IMPACT OF RABBITS EXPLORED IN NEW EXHIBITION
Using a series of rare images the latest exhibition at the Western Plains Cultural Centre will explore the environmental impact of the introduced European rabbit into the Australian landscape.
The latest From the Vault exhibition highlights experiments conducted with the poison 1080 and the introduction of the myxomatosis virus, to eradicate the rabbit population.
DRC Local Studies Officer Simone Taylor said the exhibition will explore themes of devastation, experimentation and results.
“By the 1950s rabbits had reached plague proportions across Australia and many attempts had been undertaken to control the population. These attempts included experiments conducted by the Dubbo Pastures Protection Board (now known as the Central West Local Land Services) with the poison 1080,” Ms Taylor said.
“This exhibition highlights those attempts using photographs that we have in the WPCC Local Studies Collection.”
Despite being located in a region where farming and agriculture continue to play an important role in the economic, social and cultural fabric of the community, the Local Studies Collection hasn’t previously been used to highlight this part of our history.
“This exhibition is an opportunity to engage with issues around agriculture/farming/land use and environment, in an interesting and unique way.
“It will not be a traditional examination of the agricultural industry but calls into question the ongoing ecological impacts of introduced species originally brought to Australia via European settlers,” Ms Taylor said.
The exhibition does show deceased rabbits in images from the 19302 – 1950s to highlight the consequences of managing introduced species, and while the methods are controversial today the broader ethical dilemma of how we protect Australian ecosystems from the impact of introduced species should be considered when viewing the exhibition.
The exhibition helps us to facilitate important and challenging conversations drawn from our local region and history and supports key outcomes of the SPARC Cultural Plan to increase the presentation of local history.
The exhibition will also feature supporting images from the NSW State Library.
The exhibition will run from 23 November 2024 until 11 May 2025 and has been supported by funding from Create NSW.
For more details on current exhibitions running at the Western Plains Cultural Centre visit www.westernplainsculturalcentre.org
Last Edited: 25 Nov 2024