FRIENDS R EVIEW
From the President
Carolyn Forster OAM retires
as President of the World Federation of Friends of Museums
Dear Friends,
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of you for being an integral part of the Australian Federation of Friends of Museums.
Friends, members, and volunteers like you are the heartbeat of our favourite museums, galleries, gardens and libraries. Your unwavering commitment is what keeps our institutions alive and flourishing
Thank you for being the heart and soul of this vibrant community. Your dedication and passion not only preserve and enrich these cultural treasures but also ensure they remain vibrant and accessible for future generations. I look forward to continuing our journey together and making a lasting difference across our communities.
Warm regards,
Yvette Pratt
President, Australian Federation of Friends of Museums
Carolyn Forster OAM made her final appearance as President of the World Federation of Friends of Museums (WFFM) at its Council and General Assembly Meeting in Luxembourg from 2-5 May 2024. Carolyn’s current title is President of Honour.
Carolyn’s retiring speech to the meeting was made on 2 May. She spoke of the role of museums in society, and the critical part that Friends organisations play in supporting them, with a key example from Australian experience: Museums play a vital role in modern society. Through the display of objects and stories they invite us to understand better where we have come from, and learn about people and places that are new to us. The cultural sector is often front and centre in soft diplomacy – cultural exchange through exhibitions and programming provides a unique insight into global cultures. They show us our differences but, more importantly, they also highlight our commonalities. In a world that is becoming more polarised, the work of museums has never been more important.
Yvette Pratt
Carolyn Forster OAM
When we look to truly successful museums, what we often find at their centre is a Friends community: a group that advocates and supports the broad work of the organisation, on every level
Friends groups provide a community where members can share ideas, be active participants, and stay connected.
And yet, their influence and importance are often underestimated. I would like to share a story about the impact a Friends community can have.
I have been a member of the Friends of the National Museum of Australia for more than 25 years, before there was even a building or an agreed institution.
stands on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra – and it was a committed Friends group who made this a reality.
In the 1980s the ‘museum friends’ rallied support and lobbied the Australian government to build a museum for the people. This was an eclectic group made up of actors, politicians, business leaders and everyday Australians. Today the Friends group includes Australians from across the country, active members who continue to support and engage with the institution and the broader cultural sector.
Embracing a museum friends community can only strengthen
assist with donations, attendance at events and broad advocacy and, as we all know, much more.
The Friends group at the National Museum of Australia uses a quote from Herodotus: ‘Of all possessions a friend is most precious’.
I encourage you to place this sentiment at the centre of your institution and see it go from strength to strength.
AFFM News
Julie Pool USA, previous Secretary General, Anne Asserson Norway, Secretary General, Italo Scaietta, previous Vice President Europe, now President WFFM, Carolyn Forster, President of Honour, Ekkehard Nümann, President German Federation, Renè Faure, Vice President of Europe and President French Federation of Friends of Museums.
Carolyn Forster and Italo Scaietta, the new President of WFFM
Friends of NFSA launches HISTORY PAGE
https://www.archivefriends.org.au/index.php/history/history
To mark the 40th anniversary this year of the creation of the National Film and Sound Archive, the Friends have added a History page to its website. This will grow month by month as documents charting the origins, birth and growth of the institution are added, becoming a growing on-line research resource.
Currently on the page are the Original Cabinet Submission and Decision of 26 March 1984, through which the NFSA was created by separating the National Library’s film and sound archive collections and functions to become the foundation of a new
memory institution. Although time has vindicated the decision, the submission shows that opinions about the decision were then very mixed. The move was opposed by the National Library and some major government departments, and their reasons provide interesting reading today.
One can eavesdrop on a gathering of National Library staff on the morning of 10 April 1984 when DirectorGeneral Harrison Bryan explained how this decision would affect the Library. An audio file of Bryan’s speech to assembled Library staff reawakens that moment and reveals Bryan’s mixed feelings about the outcome.
Peter Burgis led the establishment and growth of the National Library’s sound
recording collection from 1974 until its incorporation into the NFSA. He compiled this wide ranging and witty memoir last year as a record of how the collection grew. The saga of saving radio transcription recordings from the brink of destruction is lightened by the description of National Librarian Harold White arriving at Peter’s home in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, and promising unlimited funds to set up the sound recording collection!
Finally, the whole sweep of the NFSA’s history and prehistory from 1935 to 2008 is tracked in Ray Edmondson’s doctoral thesis, ‘National Film and Sound Archive: The Quest for Identity’. In 2008, the NFSA finally became an independent statutory authority and a new phase of its story began.
Tributes to Louise Douglas
(March 1952 – 1 February 2024)
The sudden death of leading Australian museum community member, Louise Douglas, in early February this year, was a tremendous shock to her friends and colleagues.
Here are tributes to Louise from the Australian Museums & Galleries Association (AmaGA) and from Roslyn Russell, Editor, Friends Review
It is with deep sorrow that we share the news of the passing of our dear friend and colleague, Louise Douglas. Louise was a distinguished individual who played a significant role in shaping the professional landscape of the Australian museums sector.
A seasoned museum practitioner, Louise served as the Senior Curator in Social History and later assumed the position of Head of Curatorial at the Powerhouse Museum from 1984 until her transition to the National Museum in 1994, where she served on the senior executive team until 2012.
Her contributions to the field of history and curatorship earned her widespread respect, establishing her as a prominent figure in Australian museums.
Throughout her career, Louise understood the value of professional networks – making a significant contribution to AmaGA, serving as Vice-President and Public Officer and subsequently as an advisor on countless sector programs, national conferences and projects. Louise also served on the ICOM Australia Committee. For the last decade, Louise has acted as a patron through the Cartwright-Douglas
Australian Museums & Galleries Association
Louise Douglas played a significant role in supporting Friends organisations, notably the Friends of the National Museum of Australia, when she was the senior executive with responsibility with managing the relationship between the Museum and the Friends. After her retirement, she teamed with her friend and colleague, Roslyn Russell, to write the history of the Friends of the National Museum of Australia, Not Without a Fight:The story of the Friends of the National Museum of Australia (NMA Publishing, 2017).
Louise’s passing has been a profound loss on a personal level. We have
collaborated on many projects since her retirement, and I have benefitted immensely from her managerial skills and her wisdom. It was with great pleasure, and also sadness, that I saw a copy of Not Without a Fight in an unexpected place recently – the UNESCO Memory of the World Knowledge Centre in the City University of Macau.
Vale Louise Douglas – a true Friend, in every sense of the word.
Roslyn Russell, Editor, Friends Review, Australian Federation of Friends of Museums.
Fund, supporting AMaGA conference attendance for those who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to attend.
Louise’s influence extended beyond her retirement. She dedicated herself to working with smaller museums, advocating for the preservation and promotion of the value of cultural heritage to communities. Known for her adept networking skills, Louise excelled in maintaining connections and staying engaged with the museum community as well as getting involved in her new Wollongong community.
Louise Douglas.
Photo courtesy of Carol Cartwright
Not Without a Fight: The story of the Friends of the National Museum of Australia, of which Louise Douglas was joint author.
Conservationist and influential supporter of museums in Australia and internationally, Caroline (Carol) Serventy OAM passed away in December 2023
Caroline Serventy OAM
1930 – 11 December 2023
Caroline Mary Serventy (née Darbyshire) was born in Hay Street, Perth in 1930 and lived to the age of 93. Despite a rocky start in life (her father left when she was ten years old) Carol and her brother Tony loved their life and always made the best of it. Carol attended the well-regarded Perth Modern School (former Prime Minister Bob Hawke was also an alumnus). She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia in 1953, and then taught Speech and Drama with the Western Australia Adult Education Unit.
Carol was an actress with the Perth Repertory Club from 1948-1958. In 1955 she married Vincent Serventy who was 14 years her senior.Vin and Carol had many adventures together as they travelled Australia to produce ‘Rolf’s Walkabout’ and some of Australia’s earliest nature documentaries. They also published the Walkabout magazine in the 1960s, and Carol edited all of Vin’s many books. They were both committed conservationists and encouraged Australians to protect and cherish their country’s natural environment. The couple raised three children: Tash, Cathy and Mathew, and Carol was a loving aunt and friend. Her friends included scientists such as Barbara Main (spiders) and Valerie Taylor (sharks); and artists, writers and gardeners. Although the family lived in Sydney in the 1970s, they were crucial to saving the Dryandra Woodlands in Western
Australia, and were involved in many other conservation fights across Australia.
Carol Serventy made notable contributions to the world of museums, beginning in 1972 when, with the approval of the Australian Museum Director, Frank Talbot, she chaired the committee that founded the Australian Museum Society (TAMS), with the goal of supporting the Australian Museum in interesting a broad spectrum of the public in the environment and its conservation. In 1975 Carol was a prime mover in establishing the Australian Federation of Friends of Museums (AFFM), and became the first Australian President of the World Federation of Friends of Museums (WFFM) from 1997 to 1999, hosting a world congress of WFFM, ‘New Century, New Museums, New Friends’ in Sydney in 1999. Along with Judy Holding and Jack Thompson, Carol was instrumental in the formation of the Friends of the National Museum of Australia in March 1989. Their passionate advocacy for the Museum, along with other influential Australians such as Winnifred Rosser,Vin Serventy, Valerie Taylor, Robyn Williams, John Williamson and Margaret Whitlam, contributed to the decision by government to establish the National Museum of Australia, which opened in March 2001 on Acton Peninsula, Canberra.
Carol spent many years living in Pearl Beach (NSW) and in the last few years, with her daughter Cathy and son-in-law Pete, in Lismore. She leaves four grandchildren: Charo, Lachlan, Lucy and Ari.
Caroline Serventy working on Nature’s Walkabout in 1966 with her daughters Karen and Cathy.
Photo courtesy of Jo Darbyshire.
International recognition
Records from Australian archives, libraries and museums were inscribed this year on the UNESCO Memory of the World Asia-Pacific (MOWCAP) Register.
Joint nominations to UNESCO Memory of the World registers are the best way to raise the profile of the documentary heritage of Pacific nations.
In order to make a comprehensive nomination that will meet the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme’s threshold for world significance, it is necessary to include all records relating to the subject from wherever they are held in a region or in the world.
Funafuti:The Edgeworth David 1897 Expedition Documents MOWCAP Register inscription from Australia and Tuvalu in May 2024 is an example of a nomination that brings together records from two countries and six institutions to provide comprehensive coverage of this historic expedition.
This joint nomination by Australia and Tuvalu concerns an historically significant scientific expedition to Funafuti Atoll in the Ellice Islands (now Tuvalu) in 1897, by a team led by Australian geologist Tannatt William Edgeworth David. The expedition, which followed a previous expedition in 1896, investigated Charles Darwin’s theory of the formation of coral atolls seven years after his death. Darwin observed during the Beagle voyage in the late 1830s that atolls were formed by the subsidence of oceanic volcanic islands, along with the upward growth of reef-constructing coral formation. This expedition was unique in its ability to assess and prove Darwin’s hypothesis in a short period of time.
The records, including manuscript items, photograph albums and lantern slides, provide two different viewpoints of the expedition. Firstly, the scientific expedition records created by David and his team and the Report of the Coral Reef Committee of the Royal
Society form an important baseline for understanding the impacts of climate change in Tuvalu, the Pacific, and worldwide. Secondly, writings by Caroline Edgeworth David describe her experiences in Funafuti and her interactions with its people. The contemporary relevance of the documents for the study of climate change with its imminent impact on Tuvalu, and the documentation of the lives of the ancestors of today’s Tuvaluans are of historical and social and community significance.
The following institutions in Australia and Tuvalu cooperated in the joint nomination: University of Sydney Archives; Macleay Collection in Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney; National Library of Australia, Canberra; Australian Museum Archives, Sydney; State Library of New South Wales, Sydney; and the National Archives and Library of Tuvalu for
Alphonse Mucha ‘Poster for Slavia Mutual Saving Bank, Prague’1907, colour lithograph, 54 x 36 cm © Mucha Trust
Alphonse Mucha
Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) is acknowledged as an artist whose life and work developed a new stylistic language, embodying the spirit of art nouveau, and creating a defining image of nineteenth-century Paris.
The exhibition, Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau is on display until 22 September 2024, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in its new north building, Naala Baadu.
With over 200 works on display, the exhibition traces Mucha’s life from his birth in humble circumstances in Moravia (in today’s Czech Republic), to his commercial success in Paris and his later years as a champion of Slavic peoples.
His signature style became synonymous with Parisian art nouveau, and was expressed in decorative panels and advertising posters for a wide range of products, including champagne, perfume, chocolate, biscuits and cigarette papers, in many cases featuring a beautiful woman with flowing hair framed by flowers and decorative motifs. Mucha’s representations of the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt acted to boost his career and cement Bernhardt’s iconic reputation.
Alphonse Mucha: Spirit of Art Nouveau was co-curated by Tomoko Sato, curator of the Mucha Foundation in Prague, and Jackie Dunn, senior curator of exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and is drawn from the Mucha Family Collection. Most of the works are being shown in Australia for the first time.
Some museums & heritage sites in China
In early July, I visited mainland China for events related to the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme for safeguarding documentary heritage, organised by the National Archives Administration of China.
As well as participating in an international conference, my colleagues and I visited a number of museums and heritage sites in Hubei and Henan provinces and Beijing.
Hubei Provincial Museum
Highlights included visits to the Yellow Crane Tower and the Bridge Museum in Wuhan; the Shaolin Temple, home of Chinese Zen Buddhism and ‘the cradle of Kung Fu’; Hubei Provincial Museum; Yinxu Museum at Anyang, Henan Province; and Shougang Park, the site of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Each place we visited held unique treasures, ranging from the earliest forms of Chinese calligraphy to the modern adaptive reuse of an industrial heritage site.
Our first stop was the Hubei Provincial Museum, which was full of visitors who had come to see ancient cultural treasures during the school holidays in China. The outstanding exhibit in the museum is the Chime Bells from the tomb of Marquis Yi, king of the Zeng State during the Warring States period from 476 to 221 BCE. The set of 65 bells that play various tones on the musical scale comprises the largest bronze musical instrument
ever discovered. The approximately 3000 Chinese characters on the bells describe the musical notes that each bell plays. It has been possible, from this information, to reconstruct the performances for which the bells were originally designed. Along with hundreds of other visitors, we were able to enjoy one of these performances on a set of replica Chime Bells, played by musicians in traditional costume accompanied by graceful dancers.
Yellow Crane Tower, Wuhan
A version of the Yellow Crane Tower at Wuhan, in Hubei Province, has existed on or near the current site on Snake Hill since 223CE. The tower we visited, opened in 1985, was the thirteenth construction, to a design based on the Qing Dynasty tower of the same name. Earlier versions had been destroyed by wars and natural disasters. The tower commands panoramic views of the
three towns that make up Wuhan –Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang – the confluence of the Yangtze and Han rivers, and the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, completed in 1957. The interior of the Yellow Crane Tower features colourful murals that depict the tower and the sacred crane, and significant characters from China’s long history.
Chime Bells from the tomb of Marquis Yi, Hubei Provincial Museum
Bridge Museum, Wuhan
Another aspect of China’s history, and its links to modernisation across the world, was on display in Wuhan, at the Bridge Museum, a celebration of Chinese engineering that featured displays on recent bridges built in China and other parts of the world such as Bangladesh. Historic bridges were also featured, including a large photo of our own Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Wuhan and the Yangtze from Yellow Crane Tower
Yellow Crane Tower mural
Bridge Museum Wuhan
Yellow Crane Tower Wuhan
Shaolin Temple, Zhengzhou
Lively displays of Kung Fu moves – some incredibly complicated – and historic stelae described by the Abbot were highlights of our visit to the Shaolin Temple, founded in 495 CE and famed as the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism and as the ‘cradle of Kung Fu’. Devotees of Kung Fu come from around the world to polish their techniques at Shaolin Temple. We were also treated to a Chinese massage and spent some time in meditation under the guidance of the monks. After a vegetarian banquet hosted by the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple, we were taken into the majestic mountains around Zhengzhou to see the Shaolin Zen Music Ritual featuring nearly 500 performers – and a flock of very welltrained sheep – in a setting spanning nearly three square kilometres, the largest real-scene stage in the world.
Yinxu
Museum
Yinxu Museum at Anyang, Henan Province, is very new, opening in February this year at a famous Shang Dynasty (1300-1046 BCE) archaeological site,Yin Xu, 500 km south of Beijing, a golden age of early culture in the Chinese Bronze Age. A significant discovery on the site was the Oracle Bones, used for divination, that constitute the earliest examples of Chinese written language. The materials used for divination were mainly cattle scapulas and tortoise shells, as well as other animal bones. Omens were deciphered from the cracks made by burning bones. The divination involved all aspects of Shang Dynasty life, such as sacrifices, prayer, the king’s affairs, weather, harvest, military matters, and regular comings and goings. Oracle bone inscriptions are also the key to studying the original configuration of Chinese characters and the earliest state of Chinese grammar. The Oracle Bones were inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World International Register in 2017. The museum also features a large display of sacrificial pits containing chariots and horse and human remains, and burial goods including bronze ritual vessels, jade and bone carvings, and ceramics.
Abbot at Shaolin Temple explaining stelae
Setting Shaolin Zen Music Ritual
Kung Fu performance at Shaolin Temple
Chariots in sacrificial pits Yinxu Museum
Water buffalo incense burner Yinxu Museum
Oracle bones, Yinxu Museum
Shougang Park Winter Olympics 2022 site, Beijing
Part of a massive former industrial site has been transformed, first into one of the sites for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and now in its current form as Shougang Park, a recreational area for the citizens of Beijing, with a lake and watercraft, and cycling and walking tracks, and venues for events. The structures relating to the Winter Olympics, including the ski jump, towers with the Olympic rings and sign, sit alongside a traditional bridge and gate and a view of a hilltop pagoda. They share the site with the chimneys and railway line and train from the time that this was a bustling workplace. It is a very successful example of adaptive re-use of a site that is being preserved as industrial heritage.
Roslyn Russell is the editor of Friends Review and is the current Chair of the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Committee.
Traditional gate and chimneys
Lake and bridge
Olympic rings
Olympic rings on cooling tower
Ben Lomond
Of the wide variety of floor talks & events that the Friends of TMAG have presented recently, our most successful was a 3-day field trip to Ben Lomond in February 2024, led by 7 of TMAG’s botany & zoology curators & honorary associates.
During daylight hours we had short walks to explore the alpine habitat and in the evenings the scientists gave us presentations about their studies. We saw a unique landscape through the eyes
of TMAG’s natural science curators. The weather was unbelievably kind to us. The accommodation was arranged through the Northern Tasmanian Alpine Club & catered for by the wonderful Charlotte.
Friends of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
Photo of scientists trapping moths by Jane Wilcox
Photo by Ian Terry
Photo by Julie Hawkins
Lands of Light
Lloyd Rees and Tasmania
In April, we presented an evening event around TMAG’s new exhibition “Lands of Light – Lloyd Rees and Tasmania”. Our guest speaker was esteemed Australian architect Richard Leplastrier, who was a close friend & student of Lloyd Rees. TMAG’s Senior Curator of Decorative Arts & co-curator of the exhibition, Peter Hughes, introduced us to the
exhibition & Richard Leplastrier spoke of his association with this pre-eminent landscape artist. We gained some amazing insights into Rees’ personality & philosophy of life. Members were then able to view the exhibition along with invited guests Rees’ son Alan & daughterin-law Jan & their families.
Photo of Richard Leplastrier by Leigh Woolley
Government House ART TOUR
An April fundraising event saw Her Excellency the Honourable Barbara Baker AC, Governor of Tasmania & Patron of the Friends of TMAG, invite members to a special reception at Government House. The event included a tour conducted by Jane Stewart, TMAG Principal Curator (Art) of a new display of contemporary art which included works from the TMAG collection.
Photo of Jane Stewart by Julie Hawkins
Photo of an artwork from David Keeling’s Gate series by Julie Hawkins
Photo of Emeritus Professor Don Chalmers in the drawing room by Julie Hawkins
National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Miss Porter’s House
Welcoming visitors to Miss Porters at our monthly open house continues to be an essential part of our work in the community.
Each month we have a different display from some of the 5,000 objects in the collection.
The August open day is Family History. From colonial beginnings as farmers on Ash Island and in the Singelton area, to their key role in the commercial life of Newcastle’s West End, the Porters made an important contribution to city life for well over a hundred years.
The use of QR codes is one of the strategies we have developed to increase knowledge of and access to the collection. The migration story that can be heard by clicking on the QR code is
a part of the fascinating family history. This is one of the audio stories available at the house or on line.
This initiative was recognised at the 2023 Imagine Awards, as the winner in the Exhibition Projects – Museums and Heritage Volunteer Organisations. The award citation was “Based on volunteer research into their UNESCO listed collection, Miss Porter’s House produced sixteen engaging audio stories about the Porter family and the house itself. Accessible on line and via QR codes throughout the space, these recordings bring history to life and are conveyed by professional voice over artists.”
We also have a virtual tour and have recently introduced enhanced group tour options.
We have Explore Tours which provide a group visit to the house and the monthly exhibition in place at the time of the tour.Visitors can book a Tour and Treat – a visit to the house and Devonshire tea, an Indulge tour – house visit and morning or afternoon tea and a special interest tour highlighting particular aspects of the collection. School tours are also available.
With the support of state and federal government grants we have been able to conserve several collection items and have had replicas produced of a number of the UNESCO-listed documents. The inscription of the documentary heritage of Miss Porter’s House 1910-1997 on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register is a significant recognition, and we are now able to
Porter Shop Hunter Street Newcastle
Cover image credit: Xxxxx
have documents on display that can be examined in detail by visitors to the house.
Photographs form an important part of the collection and are being conserved and will also require to be replicated. For example, the photograph from Cooks Hill School c.1918, with Ella Porter back row second left.
Connection with the community is a key focus of the work of the volunteers at Miss Porter’s House and, in addition to welcoming visitors to the house, we have a wonderful partnership with the Newcastle Museum which provides support through provision of storage space, expert information and advice on collection items, guest speakers at
volunteer training days and assistance in planning exhibitions.
Other partnerships, such as with Bill’s Place from the Hamilton Uniting Church, have meant that we been given donations to use to support our operations, including the construction of a purpose-built garden shed in keeping with the house and garden.
Miss Porter’s House continues to look at innovative ways to engage and inform and, as the only National Trust property in Newcastle, is an important part of the heritage of the city and the Hunter region.
Annabel Senior, Miss Porter’s House, National Trust of Australia (NSW)
Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize at the National Archives of Australia
As ever, the annual Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize, a travelling exhibition involving the National Archives of Australia, the South Australian Museum and the Government of South Australia, has delivered some exquisite artworks.
Currently on display at the National Archives of Australia in Canberra, the
exhibition showcases works ranging from tiny exquisite models to largescale representations of First Nations jukurrpa stories.
The exhibition invites audiences to explore works from illustrators and sculptors who help to describe and depict natural history specimens, and contemporary artists who invite us to think more deeply about our environment and the impact we make on the natural world.
Charmain Hearder, Eolian Saltation, ceramic sculpture 720 x 1570 x 880mm
Call for contributions
Do you have a story about a recent Friends activity?
Is the institution you support showing an exciting exhibition, or promoting a new activity?
Friends Review is interested in showcasing as many projects as possible, and spreading the word about how Friends can make a difference in their museum, library or archive community.
Please send your contributions by the due dates below:
Oct/Nov/Dec 2024
Friday 30 August First week of October
Jan/Feb/Mar 2025
Friday 29 November First week of January to Roslyn Russell, Editor, Friends Review, email ros@rrmuseumservices.com.au
Contact list for AFFM members
Here is a list of AFFM representatives who are able to assist with problems, give advice and bring issues to the notice of the Executive Committee.
President
Yvette Pratt Yvette.Pratt@ag.nsw.gov.au
Treasurer
Lyndal Hughson lyndal.hughson@gmail.com
NSW Vice-President
Yvette Pratt Yvette.Pratt@ag.nsw.gov.au
TAS Vice-President
Jane Wilcox president@friendsoftmag.org.au
WFFM President of Honour
Carolyn Forster OAM carolynjforster@bigpond.com
Friends Review Editor Roslyn Russell ros@rrmuseumservices.com.au
Cover image credit: Alphonse Mucha ‘Reverie’ 1898, colour lithograph, 72.7 x 55.2 cm © Mucha Trust 2024