Wet conditions in humid climates, and especially with the recent floods in eastern Australia, exacerbate the problem of household damp and mould. For collectors, this is likely to affect sensitive items, such as furniture and works of art on paper. So remember to check your collection regularly, and follow some of the precautions that heritage consultant Robert Griffin suggests.
Many buildings in Australia have been recognised for their architectural or historical significance, or their association with important individuals. Some have been preserved, and some have not. Jillian Dwyer relates the story of Currajong in Melbourne’s east, the Italianate villa built by the prominent colonial Melbourne jeweller William Lamborn in 1886-7 for his comfortable retirement, and the issues raised on different levels in the battle to save the house.
There are sound reasons why you should have good photographs of items in your collection, whether as a record, for research, for publication, for sale and for insurance.
One of the first events organised by the Australiana Society’s Queensland Chapter was a visit to Miegunyah, the historic house museum owned and operated by the Queensland Women’s Historical Association in Bowen Hills, Brisbane for the past 50 years. For the visit in June 2018, local member Judith McKay acted as a guide, giving members a snapshot of the association and its extensive museum and archival collection; recently she undertook a significance assessment of the collection under the National Library’s Community Heritage Grant program.2 Here she tells the story of the association and its pioneering efforts to preserve Queensland’s heritage.
Vaucluse House has been in public ownership since 1910, initially managed by a government-appointed board of trustees as a public park and historical museum, and latterly managed as a house museum under the control of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW (now known as Sydney Living Museums). Megan Martin looks at the work of the early Vaucluse Park trustees, their approach to the house and its grounds, and their legacy of substantial acquisitions which survive today in the collection at Vaucluse House.
Some people are or have been particularly influential in the development of appreciation and understanding of our heritage in Australia. Here we pay tribute to three individuals who contributed significantly, each of them in different ways, and who will be sadly missed both personally and professionally.
