Annual Report 2001-2002 - Western Australian Museum - The ...

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Western Australian Museum–
Science and Culture
COLLECTIONS MANAGEMENT
Anthropology
During this year, the department made substantial progress with repatriation of Aboriginal secret/
sacred and skeletal material. As reported last year, the Museum is committed to the return of
religious objects and human skeletal remains to those elders/communities who wish to assume
control of such material. Following the return of a large number of religious items to the Warburton
Community last year, a further small set of religious items was identified and returned this year.
Mance Lofgren prepared additional human skeletal material held for the Department of Indigenous
Affairs for shipment and transferred it to that department for interment.
The Return of Indigenous Cultural Property Program, a joint State–Commonwealth Government
undertaking (managed by the Department of Communication, Information Technology and the
Arts), provided funding to enable the Museum to appoint a consultant. Kim Akerman (an Honorary
Associate) visited communities in the Kimberley and the Pilbara to discuss material in the
Museum’s collections and to determine the wishes of the various stakeholders.
Moya Smith’s preparatory work for an exhibition of the Museum’s Egyptian collection resulted
in further information on some of these objects, and also provided an opportunity for assessing
their physical status and for improvements to their storage.
Ross Chadwick, assisted by contract worker Katherine Robinson, made considerable progress
this year in placing register entries of archaeological specimens in the departmental database.
History
The needs of the new Maritime Museum and the Mid West Gallery of the new Geraldton Museum
were the main focus. The latter required selection and retrieval of more than 200 objects from
the collection, their documentation and conservation. A number of interesting items from the
Geraldton area were donated for display, including a shell wedding cake (c. 1880), donated by
the Geraldton Historical Society, which was made by William (Crabbie) Davis (1843–1928) for
the wedding of one of his eleven children.
Objects from the history collection have been lent to exhibitions such as Gold and Civilisation
(Canberra and Melbourne), Cultural Context of Federation 1890–1910: South Perth Connections,
and Aanpassen and Invisibility, and to institutions including the National Maritime Museum, the
Constitutional Centre and Government House.
Items donated to the collection included a replica baker’s cart built in Kalgoorlie c. 1907. This
was used in Labour Day processions, driven by a young child who threw bread rolls to the
watching crowd, and pulled by a large billy goat. After treatment, the cart will be displayed at
the Fremantle History Museum and then in Kalgoorlie.
The History Collections Policy has been updated in line with the department’s strategic direction
and the guidance document provided by the Heritage Collections Council.
Registrar Wendy Bradshaw attended the Museums Australia conference in March 2002 and
used the opportunity to discuss collections management and database issues with curators
and registrars from several Australian institutions. At present only one-third of the collection is
available on the collections database.
Kate O’Shaughnessy returned to the department to assist until the arrival of the new curator of
Fremantle Programs. Kate’s extensive knowledge of the collection enabled a backlog of objects
to be assessed and accessioned.
WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM ANNUAL REPORT 2001–2002