Eric Dunlop and the origins of Australia's folk museums

On 26 September 2006 the Museum of Education in Armidale, New South Wales, will turn 50 years old. It is a milestone that may not seem significant when some of Australia's state-run museums have alreadycelebrated their 150th birthdays. Yet the museum was one of the earliest in Australia to have been established following the principles of folk museums operating overseas: it recreated period rooms and focused on the social history of everyday people.The Museum of Education was also the first museum project of Eric Dunlop, a lecturer at the Armidale Teachers' College. Dunlop was a pioneer in the development of folk museums in Australia. This articleconsiders the origins of Dunlop's interest in folk museums; glances at the broader history of museum development in Australia; examines his work in Northern New South Wales; and considers his influence overdevelopments elsewhere in Australia.