Portrait of Robert Smith, Gordon Binsted, 1955Robert Smith Collection, Bass Coast Shire.
By Christine Grayden
WHAT a fantastic night for Bass Coast museums at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victorian branch 2021 awards this week.
The Churchill Island cataloguing team was Highly Commended in the small staff Victorian Collections category. This was a great team effort between curators, other Phillip Island Nature Parks staff and volunteers to get so many extra images and associated quality entries from the Churchill Island collection onto this publicly accessible online cataloguing program.
This was followed by Bass Coast Shire Council being Highly Commended in the new ‘gallery’ Victorian collections award category for all their wonderful work getting much of the Robert Smith Art Collection catalogued and online.
WHAT a fantastic night for Bass Coast museums at the Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victorian branch 2021 awards this week.
The Churchill Island cataloguing team was Highly Commended in the small staff Victorian Collections category. This was a great team effort between curators, other Phillip Island Nature Parks staff and volunteers to get so many extra images and associated quality entries from the Churchill Island collection onto this publicly accessible online cataloguing program.
This was followed by Bass Coast Shire Council being Highly Commended in the new ‘gallery’ Victorian collections award category for all their wonderful work getting much of the Robert Smith Art Collection catalogued and online.
The Phillip Island and District Historical Society was also shortlisted in recent years for the Volunteer Museum award for their “Phillip Island at home and at war World War II” project of YouTube videos, essays and online exhibitions.
So great to see them all featured up on the screen during the YouTube presentations.
Churchill Island has amassed well over 1000 images over the years, thanks largely to Carroll Schulz, the first manager under government ownership Victoria Conservation Trust, who was a meticulous record keeper.
So great to see them all featured up on the screen during the YouTube presentations.
Churchill Island has amassed well over 1000 images over the years, thanks largely to Carroll Schulz, the first manager under government ownership Victoria Conservation Trust, who was a meticulous record keeper.
Ted Jenkins and Churchill Island pony Winks. Photo: Churchill Island Heritage Farm collection
I am currently going through two large albums of his and marrying the images with information he left about many of the projects undertaken during his time of management – 1979-1993 or so.
During the Ted Jenkins era of ownership from 1936-1963, Ted Jenkins’ friend Arthur Evans was a mad keen photographer and gifted a number of albums to Churchill Island, both to Sally O’Neill in the early 2000s, and also to me during my time as curator. I kick-started the online cataloguing onto Victorian Collections fairly early on as it is free, public and managed by AMAGA Vic, with IT being done by Museums Victoria staff.
Churchill Island also has some photos from the 1880s or so from a professional photographer who visited Churchill Island with then owner Samuel Amess (who brought the mystery cannon there). These came as digital images from the Historic Places section of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Lots of other people have taken photos over the years and passed them on. I took many when curator of all sorts of things happening on the place, but I don’t think they are on VC yet. There are also press photos from local and other papers, and several A3 archived binders of newspaper and magazine cuttings as well. It’s quite extraordinary, and will take a long time to digitise.
Phillip Island & District Historical Society has over 3000 images and other items catalogued on Victorian Collections. While our museum is packed up awaiting the new building, the small but dedicated team of cataloguers will be continuing the work in a shared space in the Phillip Island & District Genealogical rooms in old kinder next door to the Advertiser.
Christine Grayden is a former curator of the Churchill Island Museum and a long-time member of the Phillip Island & District Historical Society. She has a lifetime achievement award from Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victoria.
During the Ted Jenkins era of ownership from 1936-1963, Ted Jenkins’ friend Arthur Evans was a mad keen photographer and gifted a number of albums to Churchill Island, both to Sally O’Neill in the early 2000s, and also to me during my time as curator. I kick-started the online cataloguing onto Victorian Collections fairly early on as it is free, public and managed by AMAGA Vic, with IT being done by Museums Victoria staff.
Churchill Island also has some photos from the 1880s or so from a professional photographer who visited Churchill Island with then owner Samuel Amess (who brought the mystery cannon there). These came as digital images from the Historic Places section of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Lots of other people have taken photos over the years and passed them on. I took many when curator of all sorts of things happening on the place, but I don’t think they are on VC yet. There are also press photos from local and other papers, and several A3 archived binders of newspaper and magazine cuttings as well. It’s quite extraordinary, and will take a long time to digitise.
Phillip Island & District Historical Society has over 3000 images and other items catalogued on Victorian Collections. While our museum is packed up awaiting the new building, the small but dedicated team of cataloguers will be continuing the work in a shared space in the Phillip Island & District Genealogical rooms in old kinder next door to the Advertiser.
Christine Grayden is a former curator of the Churchill Island Museum and a long-time member of the Phillip Island & District Historical Society. She has a lifetime achievement award from Australian Museums and Galleries Association Victoria.