MUSEUMS Worcestershire look after many historic objects from around the world and research has been taking place to uncover the stories of how they came to Worcester.

This bag, woven from plant fibre, has particularly piqued the Museums Worcestershire Curator’s interest.

It is part of a large collection of objects which were collected by scientists aboard the HMS Rattlesnake. The ship set sail from Plymouth in 1846 with a mission to make detailed charts of the beautiful but treacherous Great Barrier Reef, ensuring future vessels would be able to pass safely through.

One of the people on board HMS Rattlesnake was Captain’s Steward Robert Gale, who traded the ship’s supplies for what he called “curiosities” from the Indigenous people of the islands they visited. The woven bag is typical of the type used by the Indigenous people of Port Essington, Australia.

The expedition ended after the captain died in 1850 and the ship returned home to England. Robert Gale settled in West Malvern and in 1853 he donated a collection of items to Worcestershire Natural History Society, described in the museum records as a “variety of spears, clubs, arrows, paddles, domestic articles, dresses, pottery and other curiosities”.

This bag was one of these donations and is now cared for by Museums Worcestershire – it is in very good condition and the museum team have plans to use it in a future display.

Find out more tales from the HMS Rattlesnake in the City Art Gallery & Museum’s next Bite Size Talk, released online on Tuesday, July 13 (free, donations welcome).

Find out what else the HMS Rattlesnake sailors got up to and the items they bought back to Worcester, with Kerry Whitehouse our World Cultures curator. Register by 11.30am on the day to receive the website link – the talk is released at 1.30pm but those with tickets can access for at least one month. Register at museumsworcestershire.org.uk/whats-on/.