This presentation will discuss the highlights and complexities of the nearly 10-year project to analyse and conserve the 1297 inspeximus issue of the Magna Carta in the collection of the Parliament of Australia. It will explore the Magna Carta’s journey to Australia during Robert Menzies’ government, the innovative production of the 1961 anoxic display case by the CSIRO, and its removal from this case in 2016.

Libby will outline the new insights into the Magna Carta that analysis of the materials has provided and discuss the science behind its display in the Members’ Hall of Parliament House.

Light refreshments will be available in the foyer after the presentation.

About Libby Melzer

Libby Melzer is the Head of Collection Care at the State Library of Victoria. She has over 25 years of experience in the conservation of heritage material and in leading conservation teams delivering complex muti-disciplinary projects. In her former role as head of paper conservation at the University of Melbourne she was a conservation lead on the complex project to conserve the 1297 edition of the Magna Carta in the collection of the Parliament of Australia.

This event is presented in partnership with ArtsNational Canberra.