Go for Gold at the Australian Museum

(Wednesday 16 December 2015, Sydney, NSW):  With the school holidays almost here, the Australian Museum (AM) is offering visitors of all ages the chance for a dazzling experience – particularly with two extra special treasures on display from December 16 to 20.
For five days only – including the first weekend of the holidays – two of the most valuable additions to the AM’s collection will be exhibited in the historic Long Gallery: the famous Maitland Bar Gold Nugget, the size of a loaf of bread, and Australia’s first bank note.
These two artefacts will give visitors a taste of what to expect when 200 Treasures of the Australian Museum opens in 2017, in what will become the Westpac Long Gallery as part of a new partnership between the AM, Westpac and the NSW Government.
Discovered in 1887, the Maitland Bar Gold Nugget, the only surviving large nugget from the golden age of mining in NSW, weighs nearly 11 kg, with a gold content of 9kg. Found between Gulgong and Hill End, this invaluable relic of the 19th Century gold rush is on long-term loan to the AM from the NSW Government.
Australia’s first bank note had a value of 10 shillings ($1) and was issued in Sydney on April 8, 1817 – the day the Bank of New South Wales opened (which later became Westpac). This note is on extended loan from Westpac, and this is the first time it has been on public display at the AM.
As well as the Maitland Bar and the bank note, visitors can see three other items which will be part of the 200 Treasures exhibition: Sir Hercules, the skeleton of one of Australia’s most important racehorses; the Horned Turtle Skull, a prize of paleontology (both on permanent display in the Long Gallery); and Captain Cook’s Cape, collected on his fateful last voyage in 1788 (currently on display in Trailblazers: Australia’s 50 greatest explorers).
“After parents share the stories of these objects with their children, they can embark on a family adventure in our new Trailblazers exhibition, unleashing the explorer within,” Kim McKay, Executive Director and CEO of the Australian Museum, said.
“Then, take a break from the adventures of our greatest pioneers and go make friends with one of the 400 animals who inhabit our new gallery, Wild Planet.”
General admission to the museum is now Free for Kids. Surcharges apply for entry to Trailblazers: Australia’s 50 greatest explorers.