Our Cultural Collections A guide to the treasures held by South Australia’s collecting institutions Art Gallery of South Australia. South Australian Museum. State Library of South Australia. Car- rick Hill. History SA. Art Gallery of South Aus- tralia. South Australian Museum. State Library of South Australia. Carrick Hill. History SA. Art Gallery of South Australia. South Australian Museum. State Library of South Australia. Car- rick Hill. History SA. Art Gallery of South Aus- Published by Contents Arts South Australia Street Address: Our Cultural Collections: 30 Wakefield Street, A guide to the treasures held by Adelaide South Australia’s collecting institutions 3 Postal address: GPO Box 2308, South Australia’s Cultural Institutions 5 Adelaide SA 5001, AUSTRALIA Art Gallery of South Australia 6 Tel: +61 8 8463 5444 Fax: +61 8 8463 5420 South Australian Museum 11 [email protected] www.arts.sa.gov.au State Library of South Australia 17 Carrick Hill 23 History SA 27 Artlab Australia 43 Our Cultural Collections A guide to the treasures held by South Australia’s collecting institutions The South Australian Government, through Arts South Our Cultural Collections aims to Australia, oversees internationally significant cultural heritage ignite curiosity and awe about these collections comprising millions of items. The scope of these collections is substantial – spanning geological collections, which have been maintained, samples, locally significant artefacts, internationally interpreted and documented for the important art objects and much more. interest, enjoyment and education of These highly valuable collections are owned by the people all South Australians. of South Australia and held in trust for them by the State’s public institutions. The Our Cultural Collections publication The South Australian Museum’s collections provide us shines a spotlight on each of South Australia’s cultural with information about some of the very earliest geological heritage collections, encouraging their discovery and phenomena known, as well as holding crucial pieces of deepening understanding of the extraordinary cultural information about the fauna of South Australia and heritage held in our State. beyond. The continued collection of survey samples from across the State provides an ever-expanding physical Some of the most significant and iconic items in these database of information about our land and its geological collections are featured within this publication. Each past, while also giving us clues about its physical future. item, whether a historical document, car or ship, scientific specimen or work of art, has a story. Our Cultural Its anthropological collections are equally significant and Collections aims to ignite curiosity and awe about these make up the largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres collections, which have been maintained, interpreted and Strait Islander cultural artefacts and family history in the documented for the interest, enjoyment and education of world. These collections are important, not just to South all South Australians. Australia and its Aboriginal people, but to many other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people whose material The cultural heritage collections of South Australia are heritage, and associated documentation, is held in trust by fundamental to capturing and understanding the past, the South Australian Museum, often in collaborative but they are also key to understanding the present and arrangements with traditional owners. our possible future. The collections of History SA are critical to an understanding South Australia’s cultural heritage portfolio is impressively of the history of South Australia. They document all diverse. The collections highlight, reflect and inform the aspects of life in the state from the earliest days of history and culture of our State, its people and its history. European settlement until the present. Importantly, through the contemporary collections of the Migration Museum, we can hear the stories of people who have come to South Australia from all over the world. Carrick Hill also provides a very specific perspective on a period of South Australia’s history. 3 Our Cultural Collections The cultural heritage collections of These cultural heritage collections held in South Australia’s South Australia are fundamental to public institutions represent the link between current generations and those that came before, as well as those capturing and understanding the past, that will follow. They help us understand who we are, but they are also key to understanding why we are here and where we are heading. the present and our possible future. Similarly the State Library of South Australia holds a collection of nearly everything published and printed in or about our State, from the very early days of published materials to the present day’s digital frontier. The Library continuously accumulates information about South Australia and its residents through a vast array of documents, images, objects, film, audio and digital files that are generated and captured by this institution. These sit among collections related to items of broader international significance, such as the Children’s Literature Research Collection and collections of ancient manuscripts. The Art Gallery of South Australia’s collections put us in touch with the ideas, aesthetics and aspirations of the world’s critical and creative thinkers from antiquity to the present day. This cultural resource provides many ways for the community to think, feel and respond to ideas and experiences and informs and inspires the creative outputs of future artists. Our Cultural Collections also highlights the highly specialised behind-the-scenes role of Artlab Australia, the State’s conservation agency. 4 Our Cultural Collections South Australia’s Cultural Institutions The highly valuable collections of South Australia’s major cultural institutions offer great insight into our past, present and possible future. Art Gallery of South Australia Library actively collects, preserves and gives access to the The Art Gallery of South Australia has one of the largest art State’s historical and contemporary documentary heritage, museum collections in the country numbering approximately as well as providing public programs that enhance South 41,000 works of art from Australia, Europe, North America Australia’s cultural life. It also supports the South Australian and Asia. The collections feature paintings, sculptures, public libraries network and cooperates with other State prints, drawings, photographs, textiles, ceramics, glass, and interstate agencies to enhance economic, educational metalwork, jewellery and furniture. The diverse Australian and social benefits for South Australia. collection is a comprehensive survey of Australian art from colonial to contemporary – with a strong commitment to Carrick Hill Aboriginal art, while the European collection features Carrick Hill was built in 1939 and is one of Australia’s few Greek and Roman antiquities and works from the late historic period houses to survive with its original contents fifteenth century up until present day. Also of particular almost completely in tact. It was originally the home of note is the Asian collection, which is one of the most wealthy Adelaide couple Sir Edward ‘Bill’ Hayward and distinguished collections of its type in Australia. Lady Ursula Hayward (nee Barr Smith) and contains their private art collection. This diverse collection of fine and South Australian Museum decorative arts from France, Britain and Australia includes For more than 150 years the South Australian Museum masterpieces of British modernism and outstanding has been collecting, researching and sharing the stories examples of seventeenth-century furniture and house of Australia’s unique natural and cultural heritage, and is fittings. Adelaide architect and family friend James Irwin today one of the most highly visited museums in the designed the house around its furniture and fittings and country. It cares for collections of national and international overall it has the appearance of a seventeenth-century significance including the Australian Polar Collections, the English manor house. The Haywards bought items that Australian Biological Tissue Collection, and the Australian reflected their broad ranging interests and fascination with Helminthological Collection. The Museum’s Australian contemporary thinking, with many of these artworks Aboriginal Material Culture Collection is recognised as one considered souvenirs of their travels. of the world’s most comprehensive collections of ethno- graphic objects and boasts an unparalleled depth both History SA historically and geographically. The Museum also has a History SA is a leading history and museum organisation strong reputation for research collections in the fields of that researches and preserves the history of South Australia Mineralogy and Palaeontology. The Museum’s Archives for future generations. As well as running a State-wide consists of tens of thousands of individual items, most of community history program and managing the State which relate to Aboriginal people throughout Australia History Collection, it also manages three museums: the dating from the 1840s to the present. Migration Museum, South Australian Maritime Museum and the National Motor Museum. These three museums State Library of South Australia comprise History SA’s public face and draw on the State The State Library of South Australia is the largest public History