GUYANA NATIONAL MUSEUM (history)
The museum is not just a museum, it has a history and a purpose behind each and every artifact placed there. The history of the Guyana National Museum is one of the tragedies, loss and recovery. After the establishment of the Royal Agricultural and Commercial Society which was founded in 1844, one of its main projects was the museum and model room that displays Guyana’s National Heritage.
Did you know that the first recorded gifts to the museum was a collection of (55) fifty-five native woods from a Sir Robert Schomburgk, who was the first honorary member of society. Gradually the collection increased as donations of botanical, minerals and other geological specimens were given by colonist often members of the RACS, in the year 1853 the collection was housed in the old laboratory at the old hospital and wad significantly augmented by members, being prepared for the Paris exhibition (1855).Other gifts included a collection of minerals, that were sent from England in 1854 by Mr. W.H Campbell who was also a member of the society. In 1855 the museum held its first local exhibition and it was said to be the “Perfectly Successful” among the exhibits there was gold from Cuyuni shown by Mr. B. V Abraham.
It was April 3rd, 1864 when a dangerous fire stuck the national museum, destroying the old laboratory which was reduced to ashes leaving society shock by its miss haps, but with the determination, enthusiastic and energy of Mr. Campbell he was able to raise funds and rebuild the reading-room and library, also a additional museum. A new collection was also reassembled in 1864 and the museum was given its first official opening, with the guidance of the government, the collection was opened to the public from 1870 for two days a week.
The entire collection was handed over 1936 by the RACS, to the colonial government of British Guiana and Mr. P. Peberdy in the same year re-organized the collection, dividing it into two parts:
- Natural History Section which remained at the RACS and economic
- Anthropology and Historical sections
The second fire had struck again on 23rd February 1945 at 3:30pm that day, not only the Natural History section, royal agricultural and commercial society, but (16) sixteen other buildings were a mass of smoke ruins, the irreplaceable archives and ethological collection on the upper flat of the library was spared, the holocaust were still intact and undamaged. Since then the collection has being evolved significantly and today it has been divided mainly into a Social History and Natural History section. On the lower floor the southern hall is devoted to Economic Science, History and Art; the northern to Geology and Mining, Forestry and Botany and the Aquarium. On the upper floor the northern hall is devoted to Anthropology and the southern to National History that has been this way for quite some time.
During the half of 1952 and early months of 1953 the museum acted as guide, mentor and friend to the British Guiana Archaeological Survey, conducted by Dr. Clifford Evans Ph. D and Dr. Betty J. Meggers Ph. D of the Smithsonian Institution. The British Guiana Museum, changed to the Guyana National Museum upon Guyana’s independence is the oldest museum in Guyana and still has an exotic display of native, birds, fishes, mammals, minerals and woods, with every exhibition held the museum grows and expands its horizon.