2004 2005 ANNUAL REPORT MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS & SCIENCES INCORPORATING THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM & SYDNEY OBSERVATORY The Hon Bob Debus MP Attorney General, Minister for the Environment and Minister for the Arts Parliament House Sydney NSW 2000 Dear Minister On behalf of the Board of Trustees and in accordance with the Annual Reports (Statutory Bodies) Act 1984 and the Public Finance and Audit Act 1983, we submit for presentation to Parliament the annual report of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences for the year ending 30 June 2005. Yours sincerely Dr Nicholas G Pappas Dr Anne Summers AO President Deputy President ISSN 0312-6013 © Trustees of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences 2005. Compiled by Mark Daly, MAAS. Design and production by designplat4m 02 9299 0429 Print run: 600. External costs: $14,320 Available at www.powerhousemuseum.com Contemporary photography by MAAS photography staff: Sotha Bourn, Geoff Friend, Marinco Kojdanovski, Jean-Francois Lanzarone and Sue Stafford (unless otherwise credited). Historical photos from Museum archives. Contents 02 President’s Foreword 03 Director’s Report 04 Mission and structure 05 Organisation chart 06 Progress against Strategic Plan 07 Goals 2005-06 08 Museum honours th 09 125 anniversary celebrations 10 Highlights of 2004-05 11 The Powerhouse Foundation 11 Evaluating our audiences, exhibitions and programs 12 Exhibition program 13 Travelling exhibitions 13 Public and education programs tm 15 SoundHouse and VectorLab 15 Sydney Observatory 16 Indigenous culture 16 Regional services 17 Migration Heritage Centre 18 The Museum online 18 Collections Australia Network 19 Publications 19 The collection 19 Collection valuation 20 Acquisitions 20 Collection management 21 Collection storage (PATH project) 21 Collection loans 21 Museum archives 22 Museum Members 22 Volunteers 22 Sponsors and supporters 23 Sustainability 23 Staff development 24 Human Resources 24 EEO 24 Occupational Health and Safety 24 Risk management and insurance 25 Trends 26 Financial report 48 Appendices 68 Index FRONT COVER - IMAGE CREATED BY MCMANN AND TATE FOR 125TH ANNIVERSARY. SWAGMAN C1890 TYRRELL COLLECTION. WALKMAN 2004, POWERHOUSE COLLECTION. L-R - STAFF OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM 1919; STAFF OF THE POWERHOUSE MUSEUM 2004 ANNUAL REPORT 04/05 01 President’s Foreword This was the year in which we celebrated 20,000 people participated in workshops, None of this could have been achieved th the 125 anniversary of the Museum. In lectures and seminars presented by the without a great deal of effort from a great planning the events we wanted not only to Museum across the State. Off-site visitor many people, to whom I pay tribute and celebrate the past, but saw it as an figures also reached record levels, with offer thanks, including my fellow Trustees. opportunity, drawing on the lessons of those another 700,000 people attending our I extend particular thanks to Professor Ron years, to leave a legacy on which our future exhibitions in thirty four regional, national Johnston who retired after nine years of as Sydney’s great museum could be built. It and international locations. dedicated service as a Trustee and warmly is satisfying to be able to record in this welcome Judith Wheeldon as the newest Landmarks in the international program Annual Report that both these aims were, in member of our Board. included Greek treasures: from the Benaki considerable measure, achieved. Museum in Athens - the first time such This year we honoured former President th The opening event for the 125 anniversary, an extensive collection of Greek treasures of the Board of Trustees, the Hon James a free open weekend, attracted a record has ever been seen in Australia, and Our Spigelman AC, as Life Fellow of the one day visitation of over 9,000. Twenty five place: Indigenous Australia now, an Museum for his contribution to our history new exhibitions and displays were exhibition jointly developed with Museum over many years. We also welcomed presented over the year, including the Victoria and enthusiastically received by a Dr James Bradfield Moody as the first special exhibitions highlighting our large international audience at the Cultural Powerhouse Wizard, a new honorific history and the treasures of the collection. Olympiad in Athens and later in Beijing. instigated and generously supported by Membership reached record levels, the Wizard Home Loans. But it is true to say that a Museum’s success Museum hosted the Museums Australia cannot be measured simply in terms of I take this opportunity to thank the Hon Bob national conference, published, to wide the numbers who move through its doors, Carr MP, Premier and Minister for the acclaim, a history of its first 125 years, or access its electronic portal. Rather it Arts for the last decade, for his support of Yesterday’s Tomorrows: the Powerhouse depends on the quality of the experience the Museum and its work over the years. Museum and its precursors 1880-2005, and that it offers, in challenging viewers to I also take the opportunity to welcome our launched the Powerhouse Foundation. seek understanding beyond their immediate new Minister for the Arts, the Hon Bob The Museum reached out to a total audience experience of the age and community in Debus MP, whom we look forward to of over 3 million people, an astonishing which we live and the challenges that working with in the future. figure, made possible by the reach of modern they present. We are always grateful to our sponsors, technology, with 1.6 million unique users In reflecting on our history, one of the lessons donors and behind the scenes supporters accessing our websites. But, importantly, that emerged is of successful adaptation to who contribute so much to the life of over 700,000 of those people came through change, a process to which we recommitted this Museum. Most particularly I thank the our doors. The Lord of the Rings exhibition ourselves during the year. Thus, much staff and volunteers who make the Museum was, in terms of daily attendance, the effort was put by the Trustees and the staff the vibrant and relevant entity it is today. most successful paid exhibition in the of the Museum into developing our Strategic Museum’s history. Plan. This sets a new direction for the Museum and will chart its course over the next three years, on which the Director, in his report, comments in greater detail. Dr Nicholas G Pappas President Board of Trustees TOP ROW - DR NICHOLAS PAPPAS (PRESIDENT), DR ANNE SUMMERS (DEPUTY PRESIDENT), MARK BOURIS, ANDREW DENTON, TRISHA DIXON; BOTTOM ROW - SUSAN GRAY, MARGARET SEALE, ANTHONY SUKARI, JUDITH WHEELDON 02 ANNUAL REPORT 04/05 Director’s Report This last year we not only celebrated the The first is the concept to refresh. It is a The third major idea in the strategic plan, th 125 anniversary of the Museum but we central theme that runs through all areas of positioning, flowed from the other two. It also enjoyed a year of considerable success the Plan. It means building on the firm means redefining what we are about, to our in terms of engaging with our audiences. foundations established over the years while public and to ourselves. It means engaging th In our 126 year we reached a total audience seeking opportunities for renewal. We will with our users and our diverse communities of over 3 million people. For the Powerhouse refresh our presence, programs, positioning, and will give focus to our programs, drawing and Sydney Observatory we had our people and processes. We intend to update on the two other key ideas. It is with these highest visitor numbers for a decade. Our the Museum’s permanent exhibitions, refine three initiatives as our guide that we will travelling exhibitions, state wide, nationally our approach to our temporary exhibitions continue to grow and change to meet the and internationally, drew the highest schedule, invigorate our programs and be demands of today and inspire our visitors visitor figures we have ever recorded and innovative in our management. to question the world that we interpret, thousands more participated in our collect, display and inform. The second significant idea is integration. workshops, lectures and seminars presented This is an important guiding principle for a The successes of the past year and our off site, particularly in regional NSW. As museum which has such a diverse collection planning for the future have, of course, been well as our visitors in person, over 1.6 and such a broad charter embracing science, made possible by the skill and commitment million unique users accessed our websites. technology, design and social history. It of our staff, through whom our successes Among the special events celebrating the means new decision making processes and and our plans are realised. We are also th 125 anniversary was the publication of ways of working together which will indebted to a diligent team of volunteers, a history of our first 125 years in Yesterday’s inform all aspects of the Museum’s who contribute so much to both the visitor Tomorrows: the Powerhouse Museum and operations. Priority will be given to design, experience and behind the scenes at the its precursors 1880-2005. We can trace the sustainability and popular culture, with Museum, and to a dedicated group of many interwoven stories of our history from creativity and innovation as key concepts in supporters and advisors. I thank them for the working man’s museum to the modern designing programs. their contribution, along with all those who museum of science and technology, from a continue to be excited, inspired and place of natural resource research and informed by our work. display to a centre of sustainability and design. In keeping with this spirit of innovation we must continue to adapt to the changing needs of our time.