Nation, History, Museum: The Politics of the Past at the National Museum of Australia
The National Museum of Australia opened its doors to the public on 11 March 2001. Located in Canberra, the federal capital, the Museum was the centre-piece of celebrations marking the centenary of Australia’s federation. As such, the Museum’s director, Dawn Casey, described the AU $155 million, state-of-the-art institution as ‘a gift to the nation’. But for some, this was not the sort of present that Australia wanted. In officially opening the Museum, the Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, seemed somewhat under-whelmed, struggling to find anything positive to say about the new edifice. In his speech, the Prime Minister parsimoniously claimed that ‘Whatever may be said and whatever has already been said about the Museum … [it] will change in a very profound way the enjoyment of life for people who live in the national capital’ (Howard, 2001).
A Preference for Forgetting: Some Reflections on Publishing Looking For Blackfellas' Point: An Australian History of Place
Blackfellas' Point lies on the Towamba River in south-eastern New South Wales. As the river descends rapidly from its source on the Monaro plains, it winds its way through state forest, national park and farming land. Around twenty-five kilometres before it reaches the sea, just south of Eden, it passes through Towamba, the small village in which Mark McKenna now owns eight acres of land. Mark's land looks across the river to 'Blackfellas' Point', once an Aboriginal camping ground and meeting place. Looking for Blackfellas' Point is a history that begins by looking across the river to the arc of bush that is 'Blackfellas' Point. From there, Mark McKenna's gaze pans out - from the history of one place he knows intimately, to the history of one region and, ultimately, to the history of Australia's quest for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Looking For Blackfellas' Point is a history for every Australian who is interested in the story of settler-Australia's relations with Indigenous people - what happened between us, how we learnt to forget and, finally, how we came to confront the truth about our past and build a movement for reconciliation.
Museums and the History Wars
The National Museum of Australia has become embroiled in the ‘history wars’ being fought over the character of the nation's past. Polarized arguments are generally unhelpful to cultural institutions charged with long-term objectives that extend beyond media reportage and the political cycle This paper examines two key issues, concerning museum practice and the representation of national history, in the aftermath of the recent review of the NMA's exhibitions and public programs. It concludes by asking for a new synthesis of Australian histories and professional practice in museums to meet the challenges of contemporary debates.