"In the space of 150 years Museum Victoria has built a collection of more than 16 million items. Now museum staff and guest contributors have selected the items they consider the treasures of the collection, and set out to explain their significance." "What makes a treasure? Every object in this book gives a different answer. Caroline Chisholm's scrapbook offers a personal window on the active life of a reformer who set out to improve the conditions of immigrants. A ceremonial headdress from northern South Australia was used by the Wangkanguru people to show ritual ownership of the land and to welcome strangers onto their country. A tiny fossil jawbone suggests that placental mammals may have reached Australia before marsupials, reversing long-held scientific views." "This is an account of the importance of museum collections, but also of the research and passion that can reveal their many meanings."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved