STORY: Collection of rare insects displayed at Australia's Queensland Museum
DATELINE: July 31, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:48
LOCATION: SYDNEY, Australia
CATEGORY: CULTURE
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of the insect collection in Queensland Museum
2. various of interviewees (courtesy of Queensland Museum Network)
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KATHRYN EBERT, Queensland Museum Network entomologist
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JIM THOMPSON, Queensland Museum Network CEO
5. various of the insect collection in Queensland Museum
 
STORYLINE:
 
Once in a decade, a precious collection of insects is on display at Australia's Queensland Museum from July 28 to April 14, 2024, in an exhibition called "The Butterfly Man of Kuranda: The Dodd Collection."
 
Frederick Dodd, known as 'the Butterfly Man of Kuranda,' was an Australian naturalist who dedicated the later years of his life to entomology.
 
Queensland Museum Network holds 42 beautifully arranged showcases made by Dodd and his family from 1917 through to the 1960s. The Dodd Collection is a significant part of the state collection with some specimens more than 100 years old.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): KATHRYN EBERT, Queensland Museum Network entomologist
"The Dodd collection here has 42 cases. Nine of these were made by Alan Dodd in the later years, but the rest are all done by Frederick Dodd. They're unusual in that they're so well preserved. These are collections that were made over 100 years ago, some of them, and they're still in perfect condition, which is a tribute to the family that took such good care of them until they donated to the museum."
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JIM THOMPSON, Queensland Museum Network CEO
"The Dodd collection really is the jewel in the crown of the Queensland Museum entomology collection. Unfortunately, we can only put it on once every ten years to make sure that we continue to protect the insects on display.
It's really hard to pick a favorite out of all the insects that are on display. I think what I really love about the collection is the fact that they're presented in such a way that people can access them. And you don't have to be an entomologist or an insect person, you can really just enjoy them for the way that they're presented. They're really quite remarkably done."
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Sydney, Australia.
(XHTV)