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Farewell to National Treasures

ABC Radio broadcasting from the exhibition in Hobart
Photo: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery

Preparing to pack up in Adelaide
Photo: State Library of South Australia

Treasures on display in Darwin
Photo: Museum and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory

When the National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries exhibition concluded its nationwide tour in Perth on 26 August 2007, it had been visited by a total of 417 746 people on a two-year, 13 000-kilometre journey to every capital city in the country.

Almost four years in the making, the exhibition was a very successful collaboration between Australia’s National, State and Territory libraries, under the auspices of National and State Libraries Australasia (NSLA). It was designed to showcase almost 200 of the most significant Australian treasures from the libraries’ rich collections.

Success and Sadness

Visitors flocked to the exhibition to see first-hand the iconic items that have shaped our nation—Don Bradman’s favourite bat, Ned Kelly’s helmet and Captain Cook’s Endeavour journal—and to learn the lesser-known stories, like the tragic tale of Mary Watson who, with her infant son and Chinese servant, died of thirst marooned on a North Queensland island, or of Frederick Deeming, one of Australia’s most notorious serial killers who was once thought to be Jack the Ripper.

The National Library was responsible for managing the organisation of the exhibition, from coordinating curatorial advice and conservation services, to overseeing the installation of the exhibition at each venue. The exhibition items travelled via air freight on Qantas jets in 2.8 tonnes of specially constructed crates, while a further 2 tonnes of furniture and display materials that accompanied the exhibition travelled by road in an air-ride suspension semi-trailer truck.

It was a sad occasion as the doors of the Western Australian Museum, the exhibition’s final venue, were closed on 26 August. Following final condition checks and transportation ‘home’, some objects—like Ned Kelly’s helmet—were put back on public display, but due to their fragility and sensitivity to light, many of the items were returned to storage and won’t be displayed again for some time. However, the National Library will be showcasing its greatest treasures in a soon-to-be-designed and -built Treasures Gallery from 2009.

'Treasured' Support

Such an important exhibition of ‘treasures’ required Federal Government indemnification, which was organised through the Art Indemnity Australia scheme and administered by the National Gallery of Australia. It should also be noted that the importance of this travelling exhibition was acknowledged through the unprecedented and generous sponsorship of the Principal Sponsor, AAMI, and through the generous assistance of Qantas, Hoyts, SBS, ABC Local Radio, Sofitel, Animal Logic, The Australian and Visions of Australia.

The success of the National Treasures tour is testament to the capacity of Australian libraries to cooperate and collaborate, to generate dynamic and engaging public programs, and to achieve complex and challenging nationally significant projects. To all those who visited the exhibition, we hope that you enjoyed this rare opportunity to see some of the great treasures that Australian libraries collect, hold and maintain for future generations.

Justine van Mourik
Acting Registrar, Exhibitions and Loans