Image: The Catalina Frigate Bird II
by HOPE PRATT
On behalf of the Taylor family, Gai Taylor has called for the Powerhouse Museum to halt its plans on relocating the Catalina Frigate Bird II.
These concerns come after the Powerhouse’s closure on 4 February 2024 for “revitalisation.” At the time, Workers rallied outside the museum to protest the decision, highlighting the Minns government’s lack of transparency in its development, employment, and collection removal plans.
In a statement to the media, Ms Taylor expressed “very serious alarm, dismay and anger” at the Powerhouse’s plans to disassemble the aircraft for transportation to the Historical Aviation Restoration Society (HARS) in Albion Park.
“We are deeply worried and have serious concerns about the risks of damage during this whole process: the lowering, dismantling, packing, transportation, removal and reassembly of Frigate Bird II.” She explained.
“Frigate Bird II is representative of Australian vision, ingenuity and drive and should be in the Powerhouse Museum.”
“A gift to the nation”
The Catalina Frigate Bird II was initially donated to the Powerhouse in 1961 “as a gift to the nation” by Australian aviator Captain P.J Taylor.
After his service in both WWI and WWII, Captain Taylor sought to find the shortest air route from Australia and undertook flying routes across the Indian and Central Pacific Ocean. In 1951, his last major route was his flight from Australia to Chile, via Tahiti and Easter Island.
When the Catalina was restored in the 1980s, the plane was featured as one of the first major exhibits at the new Powerhouse Museum and is one of the last remaining aircrafts in the world directly related to the international transoceanic ‘First Flights’.
Since then, the Taylor family has maintained a relationship with the Powerhouse. However, according to Ms Taylor’s statements since 2022, her family expressed concern over the treatment of the Catalina and other artefacts donated by the family.
Ongoing concerns about treatment of beloved artefacts
The Save the Powerhouse community group have also expressed their concern over the museum’s closure and disassembly of its artefacts, noting that “maintenance, repairs and modernisation could have been carried out with the museum remaining in operation in its current form.”
In response to Ms Taylor’s statement, a Powerhouse Museum spokesperson stated that since last September’s announcement of the revitalisation plans, many attempts were made to contact the Taylor family regarding the temporary relocation of the Catalina, but they were unsuccessful.
Attempts were later made by Powerhouse Trust President, The Hon. Peter Collins AM KC and senior staff members to reach out to the Taylor’s and discuss the plans for relocation. These were unsuccessful.
When deciding how to proceed in storing the Catalina, the Powerhouse opted to loan the HARS Aviation Museum where it will be displayed until the reopening of the Powerhouse.
“In determining the Catalina will be loaned to HARS, senior Collection staff from the museum visited HARS to inspect the site and were satisfied that the environmental conditions provided are appropriate,” the spokesperson stated.
“Following exhibition at HARS, the Catalina will return to the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo on permanent exhibition.”
Ms Taylor’s statement notes that her family’s concern is not with HARS, but with the removal, disassembly, and movement of the aircraft itself.
“We urgently request that the Catalina be protected by being carefully returned to her former spectacular location in the Museum. She is a much loved aircraft.”
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This is yet another piece in what is effectively the destruction of the PHM, something that the Minns government made an election promised to stop, and then reneged on completely. I wouldn’t hold my breath on the Catalina ever coming back.
Apart from City Hub, the only publication drawing attention to this cultural vandalism has been John McDonald’s weekly arts newsletters (online,free). Here’s an except from one:
“There’s such a flood of propaganda coming from the Powerhouse Museum, I can barely bring myself to look at it. That, I presume, would be a highly desirable outcome for PHM director, Lisa Havilah; NSW Arts Minister, John Graham, and everyone else who’s involved in the business of full-scale cultural vandalism.”
“We know from the director’s own boast in a public address that her preferred strategy is never to respond to criticism, merely wait until the dust settles and carry on doing whatever she wants. To this tried & true formula, one might add: “And then send out a stack of upbeat press releases, pretending that black is white and white is black.”
“As anyone knows who has sampled the precise, comprehensive analyses of the PHM saga written by Kylie Winkworth, Lindsay Sharp, and other alumni of the museum, almost everything we read in the official press releases is a lie. The much-vaunted “Community consulations” have been a farce and a smokescreen, intended only to tick a box, allowing the government to pretend they have listened to their critics. This is a familiar pattern for everyone who has made a submission to one of these events.”
This is only a small part of the horrific situation that the museum is in. The Government wll spend more than $250 milion stripping out the interior of the world award-winning museum and finishing up with an entertainment venue and a ‘creative arts hub’. This expenditure will actually do harm to Australian culture and damage our international reputation. The money that would be saved by retaining and reopening this wonderful museum coud be spent in be spent in ways that would be of benefit. Saving the museum woule be a vote winner to the Govenment, whereas at present they are very unpopular because they have abandoned their pre-electioin promise to save the museum. Why won’t they take this totally beneficial action?