Historical Museum Archives - Page 3 of 19

25 February 202310 February 2023

Feared and Revered

Celebrating female power through the ages, Feared and Revered examines the diversity of spiritual females from cultures across the globe. Located at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra, until 27 August 2023, the exhibition has over 160 objects from the British Museum. There is also a section on Australian Indigenous female ancestral figures.

What’s on Display

With artifacts from six continents covering 5,000 years, the variety of items on display is impressive. If you like ancient history or archaeology, you will love this exhibition, because of its diversity. Not only does it cover the usual Egyptian and Greek periods, but includes China, India, South America and the Pacific.

We found the statues from the Middle East were great, with Ishtar, Sekhmet and Isis all represented. Greek and Roman culture was covered by Amphorae decorated with Persephone and statues of Hecate, Athena and Demeter. Medusa was also present in a small carving.

The statues from India and Mexico were ones we had not seen before, along with the masks from the far east and South America.

If you are in Canberra before August 2023 this is a great exhibition. We were very pleased that we went along.

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Yawkyawk - Northern Territory Australia Feared and Revered — Yawkyawk – Northern Territory Australia

Kubaba Turkey 1000-800 BCE — Yawkyawk – Northern Territory Australia

2 February 202325 January 2023

Port Macquarie Museum

Museum displays designed to look like shop fronts

Port Macquarie Museum

Located in the centre of town, the Port Macquarie Museum preserves the area’s history from colonial settlement and its dependance on the timber industry to the tourist destination it is today.

Parking is available on street, or you can walk there from your accommodation, depending where you are staying.

The Museum

Divided into eight themed rooms and galleries the museum is well laid out and curated with many interesting exhibits. The room detailing Port Macquarie’s convict past has a full size display of a man receiving the lash as punishment for a misdemeanor. Somewhat graphic, it does show how brutal Australia’s past was.

An interesting room called the Street of Shops displays artifact collections as if they were is a window display. The entire room is setup to look like a street with shop windows. Each window has its own themed display from timepieces to a dentist’s surgery.

Port Macquarie’s past relied heavily on the timber industry; particularly cedar which grew locally. A large room shows how the timber was processed and what it was used for. Unfortunately, the harvesting of so much cedar means it is now a rare tree to find in the wild.

This was an interesting museum to visit and learn more about the local history.

Koala statue Port Macquarie Museum — Koala statue

Mannequin of a British soldier — Koala statue

14 January 202312 January 2023

Trial Bay Gaol

Trial Bay Gaol

Now a heritage listed ruin, Trial Bay Gaol originally served as housing for a prisoner labour force to build a nearby breakwater. The breakwater was intended to provide a safe harbour for ships sailing up the eastern Australian coast. Construction of the gaol commenced in 1877, with work on the breakwater following in 1889 after delays caused by funding shortfalls.

Planning however underestimated the strength of local storms with the work constantly washed away. By 1903 only 20% of the breakwater had been completed, but with huge cost over-runs. Improvements in sea-going vessels and with an overland route established, the project was cancelled and the gaol closed.

The gaol found a renewed purpose with the commencement of World War One, when it was used as an internment camp. High ranking Germans and prominent German businessmen were housed here until July 1918 when they were moved to Holsworthy Interment camp.

Following its second closure, all moveable fittings were sold. It then fell into disrepair and became the runs we see today.

Getting There

Located in the Arakoon National Park and managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service Trial Bay Gaol is roughly an hour’s drive north of Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-north coast. We drove from Port Macquarie and made it a day trip in the area, including nearby South West Rocks.

Walking through the ruins shows how bleak living here would have been. The cells are small and would have been cold in winter and hot in summer. The roofless buildings and hollow interiors have a haunting atmosphere and were great fun to walk through.

Watch out for the resident kangaroos, there were around ten there when we visited. One even had a joey in its pouch.

Views over the coastline are spectacular especially from the guard towers on the walls.

Once we had finished with the gaol, we drove through the nearby camping ground for a close-up look of the coast. The area is very popular with campers many of them were on the water fishing in boats.