The next instalment of our Mystery Object Revealed!

A peculiar old netted bag has been up on a pedestal for the past month at Hurstville Museum & Gallery. This object, our second instalment of Mystery Objects in the exhibition Revealed, has had visitors even more stumped than the first (see Mystery Object Revealed!). Yes, we know it’s a bag, but what was it used for? What did it carry?

Again, we asked our visitors to have a guess and write a label for this unusual object. Several visitors suggested that it was a fishing net or used to hold fish once they were caught. Another thought it might have been like a cage to hold small animals such as possums. Such close guesses!

Our mystery object was actually used to trap and catch rabbits! It was also known as a purse net because of the drawstring top. The bag would be placed over the entrance to rabbit burrows and secured with a peg through the drawstring. That way when rabbits ran out and into the bag, pulling it away from the burrow, they would inevitably draw the string closed upon themselves. Pretty nifty!

Catching bags or nets of this kind have been used for centuries for a variety of different purposes and by different people. The Perth Gazette Newspaper (14 March 1840) tells of Aboriginal people using similar nets made from spun bark to catch small animals.

Our next and final mystery object is now on display at Hurstville Museum & Gallery. Don’t miss your chance to guess it!

The Stella Prize - major new Australian literary prize



A major new literary prize worth $50,000 will be awarded for the first time on April 16 this year for the best book published in 2012 by an Australian female author. Named after Stella Maria Miles Franklin  (1879-1954) author of My Brilliant Career and who  had links with the Hurstville area having worked from offices in Hurstville's old Council Chambers and also next to the Hurstville Ritz Hotel in Forest Road. This new award is a celebration and a reminder of the contribution made by Australian women writers to this country's literature.

From over 200 entries the Stella Prize judges narrowed the number to a shortlist of six from a longer one of twelve. The shortlisted titles are:

 

The Burial by Courtney Collins

Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser   

The Sunlit Zone by Lisa Jacobson

Like a House on Fire by Cate Kennedy

Sea Hearts by Margo Lanagan

Mateship with Birds by Carrie Tiffany



Try one, see if you agree with the judges or download an eBook version from the eLibrary collection.







 













Youth Creative Workshops - Hurstville Museum & Gallery

Want to explore your creative side? Hurstville Museum & Gallery is running a series of creative workshops for young people aged 12 – 18 years.

Upcoming topics include:

School holiday workshop

Wednesday 17 April and 24 April (2 sessions, $20.00 total)

10.30am-12.30pm

Silk Painting

Session 1: Create an original design to paint onto a silk scarf or wall hanging.

Session 2: Paint your design onto a silk scarf or wall hanging.

Saturday 20 April

1.30pm – 3.30pm

Portraits

Take a fresh approach to portrait sketching in black and white line.

Saturday 18 May

1.30pm – 3.30pm

Wearable Art

Make an artwork that can be worn as a head piece, headband or hair clip.

Saturday 15 June

1.30pm – 3.30pm

Origami

Learn the art of Japanese paper folding and experiment with a range of patterns.

Each workshop explores the basics of a new medium or artistic practice with qualified tutors and materials are provided (unless otherwise stated). Participants will learn new skills and techniques and create their own original artwork to take home.

Workshops are designed for high school students and are $10.00 per person per workshop, bookings essential. For more information and booking details, visit our website or contact the Museum & Gallery on 9330 6444 or museumgallery@hurstville.nsw.gov.au.

Tell us what kinds of art and craft activities YOU'D like to see at Hurstville Museum & Gallery. Post your responses here!

Bus tour of the Hurstville Local Government Area

Join us for a bus tour which explores the Hurstville Local Government Area and heritage sites of the Georges River.

Date: Tuesday 26 March 2013

Time: 9.45am – 12.00pm, bus leaves from Hurstville Museum & Gallery, 14 MacMahon St, Hurstville.

Cost: $10.00

Bookings: Please call 9330 6444. Spaces are limited, bookings essential.

Participants must be able to get on and off a bus and walk or stand for up to 15 minutes at a time.

Refreshments will be served.

Revealed! Special Object of the Week

Hurstville Museum & Gallery’s exhibition Revealed! has been on show for five weeks now! How time flies when you’re having fun!

One of the many fascinating aspects of our Revealed! exhibition is our rotating Special Object of the Week. Each week we reveal a new unusual or beautiful object that, due to the delicate condition of its material, cannot be on display for long. It is a rare chance to see some of the more fragile objects in the Hurstville City Library Museum and Gallery collection.

We are now just past the half way point of this exhibition, which means five special objects have come and gone! We have seen a corset worn by Gerringong resident Margaret Taylor, who must have had an enviously tiny waist. A beautifully designed, homemade cushion cover displayed a combination of 48 silk ‘cigarette cards’ featuring colourful Australian flowers. A crocheted boudoir cap also showed off bedroom fashions in the 1920s. But, my favourite was a gloriously hideous fox fur cape from the 1930s, still with paws attached! This cape will be on display for a final time during the last week of Revealed! Don’t miss out on seeing it!

With these Special Objects of the Week and other rotating displays, our exhibition is always changing. We invite you to pop in again and again!

We Need Your Help

Optimising Your Local Library

Redrollers Research is currently working with Hurstville City Library to explore how people in the community would like to see their library improved and optimised. During April 2013 we will be inviting a range of people to participate in face to face workshops which will be held at the library.

DESIGN LAB

The face to face workshops are an informal, relaxed process where you will share your experiences and stories, learn from each other and work on creative activities that will be used to develop a future vision for Hurstville City Library. It is kind of like a design lab where you will play with new prototypes and thought starters to build future services catering to the special needs of different people in the community. We are offering some incentives to thank you for your time.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

If you would like to know more about the project or would like to register your interest in participating, please contact: natalie@redrollers.com.au

Byron Bay Bluesfest 2013

The Byron Bay Bluesfest is just around the corner and is in it 24th year. The festival is held just north of Byron Bay at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm and starts on Thursday 28 March running right through Easter.
Performing at the festival are Grammy award nominees and winners such as Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Cliff, The Lumineers,and Ruthie Foster.  Bonnie Rait music is also available for free download from our online music collection Freegal, just select eLibary from the library website and type in your borrower's card number and pin number.

Also appearing at the festival is Rodriguez.  Who hasn't heard the fascinating story about Rodriguez and the award winning documentary, "Searching For Sugarman", which has won an Oscar for "Best Feature Documentary", BAFTA for "Best Documentary", Special Jury Prize and Audience Award for "Best International Documentary" at Sundance. 

Some of the Aussie artists performing are The Cat Empire, Karise Eden, Xavier Rudd, Mark Seymour and  the Undertow and Hunters and Collectors.

More great artists in the line up are:
Paul Simon
Ben Harper
Chris Isaak
Robert Plant
Santana (tracks are also available from our free online music collection Freegal)
Jason Mraz
Tony Joe White

All the artists contained in this blog are in the library music collection and are free to borrow if you are a library member. Most CDs are in our collection now and some are on order but will be coming very soon to the collection.