The Board of Trustees were established when management of the Tasmanian Museum and the Botanical Gardens were separated in 1950. The transfer of assets from the previous Trust was not formally completed until 25 May 1953. On 1 Jul 1990 the Trustees, in their capacity as a State Service agency, were amalgamated with the Department of Education and the Arts. Thereafter the Museum was managed by the Department but the Trustees still decided policy issues relating to the collections.~