Australian Museum Research Articles

Correspondence between Mawson and Simmers: the missing meteorological report of Ritchie Simmers from the BANZARE voyages of 1929–1931 in Antarctic waters

ABSTRACT The British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) operated during the 1929–1930 and 1930–1931 austral summers, primarily as a ship-borne expedition in the Southern Ocean. Involvement of meteorologist Ritchie Simmers from the New Zealand Meteorological Service was part of the New Zealand contribution to the expedition. He collected data assiduously, including two-hourly weather observations during the day and 34 balloon flights tracked by theodolite observations. Simmers worked up considerable data but did not produce anything in the BANZARE scientific report series, as expected by Professor Douglas Mawson, series editor and expedition leader. Based on correspondence in the Mawson Centre at the South Australian Museum between Mawson and Simmers about his pending report, we suggest reasons for the striking omission of meteorological information from the report series. Simmers had a busy, full-time career with the New Zealand Meteorological Service, and not until 1947 was he permitted to work on his report in office hours. He was distracted by other events, including studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.). We suggest Simmers’ enthusiasm for the project waned after Mawson rebuffed potential collaboration with Professor Rossby at M.I.T. involving BANZARE meteorological data. Little of Simmers’ data set has been located.

Value, knowledge and reputation: zoological exchange by Australian museums, 1870-1900.

The burgeoning nineteenth-century public-museum sector built a significant part of its natural-history specimen collections through extensive international trading. The early 2020s has seen an upsurge of scholarly interest in this largely overlooked trade. Exchange was a distinctive aspect of the natural-history trade that reveals much about the diverse practices and motives of the institutional collectors. Economic-geographic benefits included conserving the limited financial resources of museums and exploiting complementarities in the geographic distribution of specimens. Collection management, institutional reputation, social connection and international diplomacy were also part of a complex mix of value making that shaped this important international trade. We analyse the exchange practices of the three largest museums in the Australian colonies in the final three decades of the nineteenth century who exchanged Australia's 'rare and curious' fauna with collectors across the globe. By deploying and analysing extensive, comparative data on a particular form of natural history, zoology, and a particular kind of trade, exchange trading, among three Australian museums, this paper extends and enriches recent scholarship on the mobility of natural-history specimens and how they were traded.

Sydney Basin in the Triassic—A review of the geology, flora and fauna, and ecosystems. The Hawkesbury Sandstone

The Australian Museum has a large palaeontological collection of Triassic specimens from the Sydney Basin, including many type specimens. This study reviewed every presently described Sydney Basin Hawkesbury Sandstone plant and animal taxon that has representative specimens held in the Australian Museum. Fifty-two taxa are included from numerous sites. These include three amphibians, twenty-eight fishes, eleven insects, one horseshoe “crab”, one scorpion, three crustaceans, two molluscs and three plants. Basic taxonomic history is noted, together with specimen registration numbers and their position in the collection. Also included are references to relevant specimens held in the Geological Survey of New South Wales and the Natural History Museum, London collections. Images of every taxon are included. To place the collection in context, particularly for educators working with students, brief descriptions of the geology that forms the Hawkesbury Sandstone, and the inferred ecosystems that existed during the Middle Triassic, are included. The results of this study will help to facilitate further researchers by providing important details of the fossil collections held at the Australian Museum.

Serpulidae (Annelida) of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories

Research voyages onboard RV ‘Investigator’ in 2021 (IN2021_V08) and 2022 (IN2022_V04) sampled benthic communities of seamounts off Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, also known as Indian Ocean Australian Territories (IOT). Over 150 specimens of the family Serpulidae collected during the voyages were deposited in the Australian Museum. The animals belonged to the filogranin genera Apomatus, Bathyvermilia, Bathyvermiloides gen. nov., Filogranula, and Protis, as well as to serpulin genera Hyalopomatus, Placostegus and Vitreotubus. In total, 12 species were identified, including three named, but very poorly known serpulids Bathyvermilia challengeri, Filogranula stellata, and Vitreotubus digeromimoi. Nine species Apomatus nishii n. sp., Bathyvermilia rolandobastidai n. sp., Bathyvermiloides juliebrockae n. sp., Protis melmackenzieae n. sp., Protis perneti n. sp., Hyalopomatus nogueirai n. sp., Hyalopomatus rossanae n. sp., Hyalopomatus suelindsayae n. sp., and Placostegus leslieharrisae n. sp. were described. All species descriptions are accompanied by DNA sequence data and their phylogenetic positions in the family Serpulidae have been assessed.

Bird Specimens Transferred from Overseas Museums to National Museums of Japan in the 1800s: The Tokyo Imperial Household Museum Collection

The Tokyo Imperial Household Museum inherited bird specimens that had been acquired by two national museums between 1872–1923, including specimens of foreign species, non-native to Japan (Kobayashi and Kato 2017). Today, the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology holds most of this collection (Kobayashi and Kato 2017). The collection cannot be effectively used for research, because the specimen data is unclear. My ultimate goal was to restore the collection data for the specimens. As the first step, I examined various archive records (e.g., catalogues, invoices, letters) associated with those museums involved, to clarify details of its transfer history. The collection included specimens sent in the 1800s from, among others, the United States National Museum at the Smithsonian Institution, the Australian Museum, and the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (Kobayashi and Kato 2020a, Kobayashi and Kato 2020b). It also included type specimens, which are academically important. This study demonstrates that catalogues and invoices are useful to clarify the collection transfer history, which may improve the incomplete collection data.

The Australian orphanage museum: heritage and activism

ABSTRACT Hundreds of thousands of Australians live with the dire aftermath of having been institutionalised as children in the national ‘Care’ network of orphanages and children’s homes. In 2023 the Australian Orphanage Museum (AOM) was opened, both to memorialise the experiences of children whose early lives were blighted by out-of-home Care (OOHC), and to facilitate activism aimed at gaining justice for those now-adult Care-leavers. The article in part utilises the author’s lived experience as a Care-leaver activist to summarise the rise of Care-leaver activism, placing it in a heritage context as it applies to the institutions themselves. It examines the role of the AOM in collecting and displaying apparently mundane objects that have profound meaning for individual stakeholders, and in preserving archival material documenting the early activist groups. Various forms of past and contemporary Care-leaver activism are discussed, and examples of successful and less successful campaigns are examined. The AOM is shown to perform a vital role in providing affirmation for Care-leavers, advocating on their behalf to the wider community, and working in conjunction with other activist groups and projects to aid researchers in the field.

A review of the Acanthocephala of Australian bandicoots (Peramelidae), with a comment on New Guinean hosts, based on material held in the South Australian museum

ABSTRACT A total of 103 vials of acanthocephalans held in the Australian Helminth Collection of the South Australian Museum whose contents derive from 456 Australian bandicoots (Peramelidae) were examined. The number of individuals of each bandicoot species that had been examined for helminths was determined from the SAM AHC database. None of three individuals of Isoodon auratus were infected. One of 63 individuals of I. fusciventer, 23 of 127 I. macrourus, 35 of 92 I. obesulus, none of 15 Perameles bougainville, 34 of 83 P. gunnii, one of 54 P. nasuta and none of 19 P. pallescens were infected. Nine bandicoots identified only as Peramelinae were also infected. Australiformis semoni (Linstow, 1898) occurred in 78 bandicoots, Plagiorhynchus (Prosthorhynchus) cylindraceus (Goeze, 1782) in 15 bandicoots and one animal, P. gunnii, harboured both species of acanthocephalan. Australiformis semoni normally occurs in bandicoots with occasional infections reported from the brush tailed phascogale Phascogale tapoatafa (Dasyuridae) and the long nosed potoroo Potorous tridactylus (Potoroidae). Plagiorhynchus (P.) cylindraceus is usually found in passerine birds and is also an occasional parasite of bandicoots. Host diet and feeding behaviour are likely determinants of which bandicoot species harbour infection.

Centering multimodality: A personal and disciplinary journey

While museums have always been multimodal in and of themselves, and while museum studies have long engaged with different modalities in the museum (exhibition design, visitor movement, etc.), a comprehensive understanding of museums as ‘multimodal constellations’ has been missing. This was certainly the case in the 1990s, particularly for linguistics as a discipline, in which language was likely to be viewed as an isolated, and primary, form of communication. Yet in a museum, every label is connected to an exhibit, an exhibition, and the museum itself, and communication needs to be understood as a holistic, multimodal enterprise. For me as a linguist involved with the Australian Museum, Australia’s foremost museum of natural history, the multimodal environment of language was critical in our project to improve communication with visitors through better label writing. This article explains the personal and disciplinary developments resulting in the centering of multimodality as a research agenda. An important feature of this approach is the metafunctional theory of Michael Halliday as a core tenet. I explain how this theory of meaning operates across different levels of the institution, in relation to different modes, and in relation to subsequent developments in multimodal research.

The genus Syllis Savigny in Lamarck, 1818 (Annelida: Syllidae: Syllinae) from Australia (Fourth part)

Syllis Savigny in Lamarck, 1818, the type genus of Syllidae, is the largest and most diverse within the family. This genus presents many taxonomic, biogeographic, and phylogenetic problems due mainly to the lack of molecular data and morphological synapomorphies for many of the species, but also due to poor or inadequate descriptions. In order to improve our understanding of the genus, we have undertaken a morphological revision of Australian species, based on type material and material collected over years by the Australian Museum. This is the fourth paper dealing with this genus. Nine species are herein described, of which five are new records for Australia: Syllis ergeni Çinar, 2005; S. patersoni Soto, San Martín & Lucas, 2020; S. valida Grube, 1857; S. violacea Grube, 1870; and S. ypsiloides Aguado, San Martín & ten Hove, 2008. Three species already known from Australia are redescribed: S. heronislandensis (Hartmann-Schröder, 1991) n. comb.; S. parturiens Haswell, 1920; and S. cf. schmardiana Haswell, 1886. Syllis gantheaumensis (Hartmann-Schröder, 1979) n. comb. is raised to species level, since it was originally described as a subspecies of Typosyllis filidentata Hartmann-Schröder, 1962. We include an addendum with a list of species already treated in the previous papers on this genus, as well as some new synonymies after revision of types: Typosyllis (Typosyllis) gerhardi Hartmann-Schröder, 1980 and T. (T.) guildertonensis Hartmann-Schröder, 1979, as synonymous of Syllis busseltonensis (Hartmann-Schröder, 1982); T. (T.) raygeorgei Hartmann-Schröder, 1979 as synonymous of S. hyalina Grube, 1863; T. (T.) rockinghamensis Hartmann-Schröder, 1983 and T. (T.) pseudopapillata Hartmann-Schröder, 1991 as synonymous of S. pharobroomensis (Hartmann-Schröder, 1979). We also include a discussion of the genus and a key to Australian species.

History and historical DNA: Identity of Chelodina intergularis Fry, 1915 and type localities of C. intergularis and C. rugosa Ogilby, 1890

Based on the phylogenetic placement of a near-complete mitogenome sequence of the holotype of Chelodina intergularis Fry, 1915 generated with hDNA approaches, we present evidence for the synonymy of this nominal species with Chelodina rugosa Ogilby, 1890. The type specimens of both taxa are housed in the Australian Museum, Sydney. Scrutinizing historical records, we conclude that the type locality of both taxa is most likely the vicinity of Somerset, at the northern extremity of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. We figure and describe both type specimens. Our results support the earlier conclusion that the exceptional arrangement of intergular and gular scutes in the holotype of C. intergularis is an individual aberration.

Relative age of the Devonian tetrapod Metaxygnathus, based on the associated fossil fish assemblage at Jemalong, New South Wales

A new genus, Jemalongia, is erected for a porolepiform shoulder girdle and associated scales from the Cloghnan Shale at Jemalong Weir, near Forbes in New South Wales, Australia. There is no evidence for the Late Devonian porolepiform Holoptychius that was previously associated with the tetrapod Metaxygnathus at this site. Scales and a partial articulated specimen of Holoptychius sp. from the Famennian Worange Point Formation at Eden on the New South Wales south coast are close to both Holoptychius sp. from East Greenland and Holoptychius nobilissimus from Scotland. However, evidently a species other than Holoptychius sp. is represented by scales in the Hunter Siltstone at Grenfell, central New South Wales. The Jemalong fossils share character states with other scales from Grenfell and Bogan Gate that show features resembling coelacanth scales; a scale attributed to the Devonian coelacanth Gavinia is shown here for comparison. An isolated tooth plate demonstrates a second lungfish taxon at Jemalong, in addition to the denticulate Soederberghia sp. There is insufficient evidence for referring the skull of Soederberghia to the type species Soederberghia groenlandica. Incomplete placoderm remains suggest that a new antiarch taxon may occur at Jemalong. This new evidence suggests that the age of the Jemalong assemblage should be revised downwards to Givetian–Frasnian or older, rather than Famennian as previously interpreted. Gavin C. Young [Gavin.Young@anu.edu.au; Gavinyoung51@gmail.com], Department of Materials Physics, Research School of Physics, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; Australian Museum Research Institute, 1 Williams St, Sydney 2010, New South Wales, Australia.

First record of Protemnodon (Macropodidae: Marsupialia) from Pleistocene lowland New Guinea

An isolated molar from the archaeological deposit of Lachitu Cave (RIQ), on the north coast of Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea represents the first Pleistocene occurrence of the genus Protemnodon below 1700 m on the island of New Guinea. The specimen is identified as a deciduous second lower premolar (dp3) from a juvenile individual. It is distinguished from other New Guinean Protemnodon by its large size, proportions, and some morphological features. The find is the first evidence of New Guinean Protemnodon in Pleistocene coastal lowland rainforest environments and likely represents an undescribed species. Loukas G. Koungoulos [ loukas.koungoulos@anu.edu.au ] Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; Timothy F. Flannery [ tim.fridtjof.flannery@gmail.com ] Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney 2000, New South Wales, Australia; Sue O’Connor [ sue.oconnor@anu.edu.au ] Archaeology and Natural History, School of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

Australian Holocaust Museums: From Particular to Universal

ABSTRACT Australian Holocaust museums are at a crossroads regarding their exhibitions and educational programming. Originally survivor driven initiatives, they now face the dual challenge of negotiating the loss of the survivor generation and interpreting the goals of Holocaust education in light of their absence. To do so, they must confront the question of what Holocaust education seeks to achieve and, most poignantly, whether it can continue to speak to succeeding generations of Australian student and general visitors, now far removed from the event both historically and geographically. This article examines how this moment of intergenerational change has and is being negotiated at the Sydney Jewish Museum through reflection on the development and implementation of its newest permanent exhibition, The Holocaust and Human Rights. An explicit attempt to bring the intimate histories of the survivors into dialogue with broader, more universalistic concerns, the exhibition provides a microcosm of both the potential and problematics such ventures entail.

A new species of Lorrettina (dokimocephalid trilobite) from the Iverian (Cambrian, Jiangshanian) of the Amadeus Basin, Northern Territory, Australia

A previously unreported dokimocephalid trilobite, Lorrettina waterhousei sp. nov., is described herein from the Iverian (Jiangshanian, Cambrian) upper Goyder Formation, Amadeus Basin, central Australia. This is the first definitive biostratigraphic evidence for rocks of an Iverian (Jiangshanian) age in the Amadeus Basin. Correlation is made with the Chatsworth Limestone (=Gola beds) of the neighbouring Georgina Basin in Australia, as well as internationally to China, based on the generic occurrence. The biostratigraphic age of the unit is also supported by previous carbon isotope chemostratigraphy, further strengthening the interpretation. Patrick M. Smith [Patrick.Smith@austmus.gov.au], Palaeontology Department, Australian Museum Research Institute, Sydney, New South Wales, 2010, Australia and, Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, 2109, Australia.

A Review of the Relegamoria molleri Species Complex (Gastropoda Volutoidea: Volutidae) from Eastern Australia

A review of the Relegamoria molleri (Iredale, 1936) complex was undertaken using newly sourced material from a number of private research collections and ALA database which contains the Australian and Queensland Museums holdings and records. After a detailed review of several hundred specimens including morphological and distributional characters, Relegamoria Iredale, 1936 is reinstated at the generic level and the two previously recognised subspecies R. molleri isabelae Bail, Limpus & Poppe, 2001 and R. molleri vandenbergae Bail, Limpus & Poppe, 2001 are raised to full species and a further nine new species are recognised: Relegamoria aliuamolleri new species, Relegamoria archaeomolleri new species, Relegamoria ariae new species, Relegamoria elsieae new species, Relegamoria charlyi new species, Relegamoria barbaracollinsae new species, Relegamoria annetteae new species, Relegamoria youngorum new species and Relegamoria ashleyfieldi new species. This revision highlights the need for a broader review into the deep-water fauna of Queensland and New South Wales, particularly as more private collections are made available for scientific study.

The Sydney Basin in the Triassic—a review of the geology, flora and fauna, and ecosystems. The Narrabeen Group

The aim of this report is to provide a framework within which future earth science researchers of the Sydney Basin in the Triassic Period can work to rapidly access information relevant to their particular field of study. Information on the geology, flora and fauna and ecosystems has been extracted and summarized from an extensive range of papers published from the late 1800s to present day. In many cases the taxonomic classification of specimens has changed over the years as more data has come to light. The history of these changes has been noted. This information is backed by specimen lists and illustrated by images of selected specimens sourced from the extensive palaeontological collection of the Australian Museum, augmented by additional images from the collection of the Geological Survey of New South Wales. The major Triassic geological structures of the Sydney Basin are the Narrabeen Group, the Hawkesbury Sandstone and the Wianamatta Group. This report provides a consolidated review of data presently available for the Narrabeen Group. Future reports will cover the Hawkesbury Sandstone and the Wianamatta Group in a similar manner.

Repatriation of aboriginal sacred objects: prospects for the return of the poorly provenanced

ABSTRACT This paper explores the challenges of repatriating poorly documented Aboriginal sacred religious objects from Central Australia. The authors present an overview of historical endeavours to repatriate these objects from Australian domestic museums and the progress of recent returns from international collections. Detailed documentation, including reference to an object’s specific relationship to places, people or ancestral stories is critical to ensuring that rightful contemporary Central Australian Aboriginal people can assume care and responsibility for any repatriated objects. The absence of provenance data and any other related collection documentation can therefore greatly inhibit the return of these objects to present-day custodians. Exploring the prospect of returning large numbers of poorly provenanced sacred objects back to Australia, this paper argues that aside from the potential logistical or infrastructure requirements of repatriating these items, the development of Indigenous cultural frameworks and innovations will be critical to any meaningful repatriation outcomes.

How “open” are Australian museums? A review through the lens of copyright governance

Museums are increasingly employing innovative digital techniques to curate, link, and market collections, enabling new kinds of public engagement to better connect with popular culture. By embracing contemporary modes of delivery to open access to their collections, museums are signalling a drive toward greater democratisation of knowledge and information through increased interaction and accessibility. Yet with this has come a series of copyright and legal complexities. This paper reviews current copyright barriers for museums in Australia and examines how international examples offer potential models and ways forward. The authors conclude that recent copyright modernisation reviews offer the museum sector an opportunity to restructure its strategies. As online formats evolve, there is an urgent need to explore how amendments to copyright laws in some countries have allowed for more fair and flexible use of cultural artefacts and orphan works.

Taxonomic review of the genus Dasycercus (Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae) using modern and subfossil material; and the description of three new species

The genus Dasycercus (Dasyuridae: Dasyuromorphia) has a long and ongoing history of taxonomic uncertainty. Currently two species are recognized: Dasycercus cristicauda and Dasycercus blythi, with the previously named Dasycercus hillieri considered a junior synonym of D. cristicauda. This investigation integrates modern, historical and subfossil material from across Australia to provide the most comprehensive review of the genus to date. Cranial and dental morphological characters that enable phylogenetic and morphometric analysis of taxa are established. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and principal component analysis (PCA) of craniodental measurements, including from the type specimens of named taxa (D. cristicauda, D. hillieri and D. blythi), are used to assess the validity of each taxon. The results confirm the validity of D. cristicauda and D. blythi as species, but also reconfirm the validity of D. hillieri. As a result, much of the modern ‘D. cristicauda’ material is reassigned to D. hillieri. Three new taxa are proposed: Dasycercus woolleyae sp. nov., Dasycercus archeri sp. nov. and Dasycercus marlowi sp. nov. These six Dasycercus species are distributed across Australia’s arid zone and beyond. Based on prior investigations and the results of this taxonomic review, it is likely that only D. hillieri and D. blythi are extant. The identification of four likely extinct taxa marks the first recorded instance of modern extinction within the family Dasyuridae.Jake Newman-Martin [jake.newman-martin@student.curtin.edu.au], School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Kent St, Bentley, WA, 6102 Australia;Kenny J. Travouillon [Kenny.Travouillon@museum.wa.gov.au], Western Australian Museum, Collections and Research, Locked Bag 49, Welshpool DC, WA, 6986 Australia;Natalie Warburton [N.Warburton@murdoch.edu.au], Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, 90 South Street, Murdoch Western Australia 6150 Australia;Milo Barham [Milo.Barham@curtin.edu.au], School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Kent St, Bentley, WA, 6102 Australia;Alison J. Blyth [Alison.Blyth@curtin.edu.au], School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Curtin University Kent St, Bentley, WA, 6102 Australia.

Hidden in Plain Sight: Child-authored Material in Australian Museums and Archives

Abstract: Since the history of children and youth gained momentum in the 1970s, historians have expressed frustration over the difficulties of locating children's voices in archives. While the availability of child-authored material presents a major challenge for many children's historians, not all are destined to work with lost or fragmentary evidence. By examining holdings of child art and writing in Australian collections, this article resists the assumption—common in the historiography of children and youth—that only fragments of child-authored material have survived in archives. In Australia, children's documentary records are far more voluminous than many scholars have previously acknowledged, comprising a surprisingly large array of children's art, writing, audiovisual and material culture.