Botanic Museum of Economic Botany: Keith browses this the collection in the Adelaide City region of South Australia

In the middle of the Botanic Garden on North Terrace there is a beautiful little cluster of attractions. The Mediterranean Garden is coming along very nicely, the lotus pond now has its own glass palace around it and now the third development completes the set - the Museum of Economic Botany has been beautifully restored.

It's an imposing Greek revival temple smack bang in the middle of the soft swathe of green. And a temple of sorts to Doctor Richard Schomburgk, the garden's second and perhaps most influential Director.

Peter Emmett, Project Director: "This is a brilliant 19th century space. The late Victorians had a great sense of theatre. We're talking about 1881, pre-cinema obviously so the theatricality of these public spaces is pretty amazing."

Doctor Schomburgk saw part of the Botanic Garden's role as educating about botanic diversity particularly the agriculture sector. So, at a cost of 3-thousand pounds he commissioned the museum to showcase his ever-expanding collection. One hundred and twenty eight years later it's still doing just that!

Peter Emmett: "Schomburgk in particular is really strong about crop diversity - so he was trying to encourage farmers to grow fruits and sorghum and try all these different sorts of things and not just have this monoculture of wheat."

After a huge restoration job, which included peeling away a 1940s coat of 'hospital grey' paint - the museum has been returned to its former glory… and many of the original items collected by Schomburgk himself are back on display, arranged in the very showcases he designed.

Many of the pieces haven't been seen for decades like this glass cased cereal grain sampler from the 1880's - found on top of a storeroom cupboard. It's surrounded by a specially grown nostalgic-like display of wheat - like something out of the Royal Shows of the 1950s it represents 200 species of wheat all grown by a local farmer who appreciates the importance of keeping our history alive.

Tony Kanellos, Curator: "It led us to a few farmers and one in particular named Donald Whiting from Snowtown who for his own reasons decided to grow and test different varieties of historical wheat…"

Tony says ninety nine percent of the collection is now back on display and it's all designed to demonstrate the vital relationship between botany and the economy. Many of the items like an Aboriginal grass basket dating back to 1870 have been returned after being "temporarily" stored at the South Australian Museum. Temporary all right - they were sent to North Terrace in 1948! That includes an amazing collection of tapa cloth from the Pacific Islands - made from tree bark it's still highly prized even today.

Peter Emmett: "The story is the higher the status the longer the tapa so the king would have this huge tapa. There's a pretty absurd story that the King of Tonga had a piece of tapa that was 100 metres long that he wrapped around himself. Whereas the poorest guy would have had a little loin clothe so it's not just a material product there's a cultural side to it as well."

The Botanic Gardens people wanted a new exhibition space within the old building and they made an inspired choice. Khai Liew - a South Australian designer who we've met on Postcards previously. His beautifully crafted panels of Tasmanian Blackwood and brass create a unique 21st century space to compliment this 19th century mansion.

The current exhibition is called Harvest and includes a piece of tapa clothe from the South Pacific. Bit this one is painted by the famous French painter, Paul Gauguin. There's also a selection of tapa collected by Captain Cook.

The museum collection also comprises some true relics like a wooden shingle from Colonel Light's cottage at Thebarton. There's a 'chip off the old block' - from the old gum tree at Glenelg. But one piece takes the cake - a piece of a bridge built over 2-thousand years ago by Julius Caesar no less. It fell into the Rhine, and when it was dredged out in the 19th century a South Australian was there, he brought it home and gave it to the Museum of Economic Botany.

With gems like that it's clear the role of the museum hasn't really changed - but the nice part is it's starting the 21st century with a fresh new look. See it for yourself… it's open every day between 10 and 4. You'll find it smack bang in the middle of the Botanic Gardens.

Museum of Economic Botany
Adelaide Botanic Garden Museum open daily 10am - 4pm

Published 7th June 2009