The Powerhouse Museum
The Powerhouse Museum is Sydney’s largest and most popular museum. Home to Australian culture and history, the Powerhouse is the perfect place to get a comprehensive insight into this rich and diverse country. Visit the Museum to find out about all things Australian - explore how Australians live, work and entertain themselves, find out about Australia’s notable record in research and innovation and discover the contemporary voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.Just outside the complex, near the exhibition centre, is the Powerhouse Museum. Australia’s largest museum, it is devoted to science, aviation and the decorative arts. It has a lot of ‘hands on’ exhibits which make it a favourite with children, and is open daily.
The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia has become the first museum in the world to release publicly-held historical photographs for access on the Flickr: The Commons. Powerhouse has released an initial 200 photographs from its Tyrrell Collection, and will continue to add more from this 7900+ image collection over the coming weeks. The Powerhouse Museum joins the Library of Congress in the ‘Commons’ initiative. The Library of Congress is sharing over 3,300 photos from its vast collection on the Flickr site.
The museum itself is built from the shell of an old power station constructed in 1899-1902 to provide power for Sydney’s electric tram system. It was a working power station right up until 1963 and suffered a decade and more of neglect before the Wran Government named it as the site for a new museum in 1979, the museum eventually opening in 1988.
Funded by Brisbane City Council (BCC), Brisbane Powerhouse opened as an arts centre in 2000 after its 30-year reign as a derelict power station. Bold industrial structures laced with European flair, raw textures and preserved graffiti walls combine to create the perfect artistic space and have earned the building a heritage listing. The recent refurbishment in early 2007 ensures ensures a holistic arts and dining experience with additions including a new café bar, a reconfigured Turbine Platform to constitute a concert stage, a reconfiguration of the Powerhouse Theatre, an additional Rooftop Terrace and a roof on the existing Rooftop Terrace.
Tyrrell Collection
The Tyrrell Collection consists of 7903 glass plate negatives from the studios of Charles Kerry (1857-1928) and Henry King (1855-1923) who had two of Sydney’s principal photographic studios in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The collection – an important record of city and country life - was bought by James R. Tyrrell in 1929 and sold in 1980 to Australian Consolidated Press who donated it to the Museum in 1985. Find out more about the Tyrrell Collection.
Powerhouse Museum curator Glynis Jones commented: “This year’s selection has a casual mood and ranges from global travelers and ethereal wistful flower child dresses to frayed and faded denim and 70s Australian surf culture.” The Museum holds one of the largest and most diverse collections of fashion and dress in Australia. The annual Grand Marnier/Powerhouse Museum Fashion of the Year program ensures this collection is updated with a well-considered selection of contemporary fashion.
Pre-empting London’s Tate Modern by some 12 years, Sydney’s aptly named Powerhouse Museum opened in 1988 in what was formerly the Ultima Power Station, originally built between 1899 and 1902. Its purpose was to provide power for Sydney’s new electric tram system, but when the last tram stopped running in 1961, the Power Station closed. The breadth of subjects covered by the permanent exhibitions alone is pretty staggering: everything from collections of decorative art and a history of Australian society and domestic life to the story of Australia’s involvement in the Space Race.
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