Lumière Brothers’ film showcased to public at FACT

MEMBERS of the public are invited to attend a free lecture and screening showcasing new findings on the famous Lumière Brothers’ Liverpool Overhead Railway films, as part of the public programme for the new Museum of Liverpool, due to open in Spring 2011.

The screening will take place at FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) on Friday, 29 January 2010 from 1pm to 4pm, featuring highlights of the film shot by Alexandre Promio in 1897, introduced by Dr Richard Koeck from the University of Liverpool.

Dr Koeck will share insights into his research and ongoing production of the film animations that will contextualise and reference the original Lumière archive footage with historical maps of the time, and retrace the precise route of the films.

Sharon Brown, curator of land transport and industry for National Museums Liverpool will also provide an insight into the history of the Liverpool Overhead Railway itself.

Sharon said:- “An original Liverpool Overhead Railway motor coach will be a key feature in the new Museum of Liverpool’s Overhead Railway gallery. It will be displayed in an elevated position as part of a re-construction of Pier Head station. Dr Koeck’s completed work on the Lumière archive footage will also be shown in the gallery, allowing visitors to get a real taste of what it was like to travel on the world’s first elevated electrified railway line, and what they would have been able to see in 1897 four years after it first opened.”

To reserve your place for free, please call Sam Turner at National Museums Liverpool on:- 0151 478 4543 or email:-  sam.turner@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.

When the Liverpool Overhead Railway opened in 1893, it ran the length of the Liverpool docks, which was around seven and a half miles. It was built to ease congestion along the docks but also served as a tourist attraction as it provided amazing views, both of the docks themselves and the shipping and transatlantic liners on the River Mersey.

The only surviving motor coach was presented to National Museums Liverpool after the Liverpool Overhead Railway closed in
1956, and is currently being conserved before being moved to the Liverpool Overhead Railway gallery in the new Museum of Liverpool.

The Port City gallery within the Museum of Liverpool will tell the wider story of how Liverpool transformed itself from a small tidal inlet to one of the world’s great ports, and discover the innovation which led to the city’s boom during the Industrial Revolution.

Liverpool led the world in developing early canals, the first timetabled passenger railway, new dock technologies and the Liverpool Overhead Railway – the world’s first elevated electrified railway line.

This project has been enabled by Northwest Vision and Media and the UK film Council’s Digital Film Archive Fund supported by the National Lottery.

Museum of Liverpool

► Currently under construction at the Pier Head, the Museum of Liverpool is the new national museum for the people of Liverpool

► The museum will provide 8,000 square metres of public space across three floors, and visitors will have access to over 6,000 objects that are currently in store, many of which have never been on public display before.

► The galleries in the museum will focus on four main themes: Port City, Creative City, People’s City and Global City.

► As a major boost to the Liverpool economy, it is estimated the Museum of Liverpool will attract more than 750,000 visitors per year, provide at least 500 construction jobs and 73 direct permanent jobs.

To find out more:- A display about the museum is open at Piermaster’s House, Albert Dock. It features a model of the museum and information about the museum’s galleries and the objects and stories on display. It is open daily from 10am to 4:30pm and entry is free.  For more information please visit:- liverpoolmuseums.org.uk.

Give Seas A Chance!

THE Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside has launched Living Seas, its vision for the UK’s marine environment – where wildlife thrives from the depths of the ocean to the coastal shallows; where rocky reefs are bursting with brightly coloured fish, corals and sponges, and dolphins and seals dart among the waves – at an event in the House of Commons.

The launch follows the passing, in November, of the Marine and Coastal Access Act (MCAA), for which The Wildlife Trusts campaigned for nearly a decade. The challenge for the next five years is to ensure the Act is effectively implemented – that urgent action is taken to turn the UK’s over-fished, over-exploited, and currently under-protected waters back into a thriving marine environment. The Wildlife Trusts have a clear vision for how this should happen, and a plan for achieving it within 20 years, a single generation.

The Wildlife Trusts are achieving great things across the UK, working at the local level to understand, protect and raise awareness of our marine wildlife and habitats, from seagrass meadows to dolphins and seals. The North West England Trusts
are working together the highlight and protect the fabulous diversity of life in the Irish Sea, from sea mice to basking sharks and will host an array of events to celebrate the Irish Sea during Marine Week (31st July – 16th August). We are working to ensure that the unique habitats and species of the Irish Sea get the protection they deserve during the implementation of the ground-breaking Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.

In a few places in the UK, there are even possible signs of our seas recovering, for example, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust has recorded an increase in seal numbers at Donna Nook each year since 2007, and there are early signs of recovery in the fragile ecosystem of the Lyme Bay reefs, where The Wildlife Trusts’ campaign achieved a ban on scallop-dredging in 2008. Professor Aubrey Manning, BBC television presenter and president of The Wildlife Trusts, launched the Living Seas vision.

Professor Aubrey Manning said:- “The Living Seas vision is very direct in its aims. It sets out a clear plan of how we, The Wildlife Trusts, and our partners and supporters, can help achieve them. The opportunities that the Marine and Coastal Access Act has opened up need to be seized on immediately. We can no longer continue to treat the oceans as limitless. In particular, we need an effective and well-managed network of Marine Protected Areas by 2012. We may not get another opportunity to make Living Seas a reality. The future of our oceans hangs in the balance, and we want to tip it in the right direction for wildlife, and for the people – all of us – who depend upon it.”

Anne Selby, Chief Executive of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, said:- “The Living Seas vision is crucial for an area with as much coastline as our Trust covers. The Irish Sea has a rich diversity of marine life that needs to be protected, and we must continue to build on last year’s success with the Marine and Coastal Access Act. These are exciting times, but only if we make the most of the opportunities we have, and this vision is a big step towards that.”