A brand new art gallery has opened on Magnetic Island at the residence of Vivian Moran who for years single-handedly ran the Townsville Maritime Museum . She has long been involved with the Museum of Tropical Queensland which has a large replica of HMS Pandora , the British Admiralty vessel sent out to capture the Bounty mutineers , sinking after striking the Great Barrier Reef in 1791. In Viv's kitbag of skills is a post graduate diploma in Marine Archaeology from Fremantle's Maritime Museum .
The gallery opened with an exhibition of works by Magnetic Island artists and offers a wide range of prints and postcards as well. One of the island's many shipwrecks , Presto , was spotted hanging on the wall. There are biographical details of 15 artists.
The gallery is certain to become a big attraction . A follow up exhibition has already been arranged with Amnesty International .
There is no truth in the suggestion that Captain Bligh will publicly flog somebody and cut off their breadfruit ration over the apparent misspelling of the gallery's name , although ringside seats would undoubtedly sell for an absolute motza to witness such an historic event.
On the other hand , if the desirable gallery had called itself The Louvre , which sounds like the famous museum and art gallery in Paris, the French may have been upset and slapped another trade restriction on Australian produce.
