very active preparing items
for exhibitions at both the Inveresk and Royal Park sites.
Services provided by these departments include:
• condition reporting
• relocating objects
• providing advice about environmental control, pest
management, display methods, suitability of display
materials and OH&S issues
• conservation and restoration treatments
• installation of items.
Major projects undertaken by the Conservation section
included:
• The completion of phase one of the restoration of a Trolley
bus. This project is funded through the Philip Archer Trust,
dedicated to the restoration of Tasmania’s industrial
heritage.
• Studio visits and research for Technical Notes
(Printmaking) section of publication Bea Maddock
Catalogue Raisonne Volume I 1953-1983.
• As part of an ongoing program to restore the Museum’s
nationally significant Chinese Temple, the Conservation
department continued the conservation of eight ‘immortal’
banners, each beautifully embroidered with gold thread.
• Participating in the planning and implementation of the
relocation of Community History collections from the
Johnston & Wilmot building—where they have been
housed since 1988—to a temporary off-site storage
location.
CONSERVATION OUTREACH SERVICE
The Museum’s conservators provide advice to a wide range of
organisations and individuals throughout Tasmania, including:
• Low Head Pilot Station
• Australian School of Fine Furniture, Launceston
• Ross Wool Museum
• Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston
• National Automobile Museum, Launceston
• University of Tasmania, Launceston Campus
• Furneaux Historical Society, Flinders Island
• Grubb Shaft Museum, Beaconsfield
• St John’s Church, Launceston.
Museum conservation volunteers Peg Pedley and Sue Allright, with one of eight ‘immortal’ banners from the Chinese Temple.
10

PUBLIC PROGRAMS
The Public Programs department initiated or worked with the
Museum’s curatorial staff, the Education service, the Gallery
Guide program and a variety of community organisations to
present and promote an active event program. Throughout this
year 101 events were held at the Museum with 13 exhibition
openings.
The successful presentation of monthly Morning Coffee
Lectures continued. These feature a variety of speakers
presenting Oral Histories of Launceston, which were preceded
by talks on selected works in the Fine and Decorative Art
Collections as the Guides’ Choice of the Month.
The Museum provides a wide range of public activities as part
of its exhibition program. It also presents special programs that
encourage the community’s access to and enjoyment of the
resources of the Museum. These activities aim to address the
diversity of backgrounds and interests within the Museum
audience.
Guests attending one of the monthly Morning Coffee Lectures held in the Museum.
Highlights of activities generated by Public Programs during
the last year were:
• Co-ordinating Harmony Day celebrations which attracted
more than 3200 visitors to the Museum’s Inveresk site on
21 March.
• Museums Day on 23 May.‘Digging Deeper’ provided more
than 1200 visitors the opportunity to investigate Museum
collections through a number of activities at both sites.
Staff spent time talking to the public about the Museum’s
collections. Small exhibitions were prepared featuring
artefacts from Macquarie Island, the Chinese Miner’s Huts,
Sydney Cove, bottles, scrimshaw and convict clothing.
• A partnership between the Australian School of Fine
Furniture and the Museum continued to present a
successful Visiting Master Craftsmen Lecture Series,
featuring visiting lecturers from the ASFF.
• The Museum’s partnership with Musica North culminated
in a well attended Concert Series being presented in the
Museum’s John Lees Atrium at Inveresk.
Children involved in Harmony Day activities 21 March 2004.
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• The Museum and the Royal Society of Tasmania worked
together to hold a successful Winter Lecture Series. Expert
speakers covered a broad range of topics from animal
biology, to wind-generated electricity, to the relevance of
the local Library in the information age.
• For two months over summer, visitors were invited to join
Museum staff on free tours of the Inveresk site. These
Tasmanian Treasures tours proved very successful at
personalising the visitors’ Museum experience.
Artist Robert Ikin installing works in the Museum courtyard for the exhibition >>OFF THE WALL.
The Public Programs section also undertook responsibility for
marketing activities of the Museum. Contacts within the
tourism, media and convention sectors continued to be
developed. The familiarisation program for journalists and
convention operators was expanded. An advertising campaign
targeting tourists in particular was maintained.
The Museum’s Public Programs Section provides
administrative support for the Friends of the Museum.
Communication with members of the Friends continues on a
monthly basis.
An ongoing focus for the team in the Public Programs
Department is the processing of applications for Resident
Passes from residents and ratepayers of the City of Launceston.
Over 3000 additional passes were processed bringing the total
number of passes to 28,469 issued at 30 June 2004.
YOUTH PROGRAMS
>>OFF THE WALL saw three artists running a series of youth
workshops which culminated in an exhibition at the Museum.
The three artists—Robert Ikin, Ali Aedy and Shaun Wilson—
worked collaboratively with three groups of young people,
responding to the Aspects of Tasmanian Art exhibition. The
resulting exhibition was on display from 27 September – 12
October in the Museum courtyard at Inveresk.
In partnership with the University of Tasmania’s Academy of
the Arts, the Museum managed an arts administration
mentorship with an honours research student from the
Academy. Under mentorship from the Youth Audience Officer
and using >>OFF THE WALL as the practical example the
Students participating in >>OFF THE WALL workshops.
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Museum offered the placement from April to November 2003.
The student gained practical experience which was
supplemented with theory-based resources, collected as part of
the Focus for Youth project.
>>OFF THE WALL was an initiative of the Museum and Art
Gallery’s Youth Advisory Committee (MAGYAC).The youth
committee actively develop programs as well as support a
variety of community events by coordinating arts-based
activities for young people. MAGYAC has worked on the Utopia
Festival with the Launceston City Council’s Youth Advisory
Group (YAG) and Harmony Day celebrations in Launceston.
The Youth Advisory Committee’s monthly publication, Yak
Yakkety Yak, continues to provide young readers with a current
youth perspective promoting the arts, popular culture and local
events.
In a continued partnership with the Launceston City Council
Youth Advisory Group, the fifth edition of Through Our Eyes
was published for Youth Week 2004. Entitled About Face, the 22-
page publication features selected creative works by young
Tasmanians. The Museum received submissions from August
until December 31, from both individuals as well as school
groups and the completed publication was circulated to all
young people who submitted works. About Face was made
available through the Launceston City Council’s Service Centre
and the Museum following Youth Week 2004.
In its tenth year ArtRage was exhibited in The Ian Potter
Gallery from 12 December – 17 April. With a plethora of
mediums and concepts, ArtRage 2003 was a vibrant display of
youth culture by pre-tertiary art students.
GORGE COTTAGE RESIDENCY
The Gorge Cottage (the original Toll Keepers Cottage at the
entrance to Cataract Gorge) is owned by the Launceston City
Council and managed by the Museum. It is offered as support
for special Launceston-based projects, developed by the
Museum or in association with other organisations. The
residency program aims to support projects with a cultural or
natural heritage focus that will:
ArtRage 2004, Potter Gallery, Inveresk.
• provide Tasmanians with the opportunity to interact
directly with experts from Australia and overseas;
• provide the Tasmanian community with access to current
developments in these fields;
• provide professional development opportunities to
Tasmanians working in these areas.
13

During the year the Gorge Cottage was used by:
• Catherine Goss & Kristina Chan, Tasdance, Treasure Island;
• Angela Chapman, Theatre North;
• Tony Corbel, Australian School of Fine Furniture;
• Ann Ferran, Artist, Research Ross Female Factory;
• Luke Smiles, Stompin Youth;
• Chrissie Parrott, Tasdance;
• Anne Ryan, Assistant Curator of Australian Prints,
Drawings and Watercolours, Art Gallery of New South
Wales;
• Stuart Favilla, Musician–Light Harp, Tasmanian Leather
Orchestra project development.
OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
In 2003-2004 the Museum’s outreach program:
• provided lectures and presentations to service clubs,
specialist associations and other groups;
• loaned animal specimens to schools and other institutions;
• regularly participated in radio talkback shows;
• regularly commented in newspaper and magazine articles
and specialist publications, such as Invertebrata; regularly
visited schools.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
• Staff continued to promote the collections through regular
commitments particularly with ABC Radio and the
Examiner. Looking Back uses the Museum’s photographic
collections to present a snapshot view of local history. Since
its inception in 1994 more than 400 stories have been
published.
• The Launceston Planetarium has continued to be an
important source of astronomical information, providing,
for example, sunrise and sunset data to newspapers and
television stations. The Curator of Physical Sciences, Martin
George, continued to deal with astronomical enquiries,
including rising and setting times of the Sun and the Moon
for legal investigations; requests for computations from
people and organisations doing research; and general
public enquiries about the night sky.
• Through the outreach program, more than 7800 people
attended lectures, workshops and information sessions
presented by Museum staff outside the Museum’s venues.
These events, presented to community groups, service
clubs, other institutions and members of the general
public, took place in many towns throughout Tasmania as
well as interstate.
Museum staff member Jane Guy, helping present Snakes Alive—an outreach activity for the Parks and Wildlife
summer program. Photo courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
14

OUTWARD LOANS
The significance of the Museum’s collections is recognised not
just in Tasmania but nationally. Many requests are received
from other institutions each year to borrow items from the
collections. The Museum acknowledges this as an opportunity
to provide improved access to its collections for a much
broader audience. Items which have been on extended loan
during the last year include:
• Sarah Island graveboard—National Museum of Australia,
Canberra
• Copper Samovar—Governor’s Residence, Norfolk Island
• Shoe last from the shoemakers shop at Port Arthur—
Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales
• Death mask of Marcus Clarke and Reverend Knopwood—
National Portrait Gallery, Canberra
• Collection of shipwreck and convict material—Maritime
Museum of Tasmania, Hobart
Early wooden telephone belonging to AB Biggs.
• Compass and early wooden telephones belonging to AB
Biggs—Heritage Highway Museum and Visitor
Information Service, Campbell Town
• Collection of domestic objects—National Trust of Australia
(Tas) Franklin House, Launceston
• ‘A’ Class locomotive—Don River Railway
• Furniture from the Ford collection—Highfield, Stanley
• Frank Bolt’s Lake Pedder photographic series—Wilderness
Gallery, Cradle Mountain
• Tasmanian Aboriginal Shell Necklace, early 20th century,
Tasmania 1804 – 2004: History, People and Landscape of the
Island State on Australian Stamps—Postmaster Gallery,
Australia Post, Melbourne
• Helge Larsen and Darani Lewers, Four Finger Ring 1986,
Larsen and Lewer—a survey 1986 – 2002—Manly Art
Gallery touring exhibition to Hamilton Art Gallery,
Tamworth City Gallery, Wollongong Art Gallery, Penrith
Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, Wagga Wagga
Regional Art Gallery
• Barbara Macey, Wave 24 Blue Mirror 1984, Barbara Macey
– A Retrospective— National Wool Museum, Geelong
Sarah Island graveboard.
15

The Museum also lent a number of works to other institutions
for exhibitions, including:
• Loaned to Divine Vision Prints and drawings of Tasmania’s
finest Churches, Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts,
Hobart:
John Eldershaw
St George’s Church 1934
Pencil on paper
• Loaned to John Glover and the Colonial Picturesque,
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart and toured to
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide; National Gallery of
Australia, Canberra; and the National Gallery of Victoria,
Melbourne:
John Glover
The Last Muster of the Tasmanian Aborigines at Risdon,
1836
oil on canvas
John Glover
Self Portrait c1792–3
oil on canvas
John Glover
Birch 1801
etching, soft-ground etching
John Glover
Cows (after Paulus Potter) c.1797
etching, soft-ground etching
• Loaned to The Bishop and the Artist Francis Russell Nixon
(1803-1879) Tasmanian Landscapes by Tasmania’s first
Bishop, Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, Hobart:
Francis Russell Nixon
Break O’Day Plains 1849
pencil and coloured wash on paper
Francis Russell Nixon
Campbell Town
sepia drawing
Francis Russell Nixon
Circular Head
pencil on paper
• Loaned to The Book Exhibition, Crossley Gallery,
Townsville:
Bea Maddock
Walking out 1965
relief cut on composition board
• Loaned to Ian Potter Gallery, University of Melbourne:
Hugh Ramsay
Nell (Study) 1902/03
oil on canvas
• Loaned to India, China, Australia: Trade and Society 1788 –
1850, Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, Sydney:
Unknown Artist
Macau of the South China Seas early-mid 19th Century
oil on canvas
John Glover
Fern 1797
etching
John Glover
Brambles 1797
• Loaned to the Tasmanian Wool Centre, Ross:
Les Kossatz,
Primary Bind 1985.
aluminium, wood, fibre glass, steel
16

EDUCATION
The Museum’s Education Section is responsible for the provision
of educational programs to encourage learning opportunities and
enjoyment of our natural and cultural heritage.
PLAYGROUP
Each month Playgroup introduces youngsters and their carers
to the Museum, exploring its exhibitions through activities
including art, craft and storytelling. Due to the growing
popularity, additional sessions were held to accommodate
individual playgroups and family-based day care centres.
PLAYZONE
This space at Inveresk is a welcoming break for parents and
carers with younger children. Here children under 6 can play or
share a story within the Museum environment.
HOLIDAY PROGRAMS
A “Springtime Splendour” theme provided children with a
diverse range of activities at both Museum sites. Utilising
current exhibitions as a basis to build upon, this initiative
created great fun through drama, dance and art forms.
Continuation of the two-age-group concept was well supported,
with Inveresk Friday Film sessions being a firm favourite.
groups. Long-distance schools, in particular, have taken
advantage of weekend collection of loans with borrowing
periods being extended to 4 weeks.
An extensive Animal Loans display featured at the University of
Tasmania / ELF in Action (Essential Learning Framework)
conference created very positive feedback from professional
delegates attending.
Visiting TAFE teacher aide students participated in tours of
both Museum sites this year. The program placed an emphasis
on display and design and included a detailed session on
Animal Loans—reinforcing how this valuable learning
program can greatly assist teachers and students alike.
ARTSTART
THE TERRY WOODWARD ART GALLERY
Three exhibitions opened which included outstanding artworks
from primary school students across Northern Tasmania. The
ninth exhibition, Pictures from Your Favourite Story, was based
on the exhibition Books Illustrated and saw an increase in
entries submitted. The opening night was well attended by an
audience of proud young artists, their families and teachers.
Other exhibitions included Paper Collage and The Human Body
in Art.
INDONESIAN GAMELAN ORCHESTRA
Dr. Joko Susilo—an eighth-generation traditional puppeteer
and gamelan musician—led workshops in shadow puppetry
and gamelan music for schools and the community.
His visit, organised by the School of Asian Languages and
Studies at the University of Tasmania, saw over 600 students
seizing the opportunity to learn the art of puppet making and
gamelan music.
These workshops were held over a period of three months and
culminated in an evening performance which captivated over
140 people with sight and sound at the Academy of Arts
Inveresk Annexe.
ANIMAL LOANS
The Museum’s Animal Loans Program lists a growing number
of borrowers including schools, childcare centres and Drama
Children and their carers enjoying the museum’s Playgroup activities.
17

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS:
• A Professional Learning Workshop was attended by more
than 30 primary school teachers. Based on the Museum’s
Zoology exhibitions, it was led by Education Officer Sally
Mollison and Zoology staff member Judy Rainbird;
• Create a Brighter Tomorrow, the 16th Annual Lions
International Peace Poster Contest, was led by artist
Katherine Whatley and saw many 11- to 13-year-old
children taking part. The winning entry was forwarded to
the Australian Lions Club district competition.
Museum’s Education Officer Helene Weeding helping with a workshop for the
16th Annual Lions International Peace Poster Contest.
INFORMATION SERVICES
The Museum website received over 388 000 hits, an increase of
over 30% on the previous year. The website, coordinated by
Museum staff, provides up-to-date information on exhibitions
and activities at both Royal Park and Inveresk. Visitors to the
website can view a listing of Museum publications, information
on access and facilities at both Museum sites, details of
education and public programs and the activities of the Friends
of the Museum.
As part of the ongoing development of QVMAG website three
new components were added:
• a new Multipedes site was added to identify the 200+
species of centipedes, millipedes, Pauropoda, Symphyla and
velvet worms in Tasmania.
• Sites—a compilation of locality data from major zoological
field studies carried out in Tasmania since the early 1970s.
• Types—a catalogue of the zoological holotypes, lectotypes,
neotypes and syntypes which are deposited (or have been
reported to be deposited) in QVMAG.
18

EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions, both Museum-generated (*) and those from other
institutions, enable the Museum to provide access to the
collections, present ideas and stimulate interest in Australia’s
natural and cultural heritage.
ROYAL PARK
Permanent
• Tasmanian Ceramics—from Colonial to Contemporary*
• Chinese Temple *
• An Island’s Wealth: Metals in Tasmania *
• Tasmania: A Special Island *
• Chinese Costumes from the Anne Chung Gong Collection *
• Blue and White Decorated Ceramics *
• British and European Ceramics *
• Marerlopepetar: To tell a story in the manner of the Palawa *
The Chinese Temple, Royal Park.
• Launceston Planetarium *
• Discovery Plus *
Temporary and Visiting
• Drawing from Nature*
Artstart Gallery, Royal Park
continued to 4 August 2003
• New Directions*
Temporary Exhibition Gallery, Royal Park
continued to 6 December 2003
• Fuji ACMP Australian Collection 8
Travelling exhibition from Fuji
Southern Gallery, Royal Park
15 July – 22 August 2003
• Paper Collage*
Artstart Gallery, Royal Park
3 September – 10 November 2003
Guests at the opening of Stolen Years – Australian Prisoners of War.
• Stolen Years – Australian Prisoners of War
Travelling exhibition from the Australian War Memorial
Southern Gallery, Royal Park
19 September – 10 November 2003
19

• Ellis Rowan: The Flower Hunter
Travelling exhibition from the National Library of Australia
Southern Gallery, Royal Park
15 November 2003 – 15 February 2004
• The Human Body in Art*
Artstart Gallery, Royal Park
1 December 2003 – 2 May 2004
• Up Close and Spineless Photography Competition
Travelling exhibition from Australian Museum
Temporary Exhibition Gallery, Royal Park
13 December 2003 – 13 June 2004
• Up Close and Spineless*
QVMAG collection based exhibition supplementing 49
images from the Australian Museum
Temporary Exhibition Gallery, Royal Park
13 December 2003 – 13 June 2004
• Books Illustrated: From here to there
Travelling exhibition from Books Illustrated Gallery,
Melbourne
Southern Gallery, Royal Park
6 March – 25 April 2004
• Drawings from Lloyd Rees European Sketchbooks
Travelling exhibition from the Art Gallery of New South
Wales
Southern Gallery, Royal Park
8 May – 27 June 2004
• Pictures From Your Favourite Story*
Artstart Gallery, Royal Park
28 May 2004 continuing
Wall hanging of a life-size Giant Squid, painted by Museum staff Alisanne Ramsden and Annette Vains
for the exhibition Up Close and Spineless.
20

Exhibits
• Noticing Nature * – a small exhibition space in the Zoology
Gallery presenting a series of short-term displays on a
variety of natural history topics. During the year the
following topics were covered:
Cicadas and Mud Wasps
Spring Season Characteristics
Hide & Seek (animal camouflage)
Summer Season Characteristics
Blue Tongue & Blow Flies
Miena Jewel Beetle & Threatened Species
Autumn Season Characteristics
Hover Fly & Portuguese Millipedes
Winter Season Characteristics
Firewood Fauna
• Tasmania: A Special Island * – the live spider display was
continued during the year.
• Major upgrading of the following mammal exhibits took
place during the year:
The Thylacine
Macropods
Possums in Tasmania
INVERESK
Permanent
• Strings across time – Tasmanian Aboriginal Shell Necklaces *
• Aspects of Tasmanian Art *
• Objects of Design – Gifted Works*
• Pacific Encounters *
• Katachi – Traditional Japanese Design *
• Blacksmith Shop *
• Transforming the Island: Railways in Tasmania *
• Past Lives, New Beginnings: Migration and Tasmania *
• Heritage Trail * including:
Fenton’s Stables – The Railway Institute
Weighbridge
Signal Box
Signwriters Shop
Penny Smith, Luminosity: Objects of Light Suite, 2000/2001.Part ofInside Design,
Mezzanine Gallery, Inveresk.
21

Temporary and Visiting
• Archipelago: a work in six parts by Philip Wolfhagen *
The Atrium, Inveresk
Continued to 1 August 2003
• Olegas Truchanas Wilderness Photography*
Small Gallery, Inveresk
continued to 17 August 2003
• Landscape: Dombrovski Photographic Award
Potter Gallery, Inveresk
continued to 17 August 2003
• Portrait of John West *
Art Gallery, Inveresk
continued to 24 August 2003
• Ngatu – Bark Cloths from Tonga *
Mezzanine Gallery, Inveresk
continued to 24 August 2003
• Tassie Hawks
Hawthorn Football Club in association with the Queen
Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Foyer, Inveresk
continued to 7 September 2003
• Through European Eyes: Artists working abroad 1900–1935 *
Art Gallery, Inveresk
continued to 21 March 2004
• A Just Cause: the end of the convict era in Tasmania *
The Atrium, Inveresk
16 August 2003 – 1 February 2004
• Tactile Narratives—aspects of contemporary Australian
Tapestry
Mezzanine, Inveresk
18 August – 28 September 2003
• Scrimshaw: The Mariners Craft*
Small Gallery, Inveresk
23 August 2003 – 26 October 2003
• Off the Wall*
Courtyard, Inveresk
26 September–12 October 2003
• Country Club Resort Royal Show Youth Section *
Potter Gallery, Inveresk
4 October – 19 October 2003
• Lean on Me: a day in the life of Total Workforce
Potter Gallery, Inveresk
24 October – 23 November 2003
• Inspired by Nature*
Small Gallery, Inveresk
1 November 2003 – 14 March 2004
• ArtRage *
Potter Gallery, Inveresk
13 December 2003 – 18 April 2004
• Archipelago: a work in six parts by Philip Wolfhagen *
The Atrium, Inveresk
14 February 2004 continuing
• Inside Design*
Mezzanine Gallery, Inveresk
13 March 2004 continuing
• Colonel Paterson at Port Dalrymple
A travelling exhibition from the Mitchell Library, State
Library of NSW
Small Gallery, Inveresk
18 March – 22 May 2004
• Abel Tasman’s Journal
Extract journal of the voyage for the discovery of the
unknown Southland 1642-43
18 March – 22 March 2004
Museum Bookings Officer Kathy Varga, viewing the exhibition Lean on Me: a day in the life of Total Workforce.
Photograph courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
22

• Pride of Tasmania
The Ian Potter Gallery, Inveresk
28 April – 10 May 2004
• Scrimshaw: The Mariners’ Craft*
Small Gallery, Inveresk
22 May 2004 continuing
Exhibits
Foyer exhibits *
• Broken Dreams: Remnants of Tasmanian Maritime History
Queen Victoria
Blacksmiths tools
• 1923 Alfa Romeo RLS
• Miss Flinders, DeSoutter aircraft
• Treasures and Traditions *
Temporary, changing component of Past Lives, New Beginnings:
Migration and Tasmania. During the year the following exhibits
were presented:
Musical Instruments
Toys and Games
Weaving
• Aspects of Tasmanian Art*
Temporary, changing component–two changeovers
Touring
National
• ArtRage 2002 *
Burnie Regional Art Gallery
Until 13 July 2003
• ArtRage 2003 *
Burnie Regional Art Gallery
12 June 2003 – continuing
Kaye Dimmack, Curator of the exhibition Inspired by Nature. Photograph courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
23

MUSEUM PUBLICATIONS
PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS
The Museum’s publishing program was very active with two
new issues of the Records published.
The production of the Museum Research Reports for sale in the
Shop continued. It is of interest that many of these publications
are still in demand even though some were produced in the
early 1980s.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Corbet, S and Balmer, J,‘The Vegetation of Rocky Cape National
Park’, Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, no.112.
Rich, T and Vickers-Rich, P,‘Protoceratopsian? Ulnae from
Australia’, Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, no.113.
Mesibov, R, 2004. Online catalogue of the QVMAG primary
zoological types. www.qvmag.tas.gov.au
Mesibov, R, 2004. Online identification guide to Tasmanian
multipedes.
www.qvmag.tas.gov.au
About Face: Through Our Eyes V, 2004—A book of selected
creative works by young Tasmanians, Queen Victoria Museum
and Art Gallery, in partnership with the Youth Advisory Group
(YAG) of the Launceston City Council.
PAPERS AND ARTICLES
George, M ‘The Southern Skies’, Astronomy Magazine
(monthly).
George, M ‘Space’, Sunday Tasmanian Newspaper
(weekly).
Smith, R ‘Looking Back’ Examiner Newspaper
(weekly).
Cassidy, J, Migration Memories on Multi-Media at a Museum
From All Quarters, Journal of the Oral History Association of
Australia, Vol 25, 2003
Cassidy, J, Mills on the Move: The Changing Location of Hobart’s
Flour Mills, Living and Working in Hobart: Historical
Perspectives, Conference Papers, Professional Historians
Association of Tasmania, 2003
Kear, B.P., Hamilton-Bruce, R.J., Smith, B.J. & Gowlett-Holmes,
K.L. 2003. A reassessment of Australia’s oldest freshwater snail,
Viviparus (?) albascopularis Etheridge, 1902 (Mollusca:
Gastropoda: Viviparidae), from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian,
Wallumbilla Formation) of White Cliffs, New South Wales.
Molluscan Research,23
King, G,‘Studio Pottery in Australia’ Australian Art Pottery 1900
– 1950, Casuarina Press, Stanmore, 2004,
King G., Translocality: Revaluing Indigenous Crafts,Object,Vol
43, 2004
24

Mesibov, R. 2003. A new genus of Tasmanian millipedes
(Diplopoda, Polydesmida, Dalodesmidae) with unusual
spiracles and a mosaic distribution. Memoirs of Museum
Victoria 60(2)
Mesibov, R. 2003. The millipede genus Gasterogramma
(Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Dalodesmidae) in Tasmania,
Australia, with descriptions of seven new species. Memoirs of
Museum Victoria 60(2)
Mesibov, R. 2003. Two new and unusual genera of millipedes
(Diplopoda: Polydesmida) from Tasmania, Australia. Zootaxa
368
NEWSLETTERS EDITED
Invertebrata,ed.R Mesibov.
Herp News, ed. I Norton.
Molluscan Research, ed. B Smith.
Real to Reel, ed. J Cassidy.
YAC YAKKETY YAK, ed. R French
Mesibov, R. and Churchill, T. 2003. Patterns in pitfall captures of
millipedes (Diplopoda: Polydesmida: Paradoxosomatidae) at
coastal heathland sites in Tasmania. Australian Zoologist 32(3)
Mesibov, R. 2003. Letter to a shade. Myrmecia 39(4).
Mesibov, R. 2003. The New Nature (book review). The
Tasmanian Naturalist 125
Mesibov, R. 2003. Lineage mosaics in millipedes. African
Invertebrates 44(1)
Mesibov, R. 2004. A new genus of millipedes (Diplopoda:
Polydesmida: Dalodesmidae) from Tasmania, Australia with a
mosaic distribution. Zootaxa 480
Smith, B.J. 2004. Ronald Calder Kershaw - 1920-2003. Victorian
Naturalist 121(1)
Alan Moyle, Adree, photograph
About Face: Through Our Eyes V, 2004.
25

CORPORATE SUPPORT AND
SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANTS
Beyond the ongoing funding received from the Launceston City
Council and the State Government grant received through Arts
Tasmania, the Museum has continued to attract substantial levels
of sponsorship and grant aid toward a variety of projects.
GRANTS
• THE SCHLINGER FOUNDATION
• THE ESTATE OF THE LATE WD BOOTH
• TASMANIAN COMMUNITY TRUST FUND
• THE IAN POTTER FOUNDATION
• THE PLOMLEY FOUNDATION
• THE PHILIP ARCHER TRUST
• FORESTRY TASMANIA
• FOREST PRACTICES BOARD
• GROTE REBER ESTATE
SPONSORS
Further support, in both cash and kind, was received from:
THE EXAMINER
THE PUBLIC TRUSTEE
Museum Car
Gift and Bequest Case
SOUTHERN CROSS
Making and screening of television advertisement for Artrage
LAUNCESTON ROTARY CLUB
MALUA CLUB
SUPPORT GROUPS
FRIENDS OF THE QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
The Friends of the Museum assist and promote the Queen
Victoria Museum and Art Gallery and provide funds vital to the
enrichment of the collections and the development of the
Museum’s potential as a resource for the community.
Strong support of the Museum has been maintained by the
Friends which now boasts a membership of 968, involving 1899
individuals.
The Friends contributed to the purchase of two major items for
the Museum collections this year:
• A large album of watercolour sketches and drawings by
Emma von Stieglitz (1807-1880) This was a joint purchase
by the Friends and the Launceston Art Foundation. The
album will enhance the Museum’s important collection of
work by early colonial women artists and is to be displayed
in the Art Gallery at Inveresk where the pages will be
turned every three months.
• The Friends also purchased two 19th century surveyors
instruments issued by the Board of Ordnance in Tasmania
in the mid 1800s.
The management of the Friends was undertaken by the Friends
Committee:
PRESIDENT:
VICE-PRESIDENT:
HONORARY SECRETARY:
HONORARY TREASURER:
Lynne Stacpoole
Anne Holyman
Jenny Barker
Sandra Campbell
COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Keith Adkins
Rosemary Butler
Margaret Murray
Coleman O’Flaherty
Ian Wright
Chris Tassell (Museum Director)
26

LAUNCESTON MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
FOUNDATION
The Launceston Museum and Art Gallery Foundation
(formerly the Launceston Art Foundation) was established in
March 1985 to ensure that the best traditions of Australian art
and Tasmanian cultural heritage were accessible to the
Tasmanian community. In 1998 a Trust was established to
accept tax-deductible donations on behalf of the Foundation.
PATRON
His Excellency, Sir Guy Green,
Governor of Tasmania
CHAIRMAN
Kenneth von Bibra
TREASURER
Keith Adkins
COMMITTEE
Sandra Campbell
Jim Hughes
MUSEUM
Bridget Arkless
Chris Tassell
TRUST
TRUST CHAIRMAN
TRUSTEES
Kenneth von Bibra
Bob Campbell
Chris Tassell
Robyn McKinnon with her painting
First Basin 2000
Acrylic on canvas
Purchased with funds from the Launceston Museum and Art Gallery Foundation
Photo courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
During the year the Foundation purchased the following works
for the Museum:
RC Clarke
West Volunteer mine at Lefroy 1895
watercolour on paper
Robert Dowling
Portrait of Reverend Henry Dowling c1852-54
oil on canvas
Robyn McKinnon
First Basin 2000
acrylic on canvas
Emma von Stieglitz
Album 1834-1860
watercolour, pencil, ink, pencil and wash, 1 albumen silver
photograph
Purchased with the assistance of the Friends of the Museum
Robert Dowling (1827-1886)
Portrait of the Reverend Henry Dowling about 1852-54
oil on canvas
Purchased with funds from the Launceston Museum and Art Gallery Foundation, 2003
27

PLOMLEY FOUNDATION
This was established in 1984 through the generosity of the
noted historian Mr NJB (Brian) Plomley, with the express
intention of encouraging research into Tasmania’s natural and
cultural heritage. The Foundation has had a profound impact
upon the Museum’s research, collection management and
acquisition capabilities.
The Foundation funded the following projects in 2003-2004:
• preparation of Community History Series Guides
• preparation of collection guides for the Weston, Mead and
Plomley collections
• contribution towards the three year project to study
parasitic Acrocerid flies and their host spiders largely
funded by the Schlinger Foundation
• further work on the taxonomy and distribution of
Tasmanian millipedes and centipedes.
PHILIP ARCHER TRUST
Established in 2001 by the late Philip Archer, this Trust has as
its objective the conservation of Tasmania’s technological
heritage. Stage one of work on the conservation of a British
United Traction Trolley Bus, No. 311, is complete and stage two
has begun.
• preparation of a collection guide for the Museum’s Science
archives
Museum Technical Officer Gerald Schnitzhofer, working on the Museum’s No.311 trolley bus.
28

VOLUNTEERS
Volunteers are an integral part of the Museum and provide
support in many areas. In 2003–2004 volunteers worked the
equivalent of over 976 days, enabling the Museum to achieve
many objectives which would otherwise not have been possible.
COMMUNITY HISTORY BRANCH
Wendy Devlin, Esme Jones-Dye, Shirley Leeming, Mary
Padman, Ann Power, Jack Shennan, Kim Simpson, Peter Sims,
Gail Watt.
CONSERVATION (OBJECTS)
Ali Aedy, Sue Allright, Roberta Blackwood Beattie, Val Keech,
Peg Pedley, John van Tienan.
EDUCATION
Sandra Maxwell, Jane Richman
EXHIBITIONS
Werner Janoshka, Hank van Tienen.
FRIENDS LOUNGE HOSTS
Sue Allright, Norm Andrews, Jenny Barker, Ursula Barnett,
Beverley Benseman, Peter Burns, Sue Burns, Wendy Butler,
Anne Carmichael, Lexie Diezman, Alleyne du Thoit, Betty
Elkerton, Mary Forehead, Helen Fotheringham, Helen Gibson,
Doreen Girvan, Peggy Greig, Margot Martin, Georgie Parker,
Juliette Partridge, Dorothy Rosemann, Helen Scott Young, Ray
Shuttleworth, Tom Sharpe, Audrey Sifleet, Elizabeth Smith,
Lynne Stackpoole, Ellen Warren.
GALLERY GUIDES
Annabel Bassano, Rosemary Butler, Sandra Campbell,
Bea Chapman, Gerry Flood, Helen Freitag, Doreen Girvan,
Lyn Henshaw, Annie Robinson, Lynne Stackpoole,
Elaine Thompson, Pat Traill, Shirley Watson.
GEOLOGY
Vivian Buckley, Doug Ewington, Shaun Morgan,
Margaret Murray, Craig Reid, Craig Williams.
HISTORY
Pat Ahearn, Jenny Gill, Terry Higgins, Jack Shennan,
Ken Stephenson.
LIBRARY
Lauren Dean, Will Ranson.
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Karenne Barnes, Tracey Bligh, Peter Brake, Peter Daalder,
Martin Harvey.
PREPARATION
John Allchin, Robert Scott-Young, Henk van Tienen.
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Annie Fischer, Helen Jones, David Miller.
VISITOR SERVICES
Sandra Maxwell
YOUTH PROGRAMS
Georgie Bishop, Ben Bowring, Katie Brockett, Penny Byard,
Lee Dixon, Fernando do Campo, Sophie Hill, Jessica
Honeychurch, Zenith Hunter, Gillian Marsden, Nick Marson,
Kate Preece, Alicia Rush.
ZOOLOGY
Jeff Campbell, Peter Duckworth, Helen Fisher, Rosemary Grant,
Helen Jones, Margaret Patterson.
29

STAFF
* Denotes part-time staff
DIRECTOR
Chris Tassell, BSc(Hons), MSc
COLLECTIONS AND INFORMATION
SERVICES
Manager
Martin George, BSc(Hons)
VISITOR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
Manager
Paul Bishop, BFA, DipT
ADMINISTRATION
Administration Officer
Karen Stubbings
Administration Officer
Karan Simpson
Youth Audience Officer
Rachel French, BFA, AssDipGraphicDesign
Research Officer
Ann Teesdale*
COMMUNITY HISTORY
Curator of Community History
Rhonda Hamilton
Oral Historian
Jill Cassidy, BA(Hons), DipEd*
Reference Officer
Christine Holyoak*
Reference Officer
Ross Smith
Reference Officer
Jeff Burgess, BA (VA)*
Project Officer
Barbara Valentine, ALA*
CONSERVATION
Curator of Conservation (Objects)
Linda Clark, BSc, BA
Associate Conservator (Objects)
Michael Smith, DipFA
Technical Officer (Objects)
Gerald Schnitzhofer*
Technical Officer (Objects)
Jai Patterson, MA (AusHist)
Technical Officer (Objects)
Kim Simpson, BM, BA, GradCertMusStud*
Conservator (Paintings)
Mar Gomez Lobon, B.appSc.
Technical Officer (Paintings)
John Hay, AssocDipArt*
Curator of Conservation (Paper)
Lynda Black, MA(Fine Art), DipCons(Fine
Art)
Technical Officer (Paper)
Tamara Hollister*
Decorative Arts and Design
Curator of Decorative Arts and Design
Glenda King, DipFA
EDUCATION
Education Officer
Tammy Edmunds, BEd*
Education Officer
Sally Mollison, BEd, AssocDipMus.
Education Administration Officer
Kala Miranda*
Education Administration Officer
Louise Thrush, BFA(Hons)*
Education Outreach and Holiday Program
Administration Officer
Ros Jordan*
Playgroup Co-ordinator
Daphne Mitchell*
EXHIBITIONS
Exhibitions Manager
Craig McCormack, CertTaxidermy
Exhibition Officer
David Barratt, AIPD (London)
CertMusTech*
Exhibition Officer
Roy Mathers
Exhibition Officer
Tony Mitchell*
Technical Officers
Laurie Austin, AssDipDrawDesign*
Wayne Chatwin*
Peter Norton*
Jeff Burgess, BA(VA)*
Photographer
John Leeming
Photographic Assistant
Shirley Leeming*
Graphic Artist
Carolyn Coert, CertArtDesign*
Graphic Artist
Jane Guy, AssDipGraphicDesign*
Graphic Artist
Renee Singline, DipGraphicDesign
Graphic Artist
Philippa Steele, DipGraphicDesign*
FINE ART
Curator of Fine Art
Bridget Arkless, BA, GradDipMusStud
Associate Curator of Fine Art
Yvonne Adkins, BA(VA), GradDipFA*
Technical Officer
Louise Thrush BFA (Hons)*
GEOLOGY
Collection Manager
Alisanne Ramsden, CertLabTech*
Technical Officer
Annette Vains*
HISTORY
Collection Manager
Louise James, DipEd*
Technical Officer
Shirley Leeming*
INFORMATION SERVICES
Information Technology Officer
Mark Gordon, BAppComp, GradDipSci
(Hons)*
Information Technology Officer
Chris Arkless, BA, AssocDipBusiness
(Computing)*
LIBRARY
Library Coordinator
Kaye Dimmack, CertLibtechStud, ALIATec
Library Assistant
Peter Brake*
PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Planetarium Assistant
Chris Arkless, BA, AssocDipBusiness
(Computing)*
PREPARATION
Senior Preparator
Ian Norton, CertMusTech
Technical Officer
Laurie Austin, AssDipDrawDesign*
30

Technical Officer
Gerald Schnitzhofer*
Technical Officer
Peter Norton*
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Public Programs Manager
Kaye Dowling, BSc
Administrative Assistant
Merran Nash
VISITOR SERVICES
Site Operations Co-ordinator
Craig Allen
Administrative Assistant and Bookings Officer
Kathy Varga
Museum Shop Officer
Christine Gleeson
Volunteer Coordinator
Deborah Edwards, BA, BFA(Hons)*
VISITOR SERVICES STAFF
Alison Aedy, BA*
Stalley Britton, BBE(IntDes), AssocDipMus*
Nick Brown, BFA(Hons) *
Linda Bryan*
Wayne Chatwin*
Lauren Dean, BA*
William (Bill) Evans, BFA, GradDipFA, BPA(Music)*
Annie Fischer*
Danielle Grossman*
Ros Jordan*
Michael Josephson*
Sumeena Keshow, BFA / BCA (Hons Professional Practice)*
Inareta King*
Shirley Leeming*
Paul LeFevre*
Veronica Macno, BA(Hons), GradDipMusStud*
Gillian Marsden BA*
Kate McCoy*
Heather McInnes, Dip.ArtCraft.Design(TAFE)*
Alan Sharp*
Kim Simpson, BM, BA, GradDipMusStud*
Peter Sugden, BFA*
Louise Thrush, BFA(Hons)*
Craig Williams, BSc*
Museum Exhibition Officers Roy Mathers and Jason Smith, with Last Muster of the Aborigines at Risdon (1836)
by John Glover. Photograph courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
31

ZOOLOGY
Curator of Zoology
Brian Smith, PhD*
Research Associate and Curatorial Specialist
Bob Mesibov, PhD*
Research Officer
Judy Rainbird, CertTaxid*
Research Officer
Tammy Gordon, BSc*
Research Officer
Craig Reid, BSc(Hons)*
Schlinger & Plomley Research Fellow
Lisa Joy Boutin
Herpetology Research
Ian Norton, CertMusTech*
Scientific Illustrator
Craig Williams, BSc*
ASSOCIATES
Curator Emeritus / Hon Research Associate
Bob Green AM, Hon Dsc
Research Associate
Eleanor Casella, BA (Hons), MA, PhD Candidate
Research Associate
Denise Gaughwin, BA (Hon), MA
Honorary Research Associate
Bea Maddock
Honorary Research Associate
Daniel Thomas
STAFF COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
YVONNE ADKINS
Member, Musica North Executive Committee
BRIDGET ARKLESS
Member, Launceston General Hospital Visual Arts Committee
DAVID BARRATT
President, Australian Indonesian Society
LYNDA BLACK
Secretary, Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural
Material (Tasmania)
JILL CASSIDY
Co-ordinator, History Group, Launceston City Council Bicentennial
Committee; Committee member, University of Tasmania Companion to
Tasmanian History; President, Oral History Association of Australia,
Tasmania Inc; National Vice President, Oral History Association of
Australia; Editor, Real to Reel; Member, Working Party, 2004
Bicentenary of Tasmania Community History project
LINDA CLARK
President, Australian Institute For The Conservation Of Cultural
Material (Tasmania); National Council member, Australian Institute
For The Conservation Of Cultural Material; Committee member,
Supply River Mill Management Committee
KAYE DIMMACK
Committee Member, Museums Australia (Tasmania)
RACHAEL FRENCH
Committee Member, Launceston City Council Youth Advisory Board;
Secretary, Museums Australia, (Tasmania); Committee Member, Art In
Public Places Committee, Launceston City Council
MARTIN GEORGE
Member, Astronomical Society of Tasmania Incorporated; Member,
Astronomical Society of Australia; Secretary, Australasian Planetarium
Society; Member, International Planetarium Society; Member,
Education Subcommittee, Astronomical Society of Australia; Chair,
Language Committee, International Planetarium Society; Fellow and
President-Elect, International Planetarium Society
RHONDA HAMILTON
Committee member, National Archives of Australia, Tasmanian
Consultative Forum; Working Group, National Archives of Australia,
Tasmania, Non State Records; Working Group, National Archives of
Australia, Tasmania, Railway Records; Committee member, Australian
Women’s Archive Project, Launceston; Committee member, Launceston
City Council Bicentennial Publication
CHRISTINE HOLYOAK
Administration Officer, Royal Society of Tasmania, Northern Branch;
Treasurer, Museums Australia, Tasmania
LOUISE JAMES
Member, Oral History Association of Australia (Tasmania)
GLENDA KING
Member, Launceston Access Advisory Committee, Launceston City
Council; Member, Joint Consultative Committee, Launceston City
Council; Member, Create Australia National Project Steering
Committee for Museum and Library/Information Services Industry
Training; Member, Management Committee, Protection and Return of
Indigenous Cultural Property, Department of Communications,
Information Technology and the Arts, Canberra; Member, University
Visual Arts Committee, School of Visual and Performing Arts,
University of Tasmania, Launceston
JOHN LEEMING
Member, St Michaels Association Board of Management
32

JANE GUY
Executive member, Tasmanian Herpetological Society, Executive
member Reptile Rescue.
GILLIAN MARSDEN
Board member, Launceston Environment Centre; Board member,
Launceston Youth Orchestra
BOB MESIBOV
Editor, Invertebrata newsletter
IAN NORTON
Executive Life Member and AGM Chairman, Tasmanian
Herpetological Society; Museum representative, LCC Health and Safety
Committee
ALISANNE RAMSDEN
Tasmanian Coordinator, Australian Dinosaur Club
BRIAN SMITH
Editor, Molluscan Research, Malacological Society of Australasia;
Honorary Member, Malacological Society of Australasia; Member,
Scientific Advisory Committee to the Shell Necklace Makers
Committee of the Aboriginal Arts Board; Member, Council of Heads of
Australian Fauna Collections; Member, Council of Heads of Australian
Entomological Collections
MICHAEL SMITH
LCC Employee Safety Representative; Treasurer, Australian Institute
For The Conservation Of Cultural Material ; Committee member, LCC
Occupational Health & Safety
ROSS SMITH
Committee member, Launceston Historical Society
CHRIS TASSELL
President, Museums Australia (Tas); Member, National Council,
Museums Australia; Member, Australia Council; Chair, Community
Cultural Development Board of the Australia Council; Member, Audit
Committee, Australia Council; Member, Winston Churchill Memorial
Trust Board; Member, Female Factory Historic Site Board; Rhodes
Scholarship Selection Committee (Tas)
LOUISE THRUSH
The Museum and Art Gallery Youth Advisory Committee
BARBARA VALENTINE
Judge, Tasmanian Bicentenary Local History Prize; Judge, Tasmanian
Family History Lilian Watson Family History Award
The Museum’s Painting Conservator, Mar Gomez Lobon, working on the portrait by Robert Dowling
of The Reverend Henry Dowling, a recent addition to the Museum’s Fine Art Collection.
Photograph courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
33

MUSEUM STATISTICS
MUSEUM STATISTICS 2002-2003 2003-2004
Total Museum attendances 97 852 86 626
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery at Royal Park 34 442 29 160
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery at Inveresk 61 688 56 596
Community History Branch 1722 870
Website visits 278 049 388 348
Outreach activities 1665 7835
Touring exhibitions 3017 2792
Animal loan program 19 601 19 813
Planetarium 4392 4836
Education 10 056 11 125
Public enquiries 18 119 16 100
No. of exhibitions / displays mounted 28 23
No. of exhibitions toured 2 2
No. of visiting exhibitions mounted 7 10
No. of public programs 108 101
No. of donations 150 226
No. of items catalogued 10 127 8342
No. of items placed on computer 6422 5455
No. of volunteers 155 94
No. of volunteer days 1685 976
No. of residents passes issued to date 25 042 28 479
34

APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
The Tasmanian Freedom of Information Act 1991 applied to all local
government sectors in Tasmania from 1 January 1994. The position
authorised to make decisions under the Act, relevant to Museum
Records, is the Curator, Community History. No requests for access
were received during the year 2003–2004.
APPENDIX 2
ACQUISITION CODE AND POLICY
The Acquisition Code requires that both the Code and Policy be
reviewed every two years. The revised Code and Policy as adopted by
the Launceston City Council 20 May 2002 are set out below.
ACQUISITION CODE
1. Museums and art galleries have a very distinctive role in
collecting, preserving, researching and communicating to
the wide community, students and scholars original
evidence of our natural and cultural heritage.
2. The origins of the collections of the Queen Victoria
Museum and Art Gallery date back to the middle of the
nineteenth century. Since that time, they have developed as
an important component of Tasmania’s and Australia’s
natural and cultural heritage.
3. The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery will make
acquisitions consistent with the Museum’s mission, which
is:
TO BE A LEADER IN THE INTELLECTUAL AND
CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF LAUNCESTON
AND THE STATE BY INCREASING OUR
ENJOYMENT AND UNDERSTANDING OF OUR
NATURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE.
4. The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery’s collections
are made for the following purposes:
(a) To be an archival record of:
• the artistic heritage of the people of Tasmania
• the material culture of the peoples who now and previously
inhabited Tasmania and adjacent lands
• the living and past faunas and floras of Tasmania and
adjacent lands and seas
• the minerals and rocks which make up Tasmania
(b)
(c)
To be a source of material for researching the fields of art,
decorative arts and crafts, Tasmanian history, archaeology,
ethnography, geology, zoology and botany.
To be a source of materials and ideas for educational
programs, particularly exhibitions.
5. The Launceston City Council, as owner of the Queen
Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, will adopt and publish a
written statement of its acquisition policy in respect of
works of art and museum specimens. This policy shall be
reviewed at least once every two years. Acquisition outside
the stated policy shall only be made in exceptional
circumstances.
6. The Council supports the principles of the UNESCO
Convention on the means of prohibiting and preventing
the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of
Cultural Property, 1970, acceded to by Australia in 1990.
7. The Council will not acquire, whether by purchase, gift,
bequest or exchange any work of art or object unless the
responsible officer is satisfied that the Museum can acquire
a valid title to the specimen in question, and that, in
particular, it has not been acquired in, or exported from, its
country of origin (and/or any intermediate country in
which it may have been legally owned) in violation of that
country’s laws.
8. So far as biological and geological material is concerned,
the Council will not acquire by any direct or indirect
means any specimen that has been collected, sold or
otherwise transferred in contravention of any national or
international wildlife protection or natural history
conservation law or treaty of Australia or any other
country, except with the express consent of an appropriate
outside authority.
9. If appropriate and feasible, the same tests as are outlined
in paragraphs 5 and 6 above will be applied in determining
whether to accept loans for exhibitions or other purposes.
10. The Council recognises the need for cooperation and
consultation between museums and art galleries with
similar or overlapping interests and collecting policies, and
will seek to consult with such institutions both on specific
acquisitions where a conflict of interest is thought possible,
and, more generally, on defining areas of specialisation.
35

ACQUISITION POLICY
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery has a special
responsibility to preserve and exhibit material evidence of
the natural and cultural history of Tasmania. The
Museum’s collecting policy recognises this as its primary
responsibility. However, in some limited areas a better
understanding of Tasmania’s natural and cultural heritage
will be provided by the acquisition of material from
beyond the State. For this reason as well as for historic
reasons, the Museum already has significant collections of
material from beyond Tasmania. Such areas are very
closely defined in the Acquisition Policy.
1.2 In developing its collections, the Museum will:
• reflect the cultural diversity of Tasmania
• reflect the histories and experiences of Tasmanian
culture within a national and international
framework
• seek to research, document and maintain the
collections to the highest standards resources permit
• seek to make the collections accessible through
exhibitions, loans, publications and on-line collection
access.
1.3 The suitability of all objects proposed for acquisition will
be assessed against stated selection criteria as appropriate
for each collection area. In acquiring objects for its
collection, the Museum shall consider items for which it
can adequately care and store and which are not beyond
recognisably achievable conservation requirements.
1.4 The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery recognises
the need to describe the significance of the objects in its
collection using a consistent and widely accepted
methodology. As part of the acquisition process, each
object entering the collection of the Museum will be
considered in terms of its historic, aesthetic, scientific and
social values to determine how its meaning is understood
by people and by communities. The Statement of
Significance will consider:
• historic significance
• aesthetic significance
• scientific, research or technical significance
• social or spiritual significance
In addition, significance will also be determined by
considering:
• provenance
• representativeness
• rarity
• condition, completeness, intactness
• interpretative potential
1.5 Deaccessioning Policy
The Museum’s policies and procedures for deaccessioning
objects from the collection are outlined in a separate policy
document entitled: Deaccessioning Policy.
2.0 Collections
The Museum’s collections are managed in eight collecting areas:
Natural Sciences
Fine Arts
Decorative Arts and Design
Tasmanian History
Comparative Cultural
Community History
Architectural and Engineering Drawings
Rare Books
2.1 Natural Sciences
Natural sciences within the Museum cover five distinct
areas, each with their own collection goals and spheres of
specialisation. These are:
2.1a Zoology
Comprehensive collections of Tasmanian
vertebrate and invertebrate fauna with specialist
research collections from the remainder of
Australia and beyond in molluscs, spiders and
mammalian ectoparasites.
2.1b Botany
Comprehensive collections of Tasmanian plants,
including significant historical holdings.
2.1c Geology
Mineral and rock collections from throughout
Tasmania with important comparative material
from interstate and overseas.
2.1d Palaeontology
A significant collection of fossils from Tasmania
and important vertebrate fossil material from
elsewhere in and beyond Australia.
36

2.1e Astronomy
Meteorite and tektite material (as part of the
Geology collections).
Subject to nature conservation interests, the Museum will continue to
collect all kinds of evidence of Tasmanian geology, flora and fauna for
display, study, reference and educational purposes. It is expected that
the primary source of such material will be controlled and properly
documented field collecting by Government Agencies, Museum staff
and research associates. However, acquisition (by purchase if
necessary) of important private or historic collections of Tasmanian
natural science material of all kinds (including records) is of great
importance.
Individual specimens or collections of material from elsewhere in
Australia will be acquired for education, exhibitions and research
where they enable a better understanding of Tasmania’s natural
history.
2.2 Fine Arts
The fine art collection has three principal components,
each of which has its own distinct collection policy. These
components are:
2.2a Tasmanian Colonial Art
This collection documents the artistic heritage
of Tasmania through paintings, works on paper
and sculpture. In this context,‘Tasmanian’ is
considered to include work by Tasmanian artists
regardless of the subject of the painting and
work depicting Tasmanian subjects by any
artist.
2.2b Modern and Contemporary Australian Art
This collection documents the history of
Australia’s postcolonial art of aesthetic value
through paintings, works on paper, sculpture
and multi-media. Particular emphasis will be
placed on the achievements of Tasmanian
artists.
The Museum has a small but significant
collection of International paintings and works
on paper. This collection will be maintained.
2.2c Frames
Frames are collected either in their own right or
in association with the item inside the frame.
For the most part, frames are not collected in
their own right but are generally associated with
the item they surround.
2.3 Decorative Arts and Design
The Decorative Arts and Design collection has four
principal components, each of which has its own distinct
collection policy. These components are:
2.3a Contemporary Craft and Design
This collection aims to document and promote
understanding of the evolution of contemporary
craft and design in Australia since 1945 in all
media. Particular emphasis will be placed on the
achievements of Tasmanian practitioners. The
importance of this collection is emphasised by
the fact that it is the principal such collection in
Tasmania.
Emphasis will be given to collecting objects,
which illustrate in an exemplary way innovation
in design, construction, and use of materials
and technologies.
2.3b Tasmanian Decorative Arts
This collection is a special component of the
Museum’s history collection and documents the
material cultural heritage of Tasmania with
particular reference to ceramics, furniture and
woodwork, textiles and costumes with
significant aesthetic value.
2.3c Australian Decorative Arts
This collection documents the evolution of
Australian decorative arts, particularly through
ceramics and textiles with significant aesthetic
and cultural value. The collection focuses
primarily on objects designed and made in
Australia pre 1945.
2.3d International Decorative Arts
This collection documents in particular the
development and evolution of British, European
and Asian decorative arts through ceramics,
textiles and costumes of significant aesthetic
value. Consideration will be given to the work of
international practitioners post-1945 where
their work has had a critical and identified
influence and/or impact on the development of
Tasmanian and/or national craft and design.
2.4 Tasmanian History Collection
This collection documents the material cultural heritage of
the Tasmanian community with particular reference to
threatened ways of life and the northern region of the State.
37

2.5 Comparative Cultural Collection
This collection consists of cultural material from
communities and societies from beyond Tasmania and
provides a resource for the Museum’s education and
exhibition programs.
2.6 Community History Collection
The Community History collections document the cultural
heritage of the Tasmanian community and reflect the
island’s diverse and changing ways of life with particular
reference to the northern region of the State.
2.6a Photographs
This collection is a comprehensive visual record
of Tasmania from the 1840s and includes all
photographic formats from daguerreotypes
onwards. A small component of film and video
supports the visual record.
2.6b Manuscripts
This collection has two principal components:
manuscripts collected as single items and
collections of textual records created or acquired
by an individual, family or organization.
It also includes a comprehensive collection of
20th century Tasmanian ephemera.
2.6c Oral History
This unique collection consists of recorded
interviews, which document the achievements
of Tasmanians in the 20th century, and beyond.
It also includes a small component of recorded
music.
2.7 Architectural and Engineering Drawings Collection
This collection documents the built and engineering
heritage of Tasmania through drawings and specifications.
2.8 Rare Book Collection
This collection includes books with specific historical or
cultural value, books of aesthetic importance or with a
significant provenance.
APPENDIX 3
MAJOR ACQUISITIONS FOR 2003–2004
PURCHASES
Community History Branch
• Unknown photographer
Tamar Rowing Club winning crew 1888
• Paul Griggs
Portrait, Les Hill (1916–1995)
photographer/film maker
• Frith Bros
Corbett building, Launceston 1859
• Cawston
Corbett building, Launceston
19th century
• Unknown photographer
St John Street, Launceston
19th century
Decorative Arts and Design
• Unknown
Rug, 20th century
wool, possum skins, threads
• Jedda, Australia
Bowl, 1960s
earthenware
• Les Blakebrough, Southern Ice
Porcelain Pty Ltd; Lauren Black, artist
Plate, 2003
Tree senecio
Flora Tasmanica series
porcelain
• Unknown
Rug, 20th century
wool, possum skins, threads
• Unknown
Rug, 20th century
wool, wallaby skins, threads
• INDECO
Patrick Senior and Mieke Senior-Loncin
Ovaloid Mill, 2004
tiger myrtle, African ebony, stainless steel
Cubist Mill, 2004
myrtle, native olive, stainless steel
Cylindrical Mill, 2004
blackheart sassafras, cheesewood, stainless steel
Coffee Mill, 2004
• Huon pine, goldey wood, stainless steel
“7” Trivets, 2004
sassafras, African ebony; Huon pine, goldey wood;
myrtle, native olive
• New Hall, England
Coffee Can, c.1815
porcelain
• Unknown
Teapot, early 19th century
porcelain
• Derby, England
Jug, 1800–1825
porcelain
38

• John Campbell
Planter, early 20th century
earthenware
• Jill Ferrall
Spirits of Place I, 2004
paper, threads, inks, paint
• Jill Ferrall
Spirits of Place II, 2004
paper, threads, ink, paint
• Greg Leong
Pink Triangle Eucharist and St Rodney –
Wedding
Night Camisole for Princess Turandot, 1997
silk, lace, lame, screenprint, braid, beads,
threads
• Greg Leong
Turandot’s St Rodney/ St Nick Monstrance
Fan,
1997
silk satin, lame, tulle, feathers, screenprint,
threads, beads, metal, wood
• Greg Leong
May Queen Crown for the Beatification of St
Rodney
and St Nick, 1997
silk, synthetic fabrics, screenprinted lame,
acetate, threads, beads, metal wire, safety
pins, condoms, resin
Fine Art
• RC Clark
West Volunteer mine at Lefroy 1895
watercolour on paper
Purchased with funds from Launceston
Museum and Art Gallery Foundation
• Filomena Coppola
From the series Palse 2003
etching on paper
Print Council of Australia, Member’s Print
Purchased by the Launceston City Council
• Robert Dowling
Portrait of Reverend Henry Dowling
c.1852–54
oil on canvas
Purchased with funds from the Launceston
Museum and Art Gallery Foundation
• Alan McIntyre
Untitled c.1965
watercolour on paper
Purchased by the Launceston City Council
• Robyn McKinnon
First Basin 2000
acrylic on canvas
Purchased with funds from the Launceston
Museum and Art Gallery Foundation
• George Richardson
Calm on the Moor 2003
watercolour on paper
Purchased by the Launceston City Council
• George Richardson
Rio di San Barnaba, Venice, 2003
watercolour on paper
Purchased by the Launceston City Council
• Emma von Stieglitz
Album 1834–1860
watercolour, pencil, ink, pencil and wash, 1
albumen silver photograph
Purchased with funds from the Launceston
Museum & Art Gallery Foundation with the
assistance of the Friends of the Museum
DONATIONS
Community History Branch
• Arts Council
organisational records
• Association of Northern Tasmanian
Women’s Bowling Association
organisational records
• Mr I Carroll
manuscript, McHugh’s Pottery
• Mr R Cundall
ephemera, labels
• Mrs I Dittmann
manuscript, sketch
• Dutch Australia Association
photographs, Christmas parade
• Ms M Field
manuscript, sport
• Mrs K Goss
photograph, sport
• Dr R H Green
photograph, transport
• Mrs H Henderson
ephemera, Launceston Technical High
School
• Mr T Higgins
photograph/ephemera, sport
• Mr D Howard
program, Prince of Wales visit
• Mrs K Hudson
postcards, Tasmanian
• Mr A Hunt
photograph, Railway Workshops
• Institution of Engineers, Australia
Northern Tasmanian Group, Engineering
Heritage Subcommittee
organisational records
• Ms G Jacobsen
photographs, Tasmanian
• Mr H Jager
manuscript, cartoon
• Jazz Tas
manuscripts, photographs and audio,
Tasmanian jazz scene, continuing
• Mrs S Katarzynski
ephemera
• Launceston Benevolent Society
organisational records
• Launceston Jaycees
organisational records
• Mr L Leyden
audio, Dame Marjorie Parker
• Mr G McKinlay
private/business papers, continuing
• Mr R McLean
manuscript, sheet music, Alex Lithgow
including Music at the Movies
• Mr M Mackowski
photographs, sport
• Mrs R Morris
ephemera, packaging
• Sue and David Owen
framed indenture H G Spicer, Pharmacist
(copy)
• Mrs J Paton
photograph, Jacksons Lock Works
• Mrs A Priestley
video, Simplot, Scottsdale
• Estate of Lady Ramsay, presented by her
daughter Nell Turnbull
photograph album, images of Japan
• Estate of Lady Ramsay,
presented by her daughter Nell Turnbull and
grand daughters Patricia and Fiona
Fullerton
personal papers, Lady Ramsay
• Retired Railway Employees
photograph, Inveresk Railyards
• Royal Australian Artillery Association
(Tasmania)
manuscript and photographs, continuing
• Mr J Simmons
photograph, entertainment
• Mr A Taylor
manuscript, motor industry, Launceston
• R Turner
photograph, Gorge Tea Rooms
• Mr C von Stieglitz
personal papers, Karl von Stieglitz
• Ms J White
postcards, Tasmania
Decorative Arts and Design
• Edward Challinor, Pinnock Works,
Staffordshire, England
Plate, 1842–1867
earthenware
Donated by Mrs Roma Lovell
• Frances Morley & Co., Staffordshire, England
Serving Plate and Tureen, 1845–58
earthenware
Donated by Mrs Roma Lovell
• Wedding Ensemble and Hat, 1945
crepe de chine, glass beads, straw, grosgrain
ribbon
Donated by Mrs Roma Lovell
39

• Unknown
Scarf, 1953
synthetic fabric
Donated by Ron Leigh
• Shaw & Copestake Ltd, (Sylvac), England
Bowl, 1950s
earthenware
Donated by Ron Leigh
• James R. Ream Distilling Co. and Regal
China, England
Liquor Bottle, 1973
earthenware
Donated by Ron Leigh
• Unknown Maker, France
Fan, 19th century
silk, wood, paint, sequins, metal
Donated by Nancy Hummerston
• Unknown maker, Afghanistan
Two pairs of shoes, c.1878–80
leather, silk, cotton, metal
Donated by Nancy Hummerston
• Unknown maker, Afghanistan
Burka or chador, c.1878–80
cotton, silk
Donated by Nancy Hummerston
• Rynne Tanton
Jar, c.1985
stoneware
Donated by Pauline Bindoff
• Unknown, Japan
Pair of vases, 1950
stoneware
Donated by Mrs Nancy Hummerston
• Sake Cup, pre 1939
porcelain, silver
Donated by Mrs Nancy Hummerston
• Cups and Saucers, 1947–1950
Noritake, made in occupied Japan
porcelain
Donated by Mrs Nancy Hummerston
• Mrs R. Hawke, England
Coverlet, 1841
cottons
Donated by Mrs Nancy Hummerston
• Collection of Australian, Chinese, Japanese
and African costumes, textiles and
accessories including: eight Japanese
kimonos, Japanese obi, Japanese textiles,
Japanese drawstring leather bags, Chinese
Mandarin robe, Chinese shoes, Chinese
embroidered purses, five Chinese
embroidered silk skirts, embroidered caps,
African leather and amber necklace, ladies’
silk and lace bonnets and caps, six-piece
linen cut-work ensemble, collection of
blouse fronts and under-blouses, Egyptian
Assuti cloth.
Donated from the Estate of Lady Ramsay
presented by her daughter Nell Turnbull and
granddaughters Patricia and Fiona Fullerton.
• Unknown maker, Straits Chinese
Wedding slippers, pre 1945
silk velvet, silk, leather, metallic thread,
cotton
Donated by Mrs Margaret Lockhart
• Collection of English, Japanese, Chinese,
Indian and Australian costume, accessories
and textiles including Chinese silk jackets,
Chinese embroidered accessories, 19th
century wool paisley shawl, christening
gown, embroidered collar, embroidered
bedcovers, evening gown – Charlotte Fifth
Avenue.
Donated from the Estate of Lady Ramsay
presented by her daughter Nell Turnbull and
granddaughters Patricia and Fiona
Fullerton.
• Unknown maker
Wedding Dress and ephemera, 1940
satin, lace
Donated by Mike Oakley
• Unknown makers
Collection of babies’ costumes and
ephemera, c.1941
cotton, satin ribbon
Donated by Mike Oakley
• Unknown
Wedding Bonnet, c.1880
silk satin, silk, straw
Donated by Leslie Luckie and Beverley
Bensemann
• Nancy Henderson Coates, Launceston,
Tasmania
Embroidery, 1887
wool, beads, linen canvas
Bequest of the late Tullah Ryan
• Luminosity: Objects of Light Suite
John Smith and Penny Smith
Night Swimmer, 2000/2001
carbon-fibre, leather, neon light source,
Corian, perforated steel mesh
Donated by the artists under the Cultural
Gifts Program, 2004
• John Smith and Penny Smith
Coelenterata, 2000/2001
fibreglass, acrylic automotive lacquer, acrylic
rods, aluminium, fluorescent light, Azteque
laminate, perforated stainless steel mesh
Donated by the artists under the Cultural
Gifts Program, 2004
• John Smith and Penny Smith
Electrolyte, 2000/2001
aluminium rods, acrylic, leather, neon and
halogen light source, Corian, laminex
Donated by the artists under the Cultural
Gifts Program, 2004
• John Smith and Penny Smith
Nautilus, 2000/2001
fibreglass, acrylic automotive lacquer, optic
fibre, stainless steel, halogen light source,
perforated steel mesh, Azteque laminate
Donated by the artists under the Cultural
Gifts Program, 2004
• John Smith and Penny Smith
Fallen Angel, 2003
Leather, Perspex, Azteque laminate,
fluorescent light, fibreglass, acrylic automotive
finish
Donated by the artists under the Cultural
Gifts Program, 2004
• Janet Brereton (1933–1992)
Separation, 1987
cotton rope
Donated by Kurt Brereton from the estate of
Janet Brereton under the Cultural Gifts
Program 2004
• Douglas McManus
Hair Couture 2000
cupromonium rayon, digital printing
Donated by the artist under the Cultural
Gifts Program, 2004
Fine Art
• Nell Frankcombe
(Fish jug)
oil on three layers of cardboard
Donated by the Estate of Miss Nell
Frankcombe
Nell Frankcombe
(Still life with Chinese vase)
Donated by the Estate of Miss Nell
Frankcombe
• Nell Frankcombe
Self portrait
watercolour on paper
Donated by the Estate of Miss Nell
Frankcombe
• John Glover
(Cumberland landscape)
watercolour on paper
Donated by Jill Ferrall
• John Gould and Elizabeth Gould
Neomorpha gouldi
from The Birds of Australia 1840–48 and
Supplement 1869
hand coloured lithograph
Donated by Dr Pat Vickers-Rich under the
Cultural Gifts Program
• Ruth Hadlow
Cape Barren Samplers 1996–98
found cloth, rusted silk and cotton cloths,
plant-dyed silk, thread
Donated by the artist
• Ruth Hadlow
Sampler for Lucy Beedon 1997–98
found linen, plant-dyed silk, shells, thread
Donated by the artist
• Ruth Hadlow
Dowry 1998
found cloth, linen thread, shells
Donated by the artist
• Ruth Hadlow
Thunder and Lightning 1997–98
silk, plant-dyed silk, shells
Donated by the artist
• Owen Lade
On the Gordon, Tasmania 1987
oil on composition board
Donated by John McPhee under the Cultural
Gifts Program
40

• Owen Lade
Mundaring Dam weir, Perth, Western
Australia
from Farrell Drive c.1970–1989
oil on paper on card
Donated by John McPhee under the Cultural
Gifts Program
• Owen Lade
Limestone Head, Vancouver Peninsula, King
George Sound,
Princess Royal Harbour, Albany, Western
Australia from Mt Melville c.1970–1989
oil on paper on card
Donated by John McPhee under the Cultural
Gifts Program
• Owen Lade
Zeehan[?] Range, Bailley[sic] Bridge at
evening from Rosetta c.1970–1989
oil on paper on card
Donated by John McPhee under the Cultural
Gifts Program
• Owen Lade
Paul Barnett’s farm, Lymwood, King Island
c.1970–1989
oil on paper on card
Donated by John McPhee under the Cultural
Gifts Program
• Owen Lade
Ansons Bay c.1970–1989
oil on paper on card
Donated by John McPhee under the Cultural
Gifts Program
• Owen Lade
Round House, Fremantle c.1970–1989
oil on paper on card
Donated by John McPhee under the Cultural
Gifts Program
• Bea Maddock
Glastonbury Museum Sketches 1959
blue ink on lightweight sketchpad paper
donated by the artist
• Bea Maddock
Eight sketches of Medieval English pottery
from the Guildhall
Museum London Exhibition 1966
felt-tipped pen on sketchpad paper
donated by the artist
• Bea Maddock
Researched Medieval Costumes for King
Arthur 1963
hand-tied artist made booklet
Donated by Beth Parsons
• Bea Maddock
Not titled c.1974
oil on paper
Donated by Warwick Reeder under the
Cultural Gifts Program
• Bea Maddock
Not titled 1970
drawing with marking pen with pencil on
two sheets of printed graph paper
Donated by Warwick Reeder under the
Cultural Gifts Program
• Everard Read
(South African landscape and homestead)
oil on composition board
Donated by Mrs Roma Lovell
• Everard Read
(South African landscape with view of a
homestead)
oil on composition board
Donated by Mrs Roma Lovell
• H. Stephens
High flyer 1870
pencil with white chalk on paper
Donated by Charles Rose
• Mabel Thomsett
Portrait of Frederick Augustus Stewart 1912
Portrait of Sarah Stewart (nee Smith) 1912
pair of portraits in one frame
oil on canvas
Donated by Mrs GE Marsh
• Unknown Artist
Portrait of David Gibson circa 1850
oil on canvas
Donated by Mrs Helen Gibson
• Unknown Artist
Portrait of Elizabeth Spotswood about 1840
oil on ivory
Donated by Helen Hoyle
• Unknown Artist
Coastline sketches. South Australia, mainland
East Coast,
Tasmanian East Coast, Flinders Island, 1849
pencil on paper
Donated by Mrs Joan Boyes
• Various artists including members of the
Cowie and Oakden families
Album, early 1800s
pencil, pen & ink, watercolour
Donated by the Paramour Gillett Family
• Philip Wolfhagen
Study for archipelago, 2002
oil on plywood
Donated by the artist under the Cultural
Gifts Program
Geology
• Mammal jaw casts
Dr T Rich
• Mineral specimens, King Island
CB Tassell
• Petrified wood specimens, Tasmania
CB Tassell
• Invertebrate fossil collection
Mr AE Monger
• Geological Specimens, Antarctica
H Tassell
• Geological specimens, Japan
CB Tassell
History
Donations were received from the following
individuals and organisations. These have been
incorporated into the History collections
including ethnography, technology, musical
instruments, social history, historical silver and
numismatics:
M C Adams
Mr Ronald Ainsworth
Anna Barns
Norman Bean
Ian Berckelman
Darryel Binns
Daphne Francis Binns
Doreen L Black
Bill Blair
Robbie Boier
Brian Booker
Zoe Brumby
Lynette Chaplin
Chinese Delegation
Elizabeth Coglon
Peter Coleman
Commercial Travellers Association
Ross Cundall
Richard Curwen
Mrs Vonda Dean
Wayne Devlin
Devonport Athletic Club
Kaye Dimmack
Dutch Australia Association
Max Field
Megan Field
Les Freeman
Vince George
Miss Jenny Gill
Ruby Gold
Lorraine Grant
Cathy Grant
Alisanne Green
John Gregory
Rhonda Hamilton
Kate Hannah
Haros Boiler Co (Peter Haros)
Mr Colin Harrower
Rachele Harrower
Barbara Hart
Jill Heslop
Terry Higgins
Merv Hogan
Alex Howard
Mrs Nancy Hummerston
Gabrielle James
Mr Max Jamieson
Launceston City Council
Ron Leigh
Veronica Macno
Kay McCoy
Margaret McIntyre
Pat Mewis
Mrs Helen Moir
David Moore
Jai Paterson
Mrs B Payne
Stan and Barbara Payne
John Philp
BA Pike
Forest Enterprises Aust Ltd
Helen Prochozka
Thomas H Rich
41

Left to right: Two family members of the late Les Hill, Terry Hill and Julie Porter with the Queen Victoria Museum’s
Jill Cassidy and Devonport Athletic Club president Steve Daley at the presentation to the Museum of a photo finish
camera and associated material. Photograph courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
Miss Anne Richardson
Mrs B Sandor
Mrs J Shepard
Peter Sims
Betty Statham
St Johns Anglican Church
Tamar Valley Masonic Lodge No. 42TC
Chris Tassell
Sarah Tassell
Mona Taylor
Mrs I Towns
University of Tasmania, School of Mathematics
and Physics
Dr Julia Watkin
Jane Wheldon
Jayne Wilson
Zoology
Large collection of bivalve molluscs
AE Monger of Victoria.
Collections of spiders, molluscs and several
groups of insects and other arthropods, Tasmania
(Warra, Beaumaris, Blue Tier, Mathinna)
Forestry Tasmania
Small collection of land snails
K Bonham
A collection of approximately 70 bird eggs from
the Waterbird Haven, Rosevears
Norah Dorey
Collections of introduced snails and slugs
University of South Australia and an agricultural
consultancy company in Victoria.
Spiders collected in Tasmania, other parts of
Australia and islands of the Pacific. These include
undescribed taxa, the type specimens of which
will ultimately be held in the Museum’s
collections.
Lisa Boutin
Specimens of the Miena Jewel Beetle - a species
previously thought to be extinct in Tasmania.
42

APPENDIX 4
SPECIAL PURPOSE OPERATING STATEMENT
This Special Purpose Statement of Revenue and Expenses is prepared
from the accounts of the Launceston City Council and should be read
in conjunction with the audited Statement of Accounts for the year
ended 30 June 2004. The accounts of the Launceston City Council are
compiled in accordance with the requirements of the Australian
Accounting Standard 27 (A.A.S 27). The standard requires that grants
be brought to account in the year they are received. This means the
related expenditure can occur in a different period.
QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY
SPECIAL PURPOSE OPERATING STATEMENT
YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2004
2003 2004
$ $
OPERATIONS REVENUE 15,283 23,661
TRADING ACTIVITIES NET PROFIT 121,580 86,042
GRANTS & DONATIONS
STATE GOVERNMENT GRANT 1,004,000 1,032,000
FUNDED PROJECTS NET REVENUE 37,690 249,648
PLOMLEY FOUNDATION NET REVENUE 24,484 35,155
GRANTS AND DONATIONS NET REVENUE 1,066,174 1,316,803
TOTAL REVENUE 1,203,037 1,426,506
OPERATIONS EXPENSES
OPERATING ACTIVITIES 3,353,060 3,557,276
INTERNAL SERVICE CHARGES 95,808 140,403
DEPRECIATION 614,710 624,548
TOTAL OPERATIONS EXPENSES 4,063,578 4,322,227
TOTAL EXPENSES 4,063,578 4,322,227
LAUNCESTON CITY COUNCIL
CONTRIBUTION 2,860,541 2,895,721
APPENDIX 5
PUBLIC ACTIVITIES AND SPECIAL EVENTS
Mon, 7 Jul 2003
Winter Lecture Series in conjunction with the Royal Society of
Tasmania—The Diary of George Hobler
Mr Peter Cox
Thu, 17 Jul 2003
Concert held in conjunction with Musica North—The Overall Winner
of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition
Wed, 23 Jul 2003
Guides’ Choice of the Month —Vera Kynas’ accordion
Elaine Thompson
Wed, 23 Jul 2003
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
David von Stieglitz—Farmer
Sun, 3 Aug, and Sun, 17 Aug 2003
Video Presentation—Spirit of Olegas
Mon, 4 Aug 2003
Winter Lecture Series in conjunction with the Royal Society of
Tasmania—Wind Generation of Electricity
Hon. Peter Rae AO
Thu, 7 Aug 2003
Visiting Master Craftsmen Lecture Series
Toby Muir Wilson—Tasmanian Designer
Wed, 20 Aug 2003
Playgroup—What’s the time?
Fri, 22 Aug, Mon, 25 Aug and Wed, 27 Aug 2003
Public astronomy viewing—Mars Up Close
Sat, 23 Aug 2003
Water, Water, Everywhere
Brendan McMahon,Mal Riley and Andrew McGifford—
Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology
Wed, 27 Aug 2003
Guides’ Choice of the Month—Winter Landscape by Julius Olsson
Shirley Watson
Wed, 27 Aug 2003
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
Valda Gee—Childcare worker
43

Thu, 28 Aug 2003
Visiting Master Craftsmen Lecture Series
Jono Everett—Designer and maker of oneoff
and production furniture
Sun, 31 Aug 2003
Living Artist Week—From Leather
Sculpture to the Tasmanian Leather
Orchestra
Garry Greenwood
Mon, 1 Sep 2003
Winter Lecture Series in conjunction with
the Royal Society of Tasmania—French
Connections
Dr Steven Smith
Tue, 9 Sep and Wed, 10 Sep 2003
School Holiday Program—Wonders of
Scrimshaw
Wed, 10 Sep 2003
School Holiday Program for Juniors—Peter
and the Wolf
Fri, 12 Sep and Fri, 19 Sep 2003
Friday Flicks—cartoons and short films
Tue, 16 Sep 2003
School Holiday Program—Cartooning with
a Thylacine
Wed, 17 Sep 2003
School Holiday Program—Whale of a time
Wed, 17 Sep 2003
School Holiday Program for Juniors—Shell
Creatures
Wed, 24 Sep 2003
Guides’ Choice of the Month—On the River
Seine and Palais de Justice, Paris by Will
Ashton
Christine Holmadahl
Wed, 24 Sep 2003
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
Trevor Roach AM—Joiner and alderman
Thu, 25 Sep 2003
Concert held in conjunction with Musica
North—Slava and Leonard Grigoryan
Sat, 4 Oct 2003
Introducing the Tasmanian Mountain Harp-
—a new instrument created by Garry
Greenwood
Sun, 12 Oct 2003
Understand your War Treasures—Bring in
your Memorablila
With staff from the Australian War
Memorial
Wed, 15 Oct 2003
Playgroup—Going Potty
Sun, 19 Oct 2003
Mead Smith von Stieglitz Memorial
Lecture—Isabella Mead, Roy Smith and
Karl von Stieglitz
Rhonda Hamilton, Lionel Morrell and David
von Stieglitz
Wed, 22 Oct 2003
Guides’ Choice of the Month—Bark
loincloth from New Britain, Papua New
Guinea
Bea Chapman
Wed, 22 Oct 2003
Morning Coffee Lecture Series—Former
POWS
Neville Jetson, John Prosser, and Adye
Rockcliff
Thu, 23 Oct 2003
Visiting Master Craftsmen Lecture Series
Will Mattysen—Designer and Maker of
Clocks and Furniture in Timber
Sun, 2 Nov, Sun, 9 Nov, Sun, 16 Nov, Sun,
23 Nov and Sun, 30 Nov 2003
Video presentation—Contemporary
Australian Tapestries from the Victorian
Tapestry Workshop and Celebration—The
Larwill Tapestry
Thu, 13 Nov 2003
The Chordwainers in concert with the
University Wind Orchestra
Wed, 19 Nov 2003
Playgroup—Gallery Detectives
Wed, 26 Nov 2003
Guides’ Choice of the Month—Potraits of
Sir Richard Dry and Lady Dry by Conway
Hart
Pat Trail
Wed, 26 Nov 2003
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
Trevor Roach AM—Joiner and alderman
Thu, 5 Feb 2004
Floor Talk—The Flower Hunter–Ellis
Rowan
Fiona Fullerton, National Library of
Australia
Wed, 18 Feb 2004
Playgroup—Working on the Trains
Tue, 24 Feb 2004
The Incomplete Picture: contemporary art
meets colonial history
Anne Ferran
Wed, 25 Feb 2004
Guides’ Choice of the Month—Tom Robert’s
Portrait of Kathleen
Doreen Girvan
Wed, 25 Feb 2004
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
Gary Cleveland—The Design Centre
Thu, 26 Feb 2004
Australian School of Fine Furniture Lecture
Ian Guthridge—Designer and Maker of
Fine Furniture
Wed, 17 Mar 2004
Playgroup—Playing Around
Sun, 21 Mar 2004
Harmony Day—a multicultural celebration
44

Wed, 24 Mar 2004
Guides’ Choice of the Month—Strop and Jockey
by Frederick Frith
Annabel Bassano
Wed, 24 Mar 2004
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
George Richardson—artist
Thu, 1 Apr 2004
Visiting Master Craftsmen Lecture Series
Greg Peters—Antique Furniture Restorer and
Conservator
Fri, 2 Apr 2004
Pygmy Octopus to Giant Squid
Mark Norman—Senior Curator, Molluscs,
Museum of Victoria
Mon, 5 Apr 2004
Winter Lecture Series in conjunction with the
Royal Society of Tasmania—World Universities,
Tasmanian Style
Professor Daryl le Grew—Vice Chancellor,
University of Tasmania
Wed, 21 Apr 2004
Playgroup—Every Picture Tells a Story
Tue, 27 Apr 2004
Nuala O’Flaherty Lecture—Looking at Likeness:
Portraiture and Its Future
Andrew Sayer—Director, National Portrait
Gallery
Wed, 28 Apr 2004
Guides’ Choice of the Month—Portraits of Col
William Paterson and Mrs Elizabeth Paterson by
William Owen
Rosemary Butler
Wed, 28 Apr 2004
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
Jack Dunn—Funeral Director
Mon, 3 May 2004
Winter Lecture Series in conjunction with the
Royal Society of Tasmania—the local Library:
staying relevant in the information age
Mr Peter Richardson
Garry Greenwood and Lila Meleisea at the first public performance of Garry Greenwood’s Tasmanian Mountain Harp—the latest
addition to the Museum’s Tasmanian Leather Orchestra Collection. Photograph courtesy of the Examiner newspaper.
45

Tue, 4 May 2004
2004 Concert Series in conjunction with Musica North—Jane Rutter
and Slava Grigoryan with Leonard Grigoryan
Thu, 6 May 2004
Visiting Master Craftsmen Lecture Series
Neil Erasmus—Designer and Maker of Fine Handcrafted Furniture
and Boxes
Sat, 8 May 2004
An Informal Discussion with Alan and Jan Rees, and Anne Ryan, Art
Gallery of New South Wales—Drawings from Lloyd Rees European
Sketchbook
Fri, 14 May 2004
2004 Concert Series in conjunction with Musica North—The
Jerusalem Quartet
Sat, 15 May 2004
Jazz Concert—A Tribute to Peter Coleman
Wed, 19 May 2004
Performance—The Man Who Shot a Lawyer in the Buttock: A
convict’s story in words and music
Michael Edgar, Elizabeth Anderson and Ron Nagoreka
Wed, 19 May 2004
Playgroup—Up Close and Spineless
Sun, 23 May 2004
Museums Day activities
Wed, 26 May 2004
Guides’ Choice of the Month—Scrimshaw: The Mariners’ Craft
Geraldine Flood
Wed, 26 May 2004
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
Lady Ferrall
Mon, 7 June 2004
Winter Lecture Series in conjunction with the Royal Society of
Tasmania—Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases: Human Behaviour
and Microbial Evolution
Mr Stephen Tristram—School of Human Life Science, University of
Tasmania
Tues, 8 June 2004
Public astronomy viewing—the Transit of Venus
Wed, 16 June 2004
Playgroup—Hanging Around
Wed, 23 June 2004
Guides’ Choice of the Month—the exhibition Inside Design1
Lyn Henshaw
Wed, 23 June 2004
Morning Coffee Lecture Series
Mr Bruce Crawford—TV Director
Tue, 29 June 2004
Talking About Invertebrates—Expedition to Krakatau: the story of the
biggest bang in history
Dr Brian Smith
Curator of Physical Sciences Martin George with a projected image of the Transit of Venus as seen at a public
viewing at Campbell Town Tasmania 8 June 2004.
46

OPENING HOURS
QUEEN VICTORIA MUSEUM
AND ART GALLERY
Royal Park and Inveresk sites
Open 10 am – 5 pm daily
Launceston Planetarium
Royal Park
Tuesday – Friday 3 pm
Saturday 2 pm and 3 pm
Charges apply
2 Wellington St, Launceston, Tasmania 7250
Telephone (03) 6323 3777
Facsimile (03) 6323 3776
Community History Branch
Telephone (03) 6323 3726
All venues closed Christmas Day and Good Friday
www.qvmag.tas.gov.au
47