'Those riches of which we are so proud': Western Australian geological collecting for international and intercolonial exhibitions 1850-1890

International and intercolonial exhibitions represent an important part of the history of collecting in Western Australia. They are an early example of organised collecting in the colony, and many specimens collected for exhibitions have since made their way into museum collections. Western Australia participated in several exhibitions during the nineteenth century and the colony viewed these as a valuable opportunity to showcase its rich natural resources to the rest of the world. Geological collecting was central to this, and geological material became an increasingly significant part of the colony's contribution to exhibitions over the course of the century. This paper reveals the significance of geological collecting to the Western Australian exhibits and how this grew over time in response to developments in museum and geological collecting in the colony.