1. BROOKFIELD DISTRICT
MUSEUM
PLACEMENT PROJECT 2013

2. The Brookfield District Museum exists to collect, preserve and display the
history of Brookfield. The museum is located in the Brookfield Showgrounds
in a building which was originally a farm house in Pullenvale. The old
farmhouse had a room dedicated for use as a post office. Displays in the
museum reflect the occupations of Brookfield families in the past.
BROOKFIELD MUSEUM
.

3. Every year a Brookfield Show Day is held in May and the Brookfield Museum
is very much involved in preparing displays for public visits over 3 consecutive
days.
It has been a tradition of the museum to have a family display for people to
enjoy. Museum curator, Joy Stacey expressed that it would be a great
opportunity to showcase my abilities by placing the family project as an
assignment for me.
So my research began…
ANNUAL BROOKFIELD SHOW

4. FAMILY DISPLAY
The
CONGRAM
Family
Local
Significance
History
Life
Stories
Build
Family
Tree
Mueseum
Significance
Research

5. Methods of Research:
 Electrol Rolls
 Internet- Find my Family, Ancestry
 Local Morning Teas
 Interview family members
 Toowong Cemetry: determine date of births and deaths
RESEARCH

6. THE CONGRAM FAMILY TREE

7. THE CONGRAM FAMILY

8. Finding interesting ways to write history:
Death at a Funeral
• A popular anecdote about the Congram family carrying a coffin five miles through the bush,
during a time of terrible floods in Qld
• Adapted from The Telegraph, February 1927
• This story caught most of the viewers attention in the display.
(The Map below illustrates the journey the Congrams took)
CONGRAM STORIES

9. • Walter Treable CONGRAM
Lance Corporal ,47 Battalion Aust. Army, No. 3046
Enlisted 21/09/1915; killed in action 04/08/1916
forces in the First and Second World Wars
• Roy Samuel CONGRAM
Staff Sgt, Australian Army, No.QX9175,
7 Division, 22/HQ Guard Battalion.
• Edward Charles CONGRAM
Private, Australian Army, No.QX27791
4 Battery 101 Tank Attack Regiment
• Frank Lewis CONGRAM.
Lance Corporal Australian Army
No. QX21533.
HQ 9 Australian Division.
Members of the Congram family
who ser ved in the Australian
Militar y
FIVE BROTHERS IN ARMS
STORY (2)

10. A FAMILY OF BUTCHERS & FARMERS
STORY (3)

11. We were able to conduct interviews with two family members and one
was a family historian. Other interviews were conducted with local
members who knew the family. We were able to conduct these
interviews at a morning tea where the town meets and greets new people
in the Upper Brookfield Hall.
(Pictures Above)
Left: Then Right: Now
THE INTERVIEWS

12. The Struggles of the Project:
One of the main struggles of the project for me was not necessarily gathering
the information but, organising the material into a display that best suited the
Museum’s requirements. Brookfield is a very traditional Museum and bringing
in new, modern ways of presenting information was difficult.
WEAKNESSES

13. The Strengths of the Project:
The use of various research avenues was a huge success in the creation of this
display. Without, the electoral rolls, the cemetery visits, the interviews, old
news paper clips and visiting the state archives the Congrams story would not
have come to life as it did. It was a great way of confirming dates, deaths,
marriages and the stories that the family have preserved.
STRENGTHS

14. In the end, the thirteen weeks I spent working at Brookfield Museum have
taught me so much about the Museum industry, real life workforce, as well as
learning how to identify issues and finding the best possible solutions to
problems. The Brookfield District Museum is slowly parting from tradition
and are learning to embrace modern aspects, which I found to be the main
issue the organisation struggled with.
WORK PLACEMENT EXPERIENCE

15. The Congram display turned out
great and received a lot of praise
from the local community members.
BROOKFIELD SHOW DAY!