Queensland Museum Annual Report 2004–2005 Queensland Museum Annual Report 2004–2005 Directory Queensland Museum Queensland Museum Museum of Tropical Queensland PO Box 3300, Hendra Annexe 70 –102 Flinders Street SOUTH BRISBANE, QLD, 4101 122 Gerler Road TOWNSVILLE, QLD, 4810 Telephone: (07) 3840 7555 HENDRA, QLD, 4011 Telephone: (07) 4726 0600 Fax: (07) 3846 1918 Loans Service Fax: (07) 4721 2093 www.qm.qld.gov.au Telephone: (07) 3406 8344 www.mtq.qm.qld.gov.au Fax: (07) 3406 8355 The Workshops Rail Museum Geology Store North Street Telephone: (07) 3406 8344 PO Box 2234 Queensland Museum South Bank NORTH IPSWICH, QLD, 4305 Telephone: (07) 3432 5100 Corner Grey and Melbourne Streets Fax: (07) 3432 5114 PO Box 3300, www.theworkshops.qm.qld.gov.au SOUTH BRISBANE, QLD, 4101 Telephone: (07) 3840 7555 Cobb+Co Museum Fax: (07) 3846 1918 27 Lindsay Street www.southbank.qm.qld.gov.au TOOWOOMBA, QLD, 4350 Telephone: (07) 4639 1971 Fax: (07) 4638 5791 www.cobbandco.qm.qld.gov.au Lands, Mapping and Surveying Museum Corner Main and Vulture Streets PO Box 40 WOOLLOONGABBA, QLD, 4102 Telephone: (07) 3896 3000 Fax: (07) 3896 3275 WoodWorks: the Forestry and Timber Museum Corner Bruce Highway and Fraser Road Locked Bag 13, Fraser Road GYMPIE, QLD, 4570 Telephone: (07) 5483 7691 Fax: (07) 5482 1773 The Hon. Rod Welford, MP Minister for Education and Minister for the Arts Dear Minister, I take pleasure in presenting to you the Annual Report of the Board of the Queensland Museum for the year ending 30 June 2005. Anne Jones Chair Board of the Queensland Museum Presented to Parliament Queensland Museum Annual Report 2004–2005 Queensland Museum Our Vision The Queensland Museum is valued as an innovative, exciting and accessible museum of science, environment and human achievement, of international standing. Our Mission The mission of the Queensland Museum is to enrich and enliven the cultural, social and intellectual life of all Queenslanders. Our Values In fulfi lling its mission, the Queensland Museum is committed to the following guiding values: • Excellence Queensland Museum strives for the best in everything it does. • Relevance Queensland Museum is a responsive organisation that is sensitive to changing community issues and audience needs and wants; in this way the Queensland Museum remains as a vital component of contemporary Queensland society. • Working Together Queensland Museum establishes and nurtures partnerships with diverse communities and organisations; and within the Queensland Museum, teamwork and respect for individual contribution and endeavour are valued. • Ongoing Learning Queensland Museum meets the learning needs and expectations of our broad audience at all stages of their lives. • Diversity Queensland Museum recognises, respects and celebrates the State’s biological, cultural and regional diversity. • Cherishing Collections Queensland Museum achieves its mission through the collection, interpretation and preservation of material evidence. Queensland Museum Annual Report 2004–2005 Highlights and Achievements • An increase in annual recurrent Government funding • Visitor numbers at all major Queensland Museum of $2.5 million was secured for the ongoing operation campuses increased to record attendances. of The Workshops Rail Museum. The Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville • The Museum continued to successfully repatriate broke its opening year visitation record with a total ancestral remains, burial goods and secret- of 73,264 visitors. Visitation at The Workshops Rail sacred objects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Museum at Ipswich increased by 18 percent over Islander communities. the previous year to 82,473; Toowoomba’s Cobb+Co • Research Assistant Mr Geoffrey Thompson was Museum numbers increased by 13 percent to 44,636; awarded a 2005 Queensland Smithsonian Fellowship and the Queensland Museum South Bank achieved to further develop his skills in scientifi c insect the best visitation in 18 years with 584,304 visitors. illustration at the National Museum of Natural History, • The Queensland Premier Peter Beattie opened the Washington DC, USA. Queensland Museum South Bank’s new entrance and • Marine biologist Dr Peter Arnold, from the Museum Sciencentre in September 2004. of Tropical Queensland, was involved in a pivotal • Construction began on the Queensland Museum discovery of a new species of dolphin from the South Bank Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Snubfi n Dolphin, Cultures Centre, due to open in December 2005. Orcaella heinsohni. • Toowoomba City Council signed a three-year extension • Terrestrial biodiversity staff worked with Brisbane of the Cultural Card initiative, which provides free City Council to survey invertebrates within the city’s access for local residents to the Cobb+Co Museum. bushland as an indicator of ecosystem health. They • Burdekin Shire, Charters Towers City and Dalrymple discovered more than 100 new species, approximately Shire Councils joined Townsville City Council and 300 others that are probably new (but their identities Thuringowa City Council as partners in the Museum currently remain elusive), and many more not of Tropical Queensland Council Community Pass. This previously recorded from the Brisbane region. initiative provides local residents with free access to • New palaeontological excavations at the ‘Elliot’ site the Museum. near Winton in Far West Queensland recovered more • The innovative BioBus travelling biotechnology than 80 dinosaur bones. education program, developed by the Department • The 2005 Queensland Museum medals were awarded of State Development and Innovation and managed to Mrs Nerolie Withnall, Mrs Rae Sheridan and by the Queensland Museum, began its regional tour Mr Bruce Campbell. in Toowoomba. Celebrating our Success • A signifi cant exhibition, Troppo! North Queensland • The Workshops Rail Museum and Museum of Larger than Life, opened at the Museum of Tropical Queensland were fi nalists in the 2004 Tropical Queensland. Queensland Tourism Awards (Heritage and Cultural • The Thirteenth International Marine Biological Tourism category). Workshop — The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton • The Workshops Rail Museum won the 2004 Bendigo Bay — was sponsored and co-organised by the Bank, Ipswich Chamber of Commerce Business Award Queensland Museum. for Tourism. • The Friends of Thomas event at The Workshops Rail Museum was highly commended in the 2004 Gallery and Museum Achievement Awards conducted by Museums Australia (Qld). • The Museum of Tropical Queensland won the Golden Target Award in the 2004 Public Relations Institute of Australia Awards. • The Museum of Tropical Queensland was the inaugural winner of a Gallery and Museum Achievement Award in recognition of its Council Community Pass initiative. • The Museum of Tropical Queensland won the Cultural and Heritage Tourism category of the North Queensland Tourism Awards. The Minister for Education and Minister for the Arts, Anna Bligh (right), the Chair of the Board of the Queensland Museum, Anne Jones (second left), and the Director of the Queensland Museum, Ian Galloway (centre), celebrate with Queensland Museum Medal and Queensland Museum Scholarship recipients Queensland Museum Annual Report 2004–2005 Contents 2 Report from the Chair Board of the Queensland Museum 3 Report from the Director Queensland Museum 4 Board of the Queensland Museum 5 Organisational Structure and Responsibilities 6 Strategic Direction: 7 1. Leadership and Excellence 19 2. Delivering Museum Services to Queensland Regional and Outer Metropolitan Areas 26 3. Respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures 28 4. Developing Diverse Audiences 30 5. Lifelong Learning 31 6. Taking Queensland to the World 33 7. Management 35 8. Resources Appendices: 38 I Functions and Powers of the Board 40 II Annual Performance Indicators 46 III Publications 53 IV Grants and Consultancies 57 V Overseas Travel 58 VI Temporary Exhibitions 61 VII Sponsorships 63 VIII Financial Statements Queensland Museum Annual Report 2004–2005 1 Report from the Chair Board of the Queensland Museum Visitor numbers also increased at all other major campuses including Ipswich, Toowoomba and Townsville. The quality of the regional campuses was recognised with several awards including the selection of The Workshops Rail Museum and Museum of Tropical Queensland as fi nalists in the 2004 Queensland Tourism Awards, Heritage and Cultural Tourism category. Another signifi cant achievement in 2004–2005 was the groundwork for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures Centre due to be opened in December 2005. The Museum’s successful repatriation program, which returns ancestral remains, burial goods and secret-sacred objects to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, has assisted in fostering deep and ongoing relationships with Indigenous Queenslanders. The Queensland Museum appreciates the ongoing support of the Queensland Government and I gratefully acknowledge the increase in annual recurrent Government On 20 January 2004, the Queensland Museum was 142- funding of $2.5 million for the operation of The Workshops years-old, only three years younger than the State of Rail Museum. Queensland itself. The support and advice of the Minister for Education and For any major institution in a rapidly changing world, the Minister for the Arts, Anna Bligh, during 2004–2005 were challenges are to maintain output of the highest possible deeply appreciated. standard, remain relevant to the audience and have a clear strategic direction.