ADAVB 2018/2019 Annual Report

2 4 | A D A V B A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 8 / 1 9 Henry Forman Atkinson Dental Museum The last 12 months have involved reviewing the collection and researching a major anniversary exhibition. The refurbished Henry Forman Atkinson (HFA) Dental Museum continues to attract great interest from visitors to Melbourne Dental School, showcasing themes of innovation, outreach dentistry, World War I, teaching of dentistry, early dentistry, women in dentistry, tooth care and dentures. The HFA Dental Museum participated in The University of Melbourne open day and orientation week programs. It received visits from students, staff and alumni at The University of Melbourne as well as secondary school and community groups. The museum was advertised in Culture Victoria and online on the Tourism Victoria website. Highlights from The art of healing: Australian Indigenous bush medicine opened on 14 May at Bush House, Kings College London, covering examples of healing practice from the many distinct and varied Indigenous communities throughout Australia through contemporary artworks. The exhibition included images of plants used to treat toothache. This exhibition will tour to the Museum of Medical History of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin, Berlin. Following this theme, the museum commissioned artworks by Yolngu artist, Mulkun Wirrpanda from Yirrkala for the collection. The works depict the Dhuwa clan’s tradition of throwing the newly lost baby teeth of children onto the roots of the Pandanus tree. Research for the major exhibition Discovery, Education and Innovation: Uncovering the history of dentistry in Victoria to commemorate the 135th anniversary of the formation of the Odontological Society and establishment of the dental museum continued, including a visit to the University of Utrecht to visit the dental collection considered one of the world’s finest. Items from the collection were regularly included in the Arts West building at The University of Melbourne in a display case on the ground floor. They are rotated on a regular basis. A major Miegunyah grant was used to engage conservators to prepare a conservation strategy plan for the HFA Dental Museum in line with best practice for management of the museum collection. The museum received generous gifts for the collection from dental alumni including items that originally belonged to Francis (Frank) James Balsillie, a dentist who practised in several towns including Kyabram, Victoria in the early part of the 1900s. Dr Jacqueline Healy EXTERNAL Committee Reports