A collection of 220 educational plant specimens listed in the Victorian Heritage Register is now available for public viewing thanks to conservation work by the University of Melbourne in partnership with the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute.
The outcome
Items of historical significance owned by the Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute (BMI) will be safe and accessible for years to come as result of the partnership with the University of Melbourne.
“The BMI has been an avid collector of books and artefacts since its inception in 1859, and now has a Victorian Heritage Register-listed book collection valued at over $2 million, as well as an extensive lending library and newspaper files,” Ballaarat Mechanics’ Institute life member Rex Bridges says.
Contained in the collection are 150-year-old volumes of 220 indigenous Australian plant specimens compiled and published by Baron Ferdinand von Mueller. Von Mueller was the founder of the National Herbarium of Victoria and first director of Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens.
By stabilising each of the 220 sheets, conservators have ensured handling the collection won’t cause further damage.
“The result of this conservation has seen the von Mueller collection become a permanent and valued part of the BMI heritage history,” says Rex Bridges, BMI life member.