Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery admits to gaffe in Tasman Bridge exhibition
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery has apologised for mistakenly presenting a significant piece in a new Tasman Bridge exhibition as a “near-original” item.
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The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery has apologised for any “distress” it may have caused to families impacted by the Tasman Bridge disaster after admitting to a gaffe at its new exhibition.
The late Murray Ling’s Holden EK was seen teetering over the River Derwent on the night of January 5, 1975, when the bulk ore carrier, the SS Lake Illawarra, collided with the bridge, causing it to partially collapse.
In iconic photos of the disaster, the car is seen next to Frank Manley’s Holden Monaro coupe.
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the bridge disaster with an exhibition called On the Edge, which opened last Friday and had purported to display both the original cars.
However, after being contacted by heritage car experts, the museum was forced to concede it had incorrectly presented one of the vehicles as being that which belonged to Mr Ling, claiming it was in “near-original condition”.
On Tuesday, a TMAG spokesman said the museum had “considered all information available to us” when including the vintage Holden wagon in the exhibition.
“We accepted the advice of several parties, including from the current owner, as to the authenticity of the vehicle,” he said.
“We apologise for any distress this has caused to the families impacted by the disaster. We stand by our intent to provide an interesting and captivating exhibition to commemorate this significant event, and such debate and engagement is an important part of uncovering, confirming and preserving our history.”
The museum thanked the people who had “since Saturday provided new evidence as to the authenticity of the car and that it had indeed undergone more modifications than we had been led to believe”.
The spokesman said both vehicles would remain on display until the exhibition closed on January 12, while interpretative signage and the website for the exhibition would be updated with new information.
The current owner of the car, Robin Tripp, said he had bought Mr Ling’s EK and that after his own Holden FB wagon was rear-ended, he replaced some components of it with parts from the EK. He said he had been upfront about the provenance of the vehicle.
Museum admits gaffe in Tasman Bridge exhibition
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery has conceded that its new exhibition marking the anniversary of the Tasman Bridge disaster has incorrectly presented a vintage Holden car as one of the “near-original” vehicles that famously teetered over the edge of the partially collapsed bridge 50 years ago.
The late Murray Ling’s Holden EK was seen hanging over the River Derwent on the night of January 5, 1975, when the bulk ore carrier, the SS Lake Illawarra, collided with the bridge, splitting it in two.
In iconic photographs of the disaster, Mr Ling’s car is seen next to Frank Manley’s Holden Monaro coupe, which was in a similarly precarious position.
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the bridge catastrophe with an exhibition called On the Edge, which purports to display both the original cars.
But the museum has now admitted that the “majority” of the heavily modified vehicle that once belonged to Mr Ling was “not the car that was on the bridge on 5 January 1975”.
Benjamin Gall, who is the director of one of the nation’s largest heritage firms, Australian Heritage Specialists, wrote to TMAG last Friday to raise concerns about the promotion of the car.
Mr Gall said the vehicle on display resembled a Holden FB wagon, not the original EK model associated with the disaster.
In an email seen by the Mercury, Mr Gall said he had personally inspected the car that was being exhibited and had “empirical evidence” that it was not an EK Holden wagon.
“Having just seen the advertising for your exhibition, I must urge extreme caution about the story you are reporting about … [this] car,” he wrote.
“This story has caused a large amount of distress for people involved and a museum of TMAG’s standard should have appropriate systems in place, I am sure, to resolve this oversight swiftly, please.”
A TMAG spokesman said that the museum had undertaken research into the vehicle and had been “convinced of its provenance, noting the vehicle has had extensive modifications made to it over the past 50 years”.
“As a result of further research and more information coming to light, TMAG now understands that the majority of the Holden station wagon is not the car that was on the bridge on 5 January 1975,” the spokesman said.
“TMAG is focused on commemorating the events of 50 years ago and is confident that the community wishes the importance of this anniversary to be the priority.”
The current owner of the car, Robin Tripp, said he had bought Mr Ling’s EK and that after his own FB wagon was rear-ended, he replaced some components of it with parts from the EK. He has also repainted the “half-and-half” car, which he said was cobbled together with various parts by necessity.
“The one that was off the bridge was the EK. And mine was the FB,” he said.
“Not everyone knows about it being off the bridge until you say something and show the picture of the two different colours of the car before I had it and when it was repainted.”
Mr Tripp said he had been upfront about the provenance of the vehicle.
Signage at the On the Edge exhibition claims that Mr Ling went on to sell his “FB Holden” and that it has been maintained in “near-original condition”.
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