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| 150 Years of Collecting: The South Australian Museum 1856-2006 |
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THE MUSEUM’S CHARTER:
CARING FOR COLLECTIONS
The Museum’s collections are fundamental to its past and its future. A series of Directors and Museum Boards have understood this and have vigorously encouraged successive governments to support the institution.
Collections require constant care, curation and management. Insect pests must be kept at bay, specimens must be properly labelled, and made accessible for research and exhibition. This has become a complex task as the Museum has expanded from its first home – three upstairs rooms in the Institute building – to its present campus of three main buildings on North Terrace, with two large off-site stores.
Behind the Museum’s physical structure lies the registration system. This system imparts order to the collections. It records the identity and essential characteristics of each specimen, from a beetle to a boomerang.
During the first decades of the Museum’s history, many specimens were exchanged with overseas museums, and it was not until 1911 that a museum-wide system of registration was adopted. Today the old leather-bound registers are still used, in combination with a sophisticated series of computer databases.
Technology does not overcome the challenges presented by fragile, organic collections. Among our specimens we hold the very first scientific record of many species, and the earliest and best-preserved examples of indigenous artefacts from Australia and the Pacific. The key to retaining these treasures for future generations is careful curation by well-trained and well-resourced staff.
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