Distant lives & digital surrogates: historical research, electronic publishing & collaborative partnerships in an Australian university museum

Innovation, outreach and collaboration in university museums can take many forms. In recent years virtual access through websites and electronic publishing have helped to transform university museums into dynamic spaces for teaching, research and community outreach. The Lachlan Macquarie Room, located inside Macquarie University Library, Sydney, (Australia) is a unique heritage museum containing the original timber panelling and fittings from the home in Scotland of the University's namesake Lachlan Macquarie (1761-1824). Since 1995 public use and awareness of The Lachlan Macquarie Room, and its related display items, has been expanded through the development of dedicated websites, public exhibitions, and seminars examining the life and times of Lachlan Macquarie in Britain, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. This paper will examine how curatorial staff at Macquarie University are exploiting web-based technologies to provide 24-hour access to the museum, and describe the initiatives under development to establish national and international research partnerships to promote the history of this unique historical collection