Passion, like love, attracts and is attractive. Full of longing and desire, a passion for someone or something - intense love or an outburst of anger - can become so strong it's barely controllable. If you feed this raw appetite, passion can tip into obsession. Once aroused, in all its fervent keenness, passion can be something to relish.
Austin Byrne and his passion for the first flight across the Pacific Ocean
Austin Byrne standing before a portrait photo of aviator Charles Ulm, about 1950, from the unpublished book
The History of the Southern Cross by Austin Byrne. Courtesy: National Museum of Australia.
1902-1993
As from today, I dedicate this my life's work, the Southern Cross Memorial and bequeath it to the youth of my country, for them to hold in trust for future generations, with the hope that it may inspire many to the glory of our great country.
Austin Byrne, 1939
Austin Byrne devoted his life to commemorating famous 1930s Australian aviators Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm.
Byrne was obsessed by the airmen and created many elaborate metal sculptures and replicas as tributes to them. His work was a labour of love and he believed it was important to commemorate their achievements.
On display in Eternity is a reading lamp made by Austin Byrne showing the routes taken by Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith. While visiting Eternity take the opportunity to record the story of your passion.
Graeme Clark and his passion for hearing
Born 1935
Professor Clark is the foundation professor of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne and is now the director of The Australian Bionic Ear Institute. Motivated by his father's deafness, Professor Clark has devoted the greater part of his professional life to researching and developing a device that brings hearing to the profoundly deaf by means of electrical stimulation of the hearing nerve.
During the development of the multichannel cochlear implant, Professor Clark was faced with seemingly insurmountable barriers. He endured criticism and doubt from the scientific, medical and deaf communities and embarked on an inexhaustible appeal for funding to support his research. The first implant recipient was 48 year old Rod Saunders in 1978 and following further research and refinement the cochlear implant became commercially available in 1982. Today approximately 1382 adults and 935 children in Australia have been the recipients of a Cochlear implant.
Parts of the bionic ear designed by Clark are on display.
The 1970s saw the emergence of a culture of painted panel vans and customised motor bikes. Alan Puckett was one of those artists, airbrushing images of long hot summers and erotic imagery from his base in Sydney. For the Eternity program we commissioned Alan Puckett to create an exciting and sexy object. Alan painted a Harley Davidson Sportster in the theme of passion. He chose white roses and butterflies twisting on a cherry background. We purchased the bike specifically for this purpose.
AE Smith and his passion for making violins
AE Smith in his workshop at home, about 1954. Courtesy: National Library of Australia.
1880-1978
Arthur Edward (AE) Smith is considered the most important violin maker in Australian history. As a young man, Smith abandoned a promising career as an engineer and devoted his whole life to violin repairing and making. Born in England, Smith came to Australia in 1909 and set up a business. In 1912 he opened a violin repair shop in Sydney that soon became a hub of activity. His workshop established the careers of many other leading Australian violin makers such as Charles Clarke, William Dolphin, Harry Vatiliotis and his own daughter, Kitty Smith. His violins are prized for their excellence of tone and decorative elements such as the sound holes, scrolls and curves. Some of the world's top violinists admired and collected handmade Smith violins, including Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern. In 1971 Smith was awarded an MBE for services to music.
An AE Smith violin is on display, but at times it is removed and played at concerts at the National Museum of Australia.
Marie Byles. Courtesy: Byles papers held in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales.
1900-1979
Marie Byles immigrated to Australia from England in 1911 at eleven years of age. She was one of the first women to graduate in Law at the University of Sydney and was the first to set up practice as a solicitor in Sydney. She was also a committed Buddhist, writing many books on the subject and establishing the Buddhist Society in Sydney with her friend Leo Berkeley. The Eternity story focuses on Marie's passion for the bush and the fledgling conservation movement of the 1930s and 40s. She helped establish Boudi National Park in 1935 and, along with Paddy Pallin, established the Bush Club for people who loved the bush but were unable or unwilling to meet the stringent requirements for entry to existing bushwalking clubs. The story features her bushwalking compass from the National Historical Collection.
Stories no longer on display
Geoff King
Passion of men for sheds (contemporary)
Irene Chatfield
Passion for her football team (contemporary)
Margaret Grosvenor
Debutante ball (1959)
Monte Punshon
Passion for Japanese culture during the Second World War (1939-45 and after)
Tilly Aston
Passion for the rights and welfare of blind people (early 1900s)
