Queensland Museum & Community Collections

Author: Dr Jo Wills

  • Pause, reflect, learn: FNQ MDO at the SLQ Heritage Leaders Workshop

    To be honest I thought I was ‘done’ with First World War projects. But when I was asked to speak about the Anzac Treasures Program at the Heritage Leaders Workshop at State Library Queensland I felt it was recognition for the communities involved and the variety of other projects that…

  • Discovering Jack Wilkie’s orchid specimen at Cairns Museum

    Earlier this week, I was contacted by Don Lawie, one of the volunteers at Gordonvale’s Mulgrave Settlers Museum. His email contained a link to a newsletter he had recently prepared for the Society for Growing Australian Plants. Don drew my attention to the piece called “Beautiful Plants of the Tropics”,…

  • ‘Dressed to Impress’: Cairns’ museums collaborate to showcase fabulous frocks from the far north

    What do you get when you bring together a wedding gown, a ‘fashions on the field’ racing dress, a kaftan, a Chinese silk skirt panel, a debutante gown and a fancy dress costume on International Women’s Day? A window into the lives and creativity of local women from the far…

  • MDOs work in Townsville on flood recovery

    Last week, Jo Wills and Melanie Piddocke traveled to Townsville to assist groups affected by the recent severe flooding. Although most collections have emerged unscathed from days of torrential rain, the Family History Association of North Queensland and the Townsville RSL were both inundated, sustaining damage to their collections, assets…

  • Visiting the Ancestors: GAMAA win for Mulgrave Settlers Museum

    Mulgrave Settlers Museum, which is part of the Mulgrave Shire Historical Society, has been awarded the 2018 Gallery and Museum Achievement Awards (GAMAA) in the category of Engagement for Volunteer-run Organisations for its program  “Visiting the Ancestors”. As MDO in Far North Queensland, it’s great to see this group recognised…

  • Works in progress … new in FNQ

    For the last few months I’ve been working on a number of projects that represent the regions diverse geography, history and communities. Rather than present a series of finished stories, this time I thought I’d showcase work that is underway. For each of the projects, the groups or organisations are…

  • More projects from the far north

    MDO life in FNQ has again been busy over the last three months. I’ve travelled what feels like 1000s of kilometres and been privileged to see north Queensland’s diverse landscapes and intriguing cultural history.  Great, too, has been the opportunity to work closely for the first time with communities in Burketown,…

  • Snapshots from FNQ

    We might only be in March, but 2018 has already been busy up here in the Far North. Apart from attending a new exhibition opening in the temporary gallery at Cairns Museum, helping groups submit grant applications and planning for textile conservation workshops, here’s a quick overview of some of the FNQ MDO museum work…

  • Welcome to the new Cairns Museum

    For those of you haven’t heard, Cairns Museum and has reopened. And it is FABULOUS! I’m not going to pepper this post with a hundred pictures (why not visit or check the website to see it in all it’s glory), but I can’t resist sharing just a few. Cairns School of Arts…