History of the Museum

Although the collections date back to the inception of the Geology Department in the second decade of the twentieth century, there was no real display area until the early 1960s when the Department moved into the colonnaded limestone building, originally built for the Physics Department, which it still occupies today, within the School of Earth & Environment.

A museum area was set up in 1963 in a large room next to the First Year Laboratory. It was typical of its time, with free-standing cases holding displays of fossils, building stones and other geological materials, and on the walls were items ranging from maps to crystal models and polished stones.The University’s major 75th Anniversary project for 1988 provided the impetus for a complete rejuvenation of the entire Museum, supported by donations from the public and industry.

The redesigned Museum aimed to show the variety of topics covered by the science of geology, with 15 main, modern exhibits. The most demanding challenge was to produce attractive, scientifically accurate exhibits which could be easily understood by school students and adults who were unfamiliar with geological terms and topics.

An attractive stone entrance porch was built, giving public access from the northern end of the building through an “Eocene Garden” which contained plant varieties similar to those which existed around 40 million years ago, before the opening of the southern ocean between Australia and Antarctica.

The new Museum was named for Professor Clarke who had been the head of the Department from 1920 until his retirement in 1948.
It was officially opened by the Deputy Premier in August 1989.