Australian Museum
 |
|
The exterior and Crystal Hall entry to the Australian Museum in Spring 2016
|
|
 Location within Sydney
|
|
| Former name |
|
|---|---|
| Established | 1827 |
| Location | 1 William Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia () |
| Coordinates | 33°52′39″S 151°12′46″E / 33.8774321°S 151.212732°ECoordinates: 33°52′39″S 151°12′46″E / 33.8774321°S 151.212732°E |
| Type | Natural history and anthropology |
| Director | Kim McKay |
| Public transit access |
|
| Website | australianmuseum |
The Australian Museum is the oldest museum in Australia, with an international reputation in the fields of natural history and anthropology. It was first conceived and developed along the contemporary European model of an encyclopaedic warehouse of cultural and natural history and features collections of vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, as well as mineralogy, palaeontology and anthropology. Apart from exhibitions, the museum is also involved in Indigenous studies research and community programs. In the museum's early years, collecting was its main priority, and specimens were commonly traded with British and other European institutions. The scientific stature of the museum was established under the curatorship of Gerard Krefft, himself a published scientist.
The museum is located at the corner of William Street and College Strt Sydney, and was originally known as the Colonial Museum or Sydney Museum. The museum was renamed in June 1836 by a sub-committee meeting, when it was resolved during an argument that it should be renamed the "Australian Museum".
Its current CEO and Executive Director is Kim McKay AO.
The establishment of a museum had first been planned in 1821 by the Philosophical Society of Australasia, and although specimens were collected, the Society folded in 1822. An entomologist and fellow of the Linnean Society of London, Alexander Macleay, arrived in 1826. After being appointed New South Wales Colonial Secretary, he began lobbying for a museum.
The museum was founded in 1827 by Earl Bathurst, then the Secretary of State for the Colonies, who wrote to the Governor of New South Wales of his intention to found a public museum and who provided £200 yearly towards its upkeep.
...
Wikipedia