Deputy Premier and Racing Minister Rob Hulls has announced today that Te Papa, New Zealand’s national museum, will loan Phar Lap’s skeleton to Melbourne Museum to celebrate this year’s 150th running of the Melbourne Cup.

“This is a major coup for Melbourne as New Zealand has never before agreed to lend Big Red’s skeleton to an international museum and it will be the first time it has travelled overseas since it arrived in New Zealand in 1933” said The Hon. Rob Hulls.

“This historic reunion of Phar Lap’s hide and skeleton will be a fitting tribute to his important place in Victoria’s racing history,” said Brett Dunlop, Manager, Melbourne Museum. “I’m sure this will make Melbourne Museum’s most popular exhibit an even greater attraction.”

“This significant loan from Te Papa will be a great way to kick off celebrations for Melbourne Museum’s 10th birthday in October”, he added. “The timing is wonderful.”

An assessment of the state of Phar Lap’s skeleton undertaken by Te Papa conservators showed that the skeleton could be loaned to Melbourne Museum without major risks.

The skeleton will go on display from September 2010 until January 2011, and will be shown alongside Phar Lap’s magnificent hide in the Melbourne Gallery at Melbourne Museum.

Deputy Premier and Racing Minister Rob Hulls made the call in April this year to reunite Phar Lap’s heart from the National Museum of Australia and its skeleton from New Zealand’s national museum Te Papa for a temporary exhibition at Melbourne Museum to celebrate the 150th running of the Melbourne Cup, as well as the 80th anniversary of the racing legend’s 1930 Melbourne Cup win.

Unfortunately museum conservators decided that Phar Lap’s heart was too fragile to travel to Melbourne from Canberra.

Over seven million visitors have come to Melbourne Museum in the past ten years, making it Australia’s most popular museum. At least 350,000 people are expected to visit the Phar Lap display at Melbourne Museum during the exhibition period.