A taxidermy flabbit in the Hawkesbury Regional Museum collection.
A taxidermy flabbit in the Hawkesbury Regional Museum collection. The flying rabbits were created as a tourist attraction in the 1980s and are a quirky highlight in the museum's collection.
One of the great things about our Standards Program is that it helps you look after your collection. No matter what’s in it.
So when this year’s Standards Review program kicked off recently at the Hawkesbury Regional Museum all eyes were on their flabbits. Thought to be a nonsensical creature, conjured out of Watkin Tench’s imagination and mentioned in his diary way back in the 1790s, the museum’s flying rabbits were created as a tourist attraction in the 1980s by a clever councillor and taxidermist extraordinaire.
And most people love them. Which is where our Standards Program plays a part. Aiming to establish sustainable approaches to conservation, interpretation and audience engagement, Standards provide small and volunteer organisations with networks and strategies about looking after flabbits.
This year’s participants are:
- Eskbank House and Museum
- Hawkesbury Regional Museum
- Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum
- Lithgow State Mine Heritage Park
- Liverpool Regional Museum
- Mount Victoria & District Historical Society Museum
- Norman Lindsay Gallery & Museum
- Tarella Cottage Museum (Blue Mountains Historical Society)
- Trainworks
During the day, this year’s participants got to see what Standards did for last year’s museums from Mid-North Coast. You can watch them enthuse about their future directions in the video beneath.
We’ll be keeping you informed throughout the year on how everyone is fairing – we’ll hear more from Eskbank House about how their Zombie Night and 1920 Garden Party program goes, and share with you some of the great ideas the keen participants come up with. Stay tuned for flabbit updates.
