design across time - Powerhouse Museum

design 

across 

time 

POWERLINE 

+ the magazine of the powerhouse museum spring 05

+ 02 powerline spring 05 

contents 

issue 79 

from the 

director 

+ 

SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2005 

+ 

www.powerhousemuseum.com 

FRONT COVER FROM THE EXHIBITION 

INSPIRED! DESIGN ACROSS TIME, 

SUPER ELEVATED GILLIES, DESIGNED 

BY VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, LONDON, 

1993–4. PURCHASED 1997; LADY’S 

ARMCHAIR, MAKER UNKNOWN, 

ENGLAND, ABOUT 1850. PURCHASED 

1983; VASE IN BLUE JASPER, 

DECORATION DESIGNED BY HENRY 

WEBBER AFTER CHARLES LE BRUN 

FOR JOSIAH WEDGWOOD & SONS, 

ENGLAND, 1786–90. GIFT OF 

POWERHOUSE MEMBERS 1990. 

PHOTOS BY SUE STAFFORD AND 

PENELOPE CLAY. 

BACK COVER PHOTO BY SUE 

STAFFORD. 

O2 From the director 

03 Power picks 

06 2005 Museums Australia Conference 

07 The Electronic Swatchbook 

08 New exhibition: Inspired! Design across time 

10 Museum mascots 

11 Members news 

12 Members calendar 

14 Members scene 

15 New acquisition: Marcello Nizzoli telephone 

16 Quarterly design talk: Wanda Jelmini 

17 Recycling fashion 

18 New exhibition: The cutting edge: fashion from Japan 

20 Locomotive No 1 upgrade 

22 Observatory news 

23 Corporate partners 

24 Exhibitions at a glance 

In the days before this edition 

of Powerline was finalised the 

NSW Premier and Minister for 

the Arts, the Hon Bob Carr, 

announced his retirement from 

politics. Mr Carr was an 

enthusiastic supporter of the 

Powerhouse, in part because it 

reflects his passion for history, 

the contribution museums 

make to education and cultural 

enrichment, and the 

opportunity they provide to 

nurture a sense of community 

and respect for cultural 

diversity. We thank Mr Carr for 

his support of the Museum 

and look forward to welcoming 

him back regularly as a visitor. 

We look forward to working 

with the newly appointed 

Minister, the Hon Bob Debus. 

Minister Debus was for some 

time Minister Assisting the 

Premier on the Arts, and 

shares the former Premier’s 

enthusiasm for museums and 

the cultural sector. 

Where to find us 

Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Darling Harbour, Sydney 

Opening hours 10.00 am – 5.00 pm every day (except Christmas 

Day). School holiday opening hours 9.30 am – 5.00 pm 

Contact details 

Postal address: PO Box K346, Haymarket NSW 1238 

Telephone (02) 9217 0111 

Infoline (02) 9217 0444, Education (02) 9217 0222 

The Powerhouse Museum, part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences 

also incorporating Sydney Observatory, is a NSW government cultural institution. 

The end of the financial year 

provided an opportunity to 

reflect on some of the 

significant achievements of the 

past 12 months. Regular 

readers of Powerline will be 

aware that the Powerhouse 

celebrated its 125th 

anniversary, marked by an 

extremely successful free 

weekend of activities and 

events last September and the 

publication of Yesterday’s 

tomorrows, a fascinating 

history of our development 

over the past century and a 

quarter. A further highlight was 

our hosting of the Museums 

Australia Conference in May. 

Perhaps the most outstanding 

milestone was achieving our 

highest visitor attendances for 

more than a decade. Over 

700 000 people visited the 

Powerhouse and Sydney 

Observatory during the year. 

Equally pleasing were the 

record numbers (680 000) who 

attended our travelling 

exhibitions across NSW, 

TRUSTEES 

Dr Nicholas G Pappas, 

President 

Dr Anne Summers AO, 

Deputy President 

Mr Mark Bouris 

Ms Trisha Dixon 

Mr Andrew Denton 

Ms Susan Gray 

Ms Margaret Seale 

Mr Anthony Sukari 

Ms Judith Wheeldon 

SENIOR MANAGEMENT 

Dr Kevin Fewster AM, Director 

Jennifer Sanders, Deputy Director, 

Collections and Exhibitions 

Mark Goggin, Associate Director, 

Programs and Commercial Services 

Michael Landsbergen, Associate 

Director, Corporate Services 

Kevin Sumption, Associate Director, 

Knowledge and Information 

Management 

Australia and beyond. 

Exhibition highlights at the 

Powerhouse included the 

beautiful Bright flowers: textiles 

and ceramics of Central Asia, 

the hugely successful The 

Lord of the Rings Motion 

Picture Trilogy — The 

Exhibition, and Greek 

treasures: from the Benaki 

Museum in Athens, one of our 

most popular exhibitions in 

recent years. 

You will be interested to hear 

that membership numbers 

have also risen to record levels 

as a consequence of the 

strong 2004–05 program. We 

thank each and every member 

for your support and 

commitment to the Museum. 

We look forward to seeing you 

and your families enjoying the 

feast of program offerings over 

the next 12 months and, in 

between times, taking a few 

moments to relax in the 

Members Lounge. Enjoy! 

Dr Kevin Fewster AM 

Director 

Powerline is produced by the Print Media Department 

of the Powerhouse Museum 

PO Box K346, Haymarket NSW 1238 

Editor: Tracy Goulding 

Editorial coordinator: Deborah Renaud 

Design: Trigger 

Photography: Powerhouse Museum unless otherwise stated. 

Every effort has been made to locate owners of copyright for the images in 

this publication. Any inquiries should be directed to the Rights and 

Permissions Officer, Powerhouse Museum. 

ISSN 1030-5750 © Trustees of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences


FROM FARM MACHINERY TO GREEK TREASURES, 

THE MUSEUM EXTENDS ITS COMMUNITY LINKS. 

all in a 

day’s work 

4 

Powerhouse Museum regional 

services adviser Graham 

Clegg recently spent a day in 

Wollombi helping the local 

Endeavour Museum recover a 

stripper and winnower that had 

served much of the area from 

1890–1940. 

Until the mid 1840s the 

Australian grain crop was 

laboriously harvested with 

sickles and threshed manually. 

In the hot, dry conditions much 

grain was lost due to shedding 

or shattering the ripened 

heads. In South Australia where 

these losses were most severe, 

a £40 prize was offered for a 

practical design for a 

mechanical harvester that 

could overcome the problem. 

Local farmer John Wrathall Bull 

came up with a design that 

attracted the attention of flour 

miller John Ridley. Ridley 

developed the invention into a 

workable machine — the 

stripper — which quickly 

became an essential piece of 

equipment for bringing in the 

grain harvest. 

Wollombi’s stripper and its 

accompanying winnower, used 

The Museum’s Moveable Heritage 

Program helps build regional collections. 

to clean the harvested grain, 

were bought by the Milson 

family of ‘Byora’, Laguna, in the 

1890s. The machines were still 

housed in their original shed 

on the property, where the 

subsiding earth floor had 

caused damage to one of the 

wooden wheels. The work to 

date has involved stabilising 

the objects in the shed and 

helping to get them ready to 

move to a purpose-built 

extension to the Endeavour 

Museum, where they will be 

housed. 

This work is part of the 

Powerhouse Museum’s 

Movable Heritage Program, an 

initiative funded with the 

assistance of the Ministry for 

the Arts, which aims to 

strengthen regional collections 

and develop community 

capacity and local identity. 

Other projects currently 

underway include work on an 

exhibition with the Wollondilly 

Heritage Centre on the 

Estonian Poultry Farmers of 

Thirlmere, and the 

conservation of an early 

wooden windmill with the Hay 

Gaol Museum. 

a rich 

history 

j 

GRAHAM CLEGG HELPS STABILISE 

ONE OF THE WHEELS OF 

WOLLOMBI’S STRIPPER. PHOTO BY 

MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI. 

HIS GRACE BISHOP SERAPHIM 

(RIGHT) AND DIMITRI KEPREOTES 

OF THE GREEK ORTHODOX 

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA AT THE 

OPENING OF THE GREEK 

TREASURES EXHIBITION. PHOTO 

BY MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI. 

A highlight for Museum visitors 

over the winter months has 

been the Greek treasures: 

from the Benaki Museum in 

Athens exhibition. The 

exhibition, which features 

artworks and artefacts from 

8000 years of Greek history, 

opened in early May with 

special guests including then 

NSW Premier and Arts Minister, 

the Hon Mr Bob Carr, Greece’s 

Deputy Minister for Culture, Dr 

Petros Tatoulis, Dr Stavros 

Vlizos from the Benaki 

Museum, and many members 

of the local Greek community. 

Dr Vlizos, who spoke on behalf 

of the director of the Benaki 

powerpicks + 

Museum, Dr Angelos 

Delivorrias, compared Greek 

treasures to the Our place: 

Indigenous Australia now 

exhibition, staged in Athens 

during the 2004 Olympics. ‘In 

both cases,’ he said, ‘the 

resilience of two different 

cultural traditions is projected 

... consoling examples of the 

struggle to secure survival 

being waged constantly 

around the globe.’ 

The exhibition, which has 

attracted record crowds, 

closes in Sydney on 4 

September, before opening at 

Melbourne’s Immigration 

Museum in October.


all aboard! 

The Powerhouse Museum was 

once again a popular 

presence at the Hunter Valley 

Steamfest, which this year 

celebrated its 20th anniversary 

as one of Australia’s leading 

steam heritage events. The 

festival held in Maitland on 

15–17 April attracted a record 

breaking crowd of train buffs, 

families, friends, locals and 

tourists — everybody there for 

a weekend packed with the 

excitement and awe that only 

steam engines can inspire. 

A highlight of the weekend was 

a race between the Museum’s 

Locomotive 3830 and a tiger 

moth. Of course the loco won! 

restoration 

raffle 

� 

The 38 class locomotives 

dominated NSW railways from 

the 1940s to the 1960s, and 

Loco 3830 was the last of 

these to be produced in NSW. 

It took five years, from 1992 to 

1997, to restore the engine to 

its former glory. It is now 

housed at the Eveleigh Railway 

Workshop and operated on 

special occasions by the 

volunteer steam railway 

company 3801 Ltd. 

Another drawcard at Steamfest 

was the Museum’s display of 

engineering models selected 

to commemorate the 150th 

anniversary of NSW railways in 

September this year. 

LOCOMOTIVE 3830 IN ACTION AT THE 2005 HUNTER VALLEY STEAMFEST. PHOTO 

COURTESY HUNTER RIVER COUNTRY TOURISM AND JONNI LANE DIGITAL IMAGES 

� 

LEFT TO RIGHT: DR KEVIN FEWSTER, JOSHUA, NATHAN AND BEN O’REGAN. 

PHOTO BY SOTHA BOURN. 

Not many visitors to the Hunter 

Valley Steamfest celebrations 

could resist buying a ticket in 

the fund raising raffle for the 

Museum’s Locomotive 3265 

rebuilding project. Built in 

England in 1901, Locomotive 

3265 is the only surviving 

member of its class. While in 

service in the 1930s it was 

famous for hauling the Sydney 

to Newcastle Businessman’s 

Express, decked out in 

splendid black and maroon 

livery. The locomotive was 

acquired by the Powerhouse in 

1967 and is currently housed at 

d factory 

draws a 

cool crowd 

˜ 

the Eveleigh Railway Workshop 

while it is being restored. 

The raffle prize, a magnificent 

fine-scale model of 

Locomotive 3801, generously 

donated by Precision Scale 

Models of Melbourne, was won 

by Ben O’Regan of Scone. Ben 

and his sons Joshua and 

Nathan came into the Museum 

to meet the director Dr Kevin 

Fewster who presented the 

prize. The raffle raised $2430 

for the 3265 Fund which will go 

towards materials to rebuild 

the coal tender. 

JOIN US ON THE LAST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH FOR A DRINK, A DESIGN TALK 

AND SOME COOL MUSIC AT D FACTORY. PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD. 

In August d factory celebrated 

its first anniversary as the 

destination of choice for young 

designers and students. Over 

the past 12 months d factory, 

hosted by TV presenter Nell 

Schofield, has poked and 

prodded at a number of issues 

in the design world, with 

guests talking about 

everything from sustainability 

to shopping. 

A recent highlight, organised to 

coincide with the Sydney 

Writers’ Festival, drew a crowd 

of over 350 people to hear 

award-winning graphic 

designer Vince Frost, Canadian 

author Colin McAdam and 

publisher, Jane Palfreyman, 

share their thoughts on what 

makes a winning cover. 

Students of Enmore Design 

Centre got into the spirit by 

presenting their take on 

covers as diverse as Othello 

and Dial m for murder. DJ 

Peter Dolso played his sexy 

fusion of house, funk disco 

and jazz while the bar kept 

those Bombay Sapphire 

cocktails flowing. 

Getting a chance to hear 

designers talk about what 

makes for a good look and a 

good product is always going 

to draw a crowd. If you 

combine that with some killer 

DJ sounds, you’re really in for 

a great night. 

For details about what’s 

coming up next at d factory, 

visit powerhousemuseum.com/ 

dfactory/


on the 

road again 

& 

m 

watts‘n’drops 

Last year the Museum 

collaborated with Sydney 

Water to host a weekend 

display of water-saving 

devices and sustainable 

gardening techniques. The 

display proved to be so 

popular that we’re doing it 

again, only this year it’s bigger 

and better. Now running for a 

week and featuring energy 

saving tips as well, highlights 

will include new water and 

energy friendly inventions, 

interactive showcases and 

workshops for all ages. And to 

top it off, there’s a free 

THIS SUSTAINABLE GARDEN WAS A 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE H20 SHOW LAST 

YEAR. PHOTO BY SANDRA MCEWEN. 

NARDI SIMPSON OF THE STIFF GINS . PHOTO BY SOTHA BOURN. 

This year marks the 40th 

anniversary of the 1965 

Freedom Ride when a bus 

load of university students 

gained international media 

attention as they travelled 

through outback NSW 

exposing racial discrimination. 

In February this year members 

of ReconciliACTION, the youth 

arm of Reconciliation NSW, 

retraced those steps. As part 

of the Museum’s program for 

Reconciliation Week in late 

May, these two generations of 

Freedom Riders came 

weekend on 10–11 September 

to come and see it all. 

This is a great opportunity to 

find out how to make our 

precious water and energy 

last the distance. Watts ‘n’ 

drops will be at the 

Powerhouse from 10–18 

September. 

PRESENTED BY THE NSW DEPARTMENT 

OF ENERGY, UTILITIES AND 

SUSTAINABILITY, SYDNEY WATER AND THE 

POWERHOUSE MUSEUM. 

together at the Powerhouse to 

discuss what had and hadn’t 

changed. Back on the bus: 

regeneration and reconciliation 

featured author Ann Curthoys, 

Indigenous academic Darryl 

French, video vox pops, young 

activists, a large bus in the 

courtyard and the music of the 

Indigenous duo The Stiff Gins. 

The bus remained in the 

courtyard for several days, 

before heading off for the 

National Youth Forum on 

Reconciliation in Canberra. 

Something to look 

forward to this summer: 

Kylie: an exhibition 

features a fabulous 

collection of costumes 

spanning the 17 year 

career of this Australian 

cultural icon. 

KYLIE: AN EXHIBITION, OPENING 

AT THE POWERHOUSE ON 26 

DECEMBER, IS A TRAVELLING 

EXHIBITION FROM THE ARTS 

CENTRE, MELBOURNE. 

PHOTO ©DARENOTE LTD 2004.


THE POWERHOUSE WAS A KEY 

PLAYER IN THE 2005 MUSEUMS 

AUSTRALIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE. 

taking stock 

Over 500 delegates, 

navigation between two 

venues, keynotes, workshops, 

parallel sessions, lunches, tea 

breaks, a trade show, posters 

and social events — it was an 

intense four days with 

challenging logistics but the 

2005 Museums Australia 

National Conference was 

celebrated as an unqualified 

success. 

Overall this year’s conference 

was about ‘taking stock’ of the 

place of museums as they 

seek to redefine their role at 

the beginning of a new 

century. To achieve this, the 

conference was organised 

into three main themes: the 

challenges facing museums 

as they seek to assert their 

continuing relevance in the 

21st century; the contested 

ownership of collections; and 

exploring ways in which 

museums can be proactive in 

a time of transition. 

Running parallel to these 

sessions was the popular 

remote and regional stream of 

keynote speakers and 

workshops. The aim of this 

year’s program was to assist 

small and medium-size 

collecting institutions in 

regional Australia by providing 

delegates with an opportunity 

to network and share 

knowledge with other 

professionals in the sector. 

A substantial bursary program, 

funded primarily by the 

National Museum of Australia 

and the Department of 

Communication, Information 

Technology and the Arts, was 

offered to 52 people working 

in regional museums — 60% 

of whom were volunteers. 

Bursary recipients came from 

every state, and as far afield 

as the Northern Territory and 

Norfolk Island. Thirteen radio 

interviews, co-ordinated by the 

conference’s media 

consultant, Martin Portus, 

highlighted the importance, 

the challenges and the 

fragility of many of the 

country’s regional museums. 

At a welcome reception on the 

Sunday evening, then NSW 

Premier and Minister for the 

Arts, the Hon Bob Carr, 

launched the conference and 

the Museum’s history 

Yesterday’s tomorrows. The 

following morning, Roger 

Wilkins, Director General of 

the NSW Ministry for the Arts 

and head of the Cabinet 

Office, and Senator, the Hon 

Rod Kemp, Federal Minister 

for the Arts and Sport, 

officiated at the opening 

plenary, following the welcome 

to country by Powerhouse 

curators James Wilson-Miller 

and Fabri Blacklock. 

The Powerhouse Museum was 

a true colleague in the 

planning of the conference, 

hosting the opening welcome 

event, all the parallel sessions, 

many of the special interest 

group meetings, the full 

council meeting of Museums 

Australia, the remote and 

regional plenary, the trade 

show, the Museums Australia 

Publication Design Awards 

(MAPDA) display of shortlisted 

entries and a delegate’s 

preview of the Greek 

treasures exhibition. It was 

also through the Powerhouse 

that Museums Australia 

received an introduction to the 

ABC, which provided the 

excellent Eugene Goossens 

Hall for the plenary sessions. 

The whole of the museums 

sector and all divisions of 

Museums Australia also got 

behind the conference. The 

Australian Museum hosted the 

special event Proud traditions, 

positive futures: Indigenous 

people challenge museums, 

the National Maritime Museum 

was a generous sponsor for 

the MAPDA Gala, the Historic 

Houses Trust provided a focus 

for the museum critique, the 

University of Sydney Museums 

hosted the conference dinner 

at the Nicholson Museum and 

MacLaurin Hall, and 

Macquarie University, the 

Museum of Contemporary Art 

and the National Trust 

provided venues for 

conference meetings and 

sessions. Regional, local and 

specialist museums, three of 

the association’s state 

branches and eight special 

interest groups, and Museums 

and Galleries NSW also 

contributed. 

The Government of Canada 

supported the participation of 

keynote speaker Andrea 

Laforet, the Goethe Institut 

Sydney enabled Hans-Martin 

Hinz to come to Australia and 

the United States Information 

Service assisted with travel for 

John Simmons. Luna Media, 

the publishers of Cosmos, and 

the Australian Innovation 

Festival were also sponsors of 

the MAPDA Gala event. 

The organisation of the 

conference was undertaken 

by a team of volunteers from 

the NSW branch of Museums 

Australia. They were led by the 

NSW MA branch president, 

Rebekah Schulz, and vice 

president, Rebecca Pinchin, 

with tireless support from 

Susan Sedgwick, Danielle 

Head, Serena Manwaring, 

Cate Purcell, Paul Bentley, 

Helen Pithie, Elissa Blair, 

Maree Darrell and Julie Potts. 

What was the impact on 

delegates? This comment 

summed up the general 

feeling: ‘A very rich, diverse 

and animated series of 

speakers. The program left me 

breathless. Where should we 

go? What to choose? What to 

hear? Congratulations to all 

those involved. I will return 

refreshed, enthused and 

encouraged!’ 

Carol Scott, Immediate Past 

President, Museums Australia 

SCENES FROM THE CONFERENCE 

WELCOME RECEPTION (FROM TOP 

LEFT): FORMER POWERHOUSE 

DIRECTOR DR LINDSAY SHARP WITH 

DR KEVIN FEWSTER; THEN NSW 

PREMIER & MINISTER FOR THE ARTS, 

THE HON BOB CARR; CONFERENCE 

DELEGATES GATHERED OUTSIDE 

THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM. 

PHOTOS BY JEAN FRANCOIS 

LANZARONE.


THE MUSEUM’S COLLECTION 

OF FASHION SWATCHBOOKS 

GOES ONLINE. 

textile 

treasure 

trove 

Every year Powerhouse 

fashion and textile curators 

usher countless design 

students and researchers into 

the Museum’s basement to 

look at our fashion 

swatchbooks. These books, 

full of hundreds of small fabric 

samples compiled by 

manufacturers and merchants 

to record and promote the 

latest fabric designs, provide 

an amazing resource for 

artists and designers 

researching fashion history or 

seeking inspiration. Now two 

volumes of the Museum’s 

swatches from 1893–94 and 

1923 have gone online so that 

many more people can 

access this rich collection. 

This is one of the first 

websites of its kind in the 

world, with over 600 

swatches that can be viewed 

and downloaded as high 

resolution images. As all 

samples are now out of 

copyright in Australia, they 

can be reused in new fabric 

designs or homewares — 

whatever takes your fancy. 

And this is just the beginning. 

The website will be regularly 

updated with swatches from 

over 150 years of fabric 

design from the Museum’s 

collection. 

You can find this amazing 

collection at 

powerhousemuseum.com/ 

electronicswatchbook/ 

The swatches are in the public domain in 

Australia but use in other countries may 

require copyright permission. 

A SMALL SELECTION OF SWATCHES FROM THE ELECTRONIC SWATCHBOOK.. 

PHOTOS BY SOTHA BOURN AND MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI.


HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR NEW 

DECORATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN 

EXHIBITION ‘INSPIRED! DESIGN 

ACROSS TIME’. 

the power 

and pleasure 

of objects 

Hope Egyptian 

revival suite 

In the dynamic years leading 

up to the opening of the 

Powerhouse in 1988 the 

Museum was able to make a 

number of highly significant 

acquisitions. Among them was 

a suite of Egyptian revival 

furniture — a settee and two 

armchairs — designed in about 

1800 by Thomas Hope, a 

wealthy English Regency 

collector and adventurer. Hope, 

whose beautiful line drawings 

for the rooms of his grand 

London residence were 

published in his book 

Household furniture and interior 

decoration in 1807, was one of 

the most influential designers 

of the Regency period. 

The two armchairs turned up 

at a local Sydney auction in 

1984, their significance 

unrecognised by both the 

vendor and the auctioneer. At 

some stage their history had 

been lost. The settee, 

acquired two years later from 

a Melbourne dealer, had a 

similarly mysterious past. 

Eventually the riddle of the 

‘MEMBRANE’ METAL CHAISE-LONGUE DESIGNED AND MADE BY KORBAN / FLAUBERT, 

SYDNEY, 1998 / 2003. PURCHASED 2003. PHOTO BY MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI. 

furniture’s relocation to 

Australia was solved: it had 

been bought in London in 

about 1920 by Sir Alfred 

Ashbolt, agent-general for 

Tasmania, who had then taken 

it back to his impressive home 

‘Lena’ in Hobart in 1924. The 

three pieces were sold at a 

Melbourne auction by Sir 

Alfred’s family in the 1940s and 

it seems that knowledge of 

their significance and origin 

was lost from this date — until 

their ‘rediscovery’ by the 

Museum in the mid 1980s. 

Anne Watson, Curator, 

Decorative Arts and Design 

Korban/Flaubert 

chaise-longue 

Metal specialist Janos Korban 

and architect Stefanie 

Flaubert formed their design 

and production partnership in 

Stuttgart in 1993, specialising 

in furniture, lighting and 

architectural installations. In 

1995 the Adelaide-born and 

educated pair relocated to 

Sydney, where they have 

since built on their reputation 

for highly innovative design 

work ranging from multipleproduction 

plastic seating, to 

limited edition lighting and 

furniture, to site-specific 

commissioned sculptures for 

corporate clients. Their work 

constantly explores new 

formal aesthetics and 

methodologies and the 

ambiguous interplay between 

functional object and 

structural form. 

The steel mesh ‘Membrane’ 

chaise-longue, which was 

shown at the Milan Furniture 

Fair in 2003, was designed in 

1998. The concept has 

undergone a number of 

modifications since then — a 

process of refinement that 

underlines Korban/Flaubert’s 

experimental approach to 

design. With a practice that 

manages to successfully 

balance commercial 

production with more creative, 

limited edition pieces, the 

partnership is fast developing 

a reputation both locally and 

internationally. 

Anne Watson, Curator, 


SETTEE, REGENCY EGYPTIAN REVIVAL STYLE, MADE IN EBONISED AND GILT BEECH 

AND OAK. DESIGNED BY THOMAS HOPE, ENGLAND ABOUT 1800. PURCHASED WITH 

THE ASSISTANCE OF THE PATRONS OF THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM, 1987.


William Kerr 

epergne 

About 24 large silver 

presentation centrepieces 

were made in Australia in the 

19th century, only about half of 

which have survived. This 

piece, an epergne or table 

centrepiece, was made in the 

workshop of leading Sydney 

silversmith William Kerr in the 

late 1800s. Born in Northern 

Ireland, Kerr came to the 

colony of NSW with his family 

as a child in 1841. 

Standing 72 centimetres high, 

this tour de force of Australian 

silversmithing was made to 

celebrate the success of the 

first Australian cricket team to 

tour Britain. It depicts a cricket 

Hanssen Pigott 

‘still life’ 

Gwyn Hanssen Pigott (b 1935) 

is one of Australia’s most well 

known and respected ceramic 

artists, with an established 

reputation both in Australia 

and overseas. Inspired first by 

the work of Australian potter 

Ivan McMeekin in the 1950s, 

she went on to work with 

Bernard Leach and Michael 

Cardew in England in the ’60s, 

and was also influenced by 

modernists such as Lucie Rie 

(all of whom are represented 

in the Inspired! exhibition). 

Later, attracted by the 

freshness and vigour of 

traditional woodfired French 

stonewares, she set up a 

match taking place under a 

large Australian native tree 

fern, with flannel flowers, 

bottle brush, goannas and 

snakes on the ground. The 

use of native decorative motifs 

in Australian 19th century 

sporting trophies is rare as 

sport was firmly rooted in 

British culture, and designs 

mostly emulated English 

models. Although designed as 

a trophy, it was never actually 

presented. Instead it is 

thought to have stood as a 

display piece in the window of 

Kerr's George Street shop in 

Sydney. It was donated to the 

Museum by the Kerr family 

when the shop closed in 1938. 

Eva Czernis-Ryl, Curator, 


EPERGNE OF SILVER, EMU EGGS, GLASS AND WOOD, MADE BY WILLIAM KERR, 

SYDNEY, 1879. 72 X 40 CM. GIFT OF W T KERR, 1938. PHOTO BY PENELOPE CLAY. 

pottery in rural France, before 

returning to Australia in 1973. 

In the early 1970s she saw the 

work of the ‘still life’ painter 

Giorgio Morandi, and wrote: ‘I 

love his searching, obsessive, 

describing of the common 

objects that were his subject 

and measure.' 

This group is characteristic of 

the work Hanssen Piggot has 

been making for many years. 

Arranging finely made 

domestic forms into groups 

she calls ‘still lives’ or, 

sometimes, 'families', she 

wants them to be considered 

in a way that ‘might raise a 

question, lengthen a glance’. 

Grace Cochrane, Senior 

Curator, Australian Decorative 

Arts and Design 

‘STILL LIFE WITH YELLOW BOWLS’, WHEELTHROWN AND SLIPCAST IN LIMOGES 

PORCELAIN AND SOUTHERN ICE PORCELAIN, MADE BY GWYN HANSSEN PIGOTT, 

2002. PURCHASED 2002. PHOTO BY MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI. 

GLASS AND GILT VASE MADE BY LEGRAS & CIE, FRANCE, ABOUT 1905, 65 X 18 CM. 

PURCHASED WITH FUNDS PROVIDED BY THE AUSTRALIAN DECORATIVE AND FINE 

ARTS SOCIETY, KURING-GAI, 2004. PHOTO BY JEAN-FRANCOIS LANZARONE. 

Legras & Cie vase 

This spectacular blown-glass 

vase was made in about 1905 

by the Paris glassworks 

Legras & Cie, which 

specialised in acid-etched 

and enamelled cameo glass. 

During the first decade of the 

1900s Legras & Cie became a 

major exponent of the École 

de Nancy led by Emile Gallé, 

France’s leading maker of 

decorative glass in the 

fashionable Art Nouveau style. 

The firm produced a wide 

variety of commercial artglass, 

both cameo and 

painted in enamels, but also 

made some large high-quality 

pieces for international 

exhibitions. Only a few of 

these more elaborate 

examples have survived. The 

large size, unusual design, 

complex technique (two layers 

of transparent green glass 

with aventurine spangles 

trapped between) and lavish 

decoration of this vase 

indicate that it may have been 

an exhibition piece. 

While many of Legras designs 

of this period used naturalistic 

motifs, some, like this vase, 

display more stylised 

decoration and sumptuous 

Rococo rocailles (scrolls). The 

decoration on this piece is 

based on mistletoe, a motif 

perfectly suited to the 

curvilinear Art Nouveau style, 

but the overall design reveals 

the influence of the 18th 

century Rococo style. 

Eva Czernis-Ryl, Curator, 


Vionnet gown 

Madeleine Vionnet (1876–1975) 

was best known for her use of 

the bias cut, so beautifully 

illustrated in this early 1930s 

evening dress. By cutting her 

fabric at 45° to the grain, 

Vionnet created a seductive 

and daring look that 

contrasted beautifully with the 

corseted and stiffened 

silhouettes popular for much 

of the 19th century. Vionnet’s 

designs were dramatic and 

ingeniously cut, using fabric 

with the greatest respect for 

its particular qualities. 

The bodice of this cream silk 

hopsack weave gown is in 

three sections, gathered and 

held by shoulder straps 

inserted into channels which 

cross at the back. The straps, 

jewelled with aquamarine and 

clear faceted glass stones set 

into metal mounts, are a 

typical Vionnet innovation, 

combining jewellery and fabric 

in one design. 

Vionnet’s expertise evolved 

from many years of 

apprenticeship, observation 

and practice both in making 

and selling. At 12 years of age 

she started her first job and 

later worked for Paris 

couturiers Callot Soeurs and 

Doucet before she set up her 

own business in 1912. 

Lindie Ward, Assistant 

Curator, International 


Inspired! Design across time 

opens on 6 October. 

SILK EVENING DRESS MADE BY 

MADELEINE VIONNET, PARIS, FRANCE 

ABOUT 1930. PURCHASED 1996. 

PHOTO BY JEAN FRANCOIS 

LANZARONE.

+ 10 010 powerline winter 05 

The cutting edge: fashion from Japan 

LOUISE MITCHELL (ED) 

The cutting edge looks at the work of 

19 Japanese designers including 

pioneers Hanae Mori and Kenzo 

Takada; textile innovators Junichi Arai 

and Reiko Sudo; the ‘big 3’, Rei 

Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons, Issey 

Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto; and the 

exciting work of a new generation of 

designers who continue to challenge 

Western notions of fashion. 

Available from 27 September. 

112 pages, with over 120 images. 

RRP $39.95. Special price from the 

Powerhouse Shop and mailorder $34.95 / 

members $32.00 

Sydney Observatory 2006 Australian 

sky guide 

DR NICK LOMB 

Compact, easy to use and reliable, the 

Sky guide contains month-by-month 

constellations, tidal charts, sun and 

moon rise and set times, facts on all 

the planets, meteorite movements plus 

details of the year’s most exciting 

astronomical events. Recommended 

for anglers, sailers, photographers, 

journalists, teachers, students — and 

anyone who looks up at the stars and 

wants to know more. With simple 

instructions for use Australia-wide. 

Available from December. Order now! 

112 pages. RRP $15.00 / members $13.50 

See the mailorder 

insert in this issue. 

Powerhouse books are available 

from the Powerhouse Shop, good 

bookstores and by mailorder. 

For more information or to order, 

contact Powerhouse Publishing 

on (02) 9217 0129 

or email phpub@phm.gov.au 

www.powerhousemuseum.com/ 

publications 

NEW RELEASES FROM POWERHOUSE PUBLISHING 

Remember! Members receive 10% discount on all titles from the Powerhouse Shop and mailorder 

THE MUSEUM’S MASCOTS, CREATED 

BY ILLUSTRATOR MELANIE BEDFORD, 

WILL BE LAUNCHED IN THE SUMMER 

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS. 

OUR NEW MASCOTS MAKE THE 

MUSEUM MORE CHILD FRIENDLY. 

two new 

faces in town 

Every year the Museum 

welcomes over 110 000 visitors 

in the 5 to 10 years age group. 

This group of young visitors 

represents approximately 25% 

of our total visiting population, 

either coming with their family 

or friends or as a class group. 

But it’s not hard to imagine 

that the vast and sometimes 

strange world of the Museum 

might be at times a rather 

overwhelming experience for 

the young visitor. All that 

looking up! 

To make the Museum more 

welcoming for young people 

we are introducing two new 

friends — mascots to guide 

the way to the most 

interesting places for children. 

The mascots will serve as 

signposts to family friendly 

programs and exhibitions, 

‘sitting on the shoulder’ of 

every child to bring the 

Museum to life for them. 

Our mascots are an unlikely 

pair — an alliance from 

different worlds with a 

friendship that suits them 

both. One is an inquisitive girl. 

She is creative and clever, 

with loads of imagination and 

energy to burn. The girl is 

rather like each and every 

child who enters the Museum, 

feeling excited by the 

potential for fun and wanting 

to know more! 

The robot is her mate — a 

machine with unlimited 

knowledge stored in a logical 

fashion in its database. The 

robot is really very helpful but 

unimaginative. Happily she 

has many questions and her 

robotic friend has many 

answers. The key to their 

friendship is their interest in 

learning and solving problems. 

Their unusual alliance is of 

course a metaphor for the 

Museum visit. 

Their creator is the young 

artist Melanie Bedford who 

studied illustrating at the 

Northern Melbourne Institute 

of TAFE. She works freelance 

from her beachside home on 

the Great Ocean Road. Even 

from afar the mascots spoke 

to her: 

‘I had no trouble visualising 

the characters, and to grow 

them on to the page was no 

challenge at all — I loved 

them from the start.’ 

Melanie laughs at the 

suggestion that perhaps the 

girl is herself as a child. ‘I was 

always making, drawing or 

collecting things. I loved 

museums and galleries so you 

might be right! I saw the girl 

as quite organised and 

deliberate rather than chaotic, 

hence her big watch and 

many pockets with pencils 

neatly arranged. She is always 

carrying something of interest 

— a flower or a calculator or 

some kind of gizmo.’ 

Initially the mascots will be 

used in signage and 

advertisements. The entire 

Museum will be their home 

with a special hangout at the 

Playspace — a new space 

dedicated to children’s 

programs. Eventually young 

visitors will be able to ‘meet’ 

the characters themselves in 

Museum tours designed 

specially for families. 

Our mascots are yet to have 

names. We thought it best to 

leave that to the imagination 

of our young visitors. Watch 

out for more information about 

how to vote for a name that 

suits you and them. 

Helen Whitty, Program 

Development Coordinator


THE MEMBERS BASEMENT TOUR HAS BEEN 

BROUGHT BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND. 

delving 

into the 

depths 

� 

EDITORS KIMBERLEY WEBBER AND 

GRAEME DAVISON AT THE LAUNCH 

OF THE MUSEUM’S 125TH 

ANNIVERSARY BOOK YESTERDAY’S 

TOMORROWS. PHOTO BY JEAN 

FRANCOIS LANZARONE. 

TOUR GUIDE TERRY MOONEY WITH ONE OF THE MANNEQUINS IN 

THE BASEMENT. PHOTO BY JEAN-FRANCOIS LANZARONE. 

To mark this year’s History 

Week festivities in late 

September and the conclusion 

of the Museum’s 125th 

anniversary celebrations at the 

end of August, members are 

invited to take part in a 

special event showcasing 

parts of our collection that few 

visitors ever see — The 

Members Basement Tour, an 

experience not to be missed! 

Powerhouse staff member 

Terry Mooney, who works with 

our hidden collection every 

day and knows all its secrets, 

will be conducting the tours. 

from the 

members 

team 

+ 

Join him as he delves into 

the Museum’s underground 

holding area to view objects 

as they are never ordinarily 

seen — stacked high and 

deep in specially 

commissioned storage units, 

folded and filed into drawers 

and tucked behind protective 

tissue. Terry will also discuss 

conservation methods used 

by the Museum to protect its 

collection. 

See the September Members 

Calendar for more details. 

Lately celebrations 

commemorating the 

Powerhouse’s 125th anniversary 

have brought the history of the 

Museum to particular 

prominence in the minds of 

members and staff. To cap it 

off we hope members will join 

us for our History Week events 

in late September, especially 

the chance to discover some 

hidden treasures in our 

Members Basement Tours. 

+ NEWS AND PHOTOS 

+ exclusive events 

+ family activities 

+ special offers 

Members e-newsletter 

If you would like to receive the regular Members 

e-newsletter with updates on all members events 

please call (02) 9217 0600 or email 

members@phm.gov.au with your membership 

number and e-newsletter in the subject line. 

And as the days get longer 

and the weather warmer we’re 

pleased to be able to invite 

members to a great program 

of events coming up this 

spring. A highlight has to be 

the launch of our new 

exhibition The cutting edge: 

fashion from Japan. This 

promises to be the glamour 

event of the year, celebrating 

the work of 19 leading 

Japanese designers who 

together have redefined our 

notions of fashion. And if that 

isn’t enough, the following 

week we’re launching our new 

members + 

permanent exhibition, Inspired! 

Design across time. This 

magnificent exhibition covers 

300 years of decorative arts 

and design and is one we 

know members will find 

fascinating. 

And don’t forget the Members 

Lounge is open seven days a 

week, so drop in whenever 

you’re visiting. We’d love to 

see you. 

The Members Team


september 

october 

november 

+ 

+ 

+ 

Wednesday 21 September 

Sydney Observatory 

Weather station, windmill and fort 

Celebrate History Week at Observatory Hill. Discover 

how it was transformed over the years from a fort to 

a mill, to a signal station, a weather station and 

finally an observatory, 

and learn all about 

its role in 

meteorology. Then 

join us for morning 

or afternoon tea on the 

Russell Room balcony. 

10.00 am and 2.00 pm 

Cost: members $6; guests $8. Bookings 

essential on 9217 0485. Numbers limited to 30 

spaces per tour. Tours last one hour. 

Tuesday 4 October 


Mini-Martian Day 

A fun day specially for under 8 year olds! Come to 

Sydney Observatory and celebrate Earth’s close 

encounter with Mars — make an alien, paint your 

own Mars artwork, and go on a journey to Mars in 

our 3-D Space Theatre. 

10.30 am – 2.00 pm 

Cost: member child $8; guest child $10 (accompanying adults free — max 

one per child) 

Monday 7 November 


Mars viewing night 

Join us for a special viewing of Mars, which is at its 

closest to Earth since 2003 in late October / early 

November. Plus find out all about the latest Mars 

explorations in our 3-D Space Theatre with images 

from NASA’s Rovers. Visit www.sydneyobservatory.com 

for information on more special Mars events. 

9.30–11.00 pm 

Cost: members $12 / children $8 / families $32; guests $15 / children $10 / 

families $40. Bookings essential on 9217 0485. 

spring 05 

members calendar 

+ 

Saturday 24 September 

SoundHouse 

Digital music workshop for teenagers 

In this workshop the SoundHouse and VectorLab 

will become your own production house as you work 

with the Museum’s digital media experts to devise, 

write, project manage and produce your own digital 

music projects. 

1.00–5.00 pm 

Cost: members $60; guests $90 (includes $30 student membership) 

Wednesday 5 October 

Exhibition launch 


Join us for the launch of the Powerhouse Museum’s 

new permanent exhibition Inspired! Design across 

time and celebrate one of the most impressive 

collections of decorative arts, crafts and design in 

Australia. Inspired! includes furniture, fashion, textiles, 

graphics, glass, ceramics, jewellery and metalwork 

covering over 300 years. 

6.00–8.00 pm 

Cost: members $35 (adults only). Includes refreshments. 

There’s something for everyone at the Observatory 

this spring as Mars comes close to Earth. 

ONE OF THE TELESCOPES AT 

SYDNEY OBSERVATORY. 

FROM INSPIRED! DESIGN ACROSS 

TIME, THE ‘LOCKHEED LOUNGE’, 

DESIGNED BY MARK NEWSON, 

SYDNEY, 1998–90. PURCHASED 1991.


Friday 18 November 

Exhibition walkthrough 


Join curator Louise Mitchell on an in-depth tour of 

this amazing exhibition featuring fashion’s most 

innovative and inventive designers — including a 

new generation who continue to lead the way with 

cutting edge fabrics and designs. Followed by light 

refreshments in the Members Lounge. 

10.30 am – 12.00 pm 

Cost: members: $10; guests: $15 

+ 

Unless othewise stated, bookings and pre-payment 

are essential for all events. You can book online at 

www.powerhousemusuem.com/members or by phone 

on (02) 9217 0600 for events at the Powerhouse 

Museum. For bookings for Sydney Obervatory phone 

(02) 9217 0485. 

Saturday 24 September 

Powerhouse basement tours 

The Museum’s collection is like an iceberg — 

about nine-tenths of it is hidden below the surface. 

Join us on a journey to the depths in a tour of our 

basement storage area. Glimpse the Museum’s 

collection in its resting state — folded, filed, sorted 

and shelved — during this special members only 

behind-the-scenes event. 

10.00 am, 11.00 am, 12.00 pm. 

Cost: $20 members only (age 16+). Tours last 40 minutes. 

Saturday 26 November 

SoundHouse 

Digital video editing course for teenagers 

Create your own video in this hands-on workshop 

combining digital imaging and sound production 

skills. You’ll learn how to use video editing software 

Sony Vegas, which turns your computer into a virtual 

television studio, and discover techniques such as 

multiple layers and chromakey. Let our digital media 

experts expand your skills in video production, with 

time allowed for personal project development. 

1.00–5.00 pm 

Cost: members $60; guests $90 (includes $30 student membership) 

Become a digital demon in our special members only 

SoundHouse and VectorLab courses. 

how to book for members events 

+ 

Join us for the glamour event of the year — the launch of 

The cutting edge: fashion from Japan on 27 September. 

Saturday 8 October 

VectorLab 

Introduction to Photoshop Elements and digital 

imaging 

This step-by-step workshop takes you through 

everything you need to know to create and 

manipulate digital photos. The workshop will cover 

topics such as cropping, cutting, montage, layers, 

digital drawing, adding text and outputting images 

for both print and web. Digital cameras and 

computer hardware will also be covered. 

10.00 am – 3.30 pm 

Cost: members $100; guests $130 

FROM THE CUTTING EDGE: 

FASHION FROM JAPAN, DRESS BY 

REI KAWAKUBO, 1997. PHOTO BY 

JEAN FRANCOIS JOSE. COURTESY 

COMME DES GARÇONS. 

Three full working days (Monday – Friday) are required 

for a refund for Powerhouse events. Unfortunately we 

can’t refund or transfer bookings for SoundHouse 

and VectorLab workshops. 

All events are held at the Powerhouse Museum unless otherwise stated. All 

dates, times and venues are correct at time of publication. 

Tuesday 27 September 

Exhibition launch 


Don’t miss your chance to join us at the launch of 

The cutting edge: fashion from Japan, a major 

exhibition showcasing some of fashion’s most 

influential designers including Issey Miyake, Yohji 

Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. The exhibition is 

drawn from the stunning collection of the Kyoto 

Costume Institute with selections from the 

Powerhouse Museum and some private collections. 

6.00–8.00 pm 

Cost: members $35 (adults only). Includes refreshments. 

Saturday 29 October 

SoundHouse 

Digital photography workshop for teenagers 

Take your digital photography skills to the next level in 

this workshop, assisted by our team of digital media 

experts. Whether you are new to the field of digital 

photography or want skills and tips to improve your 

work, this course is the one for you. 

1.00–5.00 pm 

Cost: members $60; guests $90 

(includes $30 student membership) 

Sunday 27 November 

Members discount shopping day 

The Powerhouse Museum Shop invites all members 

to come along and preview our new range of 

stunning Christmas gift ideas. From designer 

handbags and jewellery to fabulously fun toys, you’re 

sure to find the perfect gift for everyone on your 

Christmas list! Just show your membership card to 

enjoy a special 20% discount on most items along 

with free gift wrapping. 

10.00 am – 5.00 pm 

Cost: free 

FROM INSPIRED! DESIGN ACROSS 

TIME, BRACELET, MADE BY PETER 

CHANG, SCOTLAND, 2004.


members 

scene 

Dressing up was the order of 

the day at the Persephone’s 

Palace Members Morning Tea 

in June and Sydney 

Observatory’s Festival of the 

Stars later that month. 

PHOTOS BY SOTHA BOURN AND 

MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI. 

TROUBADOURS STELLA 

EXPRESSIONS SERENADE GUESTS, 

WHILE TAURUS AND CAPRICORN 

STEP DOWN FROM THE HEAVENS. 

YOUNG VISITOR ASHA LANCASTER 

GOES FOR THE WARRIOR LOOK, 

WHILE HIS SISTER JASMIN 

SMILES FOR THE CAMERA. 

ALEXANDER FRISINA STRIKES A 

HEROIC POSE WITH SHIELD AND 

HEADDRESS. 

MATTHEW HAMMOND IN THREE- 

HEADED MONSTER MODE, AND 

ABBEY WALKER LOOKING LIKE A 

PRINCESS. 

DAVID MALIN GIVES A LECTURE 

ON HIS IMAGES OF THE STARS.. 

MEMBERS OF CIRCUS SOLARIS 

READY TO TAKE VISITORS ON AN 

ASTRONOMICAL MAGICAL 

MYSTERY TOUR. 

STEPHANIE WILLET GOES FOR 

THE GOLD WREATH. 

THE ROCKS GHOST TOURS 

THRILL YOUNG VISITORS AT 

SYDNEY OBSERVATORY’S FESTIVAL 

OF THE STARS. 

SYDNEY OBSERVATORY MANAGER 

TONER STEVENSON GETS INTO 

THE SPIRIT OF THE OCCASION.


A 1950s TELEPHONE IS AN IMPORTANT 

ADDITION TO THE MUSEUM’S COLLECTION. 

freedom 

of fantasy 

A key part of the acquisition 

strategy for our information 

and communication 

technology (ICT) collection is 

to focus on product design 

and its role in corporate 

image and brand making. 

A good example of this is our 

small collection of products 

from the Italian manufacturer 

Olivetti, founded in 1908. From 

its very early days as a 

manufacturer, the company 

was aware of the importance 

and potential of corporate and 

product image, employing 

painters, poets and architects 

to help mould an image for its 

products and advertising 

material and even its industrial 

sites, offices and showrooms. 

Adriano Olivetti, the son of the 

company’s founder, was a fan 

of the modernist graphic style. 

In the mid 1930s he met and 

hired young designer Marcello 

Nizzoli who went on to design 

for Olivetti until the late 1950s. 

His award-winning work was 

recognised by the Italian 

design cognoscenti as the 

epitome of Italian functionalist 

design. This school of thought 

sought to widen the role of 

industrial design within 

companies to encompass all 

aspects of product 

development from concept 

onwards, striving for the 

achievement of design devoid 

of ornament and to produce 

items for the consumption of 

the masses. 

The ‘Safnat’ telephone was 

designed by Marcello Nizzoli 

in 1958. Its cellulose acetate 

housing, low-slung stature and 

anthropomorphic arrangement 

of dial and push buttons 

reflect Nizzoli’s design attitude 

and methods. Rejecting the 

accepted theories of machine 

design of the time (‘form 

follows function’), his work is 

characterised by sculptural 

forms and organic shapes. 

Nizzoli said that he worked 

toward ‘a freedom of fantasy’ 

in his design work, and 

approached it as an 

interaction of relationships 

between the consumer and 

machine. Nizzoli was able to 

combine industrial design and 

the plastic arts to create new 

designs for existing office and 

domestic products, which 

appealed to a wider market. 

Nizzoli actively sought new 

challenges throughout his 

MARCELLO NIZZOLI’S 1958 ‘SAFNAT’ TELEPHONE PURCHASED 2005. PHOTO BY SOTHA BOURN. 

career moving from painting 

to stage design, followed by a 

series of seminal designs for 

exhibitions, trade shows and 

retail shops. Moving into 

product design, Nizzoli 

entered the production 

process as a co-worker, 

securing the application of 

new manufacturing 

technologies. Proof of his 

versatility and tenacity is that 

five years after designing the 

Safnat telephone, Nizzoli went 

on to design a combine 

harvester for the Laverda 

company. 

The ‘Safnat’ telephone adds 

tremendous value to our 

collection of Marcello Nizzoli 

designs, which include an 

1948 Olivetti Lexikon 80 

typewriter, a Divisumma 24 

electronic calculator from 1956 

and a Multisumma 20 electro 

mechanical calculator from 

1964. We remain on the 

lookout for an example of 

Nizzoli’s 1950 Lettera 22 

portable typewriter for Olivetti, 

voted the best design of the 

last hundred years by a jury of 

100 designers in 1959. 

Campbell Bickerstaff, 

Assistant Curator, ICT 

The Powerhouse Foundation has enjoyed great 

success with numerous functions and 

donations in the lead up to its first anniversary 

and annual appeal in September 2005. 

A particular highlight in this period was the 

inaugural President’s Circle luncheon on 2 June 

with guest speaker, Mr Ian Macfarlane, 

Governor, Reserve Bank. The Powerhouse 

Foundation President’s Circle is a select 

networking group for corporate executives who 

are invited to directly support the Museum’s 

world-renowned collection. The lunch was 

attended by leading figures from the business 

community who enjoyed an exclusive 

opportunity to hear Mr Macfarlane speak about 

the role of museums in presenting economic 

history. Within days of the event, the Foundation 

received a pledge for $20 000 and is in 

discussion with many prospective President’s 

Circle members. 

To celebrate the Foundation’s first year of fund 

raising, an annual annivesary appeal will be 

launched during the month of September. For 

more details on the appeal or to make your 

donation, go to 

www.powerhousemuseum.com/foundation. 

Melissa Smith, Foundation Coordinator 

61 2 9217 0564 or melissas@phm.gov.au 

Recent Foundation donors 

Mr Pat Boland 

David Mathlin & Liz Burch 

Mr C W A Flynn 

Mr Ross McNair 

Mr Paul & Dr Prapaipuk Mottram 

Mrs Anne Nelson 

Mr Brian Sherman 

Dr & Mrs C Williams 

MR IAN MACFARLANE, GOVERNOR, RESERVE BANK , 

ADDRESSES THE FIRST PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE LUNCHEON IN 

JUNE. PHOTO BY MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI.

+ 16 powerline winter 05 

From the Signature 

Prints range based on 

Florence Broadhurst 

wallpaper designs. 

The Powerhouse Shop is open 

10.00 am – 5.00 pm, 7 days a week. 

Gift selection service, free gift 

wrapping and deliveries available. 

For more information 

call (02) 9217 0331 or 

email shops@phm.gov.au 

Clutch & purse $149.95 & $44.95 

Sleeveless ‘T’ $84.95 

Notebook and doorstop $49.95 & $59.95 

Photos by Sotha Bourn. 

POWERHOUSE SHOP 

Too good to miss! Powerhouse Members receive 10% off selected merchandise. 

THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM KICKED OFF ITS NEW 

SERIES OF QUARTERLY DESIGN TALKS WITH GUEST 

SPEAKER WANDA JELMINI OF MISSONI HOME. 

talking design 

Internationally recognised for 

their pioneering use of colour, 

zig-zag patterned knits and 

lavish stripes, the Missoni 

label has transcended the 

vagaries of fashion and stood 

the test of time. In 1997 the 

company established Missoni 

Home, a homewares label 

which opened up a whole new 

area for exploring colour. In 

June the Museum was 

privileged to have the director 

of the company, Wanda 

Jelmini, give the inaugural 

quarterly design talk, the first 

in a series featuring design 

luminaries from both Australia 

and overseas. 

Wanda spoke about the 

history of the company which 

her aunt and uncle Rosita and 

Ottavio Missoni founded in the 

basement of their home in the 

early 1950s. Combining the 

yarn used for embroidery with 

the qualities of knitwear, they 

quickly became recognised 

as the masters of colour on 

the Italian prêt à porter scene. 

When Rosita ‘retired’ from the 

fashion industry in the late 

’90s she went on to establish 

the Missoni Home collection, 

continuing the family tradition 

with a homewares and interior 

furnishings range which is 

both bold and technically 

brilliant. Using a combination 

of traditional and 

contemporary textile 

technologies, Missoni Home 

has been able to produce 

textiles for a range of uses 

including curtains, carpets, 

table linen and bath robes. In 

a world often awash with 

white, the collection provides 

a refreshing splash of colour. 

Wanda talked about the 

challenges of producing 

textiles suitable for such a 

wide range of applications 

and the importance of finding 

appropriately skilled 

technicians and craftspeople. 

It is often not the cheapest or 

easiest option and production 

might take place in Italy, India 

or Central Europe, depending 

on where the required skills 

can be found. In the course of 

production, Wanda works 

closely with the technicians to 

ensure the complexity and 

richness of her designs are 

realised. 

Wanda went on to describe 

her sense of colour as 

instinctive and spoke about 

how her inspiration came from 

the world around her, often 

from simply looking at the 

miracle of colour within nature. 

She said she often works from 

her home in a forest region 

outside Milan and confessed 

she was a passionate 

A SELECTION OF HOMEWARES FROM MISSONI HOME. PHOTO COURTESY MISSONI HOME. 

collector of found objects 

such as shells, sand, leaves 

and flowers. She concluded 

by saying that she looked 

forward to travelling while in 

Australia and in particular 

going to Uluru to experience 

the magical and unique 

colours of the Australian 

desert. 

The Museum’s inaugural 

design talk was made all the 

more special by the warmth 

and generosity of our speaker, 

Wanda Jelmini. A charming 

and confident presenter, she 

spoke and answered the 

audience’s many questions 

with characteristic Italian 

grace and style. 

Guest speaker at our next 

design talk on 19 October will 

be the world-acclaimed 

designer and self-described 

‘cultural provocateur’ Karim 

Rashid, who will give his 

unique perspective on design. 

For details look out for our 

new Design quarter booklet or 

visit powerhousemuseum.com. 

The Wanda Jelmini talk was presented by 

the Powerhouse Museum and Spence and 

Lyda as part of the Sydney Italian Festival. 

It was supported by the Italian Trade 

Commission, the Italian Chamber of 

Commerce, Porters Paints and Vogue 

Living. 

Lily Katakouzinos, 

Education Officer, 

Design & Decorative Arts

IN A DRAMATIC FASHION SHOW 

FOR TOKYO RECYCLE PROJECT 

#4, MASS PRODUCED GARMENTS 

WERE TRANSFORMED INTO THIS 

SPECTACULAR RED DRESS. 

DESIGNED BY MASAHIRO 

NAKAGAWA, 2001. PHOTO BY AI 

IWANE. 

recycling 

fashion 

Five years ago popular 

Japanese fashion designer 

Masahiro Nakagawa 

presented a collection that 

challenged the fashion 

industry itself. Selecting 

clothes belonging to fashion 

journalists and art 

professionals, he and his team 

interviewed the owners about 

the memories associated with 

them and then set about 

taking apart and reassembling 

the garments. The recyled 

clothes were then given back 

to their owners. To 

complement the project, 

Masahiro created a number of 

manga (comic book) 

characters that provided a 

story telling role. The designer 

says that the project grew out 

of his personal response to 

Tokyo’s overwhelming 

consumer culture. His project 

critiques fashion and 

consumerism but he is also 

seeking to resuscitate some 

meaning between people and 

their possessions which he 

finds lacking in contemporary 

life. 

The success of the first 

recycle project has led to 

many more, with Tokyo 

Recycle Project #15 scheduled 

to take place at the 

Powerhouse from Saturday 24 

September – Sunday 9 

October. Visitors will have the 

chance to submit outfits to be 

transformed by Masahiro and 

his team and watch the entire 

process from initial 

consultation to final display. 

The team will be designing, 

producing and transforming 

clothes daily between 10.00 

am and 4.00 pm. There will 

also be an opportunity to talk 

to the designers at 11.00 am 

and 2.00 pm daily. 

For more information about 

Tokyo Recycle Project #15 and 

how to submit clothing to be 

recycled and transformed, 

phone (02) 9217 0322 or email 

tokyorecycle@phm.gov.au. 

The Tokyo Recycle team will 

be reassembling fashion at 

the Powerhouse from 24 

September – 9 October.

+ 18 powerline spring 05


THE CUTTING EDGE: FASHION FROM JAPAN GIVES 

INSIGHT INTO THE POWER OF JAPANESE FASHION 

AND WHY IT CONTINUES TO LEAD THE WAY. 

story_LOUISE MITCHELL, CURATOR, INTERNATIONAL DECORATIVE ARTS AND DESIGN 

the cutting edge 

Radical and conceptual, challenging and 

uncompromising, functional and sometimes 

incomprehensible, fashion from Japan has 

commanded international attention since the 1970s 

and ’80s. Now a new generation of designers 

continues to lead the way using technologically 

advanced fabrics and technical ingenuity. 

The pioneers of Japanese fashion were Hanae Mori, 

the first Japanese designer to show abroad, in New 

York in 1965; the designer known as Kenzo; and Issey 

Miyake, whose name is perhaps the most well known 

in the west. After establishing the Miyake Design 

Studio in Tokyo in 1970, Miyake showed his first 

collection in New York in 1971, and in Paris in 1973. 

Along with his interest in utilising aspects of 

Japanese folk culture and traditional textiles, Miyake’s 

preoccupation during the ’70s was the development 

of fashion reduced to its simplest elements. Drawing 

on the tradition of the kimono he produced garments 

which were, essentially, square or rectangular pieces 

of cloth, with sleeves attached, that could be 

wrapped and draped around the body. 

Over the years, Miyake has collaborated with 

weavers, artists, poets, choreographers and 

photographers as part of his exploration of what 

clothes can do and be made from. While these 

stunning sculptural creations were more at home in a 

museum or art gallery, his innovative pleated clothes, 

developed in the 1990s, reflect his continuing aim to 

create practical, modern clothes that are beyond 

trends. Similarly, his current preoccupation A-POC (a 

piece of cloth), a long tube of stretch fabric that 

doesn’t require any sewing and is cut by the 

customer without wasting any material, shows an 

ongoing commitment to progressive design. 

Miyake was the first of the Japanese avant-garde to 

gain an international reputation, but it was the impact 

of Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto’s collaborative 

catwalk shows in the early 1980s that really created 

an intense awareness of Japanese fashion. 

Kawakubo and Yamamoto’s garments were 

characterised by intentional flaws, a monochrome 

palette, exaggerated proportions, drapery, asymmetry 

and gender-neutral styling. The clothes and models 

looked shabby in contrast to the power suits and 

fantasy evening dresses in vogue at the time. 

Although the clothes by these two designers were 

just as groundbreaking in Japan, it has been argued 

that the aesthetics of traditional Japanese culture, 

particularly of wabi sabi (beauty that is imperfect, 

impermanent or incomplete), and of the kimono were 

inherent within their work. Initially the response to 

these Japanese designs was hostile but within a few 

years the new aesthetic came to have a major 

influence on mainstream fashion. 

Rei Kawakubo had already established her 

commercially successful clothing label ‘Comme des 

Garçons’ (Like some boys) in Japan before she 

teamed up with Yohji Yamamo to present her 

controversial collections in Paris in the early 1980s. 

Kawakubo’s often-quoted remark, ‘I work with three 

shades of black’, belies the fact that since the mid 

1980s she has departed from her original sombre 

palette and her collections throughout the 1990s and 

early this century have often incorporated bright 

colours. Over the years her clothes have ranged from 

sombre, asymmetrical and loose fitting to colourful, 

light-hearted, romantic and structured. While her 

designs have changed a lot and her collections are 

unpredictable, in Kawakubo’s attempts to defy 

conventional beauty, her clothes are still inclined to 

offend Western assumptions of taste and tradition. 

Her stated aim is to avoid conformity and to do 

something new each time she creates a collection. 

Since parting ways with Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto’s 

collections have been characterised by romanticism 

more in tune with Western aesthetics. He is renowned 

for working mostly with black and white and his 

clothes often have a sculptural quality. Yamamoto 

likes to combine unusual materials with a 

recognisable silhouette — for example, an evening 

dress made from a felt similar to that used for billiard 

tables. His clothes are marked by historical 

references and a sense of renewal, seen in his 

blending of culture and history. 

Now in their 60s, Miyake, Kawakubo and Yamamoto 

are based in Tokyo where they head large, 

commercially successful companies that produce 

clothing lines for the local market, as well as 

participating in Paris at the twice-yearly prêt-à-porter 

collections. Their creative dominance remains 

unchallenged and the new generation of designers 

have often begun their careers working for them. 

Junya Watanabe and Jun Takahashi, for example, 

have been protégés of Kawakubo, while Kosuke 

Tsumura and Hiroaki Ohya have developed their own 

labels within the Miyake group of companies. 

Junya Watanabe is the most celebrated of the 

younger generation of Japanese designers. Like his 

mentor, Watanabe is interested in innovative textiles 

and construction techniques, describing his designs 

as ‘techno couture’. The first collection to bring him 

international acclaim was in 1995 when he showed 

slim-lined knee-length tunics and pantsuits made 

from a polyurethane laminated nylon in bright colours 

inspired by the cellophane used in theatre lighting. 

Although the garments have simple silhouettes, the 

construction is visibly complex with folds, tucks and 

pleats emphasised at the joins of the body to make 

the outfits more comfortable. 

Jun Takahashi began his design career as a cult 

figure in Tokyo’s Harajyuku, the centre of Japanese 

fashion subculture. In 2000, under the aegis of Rei 

Kawakubo, he debuted his ‘Undercover’ label in Paris 

to much acclaim. Detail, layering and eclectic use of 

colour and pattern are characteristic of Takahashi’s 

work, which he describes as lying somewhere 

between high fashion and street wear. 

Hiroaki Ohya cites Issey Miyake as the designer who 

has had the greatest influence on him. An example of 

this aim ‘to always seek or create something new’ is 

his work ‘The Wizard of Jeanz’, a remarkable series of 

21 cloth ‘books’ that fold out into clothes. Drawing 

both on origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, 

and the book The Wizard of Oz, ‘The Wizard of Jeanz’ 

is a technical tour de force that allows a book to 

transform into a ruffled neckpiece, a pair of jeans or 

an elegant evening dress 

Like Ohya, Kosuke Tsumura questions the role of 

fashion in today’s society. Since 1994 the signature 

piece for his label ‘Final Home’ has been a 

transparent nylon coat with up to 40 multifunction zip 

pockets, conceived as a final home in the case of 

natural or man-made disaster. Tsumura was 

motivated to rethink his attitude to fashion by the 

growing number of homeless living in Tokyo. The 

combination of the simplicity of Tsumura’s designs, 

coupled with their humorous functionality has made 

‘Final Home’ a top label in Japan among the young. 

The cutting edge: fashion from Japan opens on 27 

September. 

Presented by the Powerhouse Museum in association with the Kyoto 

Costume Institute. Media partners: marie claire & SBS Radio. Supporter: 

Japan Foundation. Catalogue sponsors: The Gordon Darling Foundation & 

The Suntory Foundation. 

WORKS FROM FOUR OF THE 19 DESIGNERS FEATURED IN THE CUTTING EDGE (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): POLYESTER ORGANDIE NECK RUFF, JUNYA WATANABE, 2000/01. PHOTO BY TAISHI HIROKAWA, COURTESY KYOTO 

COSTUME INSTITUTE; FELT DRESS, YOHJI YAMAMOTO, 1996.. PHOTO BY TAKASHI HATAKEYAMA, COURTESY KYOTO COSTUME INSTITUTE; DETAIL OF DRESS, JUN TAKAHASHI, 2005. PHOTO BY MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI; FROM ‘THE 

WIZARD OF JEANZ’ SERIES, HIROAKI OHYA, 2000. PHOTO BY MARINCO KOJDANOVSKI.


TO MARK THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF NSW RAILWAYS 

LOCOMOTIVE NO 1 HAS HAD A FACELIFT. 

story_MARGARET SIMPSON, CURATOR, TRANSPORT 

the long haul 

The completion of the railway line between Sydney 

and Parramatta in 1855 represented the greatest 

engineering feat in the colony at the time. In social 

and economic terms it opened up the potential for 

transporting goods and people to and from the 

growing city of Sydney. When the line was extended 

to Goulburn in 1869, it ushered in a boom time for the 

farmers, graziers and merchants there and further 

afield. Central to the building and early operation of 

the line was Locomotive No 1, one of the Museum’s 

most prized exhibits for the last 120 years. 

The story behind the first railway in NSW is a 

fascinating one. The project was plagued by political 

and bureaucratic delays, labour shortages, continual 

financial problems, ineffective engineering and 

project management and hold-ups in the arrival of 

iron rails and rolling stock. 

The driving force for its construction was the 

politician and Goulburn landholder, Charles Cowper 

(later Sir Charles). Elected to the NSW Legislative 

Council in 1843, he campaigned for a railway in 1846 

and persisted until the Sydney Railway Company was 

formed in 1848, with himself as manager and 

chairman of the board. The first turf for the line was 

turned on a rain-swept day in early July 1850 not far 

from the present-day Devonshire Street pedestrian 

tunnel in a much publicised ceremony organised by 

Cowper to rekindle investor enthusiasm for the 

project. By 1853, however, it was obvious state funding 

was needed and Cowper returned to politics to lobby 

the government to take over the line, which it did in 

1855. 

Apart from Cowper, two others played critical roles in 

building the railway: James Wallace, the engineer, 

and William Randle, the resourceful contractor who 

not only built the line but ran the first trains. Randle is 

the unsung hero whose arrival in 1852 transformed 

construction from incompetent tinkering to drive and 

action. He opened quarries, built brickworks and set 

up workshops. Most importantly, he organised the 

workers and attended to their needs. After the 

labourers all absconded to the goldfields he 

encouraged the government to bring out 500 railway 

navvies from England, recruited there by his father. 

James Wallace, the engineer, made the railway 

happen with technical innovations and new plans and 

specifications. He changed the Sydney terminus from 

Haymarket to Devonshire Street, the bridges from 

timber to stone, the track from single to double, the 

rails from timber to wrought-iron Barlow type, and 

added a branch line to Darling Harbour. For all his 

achievements, Wallace’s most lasting change from 

broad gauge to standard gauge track ironically led to 

Australia’s great gauge debacle. 

Locomotive No 1 entered the story in 1855, one of four 

locomotives built in England the previous year for the 

Sydney Railway Company. After arriving in Sydney, it 

was assembled locally and put to work hauling 

ballast trains of broken stone to build the railway. In 

May 1855, Locomotive No 1 pulled the first passenger 

train carrying the governor and his party for an 

inspection of the railway to the Long Cove viaduct at 

Lewisham. This was followed by the first trip from 

Sydney to Parramatta in August, with Locomotive No 1


FROM FAR LEFT; CONSERVATORS SUE VALIS AND ALAYNE ALVIS AT WORK ON LOCOMOTIVE NO 1. PHOTOS SOTHA BOURN; THE EARLIEST KNOWN PHOTO OF LOCOMOTIVE NO 1 TAKEN IN SYDNEY YARD ABOUT 1858. THE MAN IN 

THE TOP HAT WAS THOUGHT TO BE WILLIAM SIXSMITH, THE TRAIN’S FIRST DRIVER, BUT RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THE UNIFORM IS MORE LIKELY TO BE THAT OF A STATIONMASTER; LOCOMOTIVE NO 1 PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1905 

FOR THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF RAILWAYS IN NSW. PHOTO COURTESY STATE RAIL AUTHORITY ARCHIVES; LOCOMOTIVE NO 1 BEING REMOVED FROM ITS SPECIAL ENGINE HOUSE IN 1905. PHOTO COURTESY STATE RAIL 

AUTHORITY ARCHIVES; VIEW FROM THE FOOTPLATE WHILE ON DISPLAY IN MARTIN PLACE IN 1938 FOR THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF NSW. PHOTO COURTESY THE LATE RON DEBENHAM. 

hauling three first class carriages to accommodate 

the visiting dignitaries. 

The railway opened officially, again in the rain, on 26 

September 1855 with much fanfare, luncheons and a 

grand ball at the Prince of Wales Theatre. At midnight 

the crowd danced to William Paling’s specially 

composed Sydney Railway Waltz, complete with 

locomotive sound effects. The line was indeed a 

significant achievement, with a total length of 13 miles 

28 chains (20 km), terminal stations at Sydney and 

Parramatta and intermediate stations at Newtown, 

Ashfield, Burwood and Homebush. A tunnel was built 

at Redfern, an impressive viaduct over Long Cove 

Creek, and a total of 27 bridges and 50 culverts. The 

rolling stock included four steam locomotives, 32 

carriages and 30 wagons. 

Locomotive No 1 went on to pull goods and 

passenger trains between Sydney, Campbelltown, 

Richmond and Penrith for 22 years. In 1884, seven 

years after having been withdrawn from service, it 

was presented to the Museum by the Commissioner 

for Railways. Initially Locomotive No 1 was given pride 

of place in the Agricultural Hall in The Domain, the 

Museum’s home at the time. When the Museum 

moved to Ultimo in 1893, the locomotive was stored in 

a purpose-built engine house for viewing by 

appointment only, apart from four special occasions 

when it was taken out for display. In 1980 Locomotive 

No 1 was restored although no attempt was made to 

return it to working condition as this would have 

caused loss to the priceless and irreplaceable 

original materials. 

Since 1988, when the Museum opened in its new 

home in Harris St, Locomotive No 1 has been on 

permanent public display, complete with first, second 

and third class carriages. One or possibly two of 

these were part of the first train of 1855. All were 

converted after their passenger use to workmen’s 

vans, which ensured their survival until they were 

recovered and restored by the railways for the 

Museum, rare surviving examples of carriages of 

this vintage. 

Now as part of the 150th anniversary of railways in 

NSW the Locomotive No 1 exhibition has been given 

a well-earned upgrade. In May, scaffolding was 

erected over the train in the exhibition and 

conservators and curators set to work thoroughly 

cleaning and repairing the locomotive, its tender and 

the carriages. Four large new display cases have 

been added to the exhibition to house additional 

exhibits including over 130 railway models and an 

impressive candelabrum presented to Charles 

Cowper by the Sydney Railway Company in 1855. An 

audio visual presentation, especially adapted for 

children and narrated by Scott McGregor, tells the 

story of Locomotive No 1. 

It is very rare for a country to retain its first 

locomotive as most were scrapped. Locomotive No 1 

is one of the most significant items in the Museum’s 

collection and in the history of NSW. Happy birthday 

Locomotive No 1 and the NSW railways! 

The Locomotive No 1 exhibition is sponsored by RailCorp.


THE OBSERVATORY ADDS A NEW TELESCOPE TO ITS 

COLLECTION AND MARS COMES CLOSE TO EARTH. 

reflecting 

history 

� 

In March this year the Museum 

purchased a spectacular late 

18th century reflecting 

telescope at auction, using 

funds from the Observatory’s 

Name-a-Star fund-raising 

program. The telescope was 

made by respected London 

instrument maker Dudley 

Adams and is similar to the 

one used by James Cook to 

observe the transit of Venus 

in 1769. 

Reflecting telescopes, which 

collect starlight with large 

curved mirrors, are still 

popular today. Examples range 

from the giant Keck 

telescopes in Hawaii, with their 

10-metre-wide mirrors, to small 

home-built instruments for the 

amateur astronomer. The 

speculum metal mirrors in the 

Dudley Adams telescope 

illustrate how technology has 

changed since the 18th 

century. Modern telescopes 

now all use aluminised 

glass mirrors. 

THE DUDLEY ADAMS TELESCOPE ON DISPLAY AT SYDNEY 

OBSERVATORY IN THE TRANSIT OF VENUS EXHIBITION. PHOTO BY 

SOTHA BOURN. 

Name a star and help build 

the Observatory’s collection. 

With Sydney Observatory’s 

Name-a-Star program, 

members of the public have 

the opportunity to ‘adopt’ a 

star in their own name or in 

the name of a loved one. The 

stars are taken from the 

Observatory’s Southern star 

catalogue and recorded on 

the Observatory database. A 

special viewing of the chosen 

star through one of our 

telescopes is part of the 

package. 

A Name-a-Star package is 

both a unique gift and the 

chance to help preserve and 

expand the equipment and 

collection of Australia’s oldest 

observatory. For more 

information, please call 

(02) 9241 3767 or 9217 0478. 

Nick Lomb 

Curator of Astronomy 

THE RED PLANET. PHOTO 

COURTESY NASA. 

looking 

at Mars 

a 

In late October and early 

November Mars will be at 

opposition, which means it will 

be closer to Earth than at any 

time since 2003. During this 

time Sydney Observatory will 

be open for not-to-be-missed 

telescopic views of the 

red planet. 

People have been fascinated 

by Mars for thousands of years 

but detailed views of the 

surface had to await the arrival 

of space probes in the 1960s. 

Viking 1 and 2 were the first to 

actually land on the surface of 

the planet, in 1976, followed by 

the Mars Path Finder in 1997 

and the 2004 Mars Exploration 

Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. 

observe + 

Eighteen months later the 

rovers are still exploring. Both 

have revealed strong evidence 

that Mars was once wet 

enough to support life. 

Opportunity has found ripple 

patterns in rocks and marblesized 

balls of hematite, 

nicknamed ‘blueberries’, that 

only form in salty water on 

Earth. Spirit found rocks with 

high levels of chlorine and 

other chemicals that indicate 

the rocks were once wet. 

For details of Mars telescope 

viewings and talks visit 

sydneyobservatory.com.au. 

Martin Anderson, Astronomy 

Educator, Sydney Observatory


THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES 

THE SUPPORT OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS 

+principal partners 

SPORT: MORE THAN HEROES & LEGENDS DICK SMITH AUSTRALIAN EXPLORER BELL 

206B JETRANGER III HELICOPTER 

+senior partners 

ECOLOGIC: CREATING A SUSTAINABLE 

FUTURE 

POWERHOUSE MUSEUM @ CASTLE HILL 

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE 

SYDNEY DESIGN 05 

D FACTORY 

ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY DIVISION 

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE 2004 

INDESIGN MAGAZINE 

D FACTORY 


BOEING AUSTRALIA 

PDC CREATIVE 

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 3830 

STEAM LOCOMOTIVE 3265 

MARIE CLAIRE 

THE CUTTING EDGE: 

FASHION FROM JAPAN 

MINCOM LIMITED 

LIFE FELLOWS DINNER 2005 

POLOXYGEN 

INSPIRED! DESIGN ACROSS TIME 

THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM IS A 

STATUTORY AUTHORITY OF, AND 

PRINCIPALLY FUNDED BY, 

THE NSW STATE GOVERNMENT. 

CASINO COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND NSW 

RAILCORP 

LOCOMOTIVE NO 1 

SBS RADIO 

GREEK TREASURES: FROM 

THE BENAKI MUSEUM IN ATHENS 

THE CUTTING EDGE: 

FASHION FROM JAPAN 

SOUNDHOUSE MUSIC ALLIANCE 

SOUNDHOUSE MUSIC & MULTIMEDIA 

LABORATORY 

AUSTRALIA COUNCIL FOR THE ARTS 

AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL 

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND 

HERITAGE 

GREEK TREASURES: FROM 

THE BENAKI MUSEUM IN ATHENS 

POWERHOUSE WIZARD GREEK TREASURES: FROM THE 

BENAKI MUSEUM IN ATHENS 

+partners +supporters 

+platinum corporate members +gold corporate members +silver corporate members 

+ state government partners 

EBSWORTH AND EBSWORTH 

JCDECAUX 

LILYFIELD PRINTING 

MASSMEDIA STUDIOS 

MULTIPLEX 

NHK TECHNICAL SERVICES 

SINCLAIR KNIGHT MERZ 

TRANSGRID 

DICK SMITH 

ARAB BANK AUSTRALIA 

CAPITAL TECHNIC GROUP 

DUNLOP FLOORING AUSTRALIA 

HASBRO 

MACQUARIE BANK FOUNDATION 

NSW DEPARTMENT OF LANDS 

PETTARAS PRESS 

STREET VISION 

+australian government partners 

ARAB BANK AUSTRALIA 

THE CURIOUS ECONOMIST: 

WILLIAM STANLEY JEVONS IN SYDNEY 

SYDNEY DESIGNERS UNPLUGGED: 

PEOPLE, PROCESS, PRODUCT 

NOVOTEL SYDNEY ON DARLING HARBOUR 

OFFICIAL SYDNEY HOTEL 

TABCORP 

TAFE NSW: SYDNEY INSTITUTE 

THE RACI INC, NSW BRANCH 

THOMSON TELECOM AUSTRALIA 

WEIR WARMAN LTD 

DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

AND TRADE 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND GIVING TO THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM PLEASE CONTACT MIRANDA PURNELL ON (02) 9217 0577. 

COLES THEATRE, TARGET THEATRE, 

GRACE BROS COURTYARD, K MART 

STUDIOS 


NSW TREASURY 



RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA 



+foundations 

BRUCE AND JOY REID FOUNDATION 

GORDON DARLING FOUNDATION 

JAPAN FOUNDATION 

SUNTORY FOUNDATION 

VINCENT FAIRFAX FAMILY FOUNDATION

+ The 

exhibitions at a glance 

SEPTEMBER_OCTOBER_NOVEMBER 2005 

cutting edge: fashion from Japan 

LEVEL 5, FROM 27 SEPTEMBER 

– 29 JANUARY 2006 

Showcases the work of 19 Japanese 

designers including pioneers Hanae 

Mori and Kenzo Takada; the ‘big three’ 

Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji 

Yamamoto; and the work of a new 

generation who continue to challenge 

Western notions of fashion. 


LEVEL 4, FROM 6 OCTOBER 2005 

Featuring fashion, furniture, textiles, 

glass, graphics, ceramics and 

metalwork, Inspired! surveys 300 years 

of decorative arts and design. Discover 

the power of objects and the pleasure 

of people who use and treasure them. 

Sydney designers unplugged: people, 

process, product 

LEVEL 3, UNTIL 9 OCTOBER 2005 

Find out what it really takes to be a 

product designer! Sydney designers 

unplugged looks behind the scenes of 

seven leading product design studios. 

Morris & Co 

LEVEL 3, UNTIL 6 NOVEMBER 2005 

From the collection of the Art Gallery of 

South Australia. Furniture, tapestries, 

embroideries, curtains, fabrics, carpets, 

textiles and wallpapers designed and 

made in the workshop of William 

Morris & Co. 

Greek treasures: from the Benaki 

Museum in Athens 

LEVEL 4 UNTIL 4 SEPTEMBER 2005 

Artworks and artefacts spanning 8000 

years of Greek history including 

ceramics, gold jewellery, Byzantine 

painted icons, metalware and figurines. 

exhibitions at 


The sky and the weather 

FROM OCTOBER 2005 

Learn all about weather forecasting, 

plus much more in this fascinating new 

exhibition. 

By the light of the southern stars 

Look behind the Southern Cross and 

hear Aboriginal stories about the sky. 

travelling exhibitions 

Sport: more than heroes and legends 

SciTech Discovery Centre, Perth 

UNTIL 23 OCTOBER 2005 

Queensland Museum, Brisbane 

14 NOVEMBER 2005 – 12 FEBRUARY 2006 

Gambling in Australia: thrills, spills and 

social ills 

Coffs Harbour City Gallery 

UNTIL 15 OCTOBER 2005 

Australian Design Awards 

LEVEL 4 

WOOL DRESS, JUNYA WATANABE, COMME DES GARÇONS, 1999. COLLECTION 

KCI. PHOTO BY TAKASHI HATAKEYAMA; DEVILISH CHAOS, GLASS BOWL, TOOTS 

ZYNSKY, THE NETHERLANDS, 1995; LOCOMOTIVE NO 1 ON DISPLAY IN MARTIN 

PLACE IN 1938. PHOTO COURTESY STATE RAIL AUTHORITY ARCHIVES. 

Wollongong City Gallery 

29 OCTOBER 2005 – 29 JANUARY 2006 

Intel Young Scientist 2004 

Newcastle Regional Museum 

UNTIL 18 SEPTEMBER 2005 

Works wonders: stories about home 

remedies 

Port of Yamba Historical Society 

UNTIL 5 SEPTEMBER 2005 

Boorowa Museum, Boorowa 

16 SEPTEMBER – 29 OCTOBER 2005 

Nyngan & District Museum 

5 NOVEMBER – 11 DECEMBER 2005 

Fruits: Tokyo street style 

TeManawa Museum, New Zealand 

10 SEPTEMBER – 27 NOVEMBER 2005 

Greek treasures: from the Benaki 

Museum in Athens 

Immigration Museum, Melbourne 

FROM 5 OCTOBER 2005 – 28 MAY 2006 

Give a gift membership 


The Powerhouse selection from the 

Australian Design Awards features 

outstanding achievements in design. 

Watts ‘n’ drops 

FROM 10–18 SEPTEMBER 2005 

Learn more about water and energy 

and how to make it last the distance in 

this display jointly presented by the 

Department of Energy, Utilities and 

Sustainability, Sydney Water and the 

Powerhouse. Free weekend 10–11 

September. 

When the roof became stars: the 

Australian Federal Police investigation 

of the Bali bombings 

FROM 12 OCTOBER – 11 DECEMBER 2005 

In October 2002 two bombs exploded 

in the popular tourist centre of Kuta 

Beach in Bali, Indonesia, killing over 

200 people. This exhibition looks at the 

first eight months of the AFP 

investigation of the tragedy. 

Locomotive No 1 

LEVEL 4 

Locomotive No 1 has a facelift 

complete with a new audio visual about 

the history of railways in NSW. 

Paradise, Purgatory, Hellhole: the 

history of Pyrmont and Ultimo 

LEVEL 3, UNTIL 29 JANUARY 2006 

Experience some of the many stories 

from a community that hasn’t stopped 

changing. 

Engineering Excellence 

LEVEL 4, UNTIL 2 NOVEMBER 2005 

Outstanding projects from the 

Engineers Australia, Sydney Division, 

Engineering Excellence awards. 

TURN OVER FOR DETAILS

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from the 

collection 

Kylie Minogue wore this 

sundress during her 

memorable performance at the 

closing ceremony of the 

Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. 

The pop diva starred in a fun 

tribute to Australian beach 

culture that introduced the 

‘Parade of Icons’ segment. She 

entered the arena on an 

enormous thong, to the sounds 

of the Atlantics’ classic surf 

instrumental ‘Bombora’. Then, 

kneeling on a surfboard, she 

was carried to the stage by a 

group of surf lifesavers. Kylie’s 

sundress was identical to one 

worn by Nikki Webster during 

the opening ceremony. It is one 

of the 700 costumes, props 

and other items in the 

Powerhouse Museum’s Sydney 

2000 Games collection. 

KYLIE: an exhibition will open at 

the Powerhouse Museum on 26 

December. A celebration of 

Kylie’s contribution to music, 

stage and screen, this travelling 

exhibition has been developed 

by Melbourne’s Arts Centre, 

home of the nation’s premier 

Performing Arts Collection, to 

which Kylie recently donated 

over 300 items. 

GIFT OF THE OLYMPIC COORDINATION 

AUTHORITY ON BEHALF OF THE NSW 

STATE GOVERNMENT. 

ISSN 1030-5750 

9 771030 575004 


01

design across time - Powerhouse Museum

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