POWERLINE

+ the magazine of the powerhouse museum spring 06

The
Great
Wall
of China

+ 0 powerline spring 06
contents
issue 83
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER 2006
+ ”
from the
director
powerhousemuseum.com
Front Cover The Ming dynasty
Great Wall at Jinshanling,
Luanping, Hebei. Photo by Jean-
Francois Lanzarone.
O2 From the director
03 Powerpicks
06 Matali Crassett
08 New exhibition: Great Wall of China
10 On the Great Wall trail
11 Members news
12 Members calendar
14 Members scene and prizes
15 Recent acquisition: Althouse and Geiger
16 Guan Wei's fable
18 Footy Legends
20 Australian Design Awards
21 Design Hub
22 Sydney Observatory news
23 Corporate partners
24 Exhibitions at a glance
About the time this issue
arrives in your mailbox, several
Museum staff will be heading
to China to join colleagues
at the National Museum of
China in the delicate work of
packing over 150 treasures
from museums across China.
The objects are coming to
Sydney for our exhibition The
Great Wall of China: dynasties,
dragons and warriors, which
opens at the Powerhouse
Museum in September.
The Powerhouse has a proud
history of developing and
hosting some of the finest
exhibitions produced by
museums around the globe.
The Great Wall of China
promises to be one of the
best. I take special pride in the
fact that Great Wall has been
jointly curated and developed
by our own staff in association
with the National Museum of
China, Beijing. Sydney will be
the first city in the world to see
this wonderful show.
Where to find us
Powerhouse Museum, 500 Harris Street, Darling Harbour, Sydney of practical activities and
Opening hours 10.00 am – 5.00 pm every day (except Christmas
Day). School holiday opening hours 9.30 am – 5.00 pm
Contact details
Postal address: PO Box K346, Haymarket NSW 1238
Telephone (02) 9217 0111 Every effort has been made to locate owners of copyright for the images
Infoline (02) 9217 0444, Education (02) 9217 0222
The Powerhouse Museum, part of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
also incorporating Sydney Observatory, is a NSW government cultural institution.
I wish to thank the Chinese
Ministry of Culture and the
State Administration for
Cultural Heritage, and our
colleagues at the National
Museum of China, the Palace
Museum in the Forbidden City,
Gansu Provincial Museum,
Gansu Provincial Research
Institute of Archaeology,
the Municipal Museum of
Dunhuang and Shanhaiguan
Great Wall Museum.
As well as a superb collection
of objects, the exhibition
features an impressive series
of interactives, models and
videos that are a hallmark of
Powerhouse productions. I
especially want to encourage
you to see our Sharp
Immersive Theatre and its
breathtakingly beautiful 12-
metre panoramas of the Wall,
taken at various points from
China’s far western deserts to
Shanhaiguan in the east, where
the Wall meets the Yellow
Sea. Museum photographer
Jean-Francois Lanzarone took
Powerline is produced by the Print Media Department
of the Powerhouse Museum
PO Box K346, Haymarket NSW 1238 discussions. Visits to other
Editor: Judith Matheson institutions across Sydney
Editorial coordinator: Deborah Renaud and in Canberra provided
Design: Triggerdesign opportunities to establish
Photography: Powerhouse Museum unless otherwise stated.
in this publication. Any inquiries should be directed to the Rights and
Permissions Officer, Powerhouse Museum.
ISSN 1030-5750 © Trustees of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
Trustees
Dr Nicholas G Pappas,
President
Dr Anne Summers AO,
Deputy President
Mr Mark Bouris
Ms Trisha Dixon
Mr Andrew Denton
Ms Susan Gray
Ms Margaret Seale
Mr Anthony Sukari
Ms Judith Wheeldon
Senior Management
Dr Kevin Fewster AM, Director
Jennifer Sanders, Deputy Director,
Collections and Outreach
Mark Goggin, Associate Director,
Operations and Services
Kevin Sumption, Associate Director,
Exhibitions, Projects and Planning
Dominic Curtin, Associate Director,
Finance and Systems
these spectacular photographs
when he and curator, Dr Claire
Roberts, travelled the length
of the Wall (see story page
10). I believe these images
give visitors a real sense of
being on the Wall itself. Jean-
Francois’ images also feature
in the handsome Great Wall
of China book published in
association with the China
Heritage Project of the
Australian National University.
I wish to thank our principal
sponsor Beijing Badaling
Cablecar Company, and our
national sponsors Channel
7, Accor Asia Pacific, Sharp,
Qantas, National Geographic
Channel and the Australian
National University, without
whose help this international
project could not have been
realised.
As Powerhouse Members you
can, of course, visit free as
often as you like. I look forward
to seeing you there.
Dr Kevin Fewster AM
Director
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a visit by fijian conservators and a posting
from the great wall of china walkers.
forging links
with Fiji
Both staff members of the
Fiji Museum’s Conservation
Department, Tubuka Raikaci
and Savita Devi, spent six
weeks in Sydney recently
working with fellow staff at the
Powerhouse Museum and the
Australian Museum.
Powerhouse Museum
conservators worked
closely with Savita and
Tubuka, with support from
the Business Unit of TAFE
New South Wales, Ultimo, to
complete two modules of
the Certificate in Museum
Practice. The opportunity to
gain formal recognition for this
training and knowledge was
considered significant by both
conservators.
Tubuka and Savita also
spent one day a week at
the Australian Museum and
were involved in a wide range
a wide range of specialist
professional contacts.
+
powerpicks
Fiji Museum conservator savita devi inspects objects in the powerhouse
Museum's collection. Photo by jean-francois lanzarone.
savita devi and tubuka raikaci
at the museum. Photo by nitsa
yioupros.
An exchange of knowledge, skills and
work practices benefits museum staff in
Australia and Fiji.
Funds for this professional
collaboration were provided
as part of a cooperative
arrangement between the
National Museum of Australia,
International Council of
Museums (ICOM) Australia’s
Museum Partnerships Program
(IAMPP) and AusAID, to support

Governance in Pacific Island
Museums.
walkers and bloggers emma nicholas and brendan fletcher photograph
‘The program is the realisation themselves at the forbidden city in beijing.
of a long-term mutual goal and
has strengthened links with
Intrepid walkers, Brendan brick structure snaking along
the Fiji Museum. Powerhouse
Fletcher and Emma Nicholas, exposed ridgetops, clinging to
conservators have gained
increased knowledge of the walking set out to walk the 3000-
kilometre length of the Great
impossible cliffs, plunging into
the abyss,' they write.
manufacturing techniques, use
and care of Fijian materials
the wall Wall in early June. They have
‘We’re not hiking the wall we
been posting a regular web
in the collection. Before their originally imagined. There won’t
log on the Museum’s website
return journey, Tubuka and be watchtowers around every
Savita selected basic supplies,
ever since.
bend or dragons lurking in the
equipment and reference The blog gives a first-hand moats. But what we’ve found
material for shipment to account of the remarkable in researching our trip is that
Fiji to aid their work. This diversity of the wall and its the reality of the wall is more
collaborative support will people and environs. ‘When we fascinating and as great a
be continued in every way started thinking about walking mystery to us as any mythical
possible,’ said Pat Townley, the Great Wall, we imagined wall ever could have been.’
manager of Preservation and a six-month journey on a wall
So check them out at: www.
Heritage Management at the with almost mythical qualities
powerhousemuseum.com/
Powerhouse. — a perfectly preserved
walkingthewall/
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Seven-year-
old Matthew
Sullivan collected Great Wall:
some great the book
autographs,
including former
Socceroos coach
Rale Rasic’s, The Great Wall of China the past, present and future of
exhibition is accompanied by the Great Wall of China. There
at the launch a richly illustrated book that is also a series of interviews
of The World explores the social, cultural, by oral historian Sang Ye with
technological and military
Cup dream histories of the Wall, as well as
people living along the Wall.

exhibition on 5 its significance as a heritage

June. Matthew site and tourist phenomenon
and its place in popular
plays soccer for
culture.
[ the Narrabeen Including striking historical
Comets. and contemporary images
of the Great Wall and rare
objects from museums in
Photo by marinco kojdanovski.
China that are featured in the
restoration exhibition, this book offers a
The book is published in
conjunction with The Great
Wall of China: dynasties,

dragons and warriors
exhibition and in association
with The China Heritage
Project, The Australian National
University.
A printing press that was once from Maitland to Armidale on a
Available October 2006.
owned by Sir Henry Parkes bullock dray. The journey took
RRP $55.00; Powerhouse printing has been loaned to the New 27 days.

full steam unique insight into this iconic

ahead
The Powerhouse Museum
welcomed RailCorp’s
announcement in August
of $600,000 funding for the
completion of restoration work
of steam locomotive 3265,
one of the last remaining
survivors of the 32 class, which
is recognised as possibly
the most successful steam
locomotive in Australia. ‘This is
a great injection of funding for
the NSW rail heritage strategy,’
said Dr Kevin Fewster, Director,
Powerhouse Museum.
Work continues on the
restoration of 3265 at the
former railway workshops at
Eveleigh near Redfern. The
largely volunteer restoration
team, who have spent several
years on the project, recently
reached a significant stage in
the reconstruction of the coal
tender.
Fundraising for the project
is also ongoing. At this
year’s popular Hunter Valley
Steamfest, one of Australia’s
leading steam heritage events,
the Powerhouse raffled a
a highly detailed brass HO
gauge replica of 4401, the
first of an early class of diesel
electric locomotive. Lucky
winner Michael Lawrence was
presented with his prize by
the Museum Director, Dr Kevin
Fewster, on 22 May 2006.
monument.
Museum price $45.00;
members $40.50. press returns England Regional Art Museum
for a display celebrating
Extracts from the journal
written on their journey read:
Editors Claire Roberts
Powerhouse books are available from the
Powerhouse Shop, good bookstores and by to Armidale the 150th anniversary of the
‘Having occasion to proceed
(Powerhouse Museum) and mailorder. For more information or to order Armidale Express, one of the
contact Powerhouse Publishing on tel (02)
to Armidale with goods of
Geremie R Barmé (The oldest surviving newspaper in
9217 0129 or email phpub@phm.gov.au a nature requiring careful
y Australian National University) New South Wales.
supervision, we determined
'RailCorp and have commissioned 12 essays The Albion Press, to accompany the bullock-
from leading experts in manufactured by A Wilson & dray we had hired for their
the Powerhouse Don’t miss your last chance Paradise, Purgatory and China, America and Australia. Sons of London in 1850, was conveyance, so that risk of
Museum’s last chance to see Paradise, Purgatory, Hellhole were the names given Structured around the donated to the Museum by injury to any portion of them
Hellhole: a history of Pyrmont to the sandstone quarries in themes of fame, form, forces, the Armidale Express 90 years should be lessened.
commitment to for paradise and Ultimo in the Australian Pyrmont and Ultimo in the foundations, frontiers and ago. The first edition of the
‘We pushed on towards the
this State’s rich Communities Gallery. The 1860s. The area was also a facades, the essays consider newspaper came off this press
foot of the Moonby (sic)
exhibition’s season has been
rail heritage will extended and will now close
major distribution centre for on Saturday April 5, 1856.
Range. Soon afterwards we
wool, milk and flour as well as
ensure that the on 15 October 2006. a power supply for Sydney’s
Its place in history was learned that we had had a
established in that same year narrow escape from a deaf
people of NSW Exploring the history of a lights and trams. As part of Pictured with the press as it
was being prepared for its when the press was imported (or death) adder, which had
NSW History Week, you can
will be enjoying community that hasn’t stopped
join exhibition curator Anni
journey back to Armidale
are (from left) descendants
by Sir Henry Parkes to print since been killed by one of the
changing, the exhibition of William Hipgrave, thelma his newspaper, The Empire, a drivers. It was about four feet
operational charts Pyrmont and Ultimo’s Turnbull on a brief walking tour alexander, nena gaulding and
forum for the sharpest radical long and had no feet.
of Pyrmont and Ultimo on 19 tennis star John Alexander;
steam trains for progression from rural estate
September 3.00 –5.00pm or a
and descendants of Henry
Parkes, Ian Thom and Jane Gray.
viewpoints of the day.
‘It is said to be 75 miles from
to industrial suburb, to the
many years to highly developed urban walk through the exhibition on
Photo by marinco kojdanovski.
William Hipgrave and Walter Tamworth to Armidale — we
Craigie purchased the press must observe they seem the
come.' environment of today and 21 September 10.00–11.30am.
from Parkes and brought it longest we have ever travelled.’
Pyrmont Bridge, about 1902–1917, Bookings are essential for both tours.
from the Tyrell Collection.
looks at the many human Enquiries: 9217 0168, or annit@phm.gov.au
Dr Kevin Fewster stories that emerge.
Thirty volunteers
celebrated the
third birthday of
the revamped
Lace Study
Centre in July,
when Director Dr
Kevin Fewster
tried his hand
at lacemaking.
More than 4000
the museum's 3830 and people have
locomotive no 10 (formerly of
south mailand railways) at a now visited this
night viewing for enthusiastic

The model was generously

donated by Precision Scale
Models of Melbourne.
photographers at steamfest on
22 april. Photo by peter black.
treasure trove.
volunteers involved in the
restoration of locomotive 3265
at the eveleigh workshops. Photo by marinco kojdanovski.
+ 0 powerline spring 06
Paris-based designer Matali Crasset gently questions
the world around us. crasset was keynote speaker at
Sydney Design 06. Here she talks to Powerline.
story_Lily Katakouzinos, education officer
what if…? the designs
of Matali Crasset
By exploring the boundaries of personal and
communal space and observing the minutiae of
everyday rituals, Matali Crasset encourages us to
reconsider how we engage with our environment. For
Crasset, life and human behaviour present a series
of subtle clues which help pinpoint design solutions.
A former protégé of Philippe Starck, Crasset now
heads her own multidisciplinary practice, working on
anything from industrial design and graphics through
to exhibitions, art installations and interiors. Whether
it’s a global concept for a hotel, a video clip for a new
band or even a pet-grooming salon, collaboration
and subversion are at the heart of her practice. She
constantly poses the question: ‘What if…?’
In considering the constraints of urban living,
Crasset conjures up unexpected solutions to familiar
problems. For example, When Jim comes to Paris,
Hospitality Tower is a tufted felt and foam mattress
complete with night light and alarm clock that quickly
rolls away, solving the problem of limited space and
the unexpected guest. There is, intrinsic in many of
Crasset’s products, an underlying respect for the user,
their individuality and their privacy, while at the same
time politely asking them to consider another reality.
Consider the Artican Wastepaper Basket, a
circular yellow base surrounded by feathery-green
polypropylene ‘trees’ protruding from aluminium
‘trunks’. An object with a secret message? A gentle
reminder of what we might be discarding? Incredibly,
this product is made from plastic fibres recycled from
brooms used by street cleaners in Paris.
With her use of strong colour and whimsical shapes,
Crasset’s work has often been described as child-like.
She says: ‘In the beginning of my career I was a little
afraid that people wouldn’t take my work seriously.
People were always saying that it was playful so I
would panic thinking: I’m only doing ludique things.
A friend later explained that ludique means to
experiment with the world around you by playing.
… it’s not only for kids you know, as adults we need
happy bar at the hi hotel, nice, france. Photo by uwe spoering.
to have the structure with which to experiment. And
I really like this idea now because it allows me to
remain curious and to try new things.’
Crasset is in high demand and travels extensively.
Unlike many of her peers, it’s not the places and
things she finds inspiring but rather a reflective
approach to the way people behave and the kinds
of basic rituals they perform. She says: ‘I don’t really
have a process for coming up with ideas. I’m more
interested in observing the way people behave. I
think that design is a kind of applied anthropology.’
Crasset set up her own design studio, Matali Crasset
Productions, in 1998 based in Saint Louis in Paris.
Interestingly, she began her career quite differently,
­having completed a three year marketing degree.
It was a class assignment — a perfume relaunch
— which dramatically changed the direction of her
life. ‘Part of the exercise was to design the bottle and
packaging and I found this to be the most exciting
part. Not only to think about the package but to
reflect on the kinds of products people end up with
and why,’ she says.
Later, having graduated from the prestigious Ecole
Nationale Superieure de Creation Industrielle in Paris,
she left France for a stint in Italy in the studio of
Denis Santachiara, a designer she cites as having a
similar sensibility to her own. It was with new found
confidence that Crasset returned to Paris eager for
new challenges. She tells the remarkable story of
writing to three design firms and being accepted by
Philippe Starck. ‘I was fortunate that at that time he
was looking for people. He had just embarked on this
big adventure with a huge electronics company and
because I was keen on technology, I was asked to
work on this project.’
She describes working with Starck as a real
adventure, a fairytale come true. With Thomson
Multimedia, she had access to cutting edge
technology, designing mass produced objects. With
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over 120 projects on the drawing board each year,
working in this dynamic environment was not without
its challenges. The sheer volume of work and time
constraints often meant that instructions were sketchy
at best. She says: ‘There was always a lot of work
but also a lot of experimentation and optimism — a
feeling that we could change things. It’s an amazing
opportunity for a designer to have such freedom and
to express their creative ideas so early in their career.’
Talking to Crasset, words like ‘welcoming’, ‘gently’
and ‘politely’ pepper her conversation. Her designs
imagine environments where people can be kinder
to each other, where function, poetry and individual
nuance can happily coexist. She believes that this
can be done, to a large degree, through the way we
arrange the spaces we live and work in. ‘I’m interested
in breaking the rules. It is when you break the codes
that you have access to a lot of possibilities.’
Discussing the Hi Hotel project in Nice, she says: ‘If
one could name one global concept for a project like
a hotel it would be to remove this notion of status.
When you are interested in status you are asking
people to build a wall. For example, if a four star
hotel was concerned with status you might have this
huge lobby … which says to you that you are a very
important person when you arrive in it. My idea is to
remove that. To make you be more yourself, to feel
more comfortable and willing to try something else.'
Crasset sums up the role of the designer: ‘It’s like
taking the hand of somebody and leading them to
a more contemporary way of thinking. Just to live
your life with a sense of today and the idea of gently
changing people’s way of thinking and giving them
access to things they don’t normally have access to.’
In today’s rapid-fire consumer world, Crasset’s
observations have led to designs that can offer
valuable insights and perhaps a gentle mockery
of our society’s values. Will this lead to change?
Designers like Crasset believe so.
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The epic story of the Great Wall of China comes

to life in a new exhibition opening in September.

dynasties, dragons
and warriors
The Great Wall of China is
the world’s largest heritage
structure and one of
China’s most popular tourist
destinations. And yet the epic
story of its construction is little
known and cloaked in legend.
The first major international
travelling exhibition about
the wall will open at the
Powerhouse in September.
The Great Wall of China:
dynasties, dragons and
warriors represents the
culmination of four years of
close collaboration between
the Powerhouse Museum and
the National Museum of China.
It sheds new light on the
wall’s history and reveals the
remarkable lives of the people
who built and defended the
wall over 2000 years.
An extraordinary collection of
treasures never before seen
outside China, with more
than 150 objects from major
Chinese institutions, many of
them designated ‘grade one
national treasures’ will feature
in the exhibition.
Complementing this collection
of objects is a series of
breathtaking photographic
panoramas, 12-metres wide,
which create an immersive
experience for the visitor. They
follow the wall across China's
vast expanse from its desert
origins in the west to the
East China Sea and include
sections of the wall rarely
visited by tourists.
In the exhibition, the history
of the Wall is charted from
its inception as a series of
discontinuous long walls built
by warring states (from 475
BCE) to the iconic sections
of Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
walls to the north of Beijing
that we associate with the
Great Wall of China today. The
wall’s history is also linked
with the development of the
Silk Road trade routes and the
introduction of Buddhism into
China.
Visitors will see tools and
weapons used in the
construction and defence of
the walls, paintings and plans
of the walls, and objects that
relate to the cultures of various
northern peoples and Han
Chinese whose lives have
been inextricably linked to the
wall.
The exhibition also includes
some key imperial objects
from the Palace Museum
relating to the Qing dynasty
(1644–1911) a period when
China was ruled by the
Manchu, one of the northern
peoples, and when the wall no
longer fulfilled any strategic
function. It was during this
time that the wall began its
remarkable transformation
from military structure to
heritage icon. An examination
of The Great Wall of China
today concludes the exhibition.
Initiating, developing and
realising an international
exhibition of this magnitude
is complex and has drawn
heavily on the expertise
of staff from both the
Powerhouse and the National
Museum of China. Objects
from The Palace Museum,
Gansu Provincial Museum,
Gansu Provincial Research
Institute of Archaeology,
Dunhuang Municipal Museum
and the Shanhaiguan Great
Wall Museum will also be on
display.
Audiovisual programs relating
to the construction, re-building
and archaeology of the walls
and the Great Wall as a tourist
phenomenon, produced by
the National Museum of China
and the Powerhouse Museum
respectively, provide added
context for exhibition objects,
as do a number of interactives,
developed by the Powerhouse
Museum. For family groups, a
print trail has been developed
featuring Museum mascot
Zoe in a search for the hidden
dragon.
The exhibition is accompanied
by a book with 12 essays
commissioned from leading
experts in China, America
and Australia and illustrated
with photographs taken
by Museum photographer
Jean-Francois Lanzarone and
images of objects included in
the exhibition. (see details on
page 5)
An exciting program of events,
including performances by the
Flying Fruit Fly Circus, food
tastings with award-winning
chef Kylie Kwong and family
activities will complement
the exhibition, culminating in
Chinese New Year celebrations
in February 2007.
The Great Wall of China: dynasties, dragons
and warriors opens 28 September.
Principal sponsor
Badaling Cablecar Company
The exhibition presents an extraordinary
collection of treasures never before seen
outside China. They include:
• A bronze permit inlaid with
gold text dating from the
Warring States period (475–221
BCE) declaring that the bearer
need pay no tax when crossing
strategic passes.
• A life-size terracotta warrior
(pictured above) from the
mausoleum of Qin Shihuang,
the first Emperor of China
(reigned 221–210 BCE). It was
Qin Shihuang who ordered that
many of the long walls built
during the preceding period of
the Warring States be linked to
form a great wall.
• Inscribed wooden slips
from the Han dynasty (206
BCE–CE 220) that were used
to convey information about
enemy movements. These
were excavated from the ruins
of ancient beacon towers and
military structures in the Gobi
desert.
• A gold headdress ornament
in the form of an ox head
with deer horns dating to the
Northern Dynasties (420–581).
It was worn by a noblewoman
of the Xianbei people and was
unearthed in present-day Inner
Mongolia.
• Bricks from Ming dynasty
sections of the Great Wall.
• A beautifully painted Ming
dynasty (368–1644) plan of a
section of wall outside Beijing
(pictured above). It is inscribed
with detailed information about
its use as a military structure.
• A rare painting of the
Manchu-Qing Qianlong
Emperor dining after a deer
hunt at an imperial hunting
park beyond the Great Wall.
• A photograph of Gough
Whitlam standing on the Great
Wall at Badaling in 1971.
SPRING PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Exhibition launch
An exclusive invitation to
members to attend the
launch of this internationally
developed exhibition on
September 27.
The Great Wall of China
seminar
Eighth wonder of the world?
Explore the history, strategic
importance and cultural
significance of the Great Wall
in this all-day seminar on
September 30.
Chinese Moon Festival
Sydney Observatory celebrates
with an evening of music,
poetry, storytelling, mooncakes
and telescope viewings on 6
October.
FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
Zoe’s lucky charm show
Gods, pirates, floating cities
and shipwrecks in an animated
show about the God of
Longevity running throughout
the October school holidays.
The dragon and the pearl
The Chinese dragon is a
magical creature that can
appear anywhere. Even in a
Museum! Find the pearl, hear
from dragon experts and even
see a dragon.
d factory
Explore the impact of
manufacturing giant China on
Australian designers in our
monthly design forum on 26
October.
A weekend with Kylie
Enjoy a dinner menu devised
and supervised by Chinese-
Australian chef and author
Kylie Kwong in the Grand
Foyer on 14 October or come
along to a demonstration and
tasting of Kylie’s food on 15
October.
Film screenings
A weekend program of films
and documentaries about the
Great Wall.
The Pocket
Dress up like an Imperial
Warrior, make a take- home fan
and hear stories from the Far
East in our play space for the
under 8s.
Zoe and the search for
the hidden dragon
A free print trail for families
that leads to dragons and
other mythical creatures on
display in the exhibition.

main image: eastern section of the great wall at jinshanling, LUANLING,

HEBEI. Photo by jean-francois lanzarone. Clockwise from top left:
terracotta warrior; plan of the ming military command at jizhou; coin
with khitan inscription, liao dynasty (960–1125); inscribed pass for land
transportation, bronze inlaid with gold, chu kingdom, warring states
period (475–221 BCE); all from the collection of the national museum of
china, beijing.

+ 10 powerline winter 05
powerhouse shop
Too good to miss! Powerhouse Members receive 10% off.
Photographing the Great Wall encompassed a
journey across China from east to west and 2000
years of Chinese history.
on the Great Wall trail
In May, Powerhouse Museum
photographer Jean-Francois
Lanzarone, myself and Sang
Ye, Beijing-born Brisbane-
based writer and contributor to
the exhibition book, travelled
to China on a photo shoot
for the Great Wall of China
exhibition.
Our journey began in the
Gobi desert in the far north-
west of China, at the oasis
city of Dunhuang and site of
the famous Mogao Buddhist
Caves, positioned where the
Silk Road trade routes forked
north and south. From here
we travelled to the remains
of ancient Han dynasty walls,
beacon towers and military
structures at Yumenguan Pass
and Hecangcheng.
In Gansu province we also
travelled to Jiayuguan, the
Great Wall's western-most
pass during the Ming Dynasty.
From there we travelled to
Xian, the ancient capital of the
Tang dynasty (618–907), and
visited the mausoleum of Qin
The Powerhouse Shihuang (reigned 221–210
Museum Shop presents
an exclusive range of
merchandise with a
‘Great Wall’ theme.
The Powerhouse Shop is open
10.00 am – 5.00 pm, 7 days a
week, 9.30 am – 5.00 pm in school
holidays.
For more information:
phone (02) 9217 0331
fax (02) 9217 0372
email shop@phm.gov.au
Handcrafted mahjong set $169.95.
Silk covered accessories: money bag $12.95;
diary $19.95; mini-memo pad $5.95;
mini-notebook $5.95.
Exquisite mini-ceramics: 3D notebook $49.95;
fridge magnet set $29.95; mobile phone strap
$14.95; book mark $24.95.
Exhibition curator Claire Roberts, publication contributor Sang Ye and Powerhouse Museum photographer Jean-
Francois Lanzarone on the tourist platform at Badaling during their long journey across China.
BCE) and his entombed
warriors located in Lintong.
In Datong, the former capital
of the Northern Wei (386–534),
established by the Tuoba
people, we visited the Yungang
Buddhist caves. We travelled
on to Ming dynasty sections
of the Great Wall in Hebei
province at Jinshanling and
Badaling. Our journey ended at
Shanghaiguan on the eastern
coast of China where the Great
Wall meets the sea. Images
of these places connected
with the history of the Great
Wall, and the interconnected
themes of the Silk Road trade
routes and the introduction of
Buddhism into China, follow a
geographic path from west to
east that charts the course of
these discontinuous walls built
by successive dynasties over
more than 2000 years.
As we stood on a section of
the Great Wall at Badaling
north of Beijing, jostling with
tourists to claim the best
position to take photographs
of the imposing masonry walls
set in the landscape and with
+ 11 powerline spring 06
Enjoy a meal with Kylie Kwong
and see 'the great wall of china'.
the Beijing 2008 Olympic
Games slogan 'One World, One
Dream' visible in the distance,
my mind quickly returned to
a morning in the Gobi desert
in far north-western China
and the peace and quiet we
experienced at 5.00am waiting
for the sun to rise so that the
crumbling ruins of the Han
dynasty walls and associated
structures would be revealed
in all their grandeur.
Out in the desert there was
no one but a shepherd
heading off to tend his flock
and invisible birds rejoicing
in the first light of the day.
Having traversed China from
west to east and crossed
many provincial boundaries
I was reminded that China
was indeed a vast, culturally
diverse country and that the
most popular sections of the
Great Wall north of Beijing are
but awe-inspiring fragments of
something much larger, more
complex and contradictory.
Claire Roberts, Senior Curator,
Asian decorative arts and
design
¶ kylie kwong cooks for the powerhouse in october.
a weekend
with Kylie
from the great wall exhibition,
gold headdress ornament
from inner mongolia (420–581).
collection of the national
museum of china.
Kylie Kwong, restaurant owner,
author, award-winning chef
and fifth generation Chinese-
Australian adds spice to The
Great Wall of China exhibition
with two great events.
Kylie’s exciting blend of
Chinese and contemporary
Australian cuisine combines
traditional family recipes
with the latest ideas and
techniques. On the evening of
Saturday 14 October, members
are invited to a special dinner
in the Museum’s Grand
foyer with an exquisite menu
+
from the
members
manager
devised and supervised by
Kylie. Our guest chef will talk
about the significance of each
dish and curator Dr Claire
Roberts will host an exclusive
viewing of The Great Wall of
China exhibition.
On Sunday 15 October Kylie
will demonstrate her craft and
explain the significance of
the food she prepares with
stories of her recent visit to
china. Tastings will be available
throughout the day and Kylie
will be available to sign her
new book.
For more details on both these great
events, see the members calender.
Spring will be spectacular
at the Powerhouse Museum,
with a range of exhibitions to
tempt the whole family. Be
among the first to visit our
new blockbuster The Great
Wall of China: dynasties,
dragons and warriors
opening on September 28.
Or for a stimulating exhibition
experience, visit Inspired!
Design across time, which is
now a favourite amongst our
visitors.
Our behind-the-scenes
curator-led tours continue to
delight members, and we are
thrilled to offer another event
+
members
+ news and photos
+ prizes to be won
+ exclusive events
+ family activities
+ special offers
Members e-newsletter
If you would like to receive the regular Members
e-newsletter with updates on all members
events please call (02) 9217 0600 or email
members@phm.gov.au with your membership
number and e-newsletter in the subject line.
at our Castle Hill site. Book our events calendar for full
early to avoid disappointment details of member events and
as Debbie Rudder takes information on how to book.
members on an exclusive tour
of the new Castle Hill storage
And a reminder to let us
know your email address if
facility featuring an in-depth
look at some interesting
you would like to receive our
fabulous monthly e-bulletin,
engines. See page 14 for
featuring special offers and
photos from July’s successful
last minute events. Just email
Castle Hill tour.
us at members@phm.gov.au or
If you haven’t yet visited On drop in next time you visit us in
the box: great moments in the Members Lounge.
Australian television 1956–
Kathryn Watson,
2006 why not join curator
Acting Members Manager
Peter Cox on a members tour
as he explains some of the
stories behind the objects in
this landmark exhibition. See
+ 12 powerline spring 06
spring
events calendar
DATE / LOCATION
Thursday 7 September
6.00–8.00 pm, level 2 Café,
enter via Macarthur Street.
Friday 8 September
4.00–6.00 am
Thursday 14 September
11.00 am–12.30 pm
Mon 18 Sept–Fri 6 Oct
1.00–5.00 pm
NOTE: Weekdays only
Wednesday 27
September
6.00 pm
Thursday 28 September
6.00–8.30 pm
Courtyard Cafe
Saturday 30 September
10.00 am–3.30 pm
SoundHouse VectorLab
Saturday 30 September
9.30 am–4.45 pm
Saturday 30 September
8.15–10.00 pm Cost: $15 adults, $12 conc, $10 children, $45
Sydney Observatory
Daily 30 Sept–15 Oct
11.30am, 1.00pm, 2.00pm
Daily 30 Sept–15 Oct
10.00 am–3.00 pm
Thursday 5 October
11.00 am–12.30 pm
Thurs 5, Tues 10 October
6.00–10.00 pm
Sydney Observatory
Friday 6 October
6:15–8.00 pm
Sydney Observatory
+ 13 powerline spring 06
how to book for members events
Unless otherwise stated, bookings and pre-payment are Three full working days are required for a refund for Powerhouse
essential for all events. You can book by phone on (02) 9217 events. Unfortunately we can’t refund or transfer bookings for
0600 for events at the Powerhouse Museum or (02) 9217 0485 for SoundHouse VectorLab workshops.
events at Sydney Observatory. All events are held at the Powerhouse Museum unless otherwise
green indicates members event
stated. All dates, times and venues are correct at time of
publication.
EVENT / COST DESCRIPTION
Free Radicals Fred Pearce, environmental consultant and author of When porcelain jar depicting child Thursday 12 October Free Radicals Our monthly series of talks and debates on issues that will affect tv favourite, mr squiggle, in
the rivers run dry, discusses droughts, floods and empty rivers. at play, yuan dynasty (1271-1368) our future looks at businesses supplying 'green'. on the box; from the museum's
series 2 collection of the national 6.00–8.00 pm, level 2 Cafe, series 2 speedo collection; it's
Free entry. No bookings required. Supported by Brisbane Riverfestival, the British Council (Australia) and Random House. museum of china; earthenware enter via Macarthur Street. Free entry. No bookings required. members shopping discount day
female equestrian figure, sui in november.
dynasty (581-618) collection of
Partial lunar eclipse Rise early to see this partial eclipse when 19% of the Moon’s the national museum of china; Thursday 12 October Castle Hill curator-led Debbie Rudder, curator Power & Technologies, will introduce you
aunt clara's friendship quilt,
Cost (inc breakfast): $15 adults, $12 conc, surface will be in the Earth’s shadow. Sydney Observatory will tour to the Museum’s amazing engine collection. Highlights include
$10 children, $45 families. Members: $13 made in australia, early 1900s. 10.30 am–12.00 pm
adults, $10 conc., $8 child, $34 family provide breakfast and telescope viewing. Cost: members only, adult $25 the 1867 Otto and Langen gas engine - one of only four surviving
examples of the first commercially viable internal combustion
Fascinating fabrics Lindie Ward, Assistant Curator, International Decorative Arts & engine.
Design, invites you into the Museum basement store to explore
Suitable for ages 12+
the fascinating use of fabrics and techniques to create inventive
Cost: members only, adult $15
shapes to fit and enhance the human body.
Saturday 14 October An evening with On Saturday enjoy an exquisite menu devised and supervised
7.00–11.00 pm Kylie Kwong by Kylie Kwong in the Grand Foyer. Kylie will talk about the
$170/$150 (members) per head significance of each dish and curator Dr Claire Roberts will host
Bookings essential (02) 9217 0600
an exclusive viewing of the Great Wall of China exhibition.
Watch an artist at work: Acclaimed Beijing-born artist Guan Wei creates a new artwork in
Sunday 15 October Tastings with On Sunday come along to see Kylie demonstrate her craft and
Guan Wei the Museum’s Asian Gallery. Come along and watch him paint.
11.00 am–3.00 pm Kylie Kwong talk about her recent trip to China. Tastings throughout the day.
Free with Museum entry
Free with Museum entry
Exhibition launch: The Great Wall of China is the world’s first major touring Thursday 19 October 'On the box' Join exhibition curator Peter Cox for an in-depth look at On the
'The Great Wall of China' exhibition telling the story of one of the world’s most remarkable curator-led tour box: great moments in Australian television 1956-2006. Hear the
11.00 am–12.00 pm
heritage structures. Join us to celebrate the opening of this Cost: PHM members: $10; non-members $15 stories behind the objects, the stars and the collectors and find
Ages 18+ only. Includes
exciting new exhibition. out what was involved in creating this fabulous exhibition.
refreshments.
Cost: members only, $35
d factory Join in the discussion as Nell Schofield talks to architects and Thursday 26 October d factory Join in the discussion as our panel of experts explore the impact
Free entry. No bookings required engineers about making the impossible possible in architecture. 6.00–8.30pm Free entry. No bookings required. of manufacturing giant China on Australian designers.
Teenager computer Turn your home computer into a recording studio. Learn to mix, Saturday 28 October Teenager digital-video Create your own video in this hands-on workshop combining
music workshop arrange and record original music tracks using loops, samples, editing workshop digital imaging and sound production skills. You’ll learn how
10.00 am–3.30 pm
beats and bass lines. This workshop will allow participants to Cost: PHM members $70; Non-members to use video editing software Sony Vegas, which turns your
Suitable for ages 11–16yrs only.
make their own original music scores and learn a range of Soundhouse VectorLab $100 (includes student membership) computer into a virtual television studio. Let our digital media
Cost: PHM members $70; Non-members
$100 (includes student membership) techniques for producing music on the home computer. experts expand your skills in video production, with time allowed
for personal project development.
The Great Wall seminar Explore the history, strategic importance and cultural Thursday 9 November The Speedo story Learn more about the Museum’s extensive collection of Speedo
Enquiries and bookings: email significance of the Great Wall with international and local swimwear and accessories dating from the 1930s to the present
judithrutherford@bigpond.com 11.00 am–12.30 pm Suitable for ages 12+
or tel/fax 61-2-9417 2585 experts. Presented with The Asian Arts Society of Australia (TAASA). with Glynis Jones, curator, Australian decorative arts & design,
Cost: members only, $15
including designs produced for the Australian Olympic Games
High Moon viewings Observe a high evening pass of the moon in the year of major team and the Australian Commonwealth Games team.
lunar standstill. View the first quarter moon through telescopes
families. Members cost: $13 adults, $10 conc,
$8 child, $34 family and see a special 3D Space Theatre program.
Zoe's lucky charm show Gods, pirates, floating cities and shipwrecks … in an animated Thursday 9 November Transit of Mercury This is the last Transit of Mercury visible from Australia until 2032.
Free with Museum entry and interactive show, Zoe pieces together the story of one of the 6.00–11.00 am Drop in for a quick view or stay for the entire event! Details on
Museum’s most mysterious objects — the God of Longevity. Sydney Observatory www.sydneyobservatory.com
The Pocket play space The Pocket takes you to China. Dress up like an imperial warrior, Saturday 25 November Teenager DIY podcasting Mix up music tracks with an original voice-over to produce your
Free with Museum entry make a take-home fan and hear stories from the Far East. workshop own 'live' radio show, and save it as an mp3 file to keep. Bring
10.00 am–3.30 pm
your own favourite CDs, an mp3 player to save your podcast
Suitable for ages 11–16yrs only.
SoundHouse VectorLab onto, and lots of enthusiasm!
Cost: PHM members $70; Non-members
Early Australian quilts Dr Kimberley Webber, senior curator, Australian History & Society
$100 (includes student membership)
and their makers tells the history of pieced and quilted textiles in Australia through
a selection of the 19th century quilts in the collection.
Suitable for ages 12+
Cost: members only, adult $15
Sunday 26 November Powerhouse Members Take advantage of a red-hot 20% discount on all stock in the
discount shopping day Powerhouse Shop. This is your chance to complete all of your
10.00 am–5.00 pm
Christmas shopping, so join us for a selection of gifts that range
from the exciting to the unusual. There is sure to be something
Rocket design workshop The Chinese invented rockets about 1232. They were called to suit everyone.
Cost: $20 child/$18 Members child ‘arrows of flying fire’. Special rocket-launching workshops will be
Bookings essential held during the school holidays.
Chinese Moon Festival Celebrate China's Moon Festival with Sydney Observatory’s Thursday 30 November d factory Join in the discussion as Nell Schofield talks to designers and
Cost: $22 adults, $16 child/conc/$68 Family southern hemisphere version, an evening of music, poetry, 6.00–8.30 pm Free entry. No bookings required artists working together to create thought-provoking public art.
(2 adults /3 children). Members: $20 adults,
$14 child/$60 family. Bookings essential storytelling, mooncakes and telescope viewing of the full Moon.
+ 14 powerline spring 06
members
scene
The first of our Members
curator-led tours of the Castle
Hill storage facility was held in
July and was a huge success.
photos by Marinco kodjanovski
and sue stafford.
w Len Sims was himself a
members
giveaway
part of the museum's
furniture collection at
castle hill.
Powerhouse Members would
like to celebrate the launch
of the 2007 Australian sky
guide. This popular book
includes everything you need
to know about the night
sky with monthly star maps,
diagrams and details of all
the year’s exciting celestial
+ 15 powerline spring 06
A magnificent example of the now
obsolete art of signwriting, this
siren was found by curator Ann
Stephen at a Camperdown factory.
Thanks to a proud tradesman,
it is now part of the Museum’s
collection.
visitors get a chance to view
some of the usually unseen
objects at castle hill.
the siren of
the sign
I first laid eyes on this majestic
glass painting over 20 years
ago when I was researching
an exhibition on trade union
australian history curator
members get a closer look kimberley webber with banners for the Powerhouse
at our tour in july. members in the transport
open display area at castle
Museum. I was tracking down
hill on 4 july. the Sydney firms responsible
for banner painting and I
could not believe my eyes
when, inside a small front
office off Paramatta Road in
Camperdown, I was met by
this naked siren.
In the 1980s the Althouse
& Geiger factory still had
castle hill holds a large
several tradesmen who could
collection of costumes and
models. replicate the old skills of the
trade, making everything
from trade union banners,
sports pennants to silkscreen
advertisements. The manager
tradesman and proud of
his firm’s history, and most
particularly this glass painting.
events. See the order form
insert in this issue of Powerline He told me all about the
founders, J Althouse and F A
to purchase your copy at the
members' discount price, or Geiger, who were tradesmen
for your chance to win a copy, from Philadelphia. They
simply phone the Powerhouse migrated together to Sydney
Members hotline after 10.00am in 1875 and established a
on Monday 10 September business first in Liverpool
and quote your membership Street, which rapidly expanded
number. to 584a George Street. The
painting was created in the
George Street site over several
years, around 1900.
As Sims recalls, ‘Many
tradesmen worked on this
masterpiece. The pictorial
artwork was done by Geiger
and a Russian artist by the
name of Komeroff, (?)… It
was a show piece, always
positioned inside the business
entrance… It was taken from
the George Street business to
the next premises in Sussex
Street… it survived a fire and
was moved to the new factory
next door at 333 Sussex Street,
built for Jack Althouse, the
son of the founder. This was
where many of the existing
Althouse & Geiger employees
saw the panel in all its glory in
the foyer above the entrance
doors to the factory. I first saw
this panel in 1953 … and now
its final resting place is at the
Powerhouse Museum where
it can be appreciated as the
finest example of early sign
work produced in Australia.’
When the glass painting was
executed, the firm’s work
was regarded as the finest
of its type. A contemporary
report from The Australian
Decorator & Painter Journal of
1 December 1909 records that
the two founders had ‘studied
drawing and painting at the
[Sydney] Art Society’s classes
... The firm’s advent made a
lasting impression upon the
trade ... the artistic character
of the work they carried out
did much to develop an
appreciation of good sign
work ...’
When Sims began his
apprenticeship with the
firm in 1954 they employed
approximately 50 painters, 24
signwriters, six silkscreeners,
two ticket writers and had
a carpenters’ shop of six, a
saleman, two estimators, three
office staff and one truck
driver. When he retired in 2000,
he offered the Powerhouse
Museum the painting. The
trade was effectively obsolete.
He knew of the Museum’s
large collection of glass pub
paintings, initially acquired
through the Tooths Collection
mostly dating from the early
20th century.
The Althouse & Geiger glass
sign was painted when trade
skills were at their pinnacle,
and it was intended to display
the finest work of signwriters,
painters and decorators. These
tradesmen were skilled at
combining image and text on
a public scale for all kinds of
advertising. The application of
oil paint and gilding on glass
required a high level of skill,
and this painting is a virtuoso
display. Glass painting required
all the work to be done from
the back of the glass with
the aid of a mirror, facing the
front of the glass. All the tone
values of colour were applied
in reverse — with highlights
put down first and the deepest
tones last. In 1918 the painting
was awarded first prize in
the Painters & Decorators
Exhibition at Sydney Town Hall.
The female nude is no girlie
pin-up, though no doubt
she was popular with the
apprentices. The allegorical
image represents the muse of
painting, seated at the base
of a classical column holding
the attributes of the trade ­— a
brush and easel. A portrait
bust, sketches, drawings and
a canvas are grouped at her
feet. A circular gold frame,
secured at four points to an
ornate art nouveau border,
surrounds the figure. Above
and below the central cameo
are two elegantly lettered
bands bearing the name of
the company and its trades.
On either side are two
monumental vases displaying
waratah blooms. The native
flora is derived from the
designs of French Australian
artist Lucien Henry whose
bookplates for Australian
Decorative Arts, are also held
in the Museum.
This commercial glass painting
occupies a unique place in
Sydney’s popular culture and
complements the Museum’s
collection of the building
trades, an integral part of NSW
urban and design history.
Ann Stephen, Curator
Australian History and Society
Now on display on level 5
As part of History Week, organised by
the History Council of NSW, curator Ann of the Museum, this glass
painting is a virtuoso display
Stephen and conservator Gosha Dudek will
of the signwriters’ art,
discuss ‘the siren of the sign’ on Thursday
21 September at 1.00 pm. Free with museum combining pictorial work,
entry, bookings essential. Enquiries: 9217 lettering, marbling and gilding.
0353, ann@phm.gov.au Photo by marinco kojdanovski
+ 16 powerline spring 06
acclaimed artist Guan Wei creates new artworks and
presents a selection of museum objects in a new
exhibition, other histories.
story_guan wei
Guan Wei’s fable
The work of acclaimed Beijing-born artist Guan Wei
has often drawn on the cultural and geographical
differences between China and Australia. In a
new exhibition that opens at the Powerhouse in
September, Other histories: Guan Wei’s fable for a
contemporary world, Guan Wei will create entirely
new artworks within the Asian Gallery as well as
presenting a selection of objects from the Museum’s
collection. Here he explains his contemporary fable.
The British writer Gavin Menzies argues in his
controversial book 1421: the year China discovered
the world, that some 600 years ago a Chinese
eunuch of the Ming dynasty, Zheng He (1371–1433),
pioneered the ‘discovery’ of Australia. He offers as
evidence Chinese antiquities, including an ancient
navigation map, a compass and a number of objects
that are said to have been connected with his
voyages (1405–33). These objects include a figurine
of the Chinese God of Longevity unearthed in Darwin
in 1879 and now in the collection of the Powerhouse
Museum. Menzies’ hypothesis raises some intriguing
artist guan wei working in his studio, courtesy the artist and sherman galleries; opposite: other places: shenmu country, guan wei, ink on paper, 2006.
questions, but we must ask whether the evidence
provided by such objects substantiates sufficiently
the historical proposition? Are there hidden histories
embedded in these ancient objects that are perhaps
unrelated to this history and history as we know it?
History can be regarded as a process of decoding.
With each new discovery, whether it is a drawing,
sculpture, ceramic or an item of daily use, experts
using analysis, appraisal and classification can create
history. By rearranging and displaying historical
objects in a museum collection we too can articulate
different histories.
Other histories is a project to bring an imaginary
history to the public through a museum exhibition.
The exhibition is designed as an experiment in which
I re-assign meaning to objects in the museum’s
collection and combine them with my own mural
painting narrative and recreations of relics. Objects
and paintings are therefore employed to substantiate
an assumed history. Within the exhibition visitors
+ 17 powerline autumn 06
will be asked to decode visual information. In the
process it is hoped that viewers will feel a sense
of satisfaction that a history can be created where
there may be no history, or that a short history can be
manipulated to become a longer and richer history.
Using artistic means the artist can re-map boundaries
and suggest new possibilities.
Australia has been shaped by Aboriginal culture,
colonial culture and multiculture; by the fact that it is
an island, with beaches and desert. Our histories are
linked with ideas of exploration, voyaging, treasure-
hunting, immigration and refuge, and more recently
with globalisation. In order to create my own fable for
a contemporary world I will selectively extract from
these rich resources and create an exhibition space
that functions as a floating, poetic corridor in which
history and memory, fact and fiction are blurred.
Visitors to the Museum can watch Guan Wei painting in the Asian gallery on
level 5 on weekdays only from Monday 18 September to Friday 6 October,
1.00–5.00 pm. The exhibition opens 11 October.
Guan Wei is represented by Sherman Galleries, Sydney.
Supported by Sherman Foundation.
+ 18 powerline spring 06
Footy Legends is the new Australian film directed
by 2005 Powerhouse Wizard, Khoa Do. Here he gives
Powerline an insight into the making of the film.
story_khoa do
footy legends
Set in Sydney's western
suburbs, Footy legends
tells the story of Luc, and
his six mates, who enter a
footy tournament to save
their families and bring back
hope to their community.
Footy Legends was released
in cinemas nationally on 3
August.
When I was 12, our family
moved to the suburb of
Yagoona, just west of
Sydney’s Hume Highway. Most
people travel past Yagoona
when they’re on their way
somewhere, but not many
actually stop here. Yagoona’s
only claim to fame was that
in the 1970s, the first-ever
McDonald’s in Australia was
built here (then in the late
‘90s, it was one of the first
McDonald’s to close down).
So with not much to do, we
played footy. I joined the
Yagoona Twin Willows rugby
league team (named after our
local pub), and we were the
worst team in the competition.
We had players who were
big, players who were small,
players from different ethnic
backgrounds, but we had no
players with any talent. Every
game, we would lose by forty
points.
But it never stopped us from
playing. We loved our footy.
It was something we looked
forward to, something that
brought us together, and most
importantly, it was fun.
And that’s where the idea for
Footy legends came from.
Four years ago, whilst I was
making The finished people,
my brother Anh and I were
having dinner one night when
we thought: 'wouldn’t it be
great to make a film with footy
in it?' As we started talking, we
realised that while Australia
is a sports-mad country, we
don’t have many films with
sports in it. That night, we
came up with the concept
for the film, and realised that
through sports, anything was
possible — even for a bunch
of lads from Yagoona. There
have been so many real-life
stories of the most unlikely
teams triumphing, and we
knew that if we’d made such a
story, set entirely in our world,
then it could be something
really refreshing and unique in
Australian cinema.
So we embarked on a journey
to make Footy legends.
Over the next two years,
the script was written by
myself, Anh and Anh’s wife,
Suzanne. Working with Anh
and Suzie was a wonderful
process, where we knew
each others’ strengths and
complemented one another.
During that time the script
changed, but at its core the
main theme of Footy legends
has stayed the same — that
if you believe in yourself, then
anything is possible. The world
changed during this time, and
inadvertently, I think our script
changed with it.
Ultimately Footy legends isn’t
a film about footy. It’s a film
about family, about friendship,
about finding a place for
yourself in the world. It’s about
realising broken dreams and
ambitions. It’s about finding a
way home.
Watching the film now takes
me back many years, to days
on the football field, days
out in the last light of dusk,
+ 19 powerline spring 06
chasing dreams that seemed
so far away. One of my hopes
with Footy legends is to
make a film where every kid
from Yagoona to Penrith to
Kalgoorlie, will believe that his
dreams are possible.
Footy legends was made
during 2005, one of the most
amazing years of my life. On
Australia Day in January 2005, I
heard my named called out by
the Prime Minister as the 2005
Young Australian of the Year.
It was an exciting moment,
and one which will stay with
me forever. However, I couldn’t
help but think to myself: 'how
are we gonna make Footy
legends now? I’m never gonna
be around.'
And what a mad, mad year
it was with pre-production
for Footy legends beginning
in the weeks following
the announcement. Later
in September 2005 I was
honoured to receive the
Powerhouse Wizard award.
I have great memories of
visiting the Museum as a kid,
(a photo of me was even in
an exhibition in 1988!), so the
Wizard award is something
I am really proud of. And
the scholarship money that
came with the award really
helped with finishing Footy
legends. It has been great
to be associated with the
Powerhouse this past year and
I hope you all enjoy the film.
The Powerhouse Wizard award is
sponsored by Wizard Home Loans.
opposite: the yagoona team, with
anh do (centre) as luc. Photo
by tram do. this page: dao minh
sinh as grandad (left) director
khoa do and leslie dayman as bob;
peter phelps and khoa do on the
set. Photos by mark rogers.
new releases from powerhouse publishing
Remember, members receive 10% discount on all titles from the Powerhouse Shop and mailorder
Building a masterpiece: the Sydney
Opera House
ANNE WATSON (ed)
This comprehensive and beautifully
illustrated book offers a unique
account of the Sydney Opera House
and is essential reading for anyone
wishing to gain fresh insights into the
complex history of this iconic building.
RRP pb $55.00 / MEMBERS $49.50; hc
$70.00 / MEMBERS $63.00
Strasburg clock
DES BARRETT & NICK LOMB
Built in Sydney about 1889, the
Strasburg Clock model has been one
of the Powerhouse Museum’s most
intriguing, eccentric and popular
exhibits for over a century. Inspired
by the astronomical clock in the
Strasbourg Cathedral, the model can
be appreciated on many levels.
Available September 2006
RRP $4.95 / MEMBERS $4.45
ORDER NOW—see insert
in this issue
2007 Australian sky guide
NICK LOMB
Compact, easy to use and reliable, the
Sky guide contains month-by-month
constellations, tidal charts, Sun and
Moon rise and set times, facts on all
the planets, meteorite movements
plus details of the year’s most exciting
astronomical events.
Available October 2006
RRP $16.95/ MEMBERS $15.25
Powerhouse books
are available from the
Powerhouse Shop,
bookstores and mailorder.
For more information or
to order contact
Powerhouse Publishing
on (02) 9217 0129 or email
phpub@phm.gov.au
powerhousemuseum.com/publications
+ 20 powerline spring 06 + 21 powerline spring 06

Design Hub, a new online design magazine developed

by the Powerhouse, gives you access to some of the
best museum collections in the world.

The Powerhouse Foundation was established in

2004 as an endowment fund to raise support
for the Museum’s collection. September
2006 marks one of its most exciting and
busy periods of the year — and the second
anniversary since its establishment.
During September, the Foundation will launch
its second Annual Appeal. The Foundation’s
first Appeal in September 2005 was an
overwhelming success; the original target of
$50,000 was tripled, raising over $155,000 in
donations and pledges. From $10 to $50,000,
from Glebe to San Diego, from first time
visitors, to those who have been volunteers
with the Museum for over 18 years, the
donations and pledges were as individual as

www.dhub.org
A sleek barbeque, artificial heart pump, ambient cordless lamp and fun
foldaway trike for kids are just some of the products on show in the Museum collections inevitably
2006 Australian Design Awards exhibition. spend the majority of time
in storage. Painstakingly
documented and stored
by registrars, many objects
acquired by our state and
an increasingly savvy design
audience. Raw data just
wouldn’t cut it.
The solution was to create an
online design magazine using
news and reviews across all
design fields. Over time it will
also feature competitions,
podcasts, blogs, promotions
and merchandise. Design Hub
gives these collections and
those who donated them.
This was a wonderful result, and I would again
like to thank all those who have given. Every
donation brings the endowment fund that
much closer to its $5 million target, from which
the capital can be spent on acquiring and
conserving significant objects for the collection.
We hope that 2006 Annual Appeal will be even
more successful than the previous year — and
encourage all Powerhouse members and
friends to consider giving what you can. Every

clever by design
the latest in web creativity
national institutions may never resources a contemporary donation makes a difference.
tools, while providing an inroad
be publicly displayed, for a context and appeal for its
to some of the most important
raft of different reasons. The audience, which includes
design and decorative arts
Powerhouse Museum alone emerging and professional For further information on the Foundation, or
collections in the world.
holds more than 400,000 designers, people working and how to donate go to www.powerhousemuseum.
Since 1992 the Powerhouse Museum has recognised The winner of the 2006 Australian Design Award Design Hub was developed
objects. researching in the field, and com/foundation or contact the Foundation
excellence in Australian product design with its own of the Year, the ResMed S8 flow generator and by the Powerhouse Museum
anyone with a general interest Office on 9217 0564.
award as part of the annual Australian Design Awards HumidAire 3i humidifier system, is also featured in Today most major museums with the University of Western
in design. Malcolm Moir, Corporate Development Manager,
program. The Museum’s selection criteria include the exhibition. Designed to prevent airway collapse deal with this lack of access Sydney and the University
by digitising collection records of Technology, Sydney, and The goal now for Design Hub malcolm@phm.gov.au
good design, innovation, and the significance of a in sleep apnea patients by providing positive air
product to Australia’s material culture. The selected pressure to the upper airway during sleep, this device and making parts of the officially launched during is to build momentum and
products are displayed in the Success and innovation is more than 60% smaller than earlier models, making collection searchable online. Sydney Design 06. It currently get as many institutions on
exhibition and some are added to the Museum’s it more appealing and easier for patients to integrate The Powerhouse Museum has includes the Powerhouse board as possible. Through
Recent Donors
permanent collection of Australian industrial design. into their lifestyle. always played a leading role Museum collection along continuing research and
in this area. When the Museum with a range of articles, and development, assisted by an Anthony McIntyre
Once again the Australian Design Awards exhibition Other products in the exhibition include a new style was looking for a way to make overseas collections will be Australian Research Council Macquarie Bank Foundation
features a diverse range of products — from of police vest, a cordless drill, a system for preventing its design and decorative added progressively as they (ARC) grant and the project’s
consumer and sporting items to advanced medical man overboard, and a GPS device for use by golfers arts collection available join the Design Hub project. partners at UWS and UTS, this David S Clarke AO
technology. The Jeppe Utzon barbeque represents to track their game on the green. online, and link up with similar specialist team will ensure the
Design Hub is the only online Amanda & Ric Porter
a new approach to barbeque design — its sleek collections around the world success and survival of this
The exhibition also includes design models from a design resource that brings
stainless steel finish is designed to complement — like the V&A Museum and landmark project.
The Finkel Foundation
number of finalists in the Student Awards category of together design collections —
contemporary architectural trends. The striking San Francisco MoMA — the
the Australian Design Awards. The Gold prize winner and the expertise that comes www.dhub.org
titanium VentrAssist is an implantable pump designed challenge was to look beyond
in this category, EV — Ergonomic Violin, is an electric with those collections — in
as a permanent alternative to heart transplantation. the searchable database Nicole Bearman
violin designed with interchangeable removable a magazine-style format that
The only moving part is a rotating impeller which models already in use. It had Design Hub Editor
frames that can be customised to the player. A ‘self includes interviews, essays,
‘floats’ in the blood, reducing wear and potential for to be relevant and exciting to
supporting’ option means that the player no longer
blood clots. It is currently completing clinical trials in
needs to grip the instrument under the chin and
the USA and Europe.
reduces the incidence of shoulder problems.
The NEOZ rechargeable cordless lamps provide
The Powerhouse Museum is the only Australian
ambient lighting for dining tables in commercial and
museum that actively collects and records
domestic environments. The lamps are available in a
contemporary Australian industrial design, and the
number of designs and can be switched to different
Powerhouse Museum Selection from the Australian
light levels such as ‘candle’ and ‘fade’. The system
Design Awards is a key part of building this collection.
includes base stations, power supplies, storage razor jr scuttlebug by ideation the Design Hub graphic identity
trays and trolleys and is an evolution of the V3 range Angelique Hutchison, Curator, Product Design design and funtastic ltd in created by Mark Gowing
the australian design awards is typeset in the 50 most
that is currently exported to high profile hotels and Supported by Australian Design Awards, a division of Standards Australia. selection at the powerhouse. influential typefaces in design drawers from the collector's cabinets featured at
Photo by marinco kojdanovski history. the foundation's boardroom luncheon hosted by
restaurants in over 50 countries. museum deputy president, dr anne summers ao.

+ 22 powerline spring 06
celebrate the CHINESE MOON FESTIVAL
AND EGYPTIAN SUN GODS in spring.
V
rabbits,
toads and
immortality
The rabbit is a common
theme among many cultures
to explain the ‘seas’ or dark
patches on the Moon’s
surface. According to the
Chinese legend of the ‘jade
rabbit’, the rabbit appeared on
the Moon because Chang-O
(also called Chang-E), who
was married to revered archer
Hou Yi, fled to the Moon
after eating her husband’s
immortality pill, given to him
as a reward. When Chang-O
arrived on the Moon she was
so exhausted that she spat out
the pill’s casing. This casing
turned into a jade rabbit
and Chang-O turned into a
three-legged toad. Chang-O
commanded the jade rabbit
to make pills of immortality in
the form of tiny moons so she
could return to earth and give
these to her husband.*
You don’t have to be Chinese
to be enchanted by the Moon.
Though Sydney Observatory
cannot offer immortality, it
+
+ 23 powerline spring 06
observe
The powerhouse museum gratefully acknowledges
the support of the following organisations
+principal partners
DICK SMITH
Find the Rabbit (it is upside-down
and almost eclipsed by the
Earth’s shadow) in this image
taken during last year's lunar
eclipse by Dr Nick Lomb. ON THE BOX: GREAT MOMENTS IN Dick Smith Australian Explorer Bell THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: Dynasties, Coles Theatre, Target Theatre, the great wall of china:
AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION 1956–2006 206B Jetranger III helicopter dragons and warriors Grace Bros Courtyard, K Mart Dynasties, dragons and warriors
chang-O flies to the Moon THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: Dynasties, studios
fleeing from her husband Dragons and warriors
Hou Yi. image courtesy the
Gutenberg press project
www.wikipedia.com.
+senior partners
EcoLogic: creating a sustainable THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: dynasties, powerhouse wizard museum mascots: zoe and cogs THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: Dynasties,
future dragons and warriors ON THE BOX: GREAT MOMENTS IN Dragons and warriors
AUSTRALIAN TELEVISION 1956–2006
sydney design 06
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: Dynasties,
Dragons and warriors
on the box: great moments in
australian television 1956–2006
Cultures all over the world are
enchanted by the Moon.
+partners +supporters
bluescope steel indesign magazine SoundHouse™ Music Alliance ansto Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour
can offer an evening of music,
poetry, storytelling, mooncakes
s aaa tours in sydney
sydney design 06
d factory SoundHouse™ music & multimedia
laboratory
science education program Official Sydney Hotel
kw doggett Arab Bank Australia pacific magazines
and telescope viewing of the
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE sydney design 06 Southern star THE CURIOUS ECONOMIST:
full Moon. The Moon Festival, WILLIAM STANLEY JEVONS in sydney
d factory on the box: great moments in the raci inc. nsw branch
a special northern hemisphere australian television 1956-2006
sun gods
Sydney design 06 Mincom Limited science education program
event, is celebrated this year LIFE FELLOWS DINNER 2006
electrolux
in China, Japan, Korea and electrolux global design
and city of sydney tourism nsw trust co of australia
laboratory
Vietnam on the evening of sydney design 06 Poloxygen sydney design 06
Friday 6 October. At our Moon
Festival, learn more about
eclipses engineers australia, sydney division
inspired! design across time
tv week
Monument
Sydney design 06
engineering excellence 2005 Radio 2Ue
Chang-O and Hou Yi, who on the box: great moments in
on the box: great moments in australian television 1956–2006
represent the Moon and the australian television 1956–2006
During History Week Egyptians had their own home beautiful
Sun, and embody night and
in September, Sydney constellations, which played Sydney Design 06
day, yin and yang.
Observatory astronomer a role in their mythology and
Chinese astronomy and Melissa Hulbert delves rituals. Melissa will show how
+platinum corporate members +gold corporate members +silver corporate members
rocket technology will feature into one of history’s most they relate to our skies today,
throughout the school holidays fascinating cultures, the using images from the tombs
with special rocket-launching ancient Egyptians, and and temples. Amp adobe multiplex Arab Bank Australia PDc Creative
workshops. The Chinese explains their links with boeing australia corporate culture sinclair knight merz Dunlop Flooring Australia tabcorp
Throughout time, eclipses
invented rockets about 1232. modern astronomy. GE jcdecaux transgrid hasbro TAFE NSW: SYDNEY INSTITUTE
have inspired awe and wonder.
They were called ‘arrows of thomson playford lilyfield printing MACQUARIE BANK FOUNDATION THOMSON TELECOM AUSTRALIA
The night sky and the stars Find out what the Egyptians
flying fire’ because the black massmedia studios nsw department of lands Weir minerals australia
were an important part in believed when their day
powder burst into flame and
ancient Egyptian life. The turned briefly to night. Melissa
sent the rocket flying into the
24-hour day and the 365- will also show spectacular
air. There will be children’s + state government partners +australian government partners
day calendar were concepts images of a recent eclipse
storytelling every day at 2.00
first used by the Egyptians. over Turkey. Join Melissa on
pm. For further details see the
Pyramids and temples Tuesday 19 September from the powerhouse museum is australia council for the arts
Members Calendar, page 12. a statutory authority of,
totality in turkey, 2006; ceiling throughout Egypt were aligned 3.00–4.30pm. Talk includes and principally funded by, australian research council
* Source: Latson, Marie-Louise, 1984, the nsw state government.
Chinese traditional festivals, New World
of the hathors temple at and built according to the afternoon tea. For details and
dendera in egypt.
Press, Beijing, China. stars. bookings on (02) 9921 3485. casino community benefit fund nsw
environmental trust
for more information on sponsorship opportunities and giving to the powerhouse museum please contact miranda purnell on (02) 9217 0577.

exhibitions at a glance
september_october_november 2006
The Great Wall of China: dynasties,
dragons and warriors
Level 4, from 28 September
Built over a period of more than 2000
years, the Great Wall of China is both
an astonishing monument and the
symbol of ancient empires. Featuring
treasures never before seen outside
China, this exhibition tells the story of
the Great Wall, from its pre-dynastic
beginnings to its iconic status today.
Other histories: Guan Wei’s fable for a
contemporary world
Level 5, from 11 october
An exhibition of mural paintings
created by the acclaimed Chinse-
Australian artist Guan Wei for the
Museum’s Asian Gallery. Guan Wei’s
fable is inspired by the epic voyages
of Zheng He, the 15th century Chinese
navigator, and artefacts from the
Museum’s collection.
In your face: contemporary graphic
design
Level 3, closes 5 November
From advertisers and animators to a
tattoo artist, this fascinating exhibition
gives the inside story on graphic
design. In your face explores what
makes some designs stand out from
the crowd.
On the box: great moments in
Australian television
Level 4
Fifty years of Australian television
broadcasting are celebrated in this
landmark exhibition. From Pick-a-Box
to Blankety Blanks, Number 96 to
Neighbours, On the box showcases
rare costumes, props and sets from our
most loved television programs.
Australian Design Awards
Level 4 in Success & Innovation
gallery
The Powerhouse selection from the
Australian Design Awards features
outstanding achievements in design.
atn 7 news crew from the 1960s. Photo: Seven Network; bronze,
gold and silver ornament for a horse-drawn carriage (475–221
bce). collection of the national museum of china; animation still,
suburban harmony by silent/telemetry orchestra, directed by
steve scott, pod, sydney.
exhibitions at
Sydney Observatory
By the light of the southern stars
Look behind the Southern Cross, hear
Aboriginal stories about the sky and
see instruments from Australia’s first
major observatory.
+
Give a gift membership
www.powerhousemuseum.com
Powerhouse Membership
It makes a great gift!
I wish to join Powerhouse Members I wish to renew my membership
Membership number (if renewing):
Inspired! Design across time
Level 4
INDIVIDUAL 1 year 2 years 3 years
Standard $60 $108 $153
Featuring fashion, furniture, textiles,
glass, graphics, ceramics and Concession/country*
$30 $54 $77
metalwork. Inspired! surveys 300 Name to go on card
years of decorative arts and design. *Concession applies to full-time students, seniors, pensioners, unemployed.
Discover the power of objects and Country members must live more than 150 km from Sydney GPO.
the pleasure of people who use and
treasure them. HOUSEHOLD** 1 year 2 years 3 years
Standard $85 $153 $217
Paradise, Purgatory and Hellhole: a Concession/country* $50 $90 $127
history of Pyrmont and Ultimo ** A household is up to two adults and all students under 18 years at the same address. Country
Level 3, Australian Communities households must be more than 150 km from Sydney GPO. Concession applies to full-time students,
Gallery Until 15 October
seniors, pensioners, unemployed and all adults in the household must be eligible for concession.
Experience some of the many human
stories from a community that hasn’t
Name to go on first card
stopped shifting and changing, from
rural estate to industrial suburb and
Name to go on second card
today’s highly developed urban
environment.
Card number (for concession memberships)
Our new home (Meie uus Kodu):
Estonian Australian stories
Level 3, Australian Communities
I wish to give a gift membership
Gallery
GIFT MEMBERSHIP RECIPIENT
From late November
This new exhibition in the Australian Name
Communities Gallery will focus on the
Estonian community that settled in and
Address
around the Thirlmere district of New
South Wales.
Postcode
Engineering Excellence
Level 4, Success and Innovation
Phone number (BH)
gallery
Outstanding engineering projects
Email
from the Engineers Australia (Sydney
Division) Engineering Excellence Please send the membership to The giver Directly to the recipient
awards.
Future renewal notices to be sent to: The giver The recipient
Strasburg Clock
Level 4 Card message (if applicable)
Following a long period of preservation
work the treasured ‘Strasburg’ model,
based on Strasbourg Cathedral’s
GIFT MEMBERSHIP GIVER
famous astronomical clock, returns
to a new location next to the new Name
decorative arts and design gallery,
Inspired! Design across time. Address
Postcode
Phone number (BH)
Fax
Email
Number in household adults children
PAYMENT DETAILS
Total cost of membership: $
I would also like to make a donation to the Powerhouse Foundation of $
to help build our collection (donations over $2.00 are tax deductible).
Total amount to be paid $
I enclose a cheque/money order for this amount made payable to
Powerhouse Members.
Please charge this amount to my credit card:
Visa Amex M/card Diners B/card
coming soon!
Card number Expiry /
Smart works: design and the
handmade Cardholder name
From 30 March 2007
This exhibition will show the work
of selected Australian and New Signature
Zealand makers who, as all or part
of their practice, design for their Date that gift should be received by
own production or develop working
relationships with industry, locally While all effort will be made to meet deadline, please allow 14 days processing.
and internationally. Covering furniture,
lighting, metalwork, jewellery, ceramics, Please complete all relevant sections and return to the members department:
glass, textiles and fashion, attention
+ By fax on 9217 0140 + By post to: Powerhouse Members
will focus on design processes and
sustainable practice. PO Box K346, Haymarket, NSW 1238 or phone the Members hotline on 9217 0600.
Please phone the Members Hotline for information about other gift membership
categories or visit: www.powerhousemuseum.com/members
TURN OVER FOR DETAILS
from the
collection

This small figurine of the

Chinese God of Longevity
(Shou Laoxing), is one of
the Museum’s most puzzling
objects. Discovered in 1879
at Port Darwin by a gang of
Chinese workmen building a
road, it was wedged among
the roots of a banyan tree.
It has long been the subject
of speculation. Some contend
it provides evidence that
Admiral Zheng He, a Chinese
eunuch of the Ming dynasty,
'discovered' Australia during
his voyages in the southern
oceans from 1405–33. Others
suggest it might have come
to Australia with Macassan
fishermen who traded with
China. It is more likely to
be related to early Chinese
settlement in Darwin.
The God of Longevity features in the
exhibition Other histories: Guan Wei’s fable
for a contemporary world which opens
in the Asian Gallery on 11 October. Read
more about the artist and the exhibition

www.powerhousemuseum.com