3OF3.6/3/97.M/AGE & S.M.H. THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN IN HOBART IN 1936.IT SHOWS THE LAST TASMANIAN TIGER (THYLACINE),A FEMALE ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD,IT DIED ON THE 7/9/36,THE SAME YEAR THE THYLACINE WAS GAZETTED AS A TOTALLY PROTECTED SPECIES.PIC FROM THE TAS.  MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY COLLECTION.  Credit:Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery collection "Perhaps the most unique treasure is the Long Gallery itself, which is an amazing 19th century theatre of display, an architectural gem of wonder and delight now revitalised as a showcase of the Museum collections," he said.  In the end he opted to choose natural and man-made treasures that tell "a unique distinctive story of our entanglement with people, places, animals and things that would prompt conversations across time and place".  Here are some of his favourites chosen for the Herald: 1.  Tasmanian Tiger pup, Thylacinus cynocephalus

preserved in Tasmania, 1866 A crocodile mask.  This Tasmanian Tiger female pup, with distinctive long snout and body stripes, was collected and pickled in 1866 by George Masters, then Assistant Curator of the Australian Museum.  This was 70 years before the last known animal died in the Hobart Zoo in 1936.  The Thylacine is the most notorious example of species extinction by humans in the 20th century.  The consolation of such loss is that the body of this pup has been preserved in this museum for ongoing study.  Some scientists even have ambitions to clone a Tasmanian Tiger from its DNA.  2.  Tindalo or carved chalk head Chalkstone.  Collected from Nggela Island, Solomon Islands, 1911

This funerary boat from Ancient Egypt represents the transport of the dead to the afterlife across the Nile, guided by dog figure Anibus.  This small "tattooed" head or Tindalo, so beautifully carved from chalkstone, embodies the spirit of a dead man who possessed great mana or power.  Tindalos were owned by chiefs, warriors or sorcerers and used to exercise powers in sickness, health, love, war, fishing and fighting.  It was collected by Percy Black, Chief Inspector for Burns Philp, the Australian shipping company trading in goods and labour.  Like many traders, missionaries and tourists, he was an avid collector of Pacific "curios", now more respected as museum "treasures".  On Nggela Island a Tindalo was traditionally placed in a sacred place associated with its spirit.  Today, this Tindalo will be celebrated in the Australian Museum's Westpac Long Gallery treasure trove.  3.  Captain Cook's Hawaiian 'ahu'ula or cape Olonā fibre, feathers.  Hawaii, given to Captain James Cook by chief Kalani'opu'u, 1778 or 1779.  A King Penguin egg. 

This feathered cape is not only an exquisite and highly treasured item of Hawaiian regalia but it is loaded with added significance because it was a gift from chief Kalani'opu'u to Captain Cook, on his fateful visit to Hawaii in 1778-79.  With all the symbolism of the gift, it was part of the strange entanglement between Europeans and Hawaiians that unfolded so badly with Cook's death.  The feathered cape, made to give physical and spiritual protection to chief Kalani'opu'u, did not protect Cook.  4.  Opalised pliosaur, Umoonasaurus demoscyllus, nicknamed "Eric" Coober Pedy, South Australia, Early Cretaceous, 120-110 million years ago A brown bird case.  This treasure really triggers the imagination. " Eric" the pliosaur, an aquatic carnivorous reptile, swam in a vast Australian inland sea about 110 million years ago.  As the sea retreated about 10 million years later, perfect conditions were created for opal, Australia's unique national gemstone, to form – opalising Eric's bones. 

5.  Edward Collett's notebook Fifty-two pen and ink drawings on paper, bound.  Brungle Station, Tumut, New South Wales, 1914 A Paradise Parrot.  Australian parrots are amazing for their vibrant colours and quirky, clever food gathering, Dr Emmett writes.  Credit:Australian Museum Australian Museum has many treasures to reveal the continuity of Aboriginal connection to country and custom, and for me one of the most powerful and poignant is a small notebook in the archives owned by Edward Collett, from Brungle mission, near Tumut, in 1914.  His remarkable sketches straddle two worlds: some are simple repetitions of numbers, letters, fruit or fish like in a schoolbook; while others are detailed depictions of ceremonies, including what appears to be the Bogong Moth feast staged by Aboriginal people in this region for millennia.  6.  Cerussite from Broken Hill

Proprietary Block 14 Mine, Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, before 1930 A Malagan figure from Tabar Island.  Of all the treasures in the Australian Museum minerals collection, I am drawn to the Cerussite for its spectacular quality of sparkle.  No wonder it is considered the finest of its type in existence: for its long-bladed crystals formed by the chemistry of carbonated water and the mineral galena, and for its sparkle!  7.  Model of a funerary boat Wood, plaster, pigments.  Egypt, Middle Kingdom (about 2055-1650 BCE)

A gold nugget.  Credit:Australian Museum I love this boat model tomb offering more than the iconic mummy and coffin, because it represents an entire imaginary scene from Ancient Egypt – the transport of the dead to the afterlife across the Nile, guided by dog figure Anibus.  Of course, like many antiquities in public and private collections, it's hard to tell what parts are original, re-purposed and faked for the centuries-old tourist market, only adding to its intrigue and story.  8.  Roro feathered headdress Feathers, cane, shell, turtle shell.  Collected from Port Moresby, Central Province, Papua New Guinea, 1923 A Hawaiian 'ahu'ula or cape gifted to Captain James Cook.  Credit:James Brickwood

This incredible headdress exudes all the flamboyant qualities of Papuan culture and environment, and the sheer inventiveness of the adaptation of animals and plants into body adornment as celebration of the living and spirit worlds – a reflection of an intimate entanglement of nature and culture.  We know the exact origin or provenance of this headdress because it was photographed by Frank Hurley being worn by its maker, when collected by Australian Museum scientist Allan McCulloch in 1923.  Hurley's photograph is as much a treasure as the headdress.  9.  Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis) Central Australia Australian parrots are amazing – for vibrant colours and quirky, clever food gathering.  Many have that raucous larrikin Oz spirit but the night parrot is famously shy and elusive in its arid spinifex habitat.  Not seen since 1912, it was thought extinct until new sightings began in 1979, making it the twitchers' holy grail.  10.  Tree-kangaroo skins, Dendrolagus species

Mammalogists from the Australian Museum have contributed much to the identification and conservation of these superb mammals.  Ellis Troughton described museum specimens in the 1930s, Tim Flannery explored Papuan rainforests in the 1990s and Mark Eldridge studied DNA sequences in the 2000s.  This ongoing research not only reveals much about the species variety of tree kangaroos but of the ancient connections between Australia and PNG.  11.  Manly mogo or stone axe Manly, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, early 1800s This beautifully made mogo, a hafted stone axe (an essential part of a man's toolkit), is a rare survivor in the Australian Museum's collection of objects from the Aboriginal people of the Sydney region.  An Aboriginal man gave it to a young Manly girl in the 1830s and it remained in her family until donated to the museum in 1995.  If it had come to the museum before 1879 it might have been destroyed in the Garden Palace fire of 1882, like the museum's early Aboriginal collection. 

12.  Morning Star Pole by Terry Dhurritjini Yumbulul (Warramiri people) Wood, ochre, string, feathers Loading Elcho Island, Northern Territory, Australia, 1982 The morning star ceremony demonstrates a powerful link between Aboriginal astronomy and spirituality.  The morning star, Venus or Banumbirr by the Yolngu, came across the sea from the east, creating and naming animals and lands as she crossed the shoreline.  The "strands" that radiate with dancing are light rays, which return souls of the dead to their resting place on the morning star.  This outstanding pole, made by Warramiri man Terry Dhurritjini Yumbulul, appeared on the Australian Bicentenary $10 note.