Category: Museum Events

January is our month for exploring collections and collectors.

 

To complement the Museum’s focus on local collectors and their fascinating collections, the Society is hosting a range of talks that explore the history behind some local collections, the highlights of our own collections and advice on understanding and caring for your own collections.

 

COVID restrictions apply, so places are limited and booking is essential.  

Come and explore the world of heritage bottles with collector Brad Brown.

 

Never turn a blind eye on a coloured old bottle because it may be particularly special.

There are some real rarities out there like the pictured Hodgkiss soda water bottle. It was made in Cairns for a while in the 1880s.

Brad has been collecting bottles for more than 40 years and helped Cairns Museum curate its own collection for public display.

He will show treasures from the Cairns Museum and his own collection, as well as identify and appraise bottles held by a lucky 10 people.

The presentation will run at the Cairns Museum in the School of Arts building on the corner of Lake and Shields streets, from 2pm to 4.30pm.

The first 10 to book a ticket are invited to bring along one bottle for appraisal and guide to its possible value, and to learn about what to look for in old bottles.

As a heritage organisation, we ask people not to remove bottles from heritage sites but most locals dig the bottles up in their gardens or find them under the house and want to know about the manufacturer, what they were used for and the age and value of the bottle,” Ms Gibson said.

Entry is free to Cairns Museum members and to non-members who have paid for Museum entry. 

Places are limited and can be booked here:

http://bit.ly/BottleShowcase

 

Cairns Museum may be contacted on 4051 5582 or email info@cairnsmuseum.org.au.

 

JOIN US!

Come and celebrate the 2019 festive season with the Cairns Historical Society and Cairns Museum.

 

Members, Friends and Supporters are invited to our Christmas Party, to be held in the gorgeous Plantation Room at the renovated Bungalow Hotel. There’s prizes, awards and a Christmas buffet to share.

• Friday 6 December, 5:30 – 8:30 pm, @ Bungalow Hotel, Plantation Room, 200 Aumuller St Bungalow
• Members and friends $30. 

Numbers are limited so if you are planning to attend please RSVP and pay by Monday 2nd December. You can pay directly via Paypal, using the link below or pay over the counter at the Museum.

We would love to see you – so please make a note in your diary, RSVP and come along.

 

WANT TO BOOK NOW?

 

It’s a small world that will be on display at Cairns Museum from now until January 2020. Eleven tiny but perfectly formed room suites are the work of one man – master wood craftsman and gifted miniaturist Les Paul.

 

A Cairns cabinetmaker and glazier, Paul created Lilliputian-sized rooms, which were exact miniature replicas of typical rooms in houses complete with furniture, wallpaper and art works.

“Les Paul worked his entire working life on the tools, creating furniture from North Queensland rainforest timbers. Then, in his retirement, he dared to downsize,” Ms Gibson said.

His passion was timber craftsmanship and he painstakingly made 11 small but perfectly formed room suites or dioramas, as well as four miniature collections, all at the exact scale of 1:6 (two inches to one foot).

The exhibition will display all of Paul’s tiny suites and some of his four collections.

 

Citizens 55 plus will receive the red-carpet treatment at Cairns Museum during Seniors Week.

Seniors Week from August 17 to 24 has a special welcome for older people with a unique opportunity to take in the exhibits and make the most of Cairns’ treasure trove of memories.

There will be a dedicated seniors’ daily tour at 11am that should pique the interest of anyone aged 55 plus – giving an in depth look at some of Cairns Museum’s most precious and fascinating items. 

On Saturday, August 17 the museum will kick off the week of events by hosting a local history lecture with activities culminating in an open day on Saturday, August 24. 

Come and join Cairns Museum for a day of fun, on Saturday August 24.

A special program of events and activities has been designed for children on Saturday morning, along with some unique tours of the Museum to excite and enchant the small fry.

The Cairns Museum Open Day will also have a special adult admission of just $10 for the day. 

The morning will focus on kid’s activities, while the afternoon will be about the adults, who can relax on the coolest tropical verandah in Cairns. 

MUSEUM SET TO SCORE WITH RUGBY LEAGUE EXHIBITION

Cairns Museum will showcase the diverse and rich history of rugby league in Far North Queensland in a new exhibition “Played with Passion: Rugby League in Far North Queensland”.

 

Suzanne Gibson, manager of Cairns Museum, said the major exhibition opens on Friday 7 June and is expected to generate a lot of local and visitor interest.

 “Rugby league is synonymous with our region. The enthusiasm for the game ignited in 1918 here in the Far North and since then, League has remained Cairns’ most enduring and popular team sport.”

Dr David Phoenix of Cairns Museum led the research for the exhibition, talking to players, supporters, local clubs and Cairns and District Rugby League (CDRL) members to source memorabilia from across Far North Queensland.

“Rugby league was first played in Cairns 101 years ago. Local games were fiercely contested and drew big crowds to the Parramatta Park showgrounds, but it was the Foley Shield games between Cairns and Townsville that were the most hotly contested.

“We hope the exhibit has captured the passion and pride that went into those games and people enjoy seeing the collection on display. We’ve included the famous Foley Shield, as well as historic representative jerseys of Cairns, Australia and NAIDOC Week, all worn by local players” Dr Phoenix said.

The exhibition also features trophies, cups and photographs from the very beginnings of League right through to current days. There’s even a collection of Footy trading cards featuring local players.

The exhibition was supported through the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between the Queensland Government and Cairns Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

EXPLORE CHINATOWN WITH US!

SOLD OUT!

 

Come and discover the people, places and stories of Cairns Chinatown.

Join the Cairns Museum and the Cairns and District Chinese Association Inc (CADCAI) as they uncover the intriguing stories of Cairns’ original Chinatown. You’ll meet some of Cairns’ earliest entrepreneurs, find out why the Chinese community hijacked the Governor and test your luck with the traditional games of fantan and pak-a-pu.  

The tour includes a 60 minute guided walk through Chinatown, followed by refreshments and a viewing of the Lit Sung Goong Collection at CADCAI’s Grafton St premises. The tour begins at the Cairns Museum. 

 

Cost

• $20

Dates

• Sat 16 Feb 3.45PM – 5:30PM
• Sun 17 Feb 3.45PM – 5:30PM
• Mon 18 Feb 3.45PM – 5:30PM

Bookings

• The walking tour is sold out – we apologise for any disappointment.

More information 

• contact the Cairns Museum

A special collaboration between Cairns Museum and Yarrabah State School will offer visitors to the CBD attraction, a unique glimpse into the social and cultural history of the Yarrabah Indigenous community. 

Opening on Thursday, December 6, the Djabu Gilga Yigan Land Sea Sky exhibition, will feature works by past and present students and employees who are aged from 12 to 61 years.

Jason Evert, principal at Yarrabah State School, described the exhibition as a collection of homages, snapshots and contemplations on Yarrabah – a place once known as Iyirriba, ‘a meeting place’ in the language of the area’s Gunggandji people. 

“People can expect to take away a sense of Yarrabah – what it looks like, its geographical features, what it means to live there, and an understanding of the diverse range of ‘peoples’ who comprise this community,” Mr Evert said.

“Yarrabah offers enormous cultural and artistic potential to Tropical North Queensland and being so close to Cairns, a world tourist destination, is perfectly positioned to capitalise on this potential.

“The school’s role in bringing together the school community, both past and present, and various groups and agencies within the community to promote Yarrabah through Cairns Museum to a regional, national and international audience is a first.”

Clive Skarott, president of the Cairns Historical Society, said the exhibition provided a platform from which the people of Yarrabah could share their stories, history and culture with a wider audience.

“This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for Cairns Museum. It gives voice to the people of Yarrabah, allowing them to tell the stories that define what it means to be connected to their country,” he said.

Djabu Gilga Yigan Land Sea Sky evolved from the school’s proposal to the Cairns Museum for an exhibition that would facilitate positive engagement of the school and community with the wider Cairns region.

Yarrabah State School has also invited members and friends of the Cairns Historical Society to spend a day at Yarrabah on Wednesday, December 12, to meet local guides, Elders and school students who will share their places, stories and histories.

The Cairns Museum is located in the School of Arts building on the corner of Lake and Shields streets in the Cairns CBD. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. For more information contact the Cairns Museum on 4051 5582 or visit www.cairnsmuseum.org.au

 

 

For more information, images or interviews contact:

Tanya Snelling

Strategic PR

P 0417 202 663

E tanya@strategicpr.com.au

 

 

MEDIA OPPORTUNITY

Date: Thursday, 6^th December

Time: 4.15pm

Photo opportunity: Dancers from Yarrabah State School will form part of official proceedings to open the exhibition.

Vision opportunity:  Dancing / Exhibits

Interview opportunities:

Jason Evert – Principal, Yarrabah State School

 

 

Note:

The seaside community of Yarrabah is about 60km by road east of Cairns but only about 12km across the inlet. Arguably the largest Indigenous community in Australia, Yarrabah is a dynamic, diverse and constantly changing collective of people. A proportion of the community is reasonably mobile and throughout their lives move between Yarrabah, Cairns and other communities for family, work, school or cultural gatherings.

 

People from the following diverse backgrounds have participated in the exhibition, and it should not be taken as a definitive guide for the cultural composition of Yarrabah: Gunggandji tribe, Ydinji tribe, Lama Lama, Kuku Djungan, Djabugay (Tjapukai), Jirrabal, Western Yulanji, Clan Dunghutti, Pia Drum Clan (Mer Island), Clan Tolga, Bwlgoman tribe, Borroloola, Birri Gubba, Yam Island (Torres Strait), Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Yimitji, Yirrganydji, Vanuatu, Barbarum and South Sea Islander.