Do you believe in fate? A preordained destiny? In 1900, a Mt Morgan woman believed enough to pay for a palm reading. The well-worn but carefully kept document hints at just how valued the six pieces of paper were. Continue reading Palms and predictions | A Palm Reading from the Collection
In 1900, not only was palm reading illegal, you could pay to have your palm read by post.
The Queensland Museum collection holds one such illicit fortune from 1901. While the recipient remains a mystery, the writer gives us a glimpse into the world of fortune telling in Queensland at the start of a new century. Continue reading Palmistry by post | A Palm Reading from the Collection
Sometimes, seemingly random interactions can take us by surprise.
This was the case when we recently discovered a striking coincidence in relation to the compass believed to be from Mephisto donated by Tom Lamin in May 2023. Continue reading Synchronicity in motion: The mechanical engineer and Mephisto’s missing compass
Glass was the perfect packaging for medicine during the 19th and early 20th century – stable and strong, and built for ease of branding and distribution. But be warned, sometimes the most decorative bottles hid the most dangers… Continue reading Bottled Health: The benefits of glass for peddling dangerous medicines and cure-alls
“What are you working on today?” This is a fairly usual question amongst collection staff at Queensland Museum. Continue reading Admiring the finest of thrones on World Toilet Day
Celebrating International Music Day – 1st October Photos and text by Karen Kindt, Collection Manager, First Nations Cultures I start my day off listening to classical music on the radio. As the day progresses my music choices transition to 70s, 80s and 90s pop culture. In the evenings, I love exploring and listening to different music genres and musicians. What do you listen to? A recent … Continue reading Music to my ears!
Karen Kindt, Collection Manager, First Nations Cultures Today is World Rhino Day. In acknowledgement of the importance of these amazing creatures and the demise of their populations, the museum has delved into the World Cultures Collection, to showcase a rare, valuable, interesting object – a carved, rhinoceros horn libation cup. Why does the museum hold a cup made of rhinoceros horn? Most people are collectors … Continue reading Reflecting on the collection
Written by Steve Wilson, Information Officer Among the numerous objects and specimens on display at Queensland Museum are some with truly extraordinary stories! Today Steve Wilson from the Discovery Centre joins us to share one of his favourite specimens from the museum’s displays. ‘They look so alive!’ Countless visitors to Queensland Museum’s Discovery Centre and Wild State marvel at our wildlife collection. Fixed frozen in … Continue reading Collections uncovered: Taxidermy – the inside view!
Written by Judith Hickson, Curator, Queensland Stories In today’s world, where increasing importance is placed on fashion, what we wear is a window into our social worlds – a kind of non-verbal, symbolic language which speaks for who we are and how we would like others to see us. Though interpretations may differ across cultures and circumstances, concepts and ideas about personality, religious affiliation, authority … Continue reading Clothed in tradition
by Shannon Robinson, Queensland Museum Librarian Rewrite. Renew. Reimagine. This is the theme of 2022’s Library and Information Week #LIW2022, to not only celebrate Australian libraries and the stories their collections hold but to also consider the opportunities for re-telling and re-interpretation. What better place to find a collection full of material primed for this theme than the Queensland Museum Library? Our library holds items … Continue reading Reimagining the Collection for Library and Information Week 2022
By Peter Volk, Assistant Collections Manager, Queensland Museum How “real” is the Avro Baby flown by Bert Hinkler? This interesting question was raised in a recent public inquiry about one of the most significant objects in Queensland Museum’s collection. We often get inquiries at the museum that are slightly left field or cause us to think differently about our collection. This happened recently when we fielded … Continue reading Avro Baby: Original or Museum Mock-Up?
By Kieran Aland & Christine Lambkin, Queensland Museum Among the numerous objects and specimens on display at the Queensland Museum are some with truly extraordinary stories! Today Kieran from the Discovery Centre joins us to share one of his favourite specimens from the museum’s displays. This insect displayed in the Discovery Centre appears rather drab. It is so poorly known that it lacks a common … Continue reading Obscure by name, obscure by nature: A cryptic insect, little known, rarely seen
How one jug in Queensland Museum’s collection can lead to many histories. Tess Shingles, Acting Assistant Curator, Queensland Stories Have you ever wondered what moonshine, Queensland farming, and mascots have in common? Answer: The Beenleigh Rum Character Jug, though perhaps not at first glance. This jug, held in Queensland Museum’s collection is quite small, colourful and full of character. The “Beenleigh Rum” painted on the … Continue reading Moonshine, Cane Farms and Mascots: Histories of a Jug
By Marisa Giorgi, Information Officer, Queensland Museum There is nothing new about the use of adhesives and sealants. They have been a critical element in the technology of First Australians for thousands of years. Plant-based resin has been employed in the production of many traditional tools and when prepared correctly, resin can become as hard as rock. There is evidence of resin-use in toolmaking from … Continue reading Resin: an essential piece of kit
There is a lot of questionable information doing the rounds on social media. Many contributions are distorted or exaggerated, and some are just plain wrong, rest assured we have made every effort to verify what follows. There is an old Australian term which can be aptly applied to a false rumour or theory: it’s a ‘furphy’. The use of the word ‘furphy’ for misinformation can … Continue reading Bring back ‘furphy’, an old word for a modern problem
By Patrick Couper, Senior Curator Vertebrates, Queensland Museum The biological specimens in museum collections need constant monitoring to ensure their long-term preservation. Initially they are treated in a manner that prevents decay. For wet vertebrate collections (whole specimens stored in jars or vats of alcohol), an animal’s organs, muscles and other tissues are fixed, usually with formalin. This results in the formation of covalent bonds … Continue reading Mistakes can happen
By Damien Fegan, Information Officer, Queensland Museum Among the numerous objects and specimens on display at Queensland Museum are some with truly extraordinary stories! Today Damien Fegan from the Discovery Centre shares new research on one of his favourite objects on display at the Anzac Legacy Gallery. Mephisto, or more formally, A7V Sturmpanzerwagen (armoured assault vehicle) #506, the only surviving German tank from the First … Continue reading Panzers, parsley, soap and the devil!
By Jeff Powell, Curator Cobb+Co Museum Next time you catch a bus, have a thought for “commuters” of Brisbane in the nineteenth century! Cobb+Co Museum in Toowoomba contains over 50 horse-drawn vehicles, including a horse-drawn omnibus. The museum preserves the history of what was known as the ‘the horse and buggy era’, but we concede that most people could not afford a buggy, nor even … Continue reading Cobb+Co Museum’s Horse-Drawn Omnibus
By Karen Kindt, Collection Manager Anthropology What is Anthropology? Understanding who we are, where we come from and our place in the world, is critical to humanity. We can find meaning and answers through the discipline of Anthropology. Applying this discipline, through studying human behaviours and societies, we are able to understand the affects, on our physical, cultural and social environments. Anthropology helps us understand … Continue reading Celebrating World Anthropology Day
By Charlotte Lethbridge, Volunteer Researcher, Queensland Museum With the COVID-19 pandemic at the forefront of the news and minds of most Australians, it can be easy to forget that only two years ago, Australia was dealing with one of the deadliest bushfire seasons in Australian history. A collection of 41 posters in the Queensland Museum collection documents the artistic community’s response to the 2019–2020 Bushfire … Continue reading Bushfire Brandalism and Australia’s Black Summer
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