The Abbey Museum at Caboolture, near Bribie Island, has been awarded a $12,190 federal Community Heritage Grant to fund the Preservation, Storage & Assessment of Abbey Museum’s Textile Collections.
The grant was announced at the National Library of Australia in Canberra on 27 October, 2015.
This year, grants worth $438,710 have been distributed to 75 community groups and organisations from around Australia to assist in the identification and preservation of community owned but nationally significant heritage collections.
Edith Cuffe, Director of the Abbey Museum, said the grant was important in supporting the effort to preserve the Abbey Museum collection at the grassroots level. “The Abbey Museum textile collection comprises approximately 110 objects. They cover a wide range of cultural sources and time frames. The grant provides the funds to engage the expertise to help us protect our collection and make it more accessible to the public,” she said. Conservators Michael Marendy and Christine Ianna will team up to undertake this project which has been identified as of high significance due top the fragile nature of some of the objects.
Director-General of the National Library of Australia, Ms Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, said the CHG program showed the commitment by the National Library, along with its partner institutions and the Federal Government, in encouraging communities to care for the nation’s heritage, be it in small country towns or capital cities.
CHG is managed by the National Library. It is funded by the Australian Government through the Ministry for the Arts; the National Archives of Australia; the National Film and Sound Archive; the National Museum of Australia and the National Library.