• Index of this issue

No. 72, November 2011

Many of the National Library of Australia’s greatest treasures, from James Cook’s Endeavour Journal to a letter written by Jane Austen, are now on permanent display with the opening of the new Treasures Gallery in Canberra.

Treasures Gallery, National Library of Australia

Director-General of the National Library, Ms Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, said the official opening, by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, was a significant moment in the institution’s long history.

‘The opening today of the Treasures Gallery is the culmination of more than 10 years’ of dedicated work by Library staff and would not have been possible without the support of the Federal Government and the generosity of our valued National Library supporters who helped us raise over $3 million to fund the building of the gallery,’ Ms Schwirtlich said.

Ms Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, Director-General,
speaking at the opening of the Library's Treasures Gallery,
National Library of Australia

Some of the treasures now on show in the new gallery include: James Cook’s Endeavour Journal; Australia’s earliest existing printed document – a 1796 theatre playbill; The original Waltzing Matilda manuscript; William Bligh’s notebook and listing of the Bounty mutineers; Jorn Utzon’s model for the Sydney Opera House shells; Edward Koiki Mabo’s diary, self-portrait and manuscript map.

There are also a number of treasures from the Library's rich Asian Collections on show. They include the Library's oldest printed book, a single volume of an 1162 Chinese Buddhist sutra, Da ban ruo bo luo mi duo jing. There is also an original wall poster from the Taiping Rebellion period of Chinese history, a beautiful Japanese woodblock print by the artist Yoshitoshi, and a palm leaf manuscript from Bali.

James Cook's Endeavour Journal, National Library of Australia

For high-resolution images from the Treasures Gallery, go to
http://www.nla.gov.au/media/treasures-gallery/index.html