BROOKFIELD DISTRICT

MUSEUM

PLACEMENT PROJECT 2013

The Brookfield District Museum exists to collect, preserve and display the

history of Brookfield. The museum is located in the Brookfield Showgrounds

in a building which was originally a farm house in Pullenvale. The old

farmhouse had a room dedicated for use as a post office. Displays in the

museum reflect the occupations of Brookfield families in the past.

BROOKFIELD MUSEUM

.

Every year a Brookfield Show Day is held in May and the Brookfield Museum

is very much involved in preparing displays for public visits over 3 consecutive

days.

It has been a tradition of the museum to have a family display for people to

enjoy. Museum curator, Joy Stacey expressed that it would be a great

opportunity to showcase my abilities by placing the family project as an

assignment for me.

So my research began…

ANNUAL BROOKFIELD SHOW

FAMILY DISPLAY

The CONGRAM

Family

Local Significance

History

Life Stories

Build Family Tree

MueseumSignificance

Research

Methods of Research:

Electrol Rolls

Internet- Find my Family, Ancestry

Local Morning Teas

Interview family members

Toowong Cemetry: determine date of births and deaths

RESEARCH

THE CONGRAM FAMILY TREE

THE CONGRAM FAMILY

Finding interesting ways to write history:

Death at a Funeral

• A popular anecdote about the Congram family carrying a coffin five miles through the bush,

during a time of terrible floods in Qld

• Adapted from The Telegraph, February 1927

• This story caught most of the viewers attention in the display.

(The Map below illustrates the journey the Congrams took)

CONGRAM STORIES

• Walter Treable CONGRAM

Lance Corporal ,47 Battalion Aust. Army, No. 3046

Enlisted 21/09/1915; killed in action 04/08/1916

forces in the First and Second World Wars

• Roy Samuel CONGRAM

Staff Sgt, Australian Army, No.QX9175,

7 Division, 22/HQ Guard Battalion.

• Edward Charles CONGRAM

Private, Australian Army, No.QX27791

4 Battery 101 Tank Attack Regiment

• Frank Lewis CONGRAM.

Lance Corporal Australian Army

No. QX21533.

HQ 9 Australian Division.

M ember s o f t he C ong r a m f a mi l y w ho se r ved in t he Aus t r a l i a n

M i l i t a r y

FIVE BROTHERS IN ARMS

STORY (2)

A FAMILY OF BUTCHERS & FARMERS

STORY (3)

We were able to conduct interviews with two family members and one was a family historian. Other interviews were conducted with local

members who knew the family. We were able to conduct these interviews at a morning tea where the town meets and greets new people

in the Upper Brookfield Hall. (Pictures Above)

Left: Then Right: Now

THE INTERVIEWS

The Struggles of the Project:

One of the main struggles of the project for me was not necessarily gathering

the information but, organising the material into a display that best suited the

Museum’s requirements. Brookfield is a very traditional Museum and bringing

in new, modern ways of presenting information was difficult.

WEAKNESSES

The Strengths of the Project:

The use of various research avenues was a huge success in the creation of this

display. Without, the electoral rolls, the cemetery visits, the interviews, old

news paper clips and visiting the state archives the Congrams story would not

have come to life as it did. It was a great way of confirming dates, deaths,

marriages and the stories that the family have preserved.

STRENGTHS

In the end, the thirteen weeks I spent working at Brookfield Museum have

taught me so much about the Museum industry, real life workforce, as well as

learning how to identify issues and finding the best possible solutions to

problems. The Brookfield District Museum is slowly parting from tradition

and are learning to embrace modern aspects, which I found to be the main

issue the organisation struggled with.

WORK PLACEMENT EXPERIENCE

The Congram display turned out

great and received a lot of praise

from the local community members.

BROOKFIELD SHOW DAY!