Postera Crescam Laude Taking Care of the Cultural Collections at the University of Melbourne Robyn Sloggett and Tony Arthur

Postera crescam laude Taking care of the cultural collections at the University of Melbourne Robyn Sloggett and Tony Arthur Early days: The development preferred destination for education decade before the University was of the University of Melbourne’s and that for those who remained in opened, the 1841 census of cultural collections the colonies the ‘temptations of Melbourne recorded a settler lucrative employment were … population of 4,479. 6 When the The University of Melbourne is a irresistible’. 3 The University Australian Colonies Government Act of remarkable demonstration of the Chancellor wrote of ‘the great 1850 heralded the development of intellectual and cultural development necessity that the Professor of classics Victoria as a self-governing colony, of the City of Melbourne and the should be of hopeful persevering, and planning began in earnest for a State of Victoria. The complexity, constant mind; not to be discouraged university and public library. On 3 contribution and reach of the at his outset by deficiencies in his July 1854 the Governor Sir Charles University are notable. With a budget pupils’. 4 Hotham laid the foundation stones of over $1 billion (to put this in Despite this shaky start the for both institutions. A year later the context the State of Victoria’s budget University was, from the beginning, population of Victoria had reached for 2007–2008 is around $33 billion) an important cultural provider in the more than 240,000. 7 The University and its own postcode, the University emerging colony. The National was perceived as a critical is not only a key player in the Museum of Victoria, known to development, necessary for the intellectual life and development of Melburnians as the McCoy Museum, education of those who would this city and this state, it is also a although funded by the Victorian contribute to the social, political and major economic driver and an Government, was housed on campus economic development of the colony. important cultural resource. until 1901 and its mix of natural Each of the four initial subjects: In 1856 however the future of the science specimens and examples of ‘Greek and Latin Classics with University of Melbourne was less Victoria’s technological development Ancient History’; ‘Mathematics Pure than secure. The Age ridiculed the drew 22,520 visitors in 1858 and and Mixed’; ‘Natural Science’; and University as being a costly toy, 37,000 in 1861. Historian Geoffrey ‘Modern History, Modern Literature, claiming ‘it would be twice as cheap Blainey noted, ‘The university was far Political Economy and Logic’, was … to close the university and send all more popular as a pleasure resort than supported by collections of library the students to Oxford or as an institution of learning; for the material and of material culture. 8 Cambridge’. 1 On opening day, 13 students studying for a degree did not These early collections can be April 1855, only 16 students enrolled; exceed thirty in any one year until the characterised as those with a primary one disappeared after the first day and 1860s.’ 5 objective of supporting the teaching four others dropped out by the end of The University was conceived and streams with a focus on their use by the year. 2 The University’s annual developed in a climate of rapid students, such as the Pathology report of 1856 noted somewhat wryly change and expansion, and a growing Collection, and those that had a that, although Council had expected a sense of the value and potential of the public profile and serviced a more larger number of candidates, it was role of the Colony of Victoria within general and more public cultural need, not surprised that Europe was the the British Empire. A little over a such as the Museum and Library University of Melbourne Collections , Issue 1, November 2007 3 collections. The professor of natural colonial institution (and later as a Fryett’s groundbreaking 1902 X-ray science Frederick McCoy’s teaching contributor to nation-building). The or skiagram prints which show blood collection doubled as the National University’s cultural collections vessels in the vascular system (in the Museum of Victoria collection. So reflected and contributed to both Medical History Museum), are popular was the public role of the agendas. examples of the thousands of items of University’s collections that the 1857 The cultural collections of the international significance held at the annual report of Council noted ‘The University are exceptional. Immense University. That donors, who have the Museum and Library are both open in scale but, until recently, relatively choice of a range of destinations for to the public every day.’ 9 British hidden from the community beyond their gifts, favour the University of institutions were keen to support the the University (with the exception of Melbourne as the repository for their fledgling University of Melbourne. the collections of the University objects indicates the esteem in which The University of Edinburgh and the Library, the University of Melbourne the University is held, and the very University of Cambridge, for Archives, and the Ian Potter Museum real import of its motto Postera example, sent out natural history of Art, each of which has a defined crescam laude .10 Nevertheless it is true specimens. Similarly library materials public role), they reflect the material that many of the cultural riches of the were sourced from institutions in culture of the various disciplines that University are known by relatively few other colonies and the United engaged the minds of scholars in the outside their own departments and, Kingdom. Soon these collections were University. The collections also reflect while available, are not always easily supplemented with Australian the support from the community of found. material and they began to represent donors and benefactors who saw (and dual teaching and research platforms, continue to see) the University as a A relatively invisible asset highlighting the opportunity to build repository, as well as a generator, of new knowledge based on proximity to knowledge. Objects such as the The reasons for the relative the ‘new world’, and demonstrating specimen of Epaltes cunninghamii invisibility of some of the University’s the need to inculcate the knowledge collected during Captain James cultural material are numerous but in and cultural competencies of Mother Cook’s first voyage to the east coast of general relate to two main issues: England. For the University of Australia (in the Herbarium); the cataloguing and condition. As a Melbourne, the acquisition of cultural Moniac, a mechanical and hydraulic whole the University’s cultural material was part of the acquisition of model of the interrelationship collections are on a par with state cultural capital, and by extension, between macroeconomic principles collections across the country. When social legitimacy and international used to demonstrate economic the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ recognition. The University needed to principles at the London School of Committee published its first report build competencies in those Economics (in the Faculty of on Australia’s university collections in disciplines which were core to a Economics and Commerce); the 1996, the University of Melbourne European academic ideal, as well as Nimrud ivories (in the Classics and claimed 16 collections. By 2007, and showcase its strengths as a key Archaeology Collection), and George with a systematic focus on collection 4 University of Melbourne Collections , Issue 1, November 2007 Interior of old Central Library, University of Melbourne, c.1901, sepia print photograph. UMA/I/1007, University of Melbourne Photograph Collection, University of Melbourne Archives. identification and needs (and the the Leonhard Adam Collection in the and even irregular, care. The addition of the Victorian College of Museum of Art. responsibilities of others such as the the Arts Collection), another 17 had The care of these collections has University of Melbourne Art been added to this list. Many of the been various. Many collections Collection and the University of 33 collections include sub-collections reflected the somewhat serendipitous Melbourne Archives are enshrined in that are highly significant in their collecting aspirations of a single the University statutes, and are own right, such as the Bright Family academic, who without a university- managed and profiled as important Papers and the Malcolm Fraser wide collection management national resources. It is Information Collection in the University Archives, framework was able to provide Services (previously known as the or the Grimwade Art Collection and dedicated, but often unsystematic Information Division) however that University of Melbourne Collections , Issue 1, November 2007 5 has responsibility for the majority of management over 150 years had remains presented by the East India the University’s ‘cultural’ collections. created problems of immense Company and the Miocene tertiary As part of Information Services the proportion. That this survey indicated fossils presented by the Imperial University Library (referred to as ‘the a more extensive issue was Mineralogical Institute of Vienna. 13 Library’ in this paper) manages the highlighted when further surveys of The exercise book used to log the University library collections, the the Grainger Museum and the University’s developing collection of University of Melbourne Archives Archives were undertaken, and when biological specimens records some of and the Grainger Museum. the program of significance the earliest natural history accessions By the 1990s, the Library, in assessment and identification of and indicates similar collection common with other major university conservation needs indicated the development. Until Baldwin Spencer’s libraries, had well-developed requirement for remedial action as a arrival in 1887 the collection cataloguing standards and established whole of university strategy. consisted of material donated by approaches to the preservation of its The history of the library institutions such as the University of collections. What it lacked were the collections reflects the histories of Edinburgh or Cambridge University.

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