The Macleay Museum at
The University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
, was a
natural history museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
located on the University's campus, in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. The Museum was amalgamanted into
Chau Chak Wing Museum The Chau Chak Wing Museum is a museum at the University of Sydney, Australia.
It was formed by the amalgamation of the Nicholson Museum, the Macleay Museum, and the university art collection, with the building funded by businessman Chau Chak Wing
...
, which opened in 2020.
The Macleay Museum was added to the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
local government
heritage list on 14 December 2012.
History
The Edgeworth David building in which the museum is housed was built off Science Lane within the Camperdown campus in 1887. The collections of the Macleay Museum are based largely on the efforts and acquisitions of the Macleay family, one of the pre-eminent families in colonial Sydney including
Alexander Macleay
Alexander Macleay (also spelt McLeay) MLC FLS FRS (24 June 1767 – 18 July 1848) was a leading member of the Linnean Society, a fellow of the Royal Society and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
Life
Macleay was born on Ro ...
,
William Sharp Macleay
William Sharp Macleay or McLeay (21 July 1792 – 26 January 1865) was a British civil servant and entomologist. He was a prominent promoter of the Quinarian system of classification.
After graduating, he worked for the British embassy in Pari ...
and
William John Macleay
Sir William John Macleay (13 June 1820 – 7 December 1891) was a Scottish-Australian politician, Natural history, naturalist, zoologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist.
Early life
Macleay was born at Wick, Highland, Wick, Caithness, Scotland, ...
. The zoologist and collector
George Masters
George Masters (1837-1912) was a zoologist, active in Australia during the 19th century.
Biography
Born in Maidstone, England, to Matilda, née Terry, he was trained as a gardener by his father, George Masters, before moving to Sydney. Masters b ...
served as curator until 1912.
Collection
The strengths of the collection, now part of the
Sydney University Museums, were in
entomology
Entomology () is the science, scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such ...
,
ethnography
Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...
, scientific instruments, and historic photographs. Many of the biological specimens in the collection represented
rare or
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
species, while some of the specimens have historic and cultural value
as they were collected by explorers like
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
and
Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay
Nicholas Miklouho-Maclay (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Миклу́хо-Макла́й; 1846 – 1888) was a Russian Imperial explorer. He worked as an ethnologist, anthropologist and biologist who became famous as one of ...
.
The George Masters Exhibition Space of the museum was devoted to temporary exhibitions. Overall, the museum house one of the most important natural history and ethnography collections in Australia, surpassed in Sydney only by the
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...
.
Gallery
Macleay Museum Interior.jpg, Inside the Macleay Museum
Macleay Museum Exhibit 1.jpg
Macleay Museum Exhibit 2.jpg
See also
*
List of museums in Sydney
Sydney, Australia is home to a large number of cultural institutions, museums and historic sites, some of which are known worldwide. This list contains the most famous:
See also
*Culture of Sydney
* List of attractions in Sydney
* List of ...
*
Nicholson Museum
The Nicholson Museum was an archaeological museum at the University of Sydney home to the Nicholson Collection, the largest collection of antiquities in both Australia and the Southern Hemisphere. Founded in 1860, the collection spans the ancient ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
University of Sydney buildings
Museums in Sydney
Natural history museums in Australia
Buildings and structures completed in 1887
University museums in Australia
1887 establishments in Australia
George Allen Mansfield buildings
Museums established in 1887
2016 disestablishments in Australia
Defunct museums in Australia
Museums disestablished in 2016
Macleay family