PM Transcripts

FOR MEDIA 19 JUNE 1988
A major exhibition of Egyptian antiquities, Gold of the
Pharaohs, will come to Australia this year.
The exhibition will be in Australia for 10 months under the
auspices of the International Cultural Corporation of
Australia, and will be seen in four cities.
The Egyptian Government has agreed to send the exhibition to
Australia in 1988 as a gesture of goodwill for Australia's
Bicentenary. It is the first major exhibition of Egyptian
antiquities to come to Australia and one of the largest ever
to leave Egypt. Agreement in principle to a tour was
announced during my visit to Egypt in February 1987.
The exhibition from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo includes
treasures and jewellery from the tombs of the rulers of the
great Egyptian civilization of 3000 years ago. It includes
many objects from the famous excavations at Tanis, the
Pharaonic capital in the Nile Delta. The centrepiece is a
gold burial mask. There are also gold ornaments inlaid with
precious stones, gold toe and finger covers and a monumental
granite sarcophagus of the Pharaoh himself.
Gold of the Pharaohs will open in Brisbane in August and
then be displayed in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne. I am
delighted that the itinerary will give many many thousands
of Australians the opportunity to see, enjoy and appreciate
the majestic achievements of one of the greatest
civilizations of the ancient world.
For further information: Edmund Capon Ph: 02 225 1725
Bob Edwards Ph: 02 241 1071 7226