UNLOCKEDTHE SYDNEY LIVING MUSEUMS GAZETTESpring 2021UNLOCKED SPRING 2021, NO 31 ISSN 2203-4684 Sydney Living Museums The Mint, 10 Macquarie Street Sydney NSW 2000 T 02 8239 2288 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm info@slm.com.au slm.com.au Acknowledgment of Country Our museums and places are on Aboriginal land. We acknowledge the First Nations peoples, the traditional custodians, and we pay respect to the Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We understand and appreciate that Aboriginal peoples have deep and continuing cultural attachment to Country and are the rightful interpreters of their history and heritage. In this spirit, Sydney Living Museums values the diversity of Aboriginal connections to the places and landscapes we care for and is informed by the Aboriginal cultural heritage and identity that underpin SLM’s museums and places. We acknowledge the continuing impact these sites have on Aboriginal Country. This recognition guides the ways in which we create contemporary conversations and experiences at each of our sites. Unlocked is the quarterly magazine of the Historic Houses Trust of NSW, incorporating Sydney Living Museums, which cares for significant historic places, buildings, landscapes and collections in NSW. The Historic Houses Trust of NSW is a statutory authority of, and principally funded by, the NSW Government. All information is correct at time of printing. Feedback and comments can be sent to info@slm.com.au © 2021 Sydney Living Museums Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. Contents 3 From the Executive Director 4 In brief 6 An extraordinary collection 10 Eat, pray, decorate 12 From the collection 17 Collected 18 Reviewing the menu 20 Translating tastes 22 SLM in 3D 24 Sydney Open 2021 26 A strong and simple structure 30 Staff profile 33 The early years of crime scene photography 36 Philanthropy 38 Your key to what’s on Cover image Window cornice (detail), Drummoyne House, NSW, c1860s–70s. Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Sydney Living Museums. Photo © Jenni CarterFrom the Executive Director Adam Lindsay As I do with every forthcoming issue of Unlocked, I read this edition cover to cover prior to its going to print. With this issue, more than any other, I had a most delightful sense of being ‘caught’ in a magnificent moment between a fantastic past and an exciting future. Like a long-legged fly upon the stream, to borrow a phrase from the master poet Yeats, we’re existing, quite exquisitely, in a time of enormous change, but also great promise. This issue perfectly captures that feeling, as it weaves through early-19th-century publications, advice manuals from the 1850s and 1860s, mid-20th-century textiles and modernist-era furniture and then unapologetically pivots to our employment of next-generation technology to capture 3D scans of our properties and collections. And while these two extremes are fascinating, there’s just as much to surprise and delight you in between. ‘From the collection’ (pages 12–15) showcases a number of charming and compelling items that we hold, and ‘Collected’ (pages 16–17) gives you an insight into our accelerated program of acquisitions, which range from highly personal, commonplace items to the most mesmerising of ornamental and artistic expressions, old and new. As diverse as they are, these items have one thing in common: each delivers a unique perspective. Much of the work that you’ll read about in this issue has been planned and delivered during COVID-19 restrictions – making these achievements, insights and stories very special, because they’re a testament to the tenacity and strong vocation of the team at Sydney Living Museums. Take the translation of Rose Seidler’s recipes from the original German (see pages 20–1), a project that arose from an initiative called the Skills Marketplace. We introduced the Skills Marketplace at the start of the pandemic as a way to channel work to staff who experienced a decrease in their usual work activities due to the impacts of the pandemic. It’s proven to be a great success – not only has it kept us from reducing our workforce, but it’s also unlocked the hidden skills of team members and helped us to prioritise work that has great benefits for audiences and collections alike. I hope you enjoy this issue, because no matter what challenges are thrown at us, Team SLM are here to take care of our sites and collections so that we can share them with you in as many ways and through as many channels as possible! Adam Lindsay. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums Adam Lindsay. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums 3FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOREnrich, inspire, indulge Discover a wealth of information and activities this spring. There’s never been a better time to immerse yourself in the stories of your city. Explore our website and access a treasure-trove of stories, informative videos, fun arts and crafts activities for kids, and recipes from our houses. Or choose from a range of digital jigsaw puzzles presenting intriguing images from our collections. With programs at our properties cancelled for the next little while, we’re also offering an exciting range of free online curator talks exploring everything from architecture to art. Join us from the comfort of your own home and hear about our latest research. What’s more, the digital edition of Unlocked connects you to extra information on stories in this issue, including PhD candidate Kimberley Connor talking about her family connection to the Hyde Park Barracks (pages 18–19) and video footage of the major conservation work on the Rouse Hill Estate woolshed (pages 26–9). DISCOVER SLM Start exploring at slm.is/discover 4SPRING 2021 Clockwise from left Gingernuts. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums; Jigsaw puzzle image from Elesco trade catalogue, L Stromeyer & Co, 1932. Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Sydney Living Museums; Wayne Emerson and Stephen Jurd walking the streets of Green Valley. Film still © Scott Richardson, Vision TV; Marion Mahony Griffin (detail), William Koehne, Chicago, 1912. National Library of Australia: NLA.OBJ-150275391; Installation view of Paradise on Earth exhibition at the Museum of Sydney. Photo © Stuart Humphreys for Sydney Living Museums Returning to Green Valley Whatever happened to Green Valley? is one of 25 original items from the NSW State Archives Collection featured in the exhibition History Reflected. The film, made in 1973 and directed by a young Peter Weir, gave the then maligned community of Green Valley, in Sydney’s south- west, the chance to present their own perspectives of life there. Weir gave residents cameras to make their own short segments and incorporated these into his film. For the exhibition, Western Sydney-based filmmaker Scott Richardson produced a short film that reunites two teenage boys whose segment was included in Whatever happened to Green Valley? Stephen Jurd and Wayne Emerson recall how they became involved: ‘We were just going for a wander round the shop to get a hamburger’. Encountering one of the film’s crew, they ‘sort of got a bit inquisitive’ and were selected to do a segment about their daily lives – ‘basically filming what we did’. As teenagers, Stephen and Wayne explored the opportunities and challenges that life in Green Valley presented for families and young people. Decades later, they reflect that ‘everyone was just trying to raise a family ... everyone was a battler’. Connecting through collective giving Following the success of the exhibition Paradise on Earth (Museum of Sydney, November 2020 – April 2021), exploring the life and work of artist and architect Marion Mahony Griffin, a giving circle was formed to support SLM’s wide-ranging architecture and design program. A giving circle is created when individual donors pool their gifts to make a more significant donation to a cause. The Marion Mahony Griffin Giving Circle includes past recipients of the Marion Mahony Griffin Prize, awarded annually by the Australian Institute of Architects to acknowledge a female architect. Current members of the giving circle are Oi Choong, Louise Cox ao, Kim Crestani, Jocelyn Jackson and Kathlyn Loseby. As well as enjoying SLM member benefits, giving circle members receive exclusive invitations to events associated with our architecture and design program. SLM welcomes the support of the Marion Mahony Griffin Giving Circle and encourages other affiliated groups to consider forming a giving circle to support a special project or program. For more information, please contact Judy Tanna, Head of Development & Fundraising, at judy.tanna@slm.com.au or on 0408 232 962. The curiosity, insightfulness and warmth that defined Stephen and Wayne’s 1973 contribution shine through as the two Green Valley men reunite in Richardson’s film. VISIT Discover more Sydney stories in History Reflected at the Museum of Sydney. For exhibition dates, go to slm.is/historyreflected IN BRIEF5An extraordinary collection Ian Innes, Director, Capital Programs Sought out by researchers, designers, artists, musicians and members of the public from across the globe, the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection has become Australia’s leading source of information on the history of houses, interiors, furnishings, gardens and domestic life.The Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection (CSL&RC), located at The Mint, is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the social and cultural history of the Australian home, from early colonial days to the present. Every day, people use the collection to research projects from films to fashion collections, home renovations and architectural dissertations. Looking for a first edition of Antiquities of Athens to check the proportions of an Ionic column? Ever wondered how to make lye soap from wood ash, or where to find an embroidery pattern for some ‘Berlin wool work’, or what the most popular garden plants were in the 1840s? Need to reproduce some acid-pastel paint colours for your 1950s weekender or track down a 1960s Italian pendant light fitting? The CSL&RC has it all! A practical initiative The CSL&RC was established in 1984 as the Lyndhurst Conservation Resource Centre, an early initiative of the Historic Houses Trust (HHT; now Sydney Living Museums) to provide public access to its holdings of trade catalogues, soft furnishings samples, textiles, wallpapers, tiles, light fittings, architectural pattern books and reference works. These items were originally drawn together by curators to assist them with the restoration and refurbishment of the first houses in the HHT’s care: Vaucluse House, Elizabeth Bay House and Elizabeth Farm. At that time, the HHT’s approach reflected growing interest worldwide in the authentic presentation of historic buildings informed by scholarly study of original documentary sources and material. The HHT’s refurnishing and presentation of these historic houses – focusing as much on kitchens and outhouses as on grand drawing rooms – won accolades and also attracted interest from members of the public seeking reliable information for their own projects. In response, the first director of the HHT, Dr Peter Watts am, sought government funding to establish a dedicated library and resource centre. As the HHT’s core subject areas then were NSW colonial houses and domestic life, acquisitions focused on houses, gardens and domestic material culture. A transformative gift In 2004, the HHT was gifted an important collection of Australian colonial furniture, pictures, objets d’art and ephemera, as well as a substantial financial contribution, by the family of the late Mrs Caroline Simpson oam. In recognition of Mrs Simpson’s long advocacy for heritage conservation in NSW, including her own privately operated house museum and collection in Millers Point, the library and resource centre collections were renamed the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection. The gift coincided with the relocation of the HHT’s headquarters from Lyndhurst to the conserved and restored Mint coining factory in Macquarie Street, where the CSL&RC now occupies a purpose-built reading room, book stacks, research space and collection stores. The new central location enabled the expansion of education programs for tertiary students in architecture, interior design, design technologies and museum studies, and offers greater accessibility for the increasing numbers of people researching aspects of their own house, street or suburb. Guiding light In 1997, Megan Martin was recruited to manage the collection. With qualifications in English literature, librarianship, public history and Aboriginal studies, Megan came to the job with a strong and wide range of historical interests and developed an unrivalled specialist knowledge of the subject matter concerning the HHT. She would lead the growth and development of the CSL&RC for almost 25 years, until her retirement in May this year. This period also saw the beginnings and increasing importance of digital collections, searchable online catalogues and databases, and virtual access – Facing page, clockwise from top left Page from Wallach Bros design book …, 1884–88; Plate 16: ‘A villa adapted to park scenery’ (detail), from Rural residences, consisting of a series of designs for cottages …, John B Papworth, R Ackermann, London, 1818; Eisner house (Hugo Stossel), Warrawee, photographer unknown, c1951; Curtain (detail), ‘Billabong’ design by John Coburn for John Kaldor Sekers Fabrics, Sydney, c1963. Photo © Jamie North; Window seat (detail) from the Caroline Simpson Collection, c1840 Top to bottom ‘Colourful modern home designs’, Wunderlich trade catalogue, 1956; Megan Martin in the library. Photo © James Horan for Sydney Living Museums All items Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Sydney Living Museumsall of which Megan initiated and promoted, and which are now a core focus of collecting institutions worldwide. Her practice of writing rich catalogue records has enhanced the accessibility of the collection via search engines and accounts for the extensive use of the CSL&RC by overseas researchers. Megan’s approach was informed by ‘neutrality’ as a curatorial principle – not making aesthetic judgments; collecting and studying everyday items as well as the high end; and recognising a shifting interest in the value of ephemera (such as cards, advertising, brochures and magazines) in conveying cultural meaning in day-to-day life. Considered in this way, a seemingly worthless piece of paper or domestic item may embody a historical and emotional value that can be surfaced through informed, contemplative study to yield cultural readings. This is also true of the collections of furniture, pictures and ephemera displayed in SLM’s museums themselves. An acclaimed architecture and design collection Today, the CSL&RC’s holdings related to architecture and the home are the best of their kind in Australia, including the country’s only complete set of Rudolph Ackermann’s Repository of Arts (see pages 14–15); the most substantial collection of trade literature related to houses, interiors and gardens in Australia; and an extensive range of department store catalogues. One of Megan’s most significant acquisitions for the collection was the purchase of the Wasmuth Portfolio, a two-volume folio of the work of the highly influential American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Exquisite in their own right, the portfolio images – widely republished throughout the 20th century – also inspired a younger generation of Australian architects, such as Bruce Rickard, who became admired for his ‘Sydney school’ houses, superbly integrated into bushland sites using natural materials. In 2018, the CSL&RC acquired Megan Martin’s approach was informed by ‘neutrality’ as a curatorial principle – not making aesthetic judgments; collecting and studying everyday items as well as the high end … Clockwise from above left Daydream lamps: a delight in light trade catalogue, Lemar Industries Pty Ltd, c1960; Easy chair designed by Steven Kalmar, c1948. Photo © Jamie North. Donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program by Ken Neale; Back cover of Yokohama Nursery Company descriptive catalogue, 1910–11. All items Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection, Sydney Living Museums; Installation view of Marion Hall Best: Interiors exhibition at Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre. Photo © silversalt 8SPRING 2021Rickard’s complete office archive, reflecting SLM’s role as the emerging subject leader in the study of modernist houses in Sydney. In recent years, acquisitions have documented modernist houses and interiors in Australia, and particularly the contribution of migrant designers and craftspeople such as Paul Kafka, Steven Kalmar, Emmerich Révész, Hugo Stossel and George Surtees who came to Australia from central and eastern Europe from the late 1930s onwards. Enriching SLM’s exhibitions and programs CSL&RC items regularly feature in SLM’s exhibitions, many of which have toured extensively throughout Australia. Among these are Dream Home, Small Home (2014), curated by Megan Martin and CSL&RC curator Michael Lech and chronicling the aspirational home-plan services of the 1950s and 60s; and Marion Hall Best: Interiors (2017), curated by Michael Lech, featuring some of the CSL&RC’s extensive collection of furniture, textiles and drawings associated with the celebrated Sydney interior designer. The CSL&RC also provides a treasure-trove of material for a changing program of displays within the library itself, and online resources such as Internet Archive. The web gallery ‘Threads of connection’ (slm.is/threads-of-connection), curated by Megan, features 100 objects from SLM’s collections, grouped thematically, and each with a narrative connecting it in time, place and association. Digitisation and access SLM has an extensive collection of 19th-century Australian and British sheet music provenanced to Australian families, much of it fragile. Over the past decade, the CSL&RC has highlighted the significance of this material and embarked on an ambitious cataloguing and digitisation project. With the support of donors, the CSL&RC has now digitised and published online more than 400 items, made and supported new recordings of live and studio performances, and contributed to international publications and music programs. The 2019 exhibition Songs of Home, curated by research librarian Dr Matthew Stephens, featured sheet music, instruments and images from the various SLM collections to explore domestic music in the pre-phonograph era. The digitisation of collections to enable broader access is a major initiative as students and researchers increasingly use discovery tools to connect with the content they need. Far from rendering original books, manuscripts, pictures and domestic objects irrelevant, the sharing of items through digitisation often drives an interest in their physical nature, and the CSL&RC has seen growing engagement by educators exploring the unique opportunities this collection provides for learning and cultural understanding through the study of objects. Our evolving partnership with NSW State Archives opens up further opportunities. While each institution’s collection retains its integrity, by sharing original material we can find many points of intersection that enhance both collections and allow new perspectives on the history and culture of NSW. EXPLORE THE COLLECTION Discover the Caroline Simpson Library & Research Collection at slm.is/library View digitised collections at archive.org/details/sydneylivingmuseums 9AN EXTRAORDINARY COLLECTIONNext >