Macleay Museum

The Macleay Museum's first new director in more than 25 years took up her appointment in February. Vanessa Mack was previously head of registration at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum and was a member of the committee which reviewed the Macleay Museum in 1993.

The Museum has joined the electronic revolution. Several members of staff can now be contacted on email:

Vanessa Mack, Director: (vanessa@macleay.usyd.edu.au)
Susie Davies, Curator of Ethnography: (susie@macleay.usyd.edu.au)
Julian Holland, Curator of Scientific Instruments: (julian@macleay.usyd.edu.au)
Stuart Norrington, Vertebrate Collection Manager: (stuart@macleay.usyd.edu.au)

Otherwise the Museum can be contacted by conventional means: Macleay Museum, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006. Ph. (02) 351 2274; Fax (02) 351 5646.

A continuing program of exhibitions includes themes touching on the history of science. "Reading Heads & Ruling Passions", an exhibition which looks at the rise of phrenology and its spread to America and Australia, opened in March. This exhibition was initiated by Dr Michael Shortland of the Unit for History and Philosophy of Science, and was prepared with the assistance of a group of HPS students. "Reading Heads & Ruling Passions" will run until 30 November 1995. (See News article about this exhibition)

"Upstairs, Downstairs", an exhibition exploring the history of the Macleay Museum building opened on 6 September. The building, specifically erected to house the Macleay family natural history collections in the 1880s, has been used by other University departments for much of its history, especially the School of Biological Sciences. This long-term exhibition has been mounted in the ground-floor foyer with interpretative panels leading the visitor up the stairs to the Museum gallery.

The Museum's major exhibition for 1996 will explore an unfamiliar sidelight of natural history in Australia. It will look at the work of women taxidermists in the late 19th century, focusing particularly on Jane Tost and her daughter Ada Rohu. The exhibition is scheduled to open in February. Readers who may be able to contribute information or exhibits, or who wish to know more about the exhibition, should contact Susie Davies.

- Julian Holland, Macleay Museum

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