Burke Museum uncovers hidden Beechworth treasure Cabinets of Wonder: Treasure from the Beechworth Community 21 February – 30 June

Thursday 7 February 2008

Oak souvenired from the hull of Nelson’s ship HMS Victory, a prison-made knuckle-duster, perfume bottles and a collection of beer coasters are among the dozens of weird and wonderful artefacts to be shown in the Cabinets of Wonder: Treasure from the Beechworth Community exhibition officially opening at the Burke Museum on Thursday 21 February.



Visitors will be able to peek into the drawers, cupboards, nooks and crannies to view the private collections – from the everyday to the bizarre – of individuals and local organisations who responded enthusiastically to the Burke’s invitation to offer their treasured possessions for public display.



“The exhibition offers fascinating insights into the nature of collecting as well as the community from which the collections have come to light,” says Burke Museum Collections Officer, Linda Peacock. “It’s very much about reflecting the interests and passions of local people and gives them the chance to involve themselves directly in the process of curating their own exhibition.”



Highlights of the Cabinets of Wonder: Treasure from the Beechworth Community exhibition include:

-A collection of ingeniously crafted contraband made by inmates of the Beechworth Prison
-From the eminent historian, Ian Jones, a Beechworth local, a collection of HMS Victory memorabilia from his great-grandfather, a naval man who trained on the ship in the 1840s
-Historic trophies from the Beechworth Football Club
-A collection of postmarked letters from Beechworth and Stanley dated between 1855 and 1875
-A collection of porcelain containers and bottles unearthed from the Chinese camp area of Beechworth’s Spring Creek goldfields
-Historic items from Beechworth’s Lodge of St. John


The idea of Cabinets of Wonder is centuries old. The original Wunderkammers – Cabinets of Wonder or wonder-rooms boasted intriguing collections belonging to those aristocrats, monarchs or merchants who could afford to create and maintain them. They were usually made from exotic and expensive materials and often filled with contents and ornamental details intended to reflect the entire cosmos on a miniature scale.



Beechworth’s historic Burke Museum could be described as a Wunderkammer in its own right, with its extraordinary collection of Aboriginal artefacts from the early to mid-19th century, an amazing natural history collection including an extremely rare stuffed Thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) as well as thousands of artefacts, journals and photographs from Beechworth’s heady gold rush days to the present.



The Patron of the Indigo Tourism Board, Hon. Tim Fischer, will officially launch Beechworth’s own Wunderkammers at 6pm on Thursday 21 February. The Cabinets of Wonder exhibition runs until June.



For more information, please contact Indigo Shire Tourism Officer, Sue Couttie,
phone (03) 5728 8061 or scouttie@indigoshire.vic.gov.au


Cabinets of Wonder: Treasure from the Beechworth Community
Where: Robert O’Hara Burke Memorial Museum

Address: Loch St, Beechworth
Dates: 21 February – 30 June 2008