The Historical and Heritage Significance of an Australian Site, Melbourne Story, Museum of Victoria (Essay Sample)

Field Report: The Melbourne Story, Museum of Victoria
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January 9, 2017
Museum Victoria was established in 1854 by a group of the city’s earliest European settlers who were not only educated, but also determined to create a grand city. In the first decade of the city’s founding, the settlers established mobile gentlemen’s clubs and libraries. The museum’s original site was at Assay Office in La Trobe Street, but was soon moved to the Melbourne Mechanics Institution in 1856 following funding problems and scientific rivalries. Its first director was Frederick McCoy, who ran it until his death in 1899. Originally, the museum focused on preserving and exhibiting collections in history, geology, and botany.
A black & white engraving depicting the interior of the National Museum 1857, showing cases with specimens in and on them, and members of the public engaging with the displays.Illustrator: Samuel Calvert, Source: La Trobe Picture Collection, State Library of Victoria
Today, however, Museum Victoria is a collection of exhibitions and relics from diverse subjects and time periods, dating back to the mid and late 19th century. The collections at the museum provides useful insights into the city of Melbourne about the people who lived there, the individuals who shaped the city’s growth, and the nature of life among the first settlers.
The Melbourne Story at the Museum immortalizes many emotional experiences about the circumstances of the first European settlers and the indigenous people. A large section of the exhibitions are dedicated to the city’s iconic figures, especially those who influenced the city’s growth and creation of an intercultural tolerant environment during and after World War One, which saw an influx of people from different parts of the world. In fact, there is a section about immigration, which showcases the people who came to Australia in search of peace and economic opportunities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of these immigrants will play important roles in the development of Melbourne’s cultural diversity, as well as influencing the political and religious ideologies of the city and Australia in general.
One of such immigrants exhibited at the Museum Victoria was Daniel Mannix, a British-born Australian and Melbourne’s longest serving Archbishop. Mannix’s notable contribution to Australia’s history was his opposition to the conscription of eligible Australian men to fight alongside Britain during World War One (Web 2003; 32). He helped to defeat Prime Minister’s conscription attempts twice, thereby limiting the extent of Australia’s involvement in the War. The defeat also had political ramifications as it lead to a fallout in Hughes’s government, paving the way for the emergence of new political parties and coalition governments, which have a characteristic of Australian democracy.
In this regard, the Melbourne Story is relevant to Australian history by showcasing the iconic figures whose actions shaped the political future of the country. Mannix’s opposition to military conscriptions through public campaigns laid the foundation for future involvement of religious leaders in the political life of Australians. Religious leaders were no longer passive and neutral observers of public affairs, but commentators on as well as influencers of public issues.
William Hughes, Prime Minister during WWI
Daniel Mannix, Archbishop of Melbourne, 1917-1963.
Tom Walsh and Adela Pankhurst, Interwar activist
One of the exhibitions at the museum is about Aboriginal activism in Melbourne to resist the forceful taking away of the natives’ land by the settlers. Tom Walsh and Adela Pankhurst were some of the activists who campaigned for a fair and inclusive society by fighting for the rights of the indigenous communities. The exhibition of the city’s original settlers who came from foreign countries not only symbolizes the cultural diversity of Australia, but also emphasizes the country’s reputation as a haven of peace for people running away from war hot spots. It depicts Australia’s long history as a home to people from different parts of the world, making it a melting cultural pot.
The Melbourne Story is also a visual narrative of the city’s past and present history, depicting the city’s iconic figures, heroes and villains. It portrays the transformation of the city over the years in terms of demographic trends due to migration, and physical changes due to urban growth (Darian-Smith & Pascoe 2013; 43). In addition, there are stories about the experiences of the Aboriginal under the hands of the settlers, and the subsequent Aboriginal activism in support of the rights of the indigenous people.
The Melbourne Story is also a recreation of the working class cottage life of the late 1800s. It gives visitors a fresh insight into how life was in the early years of the city’s founding. For instance, some of the exhibitions depict the mode of transportation in the city during the early 19th century. One of the famous collection at the Museum Victoria is the rare 19th century coach the Cobb & Co Coach, which is believed to have been built in 1880 in Geelong for the Western Stage Company, which provided transport services throughout Western Victoria under the Cobb & Co name. The company was founded in 1854 to ferry workers from Melbourne to the goldfields, and the banner Cobb & Co was later adopted by other coach companies throughout Eastern Australia before the invention of modern transportation.
Dickinson Cobb & Co CoachSource: Museum Victoria, Photographer: Matthew Churchward
The Cobb coach was last used the Casterton to Mount Gambier route in 1916. Designed to carry a maximum of 17 passengers in a carriage drawn by four or five horses, the Cobb waste last of its kind mode of commercial transportation in Victoria. Thus, the exhibition of the coach is a significant part of the Melbourne Story as it gives visitors a glimpse into the way people traveled in late 19th and early 20th century Melbourne and Victoria at large. By comparing the past modern modes of transport to modern medium, with the stark contrasts in terms of speed and comfort, visitors are not only able to appreciate the contributions of modern technology in making life easier, but also in reflecting about the progress that society has made over the centuries.
The Melbourne Story also displays women and men at work in industries and the gold fields. These depictions help visitors to understand the economic history of Australia as a similar to that of the U.S. during the gold rush (Aitken 2016). Australia became a land of opportunity for venture investors, in the same way the Gold Rush characterized the quest for the American Dream.
At museum there are also collections of over 600 watches and clocks, dating from the seventeenth centur...