Media Releases

MEDIA RELEASE - Monday, 28 November 2005

Library treasures tell the great Australian story

National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries, an exhibition which tells the great Australian story, opens at the National Library of Australia on 3 December 2005.

The exhibition, four years in development, will tour 175 iconic objects drawn from the magnificent collections of Australia’s national, state and territory libraries to every capital city over the next two years.

Director-General Jan Fullerton said this is the most ambitious exhibition ever undertaken by an Australian library. “National Treasures is unparalleled for its scale, significance of content and for the scope of its touring schedule.

“After the huge success of Treasures from the World’s Great Libraries, the Council of Australian State Libraries (CASL) wanted to show the superb collections held in the nation’s major public research libraries which reflect our past as well as contemporary Australia.

“It is a joint venture between the National Library as manager and the state and territory libraries in lending their treasured items and providing curatorial and conservation assistance. We are also most grateful for the unprecedented support of our corporate sponsors and the Australian Government.”

The exhibition includes manuscripts, maps, books, paintings and objects which have been brought together for the first time. Each item has been carefully chosen for its narrative power and how it relates to the people, places and events that have made the nation what it is today.

Divided into eight themes, National Treasures spans the earliest European depiction of the Southern Cross drawn in the 16 th century, through our convict and colonial era, two world wars, recent innovations, our cultural life and our obsessions with sport, food and wine.

Exhibition curator Margaret Dent said the exhibition’s strength is about seeing the real thing. “Original material is enormously powerful because it links you to the actual event. National Treasures presents personal accounts of perseverance, good and bad luck, and success and failure, which are at times awe-inspiring, at other times saddening, but always illuminating.

“Some stories we know well but knowledge of others has diminished over time. Through National Treasures, Australians will see their history with new eyes.”

Every object describes a moment of significance in our changing society:

National Treasures from Australia ’s Great Libraries
National Library of Australia 3 December 2005 12 February 2006
Open daily 9am – 5pm (Closed Christmas Day)
Free entry

nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au

The exhibition is complemented by an extensive catalogue for sale in the National Library Bookshop, RRP $34.95, or online at www.nla.gov.au/onlineshop/. Online exhibition and education kit available at nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au

National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries is travelling to every capital city until late 2007. See nationaltreasures.nla.gov.au for full tour details.

National Treasures is part of Canberra 's From the Vault exhibitions. For more information visitcanberra.com.au

Media contact:

Yvonne Kennedy
Director Communications and Marketing
Telephone: 02 6262 1353 or 0411 753 891
Email: ykennedy@nla.gov.au

Susan Grigson
Telephone: 02 6262 1571
Email: sgrigson@nla.gov.au

This exhibition was made possible by Art Indemnity Australia, an Australian Government program through which the Commonwealth acts as insurer in case of any loss or damage to an indemnified exhibition. Without Art Indemnity Australia, the high cost of insuring significant cultural items would prohibit the touring of this major exhibition. For this exhibition the managing organisation for indemnity is the National Gallery of Australia.

This exhibition is supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia.


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