Museum Volunteers no longer Welcome

[Mechanic]

No longer will visitors to Heritage Park Pimpama on the Gold Coast in Queensland, be able to see working demonstrations of these wonderful machines, in the Heritage Print Museum, as the people who could demonstrate them are no longer welcome as volunteers.

Arrangements were in hand to expand the building to give easier access. A new committee recently elected, has told us we are no longer welcome unless we become members of the Society. Normally these museums fold because people with trade skills, are no longer available.

We started restoring two machines in 2013. Through contacts on Facebook and in the printing industry,  machines were donated that had become obsolete. Many no longer operating and were restored by us, or were being restored by us.

Farewell ETAOIN SHRDLU CMFWYP VBG. That is the layout of the keyboard of the Linotype and Intertype machines considered to be the eighth wonder of the world. RIP

[Dave Hughes]

I'm sorry to hear that George. It seems a very short-sighted thing to do.

How many volunteers are there? Is it possible to negotiate a "life membership" deal for the people who carry out this important work?

It might be worth informing the local news media of your plight. An organisation that depends on the general public paying money to get in should want to avoid bad publicity.

[John Cornelisse]

Museums ... are they the place where our culture is saved?

Our culture is a lot more than a collection of old books, old paintings and old machines.

The skills to produce those books, paintings and machines belong also to our culture. And the knowledge and experience to operate these machines is also a precious part of our culture. When old craftsmen are not able to turn over their knowledge and skills to young people, that part of our culture will die.

But young people need to be paid, they need to start their lives and families.

Industry Museums where no machines are working ... who wants to see that?

I have been in a big printing museum in Italy, near Venice. There was a big collection of printing machines, but none of them was working at all.

 That is boring, very boring.

[Dave Hughes]

Thankfully, not all museums take the same stance as the Australian one George volunteers for:

https://twitter.com/MOPrinting/status/1582739596659462146

[Mechanic]

Actually, while the current committee is running things we have no desire to go back.

We have moved on and we are restoring a model 8 Linotype in a print museum not far from where I live.

The machine will be 100 years old next March.

[Dave Hughes]

Sounds good George, they probably don't deserve talented volunteers.

See how far they get without them!



More on the Model 8 here: Linotype Model 8