Sydney Pern

Sydney Pern, Metung, 1932. Federation University Art Collection(Cat. No. A01031)

History

Sydney Pern was born c1876 at Battley, England. His father was Alfred Pern.

Dr Sydney Pern began practicing medicine in the Victorian town of Yarram before setting up practice in Ballarat. He was a competent artist, and as an amateur anthropologist collected Aboriginal artefacts during travels in Central and Northern Australia. The collection was housed at his home, 10 Raglan Street North, before being donated to the Ballarat School of Mines Museum. When the museum was closed in the 1960s Dr Pern requested that the collection pass to the City Council, and from there it was housed at the Gold Museum.

An artwork by Sydney Pern was exhibited in the 1958 Crouch Prize at the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery.

Dr Sydney Pern died aged 91 on 23 October 1967 and is buried in the Ballaarat New Cemetery.

Family

News has been received of the death of Lieutenant Montague Pern, R.A.M.C., killed in action Jn France. He was a brother of Drs. Horace and Sydney Pern, who have two other brothers, also doctors, at the front.

See also

Ballarat School of Mines Museum

Notes

A Notable Gift to the School Museum

A word of appreciation and thanks should be given to Dr. Sydney Pern, who has spent and is still spending much time in arranging his private collection of aboriginal weapons and craft work in the upper floor of the museum. Dr Pern has set these exhibits in an artistic fashion; and when finished, the whole will form a comprehensive selection of the crafts of the Pacific Islanders. The visitors to this collection will see axes, shields, clubs, boomerangs, arrows, womerahs and chiraungas. To Dr Pern is due the sincere thanks of the School and of the City of Ballarat in making this generous donation, which will be a permanent educational, historical and cultural interest.

Dr S. Pern's Collection of Native Weapons

The President requested a representative attendance at the handing over function to be held at 3pm on Tuesday 25th March.

Museum

Sir, - In your leading article of May 12 re the Historical Museum appears this statement: "AS has been said down the years, the old SChool of Mines museum building might well be used for sharing its space to better purpose for housing Ballarat's historical relics until the chance for something better arrives.: Believe it or not, the SChool of Mines museum harbours one of the finest collections of Aboriginal and other native weapons outside the large cities, very few of which can ever be replaced, and practically fill the museum. There is a fair amount of space on the ground floor, containing objects of no very great interest, which might be available. Yours, etc.

Sydney Pern

Raglan Street.

Museum

Sir - The temporary closing down of the School of Mines Museum has raised a considerable point of interest to the city of Ballarat. This museum contains one of the best assortments of Aboriginal weapons and stone tools in Australia. This collection is the result of a lifetime's seeking by Dr Sydney Pern. Here are represented all the different types of boomerangs, shields, etc, used by the different tribes. Such a collection can never be gathered together again, regardless of how much money is spent on it. It is by keeping these relics of a dying race we learn in what manner of ways these folk lived, fought, hunted and survived. Ballarat is a city which is rapidly growing in stature and in fifty years time will be in a very different state to what it is today. Together with the anthropological museum there is the historical museum, cluttered up into a very small space and urgently in need of more room to show off its interesting collection which is of such vital importance to the city of Ballarat. Sooner of later it must become an imperative that Ballarat raises a building suitable to house both the anthropological and historical treasures which would be of the greatest interest for visitors to overlook.

Yours etc.,

"Citizen"

Museum

Sir - May I support "Citizen's remarks re the Museum (Courier 4/6/57)? My study of anthropology has taken me not only into the outback but also into the museums in most of our capital cities and also the institute of Anatomy, Canberra. Nowhere have I seen a wider variety of specimens than at the School of Mines Museum. It has been an eye-opened to me during my studies to think what time and labor Dr Pern has put into collecting these relics. NOt only has he scoured Australasia, but also gathered material from Africa, ancient Persia ad Stone Age Britain. What other museum in Australia has these? Anthropologically speaking, Ballarat has a priceless treasure, one which could not be replaced as the aborigines are fast giving up their tribal customs. I believe the University of Melbourne is interested in the collection. If the City Hall allows it to go what will it offer students if Ballarat gets a University? Combine the two museums here in proper conditions and they will prove as popular as those in the capital cities for students and visitors. Yours, etc

John Morris,

10 Ford Street

External links

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--Clare K.Gervasoni 13:14, 21 March 2017 (AEDT)