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Showcasing the visual art collection of the Burke Memorial Museum of the Ovens Goldfield
By Scott Jessup and David Andre
Shortly after the discovery of gold on the Ovens Goldfield in 1852, cultural institutions and collections started to be established.
In 1856, the Beechworth Young Men's Association was formed. It was comprised of traders, merchants and few professionals who had been the first to take advantage of the town land sales and regarded themselves as permanent residents.
In 1857, this group constructed a lecture hall and reading room for their own exclusive use. This building became the Beechworth Public Library and Athenaeum and, in 1863, the Association decided to build a museum in memory to the much-admired explorer Robert O'Hara Burke. Burke had served as Superintendent of Police at Beechworth from 1854 to 1858. It was agreed that a museum, because of its scientific nature, would be a fitting tribute to an explorer.
The museum was added to the existing Beechworth Public Library and Athenaeum building in Loch Street, Beechworth, making it one of the earliest regional museums in Victoria.
The museum became an 'institutional scrapbook' of nature and culture. The early collection consisted of natural history specimens (mounted bird specimens, rocks and minerals), ethnographic material of Aboriginal, Fijian and African origins, and works of art.
The museum received Visions of Australia funding earlier this year to tour Following the Fortune Hunters: the Art and Culture of the Ovens Goldfields.
Following the Fortune Hunters examines the Burke Memorial Museum's art collection, placing the works in their historical context, to tell the story of life on the Ovens Goldfield. The historic collection held by the museum continues to inspire Beechworth's artistic community. This exhibition demonstrates tangible ways for present day communities to create new objects that continue to preserve their past and present history.
The exhibition will contextualise the history and heritage of the goldfields in the period from the 1850s to the 1880s, and it will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gold in Victoria.
A key component of the exhibition, however, will look at the way this history has continued to inspire local artists.
With one full-time staff member and two part-time staff, the Burke Memorial Museum is perhaps the smallest museum to receive a Visions grant. Significant partnership with the Beechworth Arts Council and the Bank of Victoria Museum in Yackandandah, helped make the exhibition possible.
The exhibition at the Albury Regional Art Gallery opened in November 2000 and will tour to seven mainly regional venues in Victoria and New South Wales.
Contact
For more information and Visions of Australia application details visit the website: www.dcita.gov.au, phone: 1800 819 461, or contact the Visions of Australia Project Officer on (02) 6271 1627.
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