Permanent Exhibitions
Casting the Ancient World
1st floor, Old Arts Building, open during normal business hours.
This small exhibition celebrates a fascinating group of plaster cast objects from the University's Classics and Archaeology Collection. The casts are reproductions of Near Eastern, Egyptian, Minoan and Greek originals dating from the 4th millennium BCE to the 2nd century CE, largely acquired by the Classical Studies and Middle Eastern Studies departments in the 1920s, 1930s and the 1950s. Many of the Classical casts were obtained by Professor Jessie Webb (a lecturer at the University from 1908 to 1944) for display in the Old Arts Building. The reproductions presented offer an opportunity to study objects from the ancient world which would not generally be seen in Australia. The display discusses the variety of roles that plaster casts can play within museums, concentrating on their use for the study and interpretation of languages, literary sources, cultural and religious practices, government and administrative systems, as well as artistic styles and techniques.
The exhibition was curated by students Liz Cohen and Kerrianne Stone as part of the Student Projects Program (Cultural Collections) in 2006.
Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology
The displays of the Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology include a selection of artefacts such as historical teaching models. The principal displays comprises exhibit the normal anatomy and histology of the organs or systems alongside examples of various pathologies, together with the corresponding radiology.
While not usually open to the general public, there are opportunities throughout the year for various groups to visit the museum, including the University's annual Open Day held in August.
Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum
The dental journey: From tusks to teeth to the vulcanite age
The principal display area of the Henry Forman Atkinson describes the dental journey, starting with the primary historic role of the dentist to relieve the troubled subject from the unpleasantries of dental pain. Drawing on the museum’s rich and extensive collection, the exhibition explores the progression of dentistry from one of treatment based on charms and spells, through extraction, conservation and restoration of teeth, to the emergence of dentistry as a profession, and the vulcanite age.
Significant items on display include an extensive range of dental extraction keys; early instruments for plugging and cleaning teeth; a fascinating collection of dentures made from bone, ivory, porcelain and human teeth, some with springs for retention; an 1890s dental chair and other ‘fitting room’ furniture, as today’s surgery was then known.
Location: Ground floor, Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne, 720 Swanston Street, Carlton, Map Reference J22.
Open Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm. For access on weekdays contact the curator Ms Louise Murray on murrayl@unimelb.edu.au or tel 9341 1518, or the school office on 9341 1500, Saturday by appointment with the curator.
Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum
Major Kenneth Russell, pioneer dental surgeon, WWI 1914–1918
A new display from the collection of the Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum, 5th floor display case, School of Dental Science, Map Reference J22.
This small but intriguing display looks at the work of Major Kenneth Russell D.D.Sc (1885–1945) during world war 1. After serving with the AIF as a dental officer in Egypt and France, Russell was transferred in 1917 to the special face and jaw hospital in Sidcup, Kent, England. He cared for patients with jaw and facial injuries and trained dental officers in the special methods of treatment used at that time.
He also made collections of teaching models and appliances for the Universities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The display is part of the original Melbourne collection that was housed in the museum of the Australian College of Dentistry. Now part of the Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum, the collection is possibly the only remaining example of treatment techniques from this period.
Medical History Museum
2nd floor, Brownless Biomedical Library (map reference J 13)
The permanent display of the Medical History Museum includes a fully equipped relocated 19th-century London pharmacy, as well as displays of microscopes, surgical equipment including military field amputation sets, many types of medical and therapeutic apparatus, commemorative items and academic ceremonial dress. These are complemented by a regularly updated temporary display.
Admission is free of charge and opening hours are 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Physics Museum
Level 2, School of Physics, Swanston Street (map reference E 20)
The display area of the Physics Museum covers five main themes:
- Optical Munitions: Apparatus emerging from optical munitions research directed by Professor T.H. Laby during the Second World War. This includes early optical glass samples made by Professor E.J. Hartung and original prototype tank sites and other related instruments.
- Scientific instruments: Apparatus developed and used within the school for research, such as Professor Lyle's mechanical equivalent of heat apparatus, and early magnetrons developed within the school.
- Ruling engines: Ruling engines and diffraction gratings developed by Henry Grayson and Professor T.R. Lyle.
- Early X-ray tubes: The development of the modern X-ray tube from early gas X ray tubes through to Coolidge tubes, rotating anode tubes and a modern tube for comparison.
- Calculating machines: A comprehensive collection of early calculating machines ranging from early 20th century mechanical pin wheel machines and slide rules to more recent electronic desktop and hand held calculators.
There is also a transmission electron microscope: the JEOL 100CX TEM, used for research and teaching in the 1970s. It has been sectioned allowing close examination of the electromagnetic lenses, object stage and viewing screen.
The Physics Museum display may be visited free of charge between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
Surveying and Geomatic Engineering Collection
Department of Geomatics, 4th floor, Engineering Building C (map reference L 17)
The permanent display of the Surveying and Geomatic Engineering Collection includes examples of each of the types of instrument used for astronomical, angular and distance measurement, together with instruments for the computation, plotting and presentation of the survey data, during the entire period of European occupation of Victoria. It illustrates continuing development in the nature and precision of measuring instruments available to the surveyor.
The display benefitted from new showcases and explanatory wall panels made possible by a grant provided by the University's Cultural Collections Committee in 2006 and additional funding provided by the Faculty of Engineering.
There is no charge to visit the collection, which is accessible during normal working hours.
Tiegs Zoology Museum
The displays of the Tiegs Zoology Museum include skeletons, models, mounted skins and wet specimens of vertebrate and invertebrate animals of Australia and elsewhere.
Access is by appointment; for further information contact Vivien Porter, email v.porter@zoology.unimelb.edu.au, telephone (03) 8344 7041.
University Art Collection on Campus
Most of the art works displayed throughout the University faculties and grounds form part of the University Art Collection which is managed by the Ian Potter Museum of Art. A large number of these art works have been purchased, gifted to or commissioned by the faculties in which they are displayed. For example, the Faculty of Arts and Faculty of Education each have strong collections of Australian art on display, purchased through the 1970s and 1980s. The Ernst Matthaei Memorial Collection of Early Glass, named in memory of the optics expert who worked in the University’s departments of physiology and botany, comprises early British glassware and is on permanent display in the lower east dining room of University House. On display in the historic 1888 building on Grattan Street is a fine collection of Australian art from the 1930s to 1950s, the A.J. Law Collection, which includes paintings by Daryl Lindsay, Ernest Buckmaster and Arnold Shore and was assembled by an early Principal of the Melbourne Teachers College, for the benefit of teachers in training.
The sculptures and murals located across gardens and buildings of the Parkville campus and other campuses play an integral role in both student inquiry and beautification of the learning environment. The brochure Sculpture on campus provides an easy walking trail through the campus with information about the sculptures and artists, such as Inge King, Guy Boyd and Bruce Armstrong. The brochure is available from the foyer of the Potter, or from the Cultural Collections Co-ordinator, or the Information Office on Swanston Street.
For further information regarding the University Art Collection please visit the Ian Potter Museum of Art web site.