Media Release
Ned Kelly's Helmet Returned to State Library of Victoria
4 September 2007
After travelling more than 12,700 kilometres around Australia, Ned Kelly’s helmet today returns to the State Library of Victoria to complete the armour of our best-known bushranger, now on display in the Library’s permanent exhibition, The changing face of Victoria.
Some 418,000 people saw Kelly’s helmet during the collaborative exhibition, National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries which, over 20 months, toured every Australian capital city. The exhibition brought together, for the first time, more than 170 extraordinary items drawn from the collections of Australia’s National, State and Territory libraries and included treasures such as Don Bradman’s favourite cricket bat, the original score of Waltzing Matilda and Henry Lawson’s pen.
Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, CEO and State Librarian of the State Library of Victoria, says National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries was a remarkable achievement and a unique opportunity for Australians to see the icons of their national heritage. The loan of Kelly’s helmet was a logical one as the State Library of Victoria holds many items related to Ned Kelly and the Kelly gang including the Jerilderie Letter, Kelly’s death mask, his rifle, right boot, photos of the 1880 Siege at Glenrowan, police correspondence, newspaper records and cultural ephemera relating to legend of Ned Kelly.
‘While we are very happy to have Kelly’s helmet back in the library I want to acknowledge what an extraordinary undertaking National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries has been. The exhibition was four years in the making and brought together wonderful and unique collections from eight great Australian libraries. Each item was a piece of Australian history that resonated in different ways for all who saw them,’ she said
National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries was managed by the National Library of Australia. Jan Fullerton, Director-General of the National Library of Australia, said she was delighted by the success of the exhibition.
‘The fact that so many unique and irreplaceable items, from so many institutions, travelled around Australia without incident is a testament to the quality of exhibition and conservation expertise of all those who worked on the project. I congratulate all involved on their fine efforts. National Treasures has been one of the most logistically complicated exhibitions in Australia’s history, and was made possible by the support of the generous sponsors and all the contributing libraries. It was a triumph of collaboration, cooperation and vision,’ she said.
The exhibition was made possible by Art Indemnity Australia, an Australian Government program through which the Commonwealth acts as an insurer in case of any loss or damage to an indemnified exhibition. Without Art Indemnity Australia, the high cost of insuring significant cultural items would have prohibited the touring of this major exhibition. For this exhibition the managing organisation for indemnity was the National Gallery of Australia.
National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries was supported by Visions of Australia, an Australian Government Program supporting touring exhibitions by providing funding assistance for the development and touring of cultural material across Australia.
Media inquiries
Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator
State Library of Victoria
Tel 03 8664 7263
Email mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au
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