Cultural Collections Projects Program List
The cultural collections projects listed below have individual position guides which provide more details on each project – to view a position guide click on the link after the project description. If you are interested in any of these opportunities please complete the Expression of Interest form.
For further information contact:
Helen Arnoldi, |
2013 Projects List
1. University of Melbourne Archives
The University of Melbourne Archives collects, manages and provides access to the historical records of the University, Victorian business, trade unions and other labour organisations, community and cultural organisations, as well as the personal papers of individuals prominent within them. Records date back to the first years of the colony of Victoria up until the present day and cover a wide field of endeavour. The Archives were established in 1960 and to date hold some 18 kilometres of records.
Archives Collection website: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/archives/
1.1 Archival Documentation – AMP Ltd Digitisation Project The primary goal of this position will be to assist the senior archivist in the documentation and preparation of the AMP Ltd series of London minute books for digitisation. For this project the student will be required to liaise with Archives staff and the University's Digitisation Service. An additional requirement will be to undertake research into the economic and social history of relations between Australia and Britain during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. |
1.2 Archival Documentation Project – AMP Ltd Collection, objects, framed items and photographs The primary goal of this position will be to document the AMP Ltd Collection of archival objects and photographs held within the University of Melbourne Archives. The collection contains artefacts and photographs which document the company's contribution to Australia's economic and social history. This project comprises of two related projects; one project will focus on the objects component of the collection and the other on the photographic component. |
1.3 Curatorial Assistant – George Paton Gallery Exhibition (Project assigned) The curatorial assistant will assist in the development of an exhibition that will be held in conjunction with the George Paton Gallery in September 2013 and utilise the George Paton Gallery Archive at UMA. The exhibition will be held in the George Paton Gallery, Union House and will focus on the director's correspondence and working relationships with artists who have been featured in the Gallery. As well as generating content for the exhibition through selection of materials, the writing of text panels and extended labels, the curatorial assistant/s will have the opportunity to assist with the layout, design and installation of the exhibition. |
1.4 Archival Documentation Project – Burnley Campus Collection* *Further details regarding this project will be listed shortly. Please contact the Cultural Collections Coordinator if interested in this collection. |
2. Physics Museum
The Museum comprises approximately 400 items of equipment and photographs spanning the history of the School of Physics. There is an emphasis on scientific apparatus constructed in the School for research undertaken by former professors and staff. Included in the collection is equipment used in the development of optical munitions during the Second World War and ruling engines and diffraction gratings produced by H.J. Grayson in the School and the CSIRO.
Physics Museum website: http://www.ph.unimelb.edu.au/museum/
2.1 Collections Management - Cataloguing Assistant Under direction the students/volunteers will assist in the cataloguing and documentation of museum objects that are housed in Physics Museum storage areas. The catalogue information will be incorporated into the museum's database where it will be accessible to the public through the museum's website. This project may be undertaken by two students/volunteers working together. |
2.2 Collection Management – Significance Assessment The primary goal of this position will be to complete a significance assessment on the Physics Museum's collection. After training in the process, the student/volunteer will use the established significance assessment methodology to provide the intellectual framework to complete a significance assessment on the Physics Museum collection. The significance assessment will be used to inform the status of the collection and future collection management decisions in areas such as conservation, acquisition/de-accession, valuation and access. |
2.3 Collection Management – Research Assistant, database/website content Under direction, the Research Assistant will create database content for a selected group of museum objects. The text created will be written for a general audience and aim to demystify the objects in the Physics collection. This information will be incorporated onto the museum's database where it will be accessible to the public through the Physics Museum's website. |
3. Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology
The Harry Brookes Allen Museum of Anatomy and Pathology collection is comprised of approximately 10,000 objects. The main collection consists of dissected human remains (organs, systems or regions). There are some specimens still held in their original glass containers, dating back to the time of Sir Harry Brookes Allen (June 1854 – March 1926). Approximately one fifth of the collection is on display at any one time. The Harry Brookes Allen Museum also includes a significant collection of historical plaster, papier-mâché and wax anatomical models imported from Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum is open to current and former students and staff for study and research.
Harry Brooks Allen Museum website: http://www.anatomy.unimelb.edu.au/museum/
3.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant The primary goal of this position will be to work with a selection of items from the Harry Brookes Allen Museum and to review, update and expand on existing catalogue records. Once fully catalogued, this additional information will be added to the HBA Museum's new electronic database, Vernon. |
3.2 Significance Assessment Project – Auzoux Papier-mâché anatomical model The primary goal of this position will be to complete a significance assessment on an Auzoux papier-mâché, life-size, full body anatomical model that was recently identified in the Physiology Department. The significance assessment will be used to inform the status of the object and future collection management decisions in areas such as conservation, acquisition/de-accession, valuation and access. |
3.3 Collection Management – Research Project – Sirenomelia and the 'Flute boy' skeleton (project assigned) The primary goal of this position will be to complete research into the history of the 'Flute boy' skeleton within the HBA collection. Purchased in Paris in 1862, the skeleton exhibits unusual pathology of the lower limbs. Research is needed to explore the background and provenance of this curious collection item and determine based on research findings, whether it is an authentic case of Sirenomelia (mermaid syndrome). This research will increase our understanding, awareness and appreciation of this unique item and the collection of which it is part. |
3.4 Collection Management – Research Project, His-Steger Anatomical Models The primary goal of this position will be to complete research into the history and provenance of a collection of His-Steger anatomical models held in the Harry Brookes Allen Museum. Research completed on the models will be used to increase understanding, awareness and appreciation of this collection. Information generated on the collection will go onto the Museum's electronic database and may be utilised in future exhibitions. |
3.5 Collection Management – Research Project, Phrenology and the University (project assigned) For this project the student/volunteer will complete research into the history of phrenology at the University of Melbourne using the death mask collection as a starting point. Limited research has been completed on the study of phrenology at the University and more research is needed to determine how influential it was on the teachings of the University's Medical School at this time. This research will increase our understanding, awareness and appreciation of the collections within the Museum and the broader context of the University. Information generated on the collection will go onto the Museum's electronic database and may be utilised to inform future exhibitions. |
4. The Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum
The Museum documents the history of dentistry and dental education in Victoria. It includes historic records and archival material, as well as dental surgery, workroom and laboratory equipment dating from the 18th century to the present day.
Visit the Museum's website at http://museum.dent.unimelb.edu.au/
4.1 Collection Management Project* *Please note details for this project are currently being finalised. If interested in this collection please contact the Program Coordinator for more details. |
5. Medical History Museum
The museum houses a research collection which documents the history of the University of Melbourne's Medical School, its teaching hospitals and achievements of its graduates and, more broadly, the history of medical practice in Victoria. The collection consists of medical, surgical and scientific instruments, archival photographs, academic certificates, personal papers and records, commemorative medals, art works and a fully equipped relocated 19th century London pharmacy.
Medical History Museum website: http://museum.medicine.unimelb.edu.au/
5.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant The primary goal of this position will be to catalogue related items that have been recently gifted to Medical History Museum's collections eg. the Saul Wiener Collection. This project will involve the completion of manual catalogue worksheets for the new acquisitions. Once fully catalogued, these new records will be added to the Medical History Museum's electronic database, Vernon. |
5.2 Assistant Curator – Venom Exhibition The primary goal of this position will be to assist the Curator in the development of the exhibition Venom. The exhibition will be held in the Museum in March 2013 to July 2013 and is one of two major exhibitions to be held in the Medical History Museum this year. |
5.3 Assistant Curator – 125 Years of Women in Medicine The primary goal of this position will be to assist the Curator in the development of the exhibition 125 Years of Women in Medicine. This will include the researching of collection material, writing of extended labels and the opportunity to assist in the layout, design and installation of the exhibition. The exhibition will be held in the museum from August 2013 to March 2014 and is one of two major exhibitions to be held in the Medical History Museum this year. |
5.4 Collection Management - Relocation and Rehousing Project The primary goal of this position will be to assist in the planning and then the relocation of part of the Museum's collections. The relocation and rehousing project will result in the movement of collection items into the compactus and the creation of object only stores. This project will aid in the long term access to, and storage of this collection. |
5.5 Collection Management - Development of a cataloguing manual The primary goal of this position will be to assist in the development of a cataloguing manual that will bring together all of the relevant procedures and practices involved in the cataloguing of objects in the MHM collections. Once created, the manual will be an essential reference tool for the collection and will help ensure a consistent approach is applied to all new collections items. |
6. Special Collections – Baillieu Library
The Special Collections comprise some 200,000 rare or historic books, serials and pamphlets and literary archives. There are incunabula, rare and first editions, Australiana, children's books, middle-eastern manuscripts, prints, theses and the Melbourne University Press collection.
Special Collections website: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/
6.1 Collection Management – Re-housing and listing, McLaren Collection (Parliamentary papers) The McLaren Collection comprises 50,000 items, including rare ephemeral pamphlet material, manuscripts, printed books and journals and realia. An enthusiastic bibliographer and former member of Parliament of Victoria, Ian McLaren assembled a large library which reflected his interests in the world of politics. The goal of this project will be the re-housing and listing of the McLaren Archive of parliamentary papers into archival boxes. This project will aid in the long term preservation of, and access to this important collection. |
6.2 Special Collections Cataloguing Placement (project assigned) The primary goal of this position will be to update the records on the online catalogue and to amend the call number flags in the books for collections housed in the English Room, the layout of which has recently been modified. This project will require the student/volunteer to use the INNOPAC cataloguing system. Student/s will be trained by in-house cataloguers and follow a well defined system of cataloguing already established within the collection. |
6.3 Exhibition Assistant – Libri: Six Centuries of Italian Books (project assigned) For this project the student/volunteer will assist Special Collections staff in the development of Libri: Six Centuries of Italian Books (working title), an exhibition that will be held in the Leigh Scott Gallery, Baillieu Library, from June to September 2013. The exhibition will showcase a selection of rare and beautiful Italian books from the Special Collections. This project work may include the researching of collection material, writing of extended labels and the opportunity to assist in the layout, design and installation of the exhibition. |
6.4 Collection Management – Rehousing and listing: Artists' books and archives Special Collections holds around 350 artists' books, the majority of which are Australian made with many created by Melbourne artists. The primary goal of this position will be the rehousing of the Artists' Book Collection and associated working archives to meet conservation standards. This project will aid in the long term access to, and storage of this unique collection. |
6.5 Collection Management 'Work Experience' Placement This placement will provide the opportunity for a student in consultation with the Deputy Curator, Special Collections, to devise their own 'work experience' project. The placement will be developed to meet the specific interests of the student while at the same time engaging with the day-to-day priorities of Special Collections. This is an excellent opportunity for a Library Studies/Information Management student who is keen to work closely with Special Collections. |
7. Baillieu Library Print Collection, Special Collections – Baillieu Library
The Collection comprises of approximately 7,000 individual prints and volumes from the 16th to early 20th centuries. It covers many printmaking techniques including woodcuts, wood engravings, copper plates, steel engravings, etchings, mezzotints, aquatints, lithographs and chromolithographs.
Print Collection website: http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/special/prints/
7.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant The primary goal of this position will be to check information and undertake research on a selection of prints from the Baillieu Library Print Collection. Catalogue fields that will require particular attention include dates, attributions and print states and the student will need to research these areas using catalogues raisonnés and other appropriate resources. There may be the opportunity to pursue additional research on individual prints as required in order to supplement the catalogue record and this information will also be added to the collection database. Further goals may include the creation of new catalogue records and reviewing creator record entries against a standard resource (ULAN). |
7.2 Collection Management – Exhibition narratives compilation The primary goal of this position will be to assist in the research, writing and compilation of interpretive material to be used for exhibition labels, text panels and the on-line catalogue. This information will subsequently be added to the Narratives module of the EMu (Electronic Museum) database which will serve to enhance and expand the collection catalogue and may be used towards future exhibitions of the collection internal and external to the Baillieu Library. |
7.3 Collection Management - Research Assistant, Drawing Collection The primary goal of this position will be to complete in depth research on the collection of European drawings that are housed within the Baillieu Library Print Collection. This information will be used to better understand the drawing collection within the context of Western art history and as a resource within the University. There is also scope to suggest directions toward future collection and policy development related to this collection. Information will subsequently be added to the EMu (Electronic Museum) database which will serve to enhance and expand the collection catalogue. |
8. Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library: Rare Materials Collection
The Rare Collections of the Music Library are diverse in both content and origin. Though the Conservatorium was founded in 1891, there was no library at all until 1908, and for many years members of the teaching staff provided music for their students ad hoc. Some of these items are still with the library, augmented by numerous donations and purchases over the past century. The manuscripts are chiefly of works by Australian composers from the colonial period to the present day, while the printed music includes many early and rare editions of European composers from Corelli to Stravinsky. Among both the musical scores and the smaller collection of books on musical topics there are many unusual and obscure items.
For more information on the collection go to http://www.lib.unimelb.edu.au/collections/music/rare/
8.1 Collection Management – Preventative Conservation, Music manuscripts The primary goal of these positions will be to apply basic conservation practices to two orchestral manuscripts held in the Rare Collections of the Louise Hanson-Dyer Music Library. The 16 orchestral manuscript parts to Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots (uncatalogued) and 11 orchestral manuscript parts to L'Africaine (catalogued) are currently in a fragile state and require basic conservation cleaning and rehousing to ensure that the historical information they contain is preserved and accessible for the future. |
8.2 Collection Management – l'Oiseau-Lyre Archive* *Please note this project will be available in the second half of the year with details to be listed closer to that time. If interested in working with this collection please contact the Program Coordinator for more information. |
9. Ian Potter Museum of Art
The Potter houses the University of Melbourne Art Collection, comprising Australian art, classics and archaeology, international, Indigenous cultural material and decorative arts.
Ian Potter Museum of Art website: http://www.art-museum.unimelb.edu.au/
9.1 Collection Management – Photographic and Inventory Project (project assigned) The primary aim of this project will be to photograph approximately 150 works from the Edith Alsop Study Collection with these images to be added to the museum's electronic database EMu. Edith Alsop was a Melbourne artist practising in the interwar period whose artistic endeavours included painting, drawing, printmaking and book illustration. A secondary part of this project will be the completion of an inventory of these works. |
9.2 Collection Management - Cataloguing and Conservation of the Herbst Poster Collection* This project will involve the manual cataloguing and conservation flattening of a selection of posters from the Gerard Herbst Poster Collection. The collection comprises approximately 3,000 posters and contains important examples of international and Australian graphic design from the twentieth century. As part of the project, and so that the student/volunteer gains experience in various aspects of collection management, they may also assist in an inventory of the collection and other related duties. *Please note this project will be available in second semester |
10. Victoria College of the Arts: VCA Art Collection
The VCA Art Collection spans the entire history of the College and its predecessor, the National Gallery School of Art. Comprising painting, sculpture, photography and works on paper, most works are by students, staff or alumni. It includes work by such notable practitioners as John Brack, John Vickery, Jan Nelson, Jon Campbell and Sally Smart. There are also many life paintings and drawings from the National Gallery School by prominent alumni including Hugh Ramsay, Charles Wheeler and Constance Stokes. The Margaret Lawrence Australian Ceramics Collection was bequeathed to the Collection in 2004 and comprises some 500 pieces of Australian ceramic work from the 1920s through to 2004.
For more information on the VCA see http://www.vca.unimelb.edu.au/art/about
10.1 Collection Management - Catalogue /Inventory assistant – works on paper* The primary goal of this position will be to complete an inventory and compile basic cataloguing information on a selection of works on paper that form part of the VCA Art Collection. The inventory and cataloguing of works is an important part of standard collection management practice and ensures that the collection is accessible, tracked and well managed. Once the inventory and cataloguing has been completed, records generated will be added to the VCA's collection database. *Please note this project will be available in second semester |
10.2 Significance Assessment - Margaret Lawrence Australian Ceramics Collection (project assigned) The primary goal of this position will be to complete a significance assessment on the Margaret Lawrence Australian Ceramics Collection (MLACC) which forms part of the Victorian College of the Arts collections. The significance assessment will be used to inform future collection management decisions on areas such as conservation, acquisition/de-accession, valuation and access. |
11. Grainger Museum
The Grainger Museum was established in the 1930s by the composer, pianist and folklorist Percy Grainger, to show the 'sources from which composers draw their inspirations'. The collection includes music manuscripts and printed editions by many composers, correspondence, musical instruments, ephemera, photography and fine and decorative arts.
Grainger Museum website: http://www.grainger.unimelb.edu.au/
11.1 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant The goal of this position will be to catalogue a selection of materials from the collections of the Grainger Museum and to review, update and expand on existing catalogue records. Once fully catalogued, these new records and the expanded entries will be added to the Grainger Museum's electronic database. |
11.2 Collection Management – Catalogue Assistant, Ella Grainger Correspondence For this project the student/volunteer will be required to list or to expand on existing catalogue records for a selection of letters from the Ella Viola Ström/Grainger correspondence collection housed in the Museum. Ella Ström was an artist and poet living in London prior to meeting and marrying Percy Grainger. She had significant relationships with Rt. Hon Frederick Leverton Harris (1864 – 1926) and Shogun Prince Tokugawa Iyemasa (1884 - 1963). Once fully listed, these new records and the expanded entries will be ready to be added to the Grainger Museum's electronic database. |
11.3 Collection Management – Research Support, History of Exhibitions The goal of this project is to create a database which documents in the one spreadsheet the ways that the Grainger Museum collections have been interpreted, used and displayed over the years. This database will be a valuable record and resource for future researchers, curatorial staff and users of the collection. |
11.4 Preventative Conservation – John Harry Grainger scrapbooks The primary goal of this position will be to apply basic conservation practices to the John Harry Grainger scrapbooks that contain architectural prints, engravings and articles compiled by the architect. The scrapbooks are currently in a fragile state and require basic conservation cleaning and rehousing to ensure that the historical information they contain is preserved and accessible for the future. |
12. The University of Melbourne Herbarium
The University of Melbourne Herbarium was established at the School of Botany in 1926. Its collection dates back to the 1850s and totals approximately 100,000 dried pressed plant specimens from all major plant groups. The specimens are used predominantly for teaching and research. The main emphasis of the collection is Victorian flora, however, for some plant groups interstate and overseas collections are included to adequately cover the range of variation within the group. Being an archival plant collection of international importance, the Herbarium contributes substantially to the School of Botany through research, teaching, public relations and the exchange of specimens and information locally and globally.
See the Herbarium's website at http://www.botany.unimelb.edu.au/herbarium/
12.1 Collection Management – Preventative Conservation, Harry J Swart Collection (drawings)* The Harry J Swart Collection comprises of leaf infecting fungi specimens and associated hand drawings. The goal of this project will be to rehouse these drawings to meet archival standards and to create a basic catalogue (spreadsheet) of the drawings to aid in the management of this collection. |
12.2 Collection Management - Cataloguing, Botanical Model Collection* The goal of this project will be to catalogue the Botanical Model Collection which contains approximately 130 teaching models of botanical specimens acquired by the School of Botany in the early 20th century. The project requires the adding/updating of information to the collection catalogue, compiling of locations, photographing, noting conditions and where necessary rehousing the models. |
12.3 Collection Management – Research, Burnley Herbarium Collection The Burnley Herbarium Collection comprises of approximately 3000 specimens and was donated to the University of Melbourne Herbarium. It currently remains separate from the main collection. The Burnley Gardens at the Burnley campus date back to 1861, when the Horticulture Society of Victoria established experimental gardens on the site. The campus is situated on 9 hectares of heritage listed gardens with the grounds having operated as a learning centre at the forefront of horticultural education since 1891. Very little is known about this collection or its history and the goal of this project is to discover more about the provenance of the collection. |
12.4 Preventative Conservation and Documentation project - Burnley Herbarium Collection* The Burnley Herbarium Collection comprises of approximately 3000 specimens donated to the University of Melbourne Herbarium. The main goal of this position is to ensure that specimens in the Burnley Herbarium Collection undergo basic preventative conservation practices to ensure their longevity and that they are fully documented on the database. The conservation re-housing and documentation of specimens within the collection will ensure that database is current and complete and that all specimens are housed to conservation standards. *Please note this project will be available from semester two |
12.5 Conservation re-housing project - Breidahl Moss Collection c.1880-1900* *Please note this project will be available from semester two |
13. Tiegs Museum, Department of Zoology
The Tiegs Museum of the University of Melbourne was established in 1887 and is Australia's oldest university museum of zoology. The collection, accumulated over 120 years, has an extensive collection of specimens representing the whole animal kingdom, ranging from small invertebrates to prepared whole-mounts and skeletons of vertebrates There is also a collection of microscope slides, with contributions from Professor Baldwin Spencer and other former researchers in the department, and a large number of reprints and other historical documents of cultural significance. The collection is used primarily in the teaching undergraduate classes.
For more information on the museum and its collections http://zoology.unimelb.edu.au/tiegs/
13.1 Collection Management – Research Assistant, Georgina Sweet (project assigned) This goal of this research project will be to explore the contribution made by Associate Professor of Zoology, Georgina Sweet (1875-1946) and her father George Sweet (1844-1920), to the Tiegs Museum in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The research generated will be incorporated into the Museum's catalogue and may also be utilised on the Museum's website. This project will increase our understanding and appreciation of the specimens and artefacts in the Tiegs Museum and provide a broader context in which to view the collection. |
14. School of Chemistry Collection
The School of Chemistry Collection comprises over 300 items used for chemistry teaching and research at the University of Melbourne from the 1850s to 1960s. It includes glassware, measuring and experimental apparatus, burners, bottles of chemicals, balances, catalogues and lecture notes. Many items are of historical significance due to their association with key figures in the history of science in Australia such as Frederick McCoy, Henry Joseph Grayson, Ernest Johannes Hartung, David Orme Masson and John MacAdam.
14.1 Exhibition Curator – School of Chemistry Collection For this project the student/volunteer will develop a small exhibition showcasing the School of Chemistry Collection. The exhibition will focus on items from the collection and will be installed in the display cases located on the ground floor of the Chemistry Building, Parkville campus. |
15. Classics and Archaeology Collection
The Classics and Archaeology Collection showcases the University's significant collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquities that are housed within the Ian Potter Museum of Art. From the initial donation of five Egyptian papyri in 1901, the collection has expanded through donations and purchases, with significant accessions in every decade of the twentieth century. The collection has also grown through the efforts of particular staff members of the departments of Classical Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Fine Arts and History and its shape largely reflects their specific teaching and research interests. Although the pattern of collecting has been unstructured, after a century the result has been the development of three important collections, namely the Classics, Cypriot and Middle Eastern collections.
For more information on the collection go to: http://vm.arts.unimelb.edu.au/classics/
15.1 Collection Management projects* *Further details regarding these projects will be listed shortly. Please contact the Program Coordinator if interested in this collection. |