Westpac Long Gallery 200 Treasures of the Australian Museum stock shots. Visitors to the gallery explore the entanglement cabinets and the interactive displays.
Westpac Long Gallery 200 Treasures of the Australian Museum stock shots. Visitors to the gallery explore the entanglement cabinets and the interactive displays.
Westpac Long Gallery Entanglement - Canowindra Fish Fossils
Abram Powell
The Canowindra fish fossils evoke images of geological catastrophes and ancient lake ecosystems frozen in time. If discovered a century earlier, when Darwin had yet to publish his theory of evolution, they would have been interpreted in light of the Biblical flood and the young Earth theory.
We now know life on Earth stretches back billions of years. Secrets are still being teased from beneath layers of sediment, revealing long extinct creatures and changing environments. Even Sydney’s past has been uncovered – a once-drowned river valley, a haven for Aboriginal settlement and a city with a harbour full of marine life today.
Scientific ideas and the instruments of research are always evolving, leading to new ways of looking at things. The search goes on, whether in places rarely trod by human feet – deep caves and mines or remote environments – or stored on museum shelves. Science and the human thirst for knowledge do not stand still.
Showcase 20 Photographed 7 Sept 2021
Westpac Long Gallery Entanglement - Theban coffin and mummy
Abram Powell
For Westerners, Egypt was a country steeped in mystery, classical imagination and archaeological adventure. This was reinforced in the early 20th century by spectacular rediscoveries of tombs laden with mummies and artifacts and the subsequent competition to acquire such objects by both museums and private collectors.
This demand drove the black-market trade in antiquities and the production of fakes. Some even found their way into museums. A century later, new technologies revitalised the study of old collections – unfortunately revealing occasional forgeries – and advanced the field of forensic archaeology. Secrets are now teased from objects without opening them up.
Ancient Egypt was a place where life and religion were heavily influenced by nature. Survival depended on the rise and fall of the Nile. Gods manifested as animals; for instance, Thoth as an ibis or Anubis as a jackal. And fertility, death and rebirth were intricately linked. It was a culture that deeply illustrates the connections between humans and nature.
Showcase 16 Photographed 7 Sept 2021
Westpac Long Gallery Entanglement - Krefft's Chair
Abram Powell
Glimpse the world of 19th century colonial science, when the dramatic shift from amateur naturalists to museum scientists first occurred. Centre stage is the chair of Museum Curator Gerard Krefft. You can imagine him sitting in it, watching developments and planning his own participation in the changes.
The early 19th century was a time of great international enthusiasm for the fledgling colony’s unusual wildlife. Natural history was open to all. Even women were encouraged to collect or illustrate, but not ‘do’ science – a situation little changed by the late 1800s. Unfortunately, important specimens were lost to Australia as they were shipped off to England.
Krefft’s tenure at the Museum from 1860–1874 marked major changes in colonial science. Rapidly growing local institutions now retained and studied objects and specimens, and the first universities were operating. The period also heralded heated debates on evolution, with Krefft one of the few Australian scientists in Charles Darwin’s corner.
Showcase 1 Photographed 7 Sept 2021
The Westpac Long Gallery housing the 200 Treasures of the Australian Museum opening is celebrated by an opening red carpet gala event on 20 October 2017.
Westpac Long Gallery 200 Treasures of the Australian Museum stock shots. Visitors to the gallery explore the entanglement cabinets and the interactive displays.
A museum guided tour for visitors to delve into the AM’s newly renovated public spaces and reopened permanent galleries and exhibitions. Photograph taken in the Wild Planet exhibition.
A museum guided tour for visitors to delve into the AM’s newly renovated public spaces and reopened permanent galleries and exhibitions. Photograph taken in the 200 Treasures of the Australian Museum exhibition.
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