Trevor Kennedy Collection: Highlights, National Museum of Australia, until October 10. Reviewed by MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE.

THIS extraordinary exhibition is but a small selection of a much larger collection partly donated by Trevor Kennedy and partly purchased from him by the National Museum of Australia.

As the curator, Dr Sophie Jensen – who has been working on the acquisition for nearly 10 years – said of the exhibition, it captures “some of the magic and mayhem of the way in which Trevor Kennedy displayed his collection in his private museum” and shows “jewels, objects of rare beauty, items of curiosity and wonder, and priceless artefacts of Australian historical interest”.

This display – approximately 10 per cent of the entire acquisition – is “eclectic, eccentric and unique”, as we are told at the entry. The collection has been described as “democratic”. Many exhibitions are incorporated within the acquisition, some small and others vast.

Kennedy maintains a continuing interest in everything Australian, whether it depicts Australian flora and fauna (though it might have been made in the UK), is made from Australian materials or shows Australian motifs, landscapes or historical moments.

A large vase, by W Moorcroft in 1939, depicts a waratah. A stylised image of the bloom has been used in dark wallpaper in some of the “rooms” in the exhibition, giving an appropriate backdrop. The “rooms” help to delineate display areas.

One room shows a suite of wall panels and furniture by Robert Prenzel, who arrived in Australia in 1888. Late in the 1800s, he began incorporating Australian motifs into his furniture. Using Australian woods and his formidable skills, his repertoire included familiar Australian animals and birds, such as kookaburras, cockatoos, koalas, and flora: sprays of gumnuts and eucalypt leaves.

An outstanding longcase clock dated 1922 is on show – one of only two known examples. A desk from around 1900 is a simple piece, with only a few decorative elements, and contrasts with the later wall panels, that depict our birds.

Kennedy has a long-standing passion for Australian gold. He collected brooches, often made on the goldfields, that incorporated mining tools and equipment, bags of gold, and tiny models of miners. These were made for wives and sweethearts, and possibly mothers and daughters. Often they bore the names of the towns or fields where the gold was dug up, or where it was made.

He also collected “nuggety” forms – which showed nuggets of gold in their original state. These were souvenirs and novelties from the gold fields.

Trophies for all kinds of sporting achievements were created in gold and a collection of these is displayed, from the plain and restrained to the slightly bizarre.

In 1860 J Henry Steiner, silversmith, set up his workshop and business in Adelaide and exhibited widely in Australia and overseas. He quickly made his name and attracted many people from the elite strata of Australian society. One of the most outstanding works is a silver centrepiece which was displayed at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880.

Skilled craftspeople flocked to Australia and were fascinated by the unusual animals, birds, trees and flowers and created many examples of objects for the local population as well as the international market.

This is a varied collection of objects which displays the tastes and fashions of early European settlement in Australia. All Australians should visit it to see how wealthy Europeans lived in the first 150 years of settlement.