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  4. Community engagement

Community engagement

The Australian Museum is committed to continued engagement with First Nation communities.

  • Updated
    20/11/18

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Pilbara Field Trip

Case Study: Western Australian Museum 2005

Repatriation is rewarding for participants, but difficulties arise when returning diverse material and multiple institutions are involved.

Discover more

La Perouse repatriation 2002

Case Study: La Perouse 2002

Ancestral and sacred material from La Perouse was of scientific interest, but the wishes of First Nations people take precedence.

Discover more

Larrakia repatriation

Case Study: Larrakia 1996 / 2002

The Museum's repatriation of artefacts to Larrakia, NT, in 1996 established a relationship that would be called upon again in 2002.

Discover more


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Australian South Sea Islander flag

The official Australian South Sea Islander flag was designed in consultation with the ASSI community and executive of the then Australian South Sea Islanders United Council (ASSIUC) in 1994.

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Rituals of Seduction: Birds of Paradise

Rituals of Seduction: Birds of Paradise

This exhibition featured a selection of the Museum’s collections from the Southern Highlands, Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands, including a variety of human hair wigs, feathered headdress, judge wigs, shells woven aprons and shell forehead ornaments.

Past exhibition
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Pacific masks in storage

Melanesian collections

The Melanesian cultural area is the nearest neighbour of Australian and the museum holds a significant collection of cultural material from Melanesian nations.

Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu
New Caledonia
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Australian South Sea Islander Recognition Day

The 25th August marks Australian South Sea Islander (ASSI) recognition week on our national cultural calendar.

Written by (Waskam) Emelda Davis
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Rock carving

Aboriginal people of coastal Sydney

Research revealing the rich and complex culture of Aboriginal people in the Port Jackson region.

Language groups
Fishing culture
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Frank Hurley

Photographic collections

Discover this extensive collection of images taken in the Pacific from 1876 to 1980.

Frank Hurley
George Brown
WL Waterhouse
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ATSI Collection general shots 2018

Cultural collection donation

What you can expect as a potential donor to the Australian Museum cultural collections.

Items we are currently acquiring
Potential donation contact
Discover more

Close-up of textile

Indonesian Collection

Discover cultural material and objects in our Indonesian collection. The Australian Museum holds a collection of about 300 Indonesian textiles. Many textiles reflect the traditional methods of production, design and use.

Read more

E078218 canoe, bark, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia.

Collection objects from the Hunter Valley

Learn more about this collection acquired by Alexander Morrison in the New South Wales Hunter Valley during in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Wonnarua
St Clair mission
Tourist and collector market
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ATSI Collection general shots 2018

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collection

Discover the richness and diversity of cultural material and objects in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collection.

Collection highlights
Cultural objects, art and technology
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GADI Exhibition documentation

GADI

Built in partnership with local Aboriginal Elders and communities, GADI showcased the rich culture and history of the Country now known as Sydney City. It featured rare objects, new cultural material made by Gadigal Elders, stories, film, songs and 8,000 archaeological pieces.

Award winning exhibition
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Pacific Collection Shots 2018

Pacific Collection

Our collections represent living cultures with thousands of artworks, cultural technologies and archaeological material from across Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.

Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
New Zealand
Discover more

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The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands.
—
We pay our respect to Aboriginal Elders and recognise their continuous connection to Country.
This website may contain names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

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Photo of two painted shields

The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands.

Image credit: gadigal yilimung (shield) made by Uncle Charles Chicka Madden