May 2012 - Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery

QVMAG FRIENDS
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery newsletter May 2012
Medal goes West
QVMAG Object Conservator, Charlotte Walker and John West exhibition Curator, Jon Addison. Inset: Detail of the rare medal.
There is more than just a simple story
in the new exhibition The Convict
Stain: Vice, Virtue & John West now
on show at the QVMAG Museum
at Inveresk.
Work on the exhibition by QVMAG
staff, including the exhibition’s
curator Jon Addison, turned up an
interesting piece of evidence that
gave new importance to one of the
objects on display.
‘We hold four Cessation of
Transportation medals - two silver
and two bronze. Nine thousand of
the silver-coloured medals were
given to the children of Tasmania
to commemorate the Cessation of
Transportation, however only 100
bronze medals were struck,’ Jon said.
‘These were issued to key members
of the committees involved in the
campaign and we wondered if one
of the medals originally belonged to
John West himself.’
Two of the important objects in the
exhibition - the portraits by Myra
Felton of John and Narcissa West,
were moved from the Royal Park
Art Gallery store to Inveresk.
‘Yvonne Adkins, our curator of 19th
Century Australian Art, sent with the
works a letter from the donor of the
paintings and asked whether we had
seen it. History staff had not seen this
letter, as it had been filed with the
records for the paintings in 1951. It
was from the museum’s director,
Mr Thomson, to Miss H Alexander.
‘The letter stated: “Would you
thank your father very much for
his generosity in giving the Anti-
Transportation Medal which
belonged to your grandfather,
the Rev John West, to this
museum”,’ Jon explained.
The pieces clicked into place. The
Bronze medal chosen for display
had indeed belonged to West, and
another collection item gained new
significance.
The Convict Stain: Vice, Virtue & John
West exhibition is open from 10am
to 5pm daily (except Good Friday
and Christmas Day) at the QVMAG
Museum, Inveresk. Admission is free.

QView
Over the last few months we have
really ramped up the number
of events and programs at both
QVMAG sites.
In March we produced a new threemonthly
brochure entitled Art Events.
Featured are our free Curator’s
Lunchtime talks (held alternate
Tuesdays), Conversations About Art
and Guide’s Choice talks.
In addition, there are feature
exhibition talks by visiting curators,
our regular guided tours, Family Fun
Days and new exhibition openings.
It was great to host the talk by
Dr David Hansen on the colonial
landscape artist John Glover in early
March. On 20 April we agreed to
co-host a very special piano recital
by the young Launceston pianist Ben
Austin. It was a memorable night for
those Friends who attended.
ArtRage 2011 is now on tour to
Hobart and Burnie and Ancestral
Power and the Aesthetic: Arnhem Land
paintings and objects from the Donald
Thomson Collection was opened by
respected Aboriginal Elder, Patsy
Cameron, on 30 March in its place.
I would like to thank Museum
Victoria for their support with this
wonderful exhibition.
I hope you enjoy being part of all this
activity and please tell your friends
about the events as we would love to
see more people joining the QVMAG
Friends.
Richard Mulvaney
Director, QVMAG
QVMAG’s Louise James (seated) and Leila Frohmader, co-ordinator of the recent Ben Austin piano recital.
A grand piano returns
A Collard & Collard boudoir grand
piano circa 1897, which belonged
to the Tasmanian composer Mary
Bowden and has remained in the
family until now, is in place in
Gallery 2, Royal Park. The piano was
donated by Mary’s granddaughter
Shirley Carter.
QVMAG History Collections
Officer, Louise James, said ‘It is now
part of the QVMAG collection and
will be played on special occasions.
‘Mary and her husband Alfred
were performers, music teachers,
composers and critics for almost
40 years in Tasmania.
‘In a nice twist, the actual music
rooms where Mary played were
on the corner of Wellington and
Paterson Streets, so the piano, after
a diversion interstate, has literally
moved across the road.’
Mary Bowden studied music from
Historic space for hire
a young age under her father,
Alfred Dentith, in Hobart. She was
to become a music teacher and
composer with notable success in
both fields.
‘Her compositions for the piano
were published locally, interstate
and overseas and she was still
receiving royalties from her works
at the time of her death,’ Louise said.
‘Newspaper articles of the time
list one of her career highlights as
being a letter of congratulations
from Dame Melba who visited
Launceston in 1924 and played over
two of Mary’s compositions.’
Mary was also a music teacher for
45 years and held in high regard in
Launceston.
The piano can be played by
appointment. Please contact our
QVMAG Bookings Officer,
Mariella Vallesi on 03 6323 3798.
Gallery 2, one of the 10 galleries
within the refurbished 120-yearold
building at Royal Park, is now a
general purpose space to hire. The
space can provide a unique backdrop
to a wedding, corporate function,
promotional or fundraising event.
The gallery will feature a QVMAG
history exhibition and A to Z of the
QVMAG collection which highlights
the diversity and richness of what
has been collected during QVMAG’s
120 years at Royal Park and 10 years
at Inveresk.
Our events team can provide
advice with the pre-planning and
coordination of your event. For
information regarding venue hire
please contact Anna Wilkins on
03 6323 3744.

Anyone for a BBQ?
BBQ This Sunday, BYO, 2011, by
Sydney artist Joan Ross, is one
of the latest acquisitions for the
Contemporary Art Collection. The
five-minute digital video collages
together many images from the
works of early colonial artist Joseph
Lycett in a very quirky but thoughtprovoking
way.
Joan’s work deals with the story
of Australian post-colonialism
and the ongoing issues around the
European invasion/settlement of
Australia. Her work draws influence
from the early paintings of Joseph
Lycett and his representation of the
Aboriginal people. Ross says in her
artist statement that ‘...as a child I
was fascinated by the fact that the
important colonial painter Joseph
Lycett was a forger. In a sense I am
continuing his tradition of taking
something and forging something
new out of it’.
QVMAG Curator of Contemporary
Australian Art, Damien Quilliam said
‘Joan is an artist whose work I have
been looking at since meeting her
at the Melbourne Art Fair in 2010.
I believe her work is an important
addition to the QVMAG collection
and most importantly to the area of
video and new media work.’
The work was purchased with the
generous support of the QVMAG
Arts Foundation. You can see it,
together with the original volume of
Lycett’s drawings, at the Art Gallery
at Royal Park until 1 July 2012.
Detail of BBQ This Sunday, BYO, 2011, by Joan Ross.
Egyptian Banana Seller acquired
One of Robert Dowling’s finest
watercolour paintings has recently
been acquired by the QVMAG,
with funds provided by the Turner
Ralph Bequest.
Dowling was the first colonial artist
to be trained professionally in
England and was the younger son of
the Reverend Henry Dowling who
migrated to Tasmania with his family
in 1834, settling in Launceston.
With money subscribed by the
citizens of Launceston, Dowling
travelled to England in 1857 and
enrolled in Leigh’s Academy. He gifted
and sent numerous works back to
Tasmania; these included the iconic
work Aborigines of Tasmania 1859 that
is now on show at Royal Park.
Dowling travelled and visited Cairo
around 1872–73. The people and the
colours of the land influenced and
inspired Dowling and he produced
a collection of oriental pictures that
were considered some of the finest at
the time. Among these is the portrait,
Egyptian Banana Seller, compelling for
its richness of colour, the sensitive
portrayal of the subject and careful
but assured depiction of her costume.

M e m b e r P r o f i l e
QVMAG Friends member, Catherine Pearce, featured in the new John West exhibition at QVMAG Museum.
Spiders, stars and penny farthings
Catherine Pearce’s relationship with the
QVMAG goes back to her childhood.
‘Visiting the old museum as a child
of nine or ten and seeing the Joss
House, aka the Guan Di Temple,
was a most exotic and intriguing
experience, especially for a child
brought up at Winkleigh.
‘I would have given anything to play
with those puppets!’
Catherine became a QVMAG Friend
when the Inveresk site opened in 2001.
‘I welcomed the opportunity to
learn about what goes on behind
the scenes, and to contribute to the
activities of the Friends group.’
Tiger tales retold
The first QVMAG Friends Book
Discussion Group proved to be both
enjoyable and thought-provoking.
The book under discussion was Julia
Leigh’s novel The Hunter about the
quest for the last Tasmanian tiger.
A special presentation on the
QVMAG collection of Thylacine
remains by QVMAG Natural Sciences
She said QVMAG Friends helped to
link the museum to the community,
ensuring it remained a vital and
relevant organisation. Since
joining the Friends Committee in
2010 Catherine has been active
in encouraging new members to
join and organising events such as
special members’ tours and the new
QVMAG Book Discussion Group.
Catherine said some of her favourite
things at QVMAG were the newly
acquired Thomas Bock portrait, Jane
Campbell and Her Mother, Michael
McWilliams’ Victoria’s Cabinet of
Curiosities and the fabulous exhibition
The Convict Stain: Vice, Virtue & John
West on display at the Museum.
Collection Officer, Tammy Gordon,
provided a fascinating glimpse
behind-the-scenes.
The next meeting will be held at 2pm
on Sunday 24 June at Inveresk. The
book to be discussed is Abandoned
Women by Lucy Frost, an evocative
account of a group of Scottish
convicts exiled to Van Diemen’s
‘I love the blue and white ceramics
exhibition. I was able to attend a
fascinating curator’s talk about it by
Rosalie Kelly in my lunch break recently.’
She believes QVMAG plays an
important role in the community,
educating, entertaining and inspiring
both young and old.
‘It preserves important information
and collections of all kinds of things
for future generations to use and
enjoy. In Launceston it is regarded
as the fount of all knowledge on
everything from spiders and stars to
penny farthing bicycles. Where would
we be without it?’
Land. A feature of the afternoon will
be a brief talk by a member of the
QVMAG History department on its
convict collections. Admission for
Members is $5 and Guests $10.
To join in next time, simply read the
book and RSVP on 03 6323 3798 or
email bookings@qvmag.tas.gov.au.

S P E C I A L LY F O R T H E K I D S
Capturing our catchment to coast
The QVMAG has launched a
photographic competition for
Tasmanian students in Year 7 to 12. A
partnership between the Australian
Maritime College/ University of
Tasmania, NRM North, Northern
Tasmania Camera Club and QVMAG,
the Catchment to Coast student
photographic competition will
allow students the opportunity to
represent the benefits of a healthy
catchment as well as identifying
pressures we place on the system.
To support the competition, QVMAG
and partner organisations will also
be running a one-day field trip
on 18 May 2012 for class groups
from across the State in Year 9
to 12. Students will be given the
opportunity to follow a waterway
down out of a catchment to the
intertidal zone – visiting a working
farm, nature reserve, and urban
green zone and wetlands of national
significance. Along the way they
L to R (front): James McKee, NRM North; previous winners Nicholas Pearce and Bailey Groves; Sara Casey,
AMC/UTAS. L to R (back) David Maynard, QVMAG; Rod Oliver, Northern Tasmania Camera Club.
will be given the opportunity to take
photographs with representatives
from the Northern Tasmania Camera
Club on hand to help improve their
photographic technique.
The winners and runners up in each
competition category will have
their work exhibited at the QVMAG
Museum in September 2012.
Reading between the lines
The QVMAG launched a threemonth
children’s activity series with
book exploration and activities. The
Read with us series will wrap up in
May with a Story time and activities
session on Saturday 12 May and 27
May at 2pm for children aged 4 to
10 years with their carers, parents
or grandparents. An admission fee
applies.
QVMAG Museum Education
Officer, Tammy Edmunds, said
‘We are excited to run this series
which promotes the idea of children
learning to read and provides a
source of inspiration for those who
are already keen readers.’
For more information please call
03 6323 3798.
Fun for all the family
Kids and their parents were treated
to a wonderful time at the first Family
Fun Day at the QVMAG Art Gallery,
Royal Park.
At 11am Gallery Guides Shirley
Watson and Jill MacPherson
explored patterns and storytelling
in the special children’s tour of bark
paintings from the Donald Thompson
collection in the exhibition Ancestral
Power and the Aesthetic.
From 11.30am to 1.30pm it was
hands-on art activities in the
Creativity Centre where Jacqui
Adkins encouraged everyone to try
painting and collage to contribute to
a giant decorative snake.
Colourful felt animals from giraffes
to dogs drew visitors to the
demonstration of needle felting by
Darren Smith from West Tamar
Art Group and in her Guide’s
Choice presentation Lyn Henshaw
concentrated on the wealth of
painted details from brush-tailed
possums to pug dogs included by
Michael McWilliams on his Cabinet
of Curiosities.
Family Fun Days are now a regular
event on the third Sunday of the
month starting at 11am. Admission
is free.

Volunteering QVMAG-style
QVMAG volunteer, Emily Gleeson, featured with Ross Smith, History Research Officer.
Emily Gleeson’s first experience of
working at the QVMAG was as a
student from Star of the Sea Catholic
College through work experience. It
impressed her so much that she has
continued as a volunteer ever since.
‘I definitely think you should promote
youth involvement at the QVMAG,
I love being here and have a ball
every time,’ says Emily.
Recognising her talent for engaging
children with the wonders of the
Museum, Education Officer, Tammy
Edmunds, grabbed the chance to
involve her.
‘I wish there were more young people
like Emily, who are happy to give back
to the community and be involved in
something different,’ says Tammy.
Now at Newstead College, Emily helps
out with regular activities including
the school holiday activities at the
Museum and the National Science
Week program in August. She is
the brains behind the development
of an event on Saturday 2 June
where children can spend a night
at the Museum.
Emily gets a buzz from working
with kids at the QVMAG as they
are so enthusiastic about everything.
Her willingness to pitch in and help
out wherever needed makes her an
ideal volunteer for other areas of the
Museum. She also works behindthe-scenes
with Ross Smith, caring
for the history collections.
‘Her ability to grasp the degree of
care required is wonderful,’ says
Ross. ‘We can trust her to work
safely with our collections.’
We need you at QVMAG!
Have you skills with making art or crafts? Do you have experience with or enjoy working with children?
You could assist the Education team with School Holiday Activities and Family Fun Days.
Have you a general understanding of taxonomy/systematics?
Are you able to handle fragile objects with care?
You could assist the Natural ScienceS staff with sorting and caring for the
zoology or botany collections.
Do you have basic sewing skills?
You could assist the Conservation staff to make padded coat hangers and dust covers
for the long-term preservation of textiles in the history collection.
Have you basic computer skills? Have you basic financial management skills?
You could assist the Community Engagement team to support the QVMAG Friends
and Volunteer Programs at the QVMAG.
Please email volunteers@qvmag.tas.gov.au or call 03 6323 3706

All things natural
David Maynard brings plenty of practical experience to his new role at the QVMAG.
David Maynard is keen to make the
QVMAG’s extensive natural sciences
collections more accessible to the
general public.
‘QVMAG has an important
natural sciences collection and the
community needs to be able to see,
enjoy and learn from it. The historic
nature of the collection makes it
an important regional and national
asset,’ says David.
The former Australian Maritime
College lecturer brings plenty of
practical experience to his new
position as QVMAG Curator of
Natural Sciences. At the AMC
he taught Fisheries, specifically
responsible fishing practices and
developing new fishing gears. This
provided David with the opportunity
to go to sea often, and over the years
he has developed an appreciation
of the marine biodiversity around
northern Tasmania’s waters.
‘During our research training fishing
operations there was never a shortage
of fish, sharks and invertebrates coming
onboard. Once I had identified and
photographed the larger, more
obvious animals I moved on to the
smaller creatures that washed out of
the nets onto the deck. These went
unnoticed by the other academics
and students. This is where the
challenge lies for me – there are so
many invertebrates that are unknown
or rarely seen,’ David explains.
David’s understanding of marine and
coastal biodiversity, particularly in
the Tamar River estuary, southern
Bass Strait and around the Bass Strait
islands, adds a new element to the
natural sciences team at QVMAG.
‘There is so much to learn about the
biodiversity here in our backyard, and
introducing the community to it is
as important as cataloguing it.
‘I will be working with the natural
sciences team to develop community
engagement opportunities,
collaborative research with the
University of Tasmania and
encourage postgraduate students
and visiting scientists to access the
unique collection QVMAG holds in
its care.’
A recent acquisition
Birds egg collecting was a hobby
of the past that is now providing
important reference material for
museums. QVMAG Natural Sciences
recently accepted a significant
addition to its existing egg collection,
thanks to a donation by the family of
the late Mr JB Nield.
The collection consists of
approximately 1000 eggs in about
300 clutch lots, many with written
information about the nests.
While many of them were collected
by Mr Nield in the 1970s from the
Furneaux Islands, the collection also
includes clutches collected in the
1880s and 1890s. The collection
provides a unique record of early
breeding records, as well as an
insight into the historic egg
collecting activities in Tasmania.

Risking artists
Damien Quilliam, Curator of Contemporary Australian Art, QVMAG.
On Friday 13 July 2012 the QVMAG
will be opening a new contemporary
exhibition at the Royal Park Art
Gallery titled R!SK. This exhibition is
a partnership between the QVMAG
and CAST (Contemporary Art
Spaces Tasmania) and will be a
state-wide survey show of early
career artists.
The artworks in this exhibition
include a range of media and
influences and will feature the work
of some of the leading emerging
and mid-career artists working in
the State.
QVMAG Curator of Contemporary
Australian Art, Damien Quilliam
said ‘There is a real strength in the
Tasmanian art scene reflected in
the number of young artists that are
currently being represented in major
national awards and exhibitions.
‘The exhibition will also support the
reputation of the QVMAG as
a place for current, cutting edge
contemporary practice.
‘It is my hope that R!SK will allow
people to engage with different areas
of current arts practice and that the
show will highlight the strong field
of young artists currently working
in Tasmania.’
R!SK will open Friday 13 July at the
QVMAG Art Gallery, Royal Park, and
will be open until January 2013.
May to July exhibitions
Museum at Inveresk
Hooked on Books
Australian children’s book
illustrations from the collection
of Albert Ullin OAM.
Presented by Ozlink Entertainment
Until 17 June 2012
The Convict Stain:
Vice, Virtue & John West
Presented by QVMAG
Ongoing
Art Gallery at Royal Park
Ancestral Power and the Aesthetic:
Arnhem Land paintings and objects
from the Donald Thomson Collection
A Museum Victoria Touring
Exhibition, presented in association
with the Ian Potter Museum of Art,
and the University of Melbourne.
Until 24 June 2012
ArtStart: Special Places
Artwork by primary school students
in northern Tasmania.
24 May to 16 August 2012
R!SK
Contemporary art exhibition
Presented by QVMAG and CAST
14 July to January 2013
Robert Baines: Metal
Robert Baines’ exceptional craft skills
and extraordinary body of work are
being honoured with this Object
Gallery touring exhibition.
Presented by Object Gallery
4 August to 14 October 2012
QVMAG Friends Contact
PO Box 2076, LAUNCESTON TAS 7250
T 03 6323 3706 F 03 6323 3776
E Friends@qvmag.tas.gov.au
QVMAG Friends Committee
President Stuart Williams
Secretary Victoria Nicholls
Treasurer Judy Morrall
The views expressed in this publication may not necessarily reflect the views of the QVMAG.
QVMAG Friends Committee Members
Julian Burgess, Nicholas Cummings, Maureen
Mann, Catherine Pearce and Patricia Traill
QVMAG Friends Editor: Kaye Dowling
E Kaye.dowling@qvmag.tas.gov.au
T 03 6323 3706