Coloured postcard showing a river and mountains in County Mayo, Ireland. chatham family archive, county mayo, ireland, bundorragha, delphi

Polixeni Papapetrou was born into a Greek immigrant family in Melbourne and her art practice explored the relationship between history, contemporary cultures, identity and being. Of Delphi, Papapetrou wrote ‘The girl in the image is Natasha. She is a violinist at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and highly regarded. She is the eldest of a family of eight and the first three born children are all violinists at ANAM. She comes from a well-known musical family. People ask me if it is her real hair, and it is. The girls in that family never cut their hair.’stonnington contemporary art collection, polixeni papapetrou, greek, migrant, photography, adolescence

The Wreck of Hope (Long-nosed Common Dolphin skeleton, Delphinus delphis) featured as part of the exhibition Anatomy Lessons, shown at the National Wool Museum in 2024. The exhibition featured meticulously-sculpted, life size skeletons, making visitors question their place in this web of the living and the dead. From a towering giraffe stretching 4.4 metres in height, to an army of over 50 delicately rendered frogs, this exhibition was enthralling in scale. Each sculpture is an accurate portrayal of a real animal and is carefully measured, drawn, and moulded from steel, wire, and foam. The frame is then intricately knitted over to create these thought-provoking pieces. Each sculpture tells a story, one of the collection of animals by museums and collectors, of Western safari hunters, of human encroachment, and of the often-sad role of the animals in our lives. These underlying concepts are explored and reflected by the materials used. Wool, that speaks of warmth, of comfort, of care, meets the size, grace, and sheer breathtaking beauty of the pieces, clashing with the hard and complex stories beneath. This knitted dolphin skeleton was the start of Beevor's interest in comparative anatomy. Beevors recalls viewing a dolphin, one of many skeletons alongside a mouse and a lion in the Australian Museum's collection during a school visit in the 1970s. At the time, school children watched TV reruns of 'Flipper', which portrayed dolphins as intelligent and noble animals. Elsewhere, the conservation movement was growing, and appeals to protect marine mammals were gaining momentum through the 'Save the Whales' campaign. The fascination with live dolphin shows had grown throughout the 1960s and 1970s and the ethics began to be questioned. Some believe they played an important role in raising public awareness of cetaceans and their welfare. Others argued the performances glorified the dominance of heroic trainers over the subordinate dolphin, and offered little education about the dolphins' natural characteristics nor prioritised their welfare. Many of these facilities are now closed and all dolphin species are protected by international accords aimed at conserving wild populations. Despite this dolphins are still at risk of swallowing plastic waste, mercury toxicity, toxoplasmosis, boat impacts and being bycatch in commercial fishing operations. Originally from Australia, Michele Beevors has been practicing in New Zealand for the last 20 years. She is Head of Sculpture at Dunedin School of Art, Otago Polytechnic, New Zealand’s oldest, and one of its most prestigious, art schools. Beevors has exhibited in galleries, museums, and exhibition spaces in across New Zealand, Australia and Vienna with art that is defiant, unconventional, and moving.Life sized knitted skeleton of a dolphin, with white wool and internal steel, foam and wire frame. The dolphin is mounted on a wooden base, made from a desk, with books placed under the desk lid. The books and desk are painted black.knitting, art, dolphin, conservation, sculpture, skeletons, anatomy lessons, michele beevors

Researched, written and designed by PMHPS members.The cover of the 2024 "Historic Port Melbourne - Dignitaries and Dreadnoughts" produced by members of the Port Melbourne Historical & Preservation Society focuses on visits to Port Melbourne by naval shipping and dignitaries including Royal ambassadors. hmas franklin, armed services - navy, shenandoah, koln, idzumo, yakumo, sawagiri, hamayuki, hms hood, hms delphi, duke of york, duchess of york, royal yacht ophir, hms renown, hmas australia, uss seattle, uss nevada, uss oklahoma, great white fleet, hmas canberra, hmas sydney, hmas yarra, piers and wharves - princes pier, piers and wharves - station pier, duke of gloucester, hms sussex, prince alfred, hmcss victoria, hmas lonsdale, hmas perth, anzac squadron, hms king george v