The Annual Maurice Kelly Museum Lecture
Date: 14th Oct 2015 6:00pm-7:00pm
Time: Please join us for refreshments from 5:30pm
Location: Arts Lecture Theatre A2
Contact: Prof Lloyd Weeks lweeks2@une.edu.au 6773 3982
Speaker: James Donaldson, Senior Museum Officer, RD Milns Museum, University of Queensland
“The Maurice Kelly Annual Lecture”
2015 is the 19th year of the Annual Maurice Kelly Museum Lecture, established in honour of Dr Maurice Kelly (1919-2011), MA (Syd) PhD (Laval). The lecture is presented each year by a distinguished researcher on invitation from the Museum of Antiquities. This year’s lecture “Reimagining Antiquity: Lessons from the RD Milns Antiquities Museum” will be presented by James Donaldson, Senior Museum Officer of the RD Milns Museum, University of Queensland. Visitors are invited to take a tour of The Museum of Antiquities, which is open prior to the public lecture.
James will be speaking about the University of Queensland’s small collection of antiquities established for the purpose of educating undergraduate students. Today, this collection is known as the RD Milns Antiquities Museum, and is the foremost collection of classical antiquities on public display in Queensland. In the intervening years, the Museum’s mission has changed and like the handful of other university antiquities museums in Australia, there have been a few challenges along the way. This lecture reflects on some of the UQ Antiquities Museum’s recent successes and challenges, sharing our experiences in creating an accessible but atmospheric public space, preserving and presenting the past in innovative ways, and reconnecting with our audiences and with the past.
The Museum of Antiquities: A Centre of Excellence
Visitors are also invited to take a tour of UNE’s Museum of Antiquities, which is open prior to the public lecture. The Museum of Antiquities (MoA) in the School of Humanities has been a centre of excellence at UNE since it was established by the Department of Classics in 1959. The museum serves as a research hub for the Disciplines of Classics and Ancient History, Archaeology, and History, and has a long tradition in research, publication, ARC and national grant applications, on-campus teaching, and Schools and Community outreach programs.
The Museum is the only regional Ancient History and Archaeology museum in Australia, and its collections encompass antiquities from the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, complemented by ethnographic material from Australia, South East Asia, New Guinea, the Pacific region, Mesoamerica, and Africa. The MoA continues to thrive through the generous support of Alumni, Friends, and Donors, and seeks to promote the interest and engagement of the broader community in the history of peoples through the ages.