EXPLORING HERITAGE COLLECTIONS IN BENDIGO
1 March - 20 April
This exhibition is the result of a collaboration between the Arts Victoria funded Professional in Residence based at Bendigo Art Gallery and eighteen central Victorian based heritage organisations. Snapshots and Stories draws on the collections and research of this diverse selection of community groups and celebrates the valuable contributions these groups can make to preserving and interpreting our history. The exhibition offers a window into our past by exploring the lives and events that have contributed to Bendigo’s rich and varied history.
Snapshots and Storeis explores the idea that it is the objects, photographs and documents we collect that can offer us snapshots into the lives and experiences of the individuals who people our history. Every object and each person has a story to tell. Collectively these stories weave together creating a multi-layered and fascinating glimpse into our history. A postcard written in the trenches on the Western Front, late 19th century tailors’ scissors, a tram conductor’s hat, an internment peg, a Cornish miner’s family bible, the 1854 first edition of the Bendigo Advertiser or a pair of children’s shoes are each objects with fascinating stories to be shared. These and many other items will be on display as part of this exhibition which also features artwork, photographs, oral history and short film.
The groups involved include: Bendigo Cemeteries Trust, Bendigo Health, Bendigo Historical Society, Bendigo Irish Association, Bendigo Tramways, Bendigo & District Caledonian Society, Bendigo & District Cornish Association, Campaspe Run, Central Deborah Gold Mine, Eaglehawk Heritage Society, Elmore Progress Association Museum, German Heritage Association Bendigo, Golden Dragon Museum & Chinese Association, Heathcote McIvor Historical Society, Huntly & Districts Historical Society, Jaara Jaara Loddon Aboriginal Corporation and La Trobe University, National Trust (Victoria) Bendigo Branch and the Bendigo & District RSL Military Museum. Snapshots and Stories is as much an exhibition about the richness of Bendigo’s history as it is about the diverse and passionate groups who preserve and treasure it for the future.
John Carter Northcote
Ross's Store, Bendigo Goldfield (detail) c1852
watercolour
Gift of Mr Charles Edward Northcote 1942
Bendigo Art Gallery