The Morrison Government is providing over $100,000 to protect two significant Australian cultural objects and preserve them locally for audiences to enjoy.
Sydney’s Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) will receive $35,000 and will match the Commonwealth funding to acquire a rare Fender Stratocaster guitar used by The Atlantics to write, record and perform 1963s hit Bombora.
The Museums Board of Victoria (Museums Victoria) will receive $67,500 to acquire a silver candelabra epergne – a silver candle holder centrepiece presented to one of Melbourne’s founding fathers, Captain William Lonsdale.
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said the Australian Government is committed to protecting objects of cultural significance for current and future generations to learn from.
“Both of these objects represent important moments in Australia’s history. The guitar evokes Australian surf rock music, youth culture, post-war immigration and technological innovation and design.”
“The epergne reminds us of the pivotal role Captain William Lonsdale played in the development of Victoria’s Port Phillip colony,” said Minister Fletcher.
Bombara was the number one song in September 1963 and is part of the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia collection.
The epergne was presented to Captain William Lonsdale in 1840 as a retirement gift from his position as Chief Magistrate and Commandant of Port Phillip. The epergne will be on display at the Melbourne Museum and online. Museums Victoria will contribute $7,500 for the acquisition.
Up to $500,000 is available each financial year through the Government’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Cultural Heritage Account to help Australian museums, galleries, trusts and archives preserve significant objects. The ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Cultural Heritage Committee assesses applications for funding to acquire these objects.
For more information about the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Cultural Heritage Account visit:
