Queensland Museum & Community Collections

Author: Ewen McPhee

  • Cyclone Debbie update

    Update 03/4/2017   – Proserpine Museum. All volunteers safe. Minor water damage – but mostly ok. Will update as needed. – Collinsville Coalface. All ok. The MDO team will be contacting museums across the weather affected areas in central and south east Queensland over the coming days to assess damage and issues arising…

  • Flying the cyclone flag

    Ewen McPhee and Dr Jo Wills recently worked at the Cardwell Bush Telegraph Museum to assist with the rehanging of their cyclone flag.  The red cyclone flag, also called a cyclone pennant, has been displayed at the Bush Telegraph Museum since it opened in 2003. The museum is housed in the old…

  • Connected Culture

    North Queensland Museum Development Officer, Ewen McPhee, has continued to work with the Norfolk Island Museum on a project detailing the material culture from Pitcairn Island. With the permanent population on Pitcairn Island decreasing, the Norfolk Island Museum decided to start documenting the material culture that is held in the Pitcairn Island…

  • Cyclone Season and Preparation

    With the first low developing in the Coral Sea it is a good time to enact your cyclone preparedness plans. Usually this should involve: checking that all volunteers and local council staff are aware and have read the cyclone preparedness plan, and understand what need to be done if a cyclone watch…

  • Bowen Museum and Historical Society – First World War exhibition

    Recently Queensland Museum staff Ewen McPhee, Dr Melanie Piddocke and Sue Valis visited Bowen Museum and Historical Society to work with the volunteers on their First World War display.  As with many community museums the First World War objects and stories that are held within the Bowen collection are significant on…

  • Norfolk Island Significance Assessment

    Ewen McPhee recently undertook a significance assessment for the Norfolk Island Museum. The Norfolk Island Museum holds collections and provides historical interpretation from four distinct periods of Norfolk Island History: Polynesian Settlement – 700 – 1500 First Settlement (penal) – 1788 – 1814 Second Settlement (penal) – 1825 – 1855 Third…

  • Winton Fire response – Waltzing Matilda Centre

    Queensland Museum staff Ewen McPhee and Sue Valis have returned from their initial response to the salvage work at the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton.   Ewen and Sue worked side by side volunteers from the Winton and District Historical Society and Winton Shire Council workers to salvage the objects and start…

  • Mould, mould everywhere !!!

    Lately mould had been very much on my mind. Everywhere I go; there it is on leather objects, paper documents, photographic material, textiles, wooden furniture…  I am haunted. So I am compelled to use my blog turn to encourage you all to be vigilant and regularly check your collections especially…

  • Battle for Bitapaka

    As a part of Anzac commemorations, an extended version of the Defending the Pacific exhibition was recently donated to the Rabaul Museum. This Exhibition was developed by North Queensland MDO Ewen McPhee and far North Queensland MDO Dr Jo Wills. Lieutenant Colonel Ian Ford, of the Australian Defence Force, recently presented…