Part two: Performance reports - National Museum of Australia

*Wrestling Camp*“strength-quickness-skills”StayfitintheoffseasonandsharpenyourskillsWhat:HighschoolwrestlingcampforcurrentandnewlyenrolledOceanViewstudents.Studentswillcondition(i.e.exercise)andlearnbasictoadvancedmatskills.Where:OVHSWrestlingRoomWhen:Mon‐Wed‐Frionlythroughthebellowdates.June17‐June21…………………………………. July15‐Aug16TIMES:6pmto8pm Who:allOceanViewwrestlersandincomingstudentsSuggestedcontribution:$100.00ContactCoachHetrickforupdates:rhetrick@hbuhsd.eduJune22‐July14areofficialdownweeks;wewillnotbetrainingduringthattime.Participantswillneedwrestlingshoes,headgear,atwosidedmouthpiece(iftheyhavebraces),andrunningshoes.

part two: performance reports21HistoryAlthough it is one of Australia’s newest culturalinstitutions, the National Museum of Australia wasalmost 100 years in the making. Over the course of thetwentieth century, proposals for a national museumwere intermittent, interrupted by wars and financialcrises and stifled by government inaction.A national inquiry in 1975 (the ‘Pigott Report’)finally resulted in the creation of the Museum in 1980with the passing of the National Museum of AustraliaAct. Collecting officially began with significantcollections inherited from Australian Governmentcollections, including the Australian Institute ofAnatomy. A location was identified at YarramundiReach, Canberra.In December 1996 the building of the Museumwas announced as the key Centenary of Federationproject, and Acton Peninsula was chosen as the site,with funding confirmed in 1997. The National Museumof Australia opened on 11 March 2001. It is home tothe National Historical Collection and is one of thenation’s major cultural institutions.The Museum’s exhibitions, collections, programsand research focus on three interrelated themes,specified in the National Museum of Australia Act1980. They are:• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander historyand culture• Australia’s history and society since 1788• the interaction of people with the environment.These areas define the Museum’s intellectual andconceptual framework, which is articulated to thepublic through the themes of land, nation and people.Conservation and Registration staff rolling out NgurraraCanvas I, a large canvas from the Western Desert, fordocumentation in the Hall.

22national museum of australia annual report 09–10For the Australian public, the Museum’s visionstatement captures the essence of the organisation’srole:A recognised world-class museum exploringAustralia’s past, illuminating the present,imagining the future.Conservator Mark Henderson and assistant registrationofficer Samantha Lillie document the Ngurrara Canvas Iand Martumili Ngurra paintings.Guiding performance:Legislation, PBS andthe Strategic PlanThe Museum’s performance is guided by a setof legislative, public sector and organisationalrequirements. The National Museum of AustraliaAct 1980 charges the Museum with the function ofdeveloping, preserving and exhibiting historicalmaterial of the Australian nation. It also specifiesthat the Museum should conduct and disseminateresearch and information about Australian history(see ‘Functions and powers of the National Museumof Australia’ in Appendix 2, p. 120.)These functions determine all aspects of theMuseum’s performance. The government’s performancetargets, specified in the annual Portfolio BudgetStatements (PBS), are achieved through work defined intwo programs, which together lead to this outcome:Increased awareness and understanding ofAustralia’s history and culture by managing theNational Museum’s collections and providingaccess through public programs and exhibitions.At the operational level, the National Museum ofAustralia’s Strategic Plan and annual businesspriorities outline the organisation’s strategic goalsand guide the activities of all Museum business units.The key priorities, outlined in the Strategic Plan for2007–10 and described in the Museum’s Charter ofOperations, were to:• enhance exhibitions, programs and services• develop the National Historical Collection andimprove collections storage• strengthen research and scholarship capability• enhance the Museum’s national and internationalprofile• develop staff, business practices and infrastructure.The reports that follow provide quantitativemeasurement of the Museum’s performanceagainst the PBS, and qualitative discussion of itsachievements as a cultural institution and in relationto the Strategic Plan.Outcome achievementsAchievement of the Museum’s outcome is assessed byPBS performance indicators and targets that focus onthe continuing development of the collections through:• acquiring collection items in accordance with theCollection Development Framework• storing the National Historical Collection inaccordance with appropriate museum standards• conservation treatment to maintain appropriatecondition of items• documentation of the National Historical Collection• providing access to the Museum’s collections,exhibitions, programs and website• ensuring visitors are satisfied with the exhibitions,programs and services• meeting core curriculum requirements for visitingschools• contributing through Museum programs andexhibitions to a new or different awareness orperspective on Australia’s history or cultures.These measures are also seen in relation to theefficacy with which the Museum manages resourcesand budgets. This year the Museum continued tomeet all targets specified for the delivery of its PBSoutcome, as the following tables indicate.

part two: performance reports23Big Boss with Whip, by Nancy McDinny, recalls the conflict between pastoralists and Indigenous people in northern Queensland.Program 1.1Collectiondevelopment andmanagementPerformance summary, measured against PBSperformance indicatorsquality100% of NationalHistorical Collectionacquisitions areconsistent withacquisitions policyachievementsactual: 100%The National Museum of Australia seeks to buildand care for a broad-based collection that providesa material record of Australian history. The NationalHistorical Collection is the Museum’s core collection,and consists of the most historically and culturallysignificant objects acquired by the Museum. Thereare more than 200,000 items in this collection.The Museum’s other collections include the ArchiveCollection, comprising documents, photographs, andsound and vision recordings associated with materialin the National Historical Collection; the EducationCollection, comprising materials that supportMuseum programs and activities; and the MuseumCollection, which supports the exhibition program.As has been the case each year since its openingin 2001, the Museum met or exceeded Program 1.1measures this year.75% of the NationalHistorical Collectionstored in accordancewith appropriatemuseum standardsquantity1000 conservationtreatments undertakento maintain appropriatecondition of items7500 NationalHistorical Collectionitems accessible via theMuseum’s websiteactual: 81%actual: 1469actual: 15,877

24national museum of australia annual report 09–10Developing the collectionThe National Historical Collection wasoriginally made up of objects transferred tothe Museum by the Australian Governmentfollowing the Museum’s establishment in 1980.Until then, most of these objects had been heldby the former Australian Institute of Anatomy,the former Institute of Aboriginal Studies andthe University of Sydney, as well as somegovernment departments and agencies.Since 1980, the Museum has acquired objectsthrough donations and purchase. The Museum’sCollections Development Plan guides itsacquisition practice, as measured by the PBSperformance indicators. Development of theMuseum’s collections was identified as a businesspriority for 2009–10.“The Museum spent atotal of $1.869 millionon acquisitions for theNational HistoricalCollection.”This year was extremely productive for thecollections development program, which isimplemented by curatorial teams and supportedby the work of the Registration and Conservationsections. The Museum spent a total of $1.869 millionon acquisitions for the National Historical Collection,including $1.863 million from a special acquisitionsfund provided by the Australian Government, andsecured many compelling artefacts for the collection.Some of the important objects acquired through thecourse of the year were:• a silver salver presented in 1862 toWilliam Landsborough by Sir Henry Barkly,Governor of Victoria• a sterling silver cup presented to James Simpsonin 1834 in recognition of his service as the policemagistrate of the District of Campbell Town,Van Diemen’s Land• an Aboriginal breastplate given to Aboriginalhead stockman Gallawang, of the Kurtijar people,in 1893 for superior service at Delta Downs station,Queensland• Ngurrara Canvas I, painted by Mangkaja artists atFitzroy Crossing in 1997 for the Ngurrara NativeTitle claim hearing by the National NativeTitle Tribunal• a 1948 Daimler landaulette used in QueenElizabeth II’s royal tour of Australia in 1954• a drawing in brown ink entitled Transportationto Botany Bay, about 1790, attributed toEdward Francis Burney• a collection of 98 board games made in Australiaand which have an Australian theme• five paintings by Gordon Syron from theBlack Fellas Dreaming Gallery collection• an Aboriginal basket collected at Oenpelli inJune 1928 by Frank Feast as a member of theMackay Exploring Expedition to Arnhem Land• an inkstand made by the boys of the NauticalSchool Ship Sobraon and presented by theirCaptain, Frederick Neitenstein, to Sir Henry Parkes.The Museum’s Council formally approves theinclusion of objects into the National HistoricalCollection. This year, Council approved 108 significantcollections during the year, details of which are setout in Appendix 3, pp. 121–125.Curatorial teams working on two new galleries,Australian Journeys and Landmarks: People andPlaces across Australia (as part of the ongoingimplementation of the Review of Exhibitions andPublic Programs (2003), see pp. 32–33), focusedon collecting material relating to the histories ofAustralian places connected with pastoralism,agriculture, mining, transport, communications,exploration and settlement.Other targeted collecting projects includedgathering material related to political cartooning,the history of Aboriginal missions and reserves, thehistory of the Indigenous civil rights movement,the experience of children in institutional carein Australia, the history of religious practice andobjects relating to the experience of Irish people inAustralia. Some of these objects will be displayed inthe permanent galleries or in forthcoming temporaryexhibitions in the near future.In 2009–10 the Museum committed to the IndigenousAustralian Art Charter of Principles for Publicly FundedCollecting Institutions. The charter aims to promote andreinforce best practice approaches to the acquisition,display and deaccessioning of Indigenous works of art.The charter complements the Indigenous AustralianArt Commercial Code of Conduct and ensures thatparticipating institutions work at the highest level ofethical principles when dealing with the Indigenousart market. The Museum published the charter on itswebsite in February 2010 and is reviewing existingpolicy and practices to ensure they accord with theprovisions of the charter. The charter will be fullyapplied and operational in 2010–11.

part two: performance reports25Devereux Bowly clock brought to Australia by John Blaxland in 1807.Cost of acquisitions, 2001–10financial yearcost of acquisitions2001–02 $190,0002002–03 $381,0002003–04 $566,0002004–05 $1,930,0002005–06 $2,002,0002006–07 $2,292,0002007–08 $2,762,0002008–09 $3,851,0002009–10 $1,869,000Collections donated under theCultural Gifts ProgramEvery year the Museum facilitates the acquisition ofdonations under the Australian Government’s CulturalGifts Program. This program encourages donations ofculturally significant items from private collections topublic museums, art galleries and libraries and archives.Donors are eligible for the following tax incentives:deductions for the market value of gifts, exemptionfrom capital gains tax and the option to apportion theirdeduction over a period of five income years.Over the year, six collections were donated throughthe program. These were:• a collection of 294 items, including toys, businessarchives, and manufacturing hardware datingback to the 1930s, documenting the history of

26national museum of australia annual report 09–10Australian toy manufacturing company Lindsay’sof Leichhardt• 21 violins and associated educational materialrepresentative of Australian violin craftsmanshipfrom the late 1800s through to the late 1900s• 43 artworks, referring to aspects of the Awelyeceremony and featuring women’s body paintdesigns, created during the 1990s by artistsincluding Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Gloria Petyarreand Angelina Pwerle, at the Ngkawenyerre campin the Utopia homeland• a large woven basket made in 2006 by WipanaJimmy, Anne Dixon and Timpula Mervin from thehomeland community of Watarru, north-westernSouth Australia• the complete body of documentation recording thedesign achievements of Balarinji Design Studioover a 25-year period from 1983 to 2008 by leadingAustralian designers, John and Ros Moriarty• a large and significant archive of books, posters,plans and papers relating to Australian history,heritage and museums.Managing the collectionAccessioning objectsAccessioning is the process that formally registersan object into the Museum’s permanent collection.During the year the Museum’s Registration teamaccessioned 10,259 objects. Among the notableobjects and collections accessioned this year were:the writing box of Colonel William Light, surveyor andfounder of the City of Adelaide; a stream anchor fromMatthew Flinders’ ship the Investigator; geologicalspecimens collected by CM Chidley, Clement VictorLatz, Percival Douglas Boerner and AG Smith; 25 barkpaintings by prominent western Arnhem Land artistBobby Bardjarai Nganjimirra; and a 17th-centuryhand-stitched convict shirt.The Museum’s Archive Collection containscollections of paper and photographic material thatsupport the interpretation of the National HistoricalCollection. Over the past year, more than 2400records for items in 190 collections were prepared anduploaded to the Museum’s collection managementdatabase. Thirteen new collections containing 165photographic items and 130 paper items were alsoaccessioned.Highlights from these collections include:• photographs and documents relating to JoanStanbury, winner of the Miss Australia Questin 1959• documentation associated with the provenanceof early Papunya artworks.No objects were de-accessioned from the NationalHistorical Collection during 2009–10.Documenting the collectionA key business activity for 2009–10, supporting thestrategic priority ‘Develop the National HistoricalCollection, enhance collections management andimprove collections storage’, was to build upon thesuccess of the previous Accessions Backlog Project byfurther addressing the documentation of the collection.In October 2009, the Legacy Collections Project wasestablished to better manage undocumentedcollection material. Over the course of the year,project staff processed 13,085 objects, largelythrough accessioning or disposal. Greater objectlocation management was also achieved throughemployment of the Museum’s barcoding system. Aspart of the project, consultancies identified inventoryobjects from two major collections: the Horse EraMuseum and Bureau of Mineral Resources collections.Documentation by photographyImages are an important component of objectdocumentation and are included in collectiondatabase records, and also feature in publications, thewebsite, marketing activities and media information.This year the Photographic team produced over 2800images of collection and loan objects, undertook 54field trips and attended corporate and public events.Some significant projects this year were:• development of a photographic essay documentingthe Australian Government’s Apology to theForgotten Australians• the production of over 1500 object images for thedevelopment of the Landmarks: People and Placesacross Australia gallery• location photography of a number of sites andsubjects, including Adaminaby, New South Wales,and Mataranka and Elsey stations in the NorthernTerritory, for use in the Landmarks gallery.Other activities included photography of launchesand events, education programs, and Indigenouscommunity visits.Online access to the collectionOnline access to the Museum’s collection databaseis provided by the Museum’s online public accesscatalogue, ‘Search our collections’. In 2009–10, 15,877records were made available online, increasing thetotal number available to the public to 45,472 records.Two major improvements were made during 2010 toimprove online access to the collection. Firstly, allrecords published on ‘Search our collections’ weremade available to Picture Australia, the Collections

part two: performance reports27Conservator Melanie Forward and Registration staff member, Paul Peisley unpack an exhibit for the forthcomingLandmarks gallery.Australia Network (CAN) search, and the LibrariesAustralia federated search. Secondly, a thumbnailimage of a collection object, if available, was added toall published records.Storing and moving the collectionStorage of objects is a continuing challenge for theMuseum. Fewer than 4 per cent of collection objectsare on display at any one time. The remainder arestored at repositories in the northern Canberra suburbof Mitchell. Work to make better use of current storagespace and improve storage for important collections,and planning for short- to long-term storagedevelopments, continued this year.Activities included:• consolidating and improving archival storage at9–13 Vicars Street, Mitchell• continuing the rehousing of the Museum’scollection of bark paintings into new custom-madecabinets• the installation of an electronic compactus art racksystem for large paintings from the Canning StockRoute collection• improving packing and pallets for collectionstorage located at 90 Vicars Street, Mitchell• improving storage and access to exhibitioncomponentry• attending to 454 movement requests, with 5020objects moved between Museum sites for avariety of purposes, including access for research,documentation, conservation assessment,treatment, display or permanent storage.Conserving the collectionPreserving the National Historical Collection for futuregenerations is one of the Museum’s key strategicpriorities, supported by a conservation work plan.The Conservation section manages the preservationand maintenance of the collection, including thepreparation and treatment of objects for exhibition.

28national museum of australia annual report 09–10After several years on display in the Nation gallery, the 1955 FJ Holden Special sedan is moved to the Museum’s repository.Conservation highlights for the year included:• treating and installing the major travellingexhibition Papunya Painting: Out of theAustralian Desert, in Beijing, China• treating 80 paintings in preparation for theforthcoming exhibition of the Canning StockRoute Collection• deinstallation of the Nation gallery inpreparation for the new Landmarks:People and Places across Australia gallery• developing new lighting guidelines for thedisplay of objects on exhibition• refurbishment of the Paper and Textileslaboratory at Mitchell• major conservation treatment of the Holdenposters for the Symbols of Australia exhibition• preparation and conservation treatment ofthe Kenya Station Simplex windmill, Lees andBradner gear cutter, Holden Prototype, GrubbBenson telescope and Sunshine harvester• biennial slipping of the Paddle SteamerEnterprise, in conjunction with the Volunteersteam• attending the National Museum of Denmarkand School of Conservation of the RoyalDanish Academy of Fine Arts workshopon passive collection storage design inCopenhagen; and presenting papers inCopenhagen and Berlin• presenting four papers at the Australian Instituteof Conservation of Cultural Materials (AICCM)annual conference in Perth• serving on the selection panel for theCommunity Heritage Grants program fundedby the Department of the Environment,Water, Heritage and the Arts; and deliveringtwo conservation workshops for recipients• delivering the first University of Canberraconservation course practicum in technologyconservation.

part two: performance reports29Using micro-fading equipment, conservator Bruce Ford tests the light sensitivity of an object.Conservation treatments, 2001–10financial year2001–02 11002002–03 12002003–04 15002004–05 16002005–06 17702006–07 21752007–08 22892008–09 21382009–10 1469number of conservationtreatmentsLending the collectionThe Museum makes objects from the NationalHistorical Collection available for loan to othercultural institutions, and borrows objects from aroundAustralia and internationally for its own exhibitions.Loans from our collection this year included:• 12 home-made domestic items and toys for displayin the Skint! Making Do in the Great Depressionexhibition at the Museum of Sydney• 14 art and craft items produced by the ErnabellaArts movement as well as an associated photographfor display in the Nyukana Baker: A Retrospectiveexhibition at The Jam Factory, Adelaide• A painted hand scroll titled Harvest of Endurance:A History of the Chinese in Australia 1788–1988 fordisplay in the Encounters III: Meetings betweenAustralia and China exhibition at the QueenslandConservatorium Research Centre, Brisbane.A full list of outward loans is in Appendix 5, p. 130.

30national museum of australia annual report 09–10Portrait of Isadore Emanuel, on loan from the Emanuelfamily, for display in the Landmarks gallery.Augmenting the collectionThe Museum’s permanent galleries and temporaryand travelling exhibitions displayed 4787 objects ofwhich 776 were loans from 194 lenders, comprising66 institutions and 128 private individuals.Interesting private and national objects loaned tothe Museum included:• three blacksmiths tongs, a Sunshine TechnicalSchool Council minute book (from the Sunshineand District Historical Society), and a SunshineHarvester Works factory steam whistle, for displayin the new Landmarks: People and Places acrossAustralia gallery• three paintings — Canning Stock Route by RoverThomas, Kulilli by Wimmitji Tjapangarti and Kurtalas Miltijaru by David Downs — from the Holmesà Court Collection, for display in Yiwarra Kuju:The Canning Stock Route, an exhibition to be heldin 2010–11• climbing camp gear, including a tent and a fly, astove, pots, bowls, cutlery, mugs, two sleepingbags, a sleeping mat, a rope, an ice axe, a hammer,a pair of crampons, two ice screws, a pair of boots,four carabiners, four snow stakes, a harness, anoxygen bottle, a mask, a head torch, a pack, a pairof skis and a helmet, from Geoff Bartram, for theAustralians in the Himalayas Hall display.Objects currently on loan to the Museum are listed inAppendix 4, pp. 126–129.Providing public accessAs well as exhibiting and lending objects from theNational Historical Collection, the Museum providesspecial access to its collection repositories andresponds to public enquiries. During the year therewere 48 visits to the repositories, and Museum staffresponded to numerous requests for information onthe collection.Visitors to the repositories included researchers,community members and groups, curators fromAustralian and overseas museums, and donors andtheir families. Enquiries covered a diverse rangeof collection items, such as Australian Aboriginaland Pacific Islander material, photographs anddocuments, and large technology objects.Some memorable events involving special access toMuseum objects included:• a tour of the American–Australian ScientificExpedition to Arnhem Land (AASEAL) collection fordelegates to Barks, Birds & Billabongs: Exploringthe Legacy of the 1948 American–AustralianScientific Exhibition to Arnhem Land, a symposiumheld in November 2009• a visit by Eddy Berlage, one of the three originalcameramen employed by the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation (ABC) at Gore Hill,Sydney, to the ABC van that covered the 1956Olympic Games• a viewing of the Australian Citizenship Quilt by aschool group from Harvey Primary School, WesternAustralia, enabling one of the students to see thepanel created by his grandmother.Managing digital assets at the MuseumThe Museum holds over 450,000 digital images,audio, video and interactive works that documentobjects held in the collection, as well as other Museumactivities. These digital works are used by the Museumin exhibitions, on the Museum’s website and in printpublications. Digital works are also purchased andlicensed to other institutions and members of the public.In 2009–10 procurement for an automated digital assetmanagement system (DAMS), to improve administrationand access to this material, was completed with a viewto implementing the system in 2010–11.Centre for National Museum ofAustralia CollectionsIn accordance with its functions under the NationalMuseum of Australia Act 1980 — to develop andmaintain a national collection of historical material— an ongoing strategic priority for the Museum isto develop and plan for collection accommodation,management and preservation needs.

part two: performance reportsThis year, the Museum has continued its forwardplanning to address collection storage space issues.In the May 2009–10 Budget, the Museum was givenapproval to progress with a second-stage detailedbusiness case proposal. The proposal investigatedthree delivery options for a number of designalternatives, including building and owning a newbuilding, or extending existing leased premises.The Museum is now reviewing how it can bestutilise the findings of the proposal in the future.Repatriation of remains andsecret/sacred objectsThe Museum advises on and assists federal,state and territory cultural heritage institutions,Indigenous communities and representatives withthe repatriation of Indigenous human remains andsecret/sacred objects. It also provides informationto the media and general public about repatriation.The management of human remains and secret/sacred objects is strictly controlled by the Museum’sRepatriation section to ensure that material is caredfor in a culturally sensitive and appropriate manner,as well as in accordance with museum best practice.The Museum has not actively sought to acquirehuman remains or secret/sacred objects. However,as the prescribed authority under the Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984,the Museum can be the repository for unprovenancedremains referred to the Australian Governmentminister under the Act.To date, no remains have been deposited with theMuseum under this Act.The Museum also holds human remains andsecret/sacred objects transferred from the AustralianInstitute of Anatomy collections in 1985. These havebeen de-accessioned and do not form part of theNational Historical Collection.During 2009–10 the Museum returned the remainsof two individuals to the Bundjalung Elders CouncilAboriginal Corporation in New South Wales.The Museum also holds repatriated remains at therequest of a number of communities, and is fundedby the Department of Families, Housing, CommunityServices and Indigenous Affairs to assist in the storageand repatriation of remains and objects returned fromoverseas collections.Repatriation activities during 2009–10 wereprimarily supported by Museum resources. Fundingwas also provided through the Return of IndigenousCultural Property Program, an initiative of the CulturalMinisters Council and administered by the Departmentof the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.Program 1.2National exhibitions,programs andservicesThe Museum’s exhibitions, programs and services aimto achieve the outcome of increasing awareness andunderstanding of Australia’s history and culture.Research, scholarship and the highest standardsof historical accuracy underpin all the Museum’sexhibitions and programs, and the Museum drawson high-level educational, interpretation andcommunication techniques to cater for its diverseaudiences, who all have different learning styles,needs and interests.Program 1.2 in the Museum’s Portfolio BudgetStatements (PBS) specifies performance measuresfor visitor numbers, including visits to the Museum’swebsite, and satisfaction levels for visitors and schoolgroups. This year, the Museum again met or exceededthe measures for this program.Performance summary, measured against PBSperformance indicators achievementsquality80% of school visits thatmeet core curriculumrequirements85% of visitors satisfiedwith the exhibitions,programs and services75% of visitors andusers who indicate theMuseum’s exhibitionsand public programscontributed to a newor different awarenessor perspective onAustralia’s history orculturesquantity3,270,000 visitors,users of programs andweb visitsactual: 92%actual: 94%actual: 75%actual: 4,171,90431

32national museum of australia annual report 09–10Museum developmentIn 2003 the Council of the National Museum ofAustralia initiated a review, known as the CarrollReview, of the Museum’s exhibitions and programs.In one of its resulting recommendations, the reviewpanel advised the Museum to reconsider the selectionof themes and narratives for the existing Horizons andNation galleries. In 2004 the Museum produced theCollections and Gallery Development Plan 2004–08 toaddress the review’s findings.The plan proposed that the Horizons gallery beredeveloped as the Australian Journeys gallery,to represent voyages of discovery, explorationand settlement of the Australian continent. It alsoproposed redeveloping the Nation gallery as theLandmarks: People and Places across Australiagallery (formerly Creating a Country) to provide ageneral history of Australia’s economic, social andpolitical conditions. Included in the plan was theredevelopment of the Circa multimedia experienceto more strongly focus on providing an introductionto the Museum. Both Circa and Australian Journeyshave since been opened and are proving popular withvisitors.The Museum has continued work on developingand delivering the Landmarks gallery over the courseof the 2009–10 financial year.Landmarks: People and Places acrossAustraliaThe Landmarks gallery is scheduled to open in mid-2011. Landmarks presents a broad history of Australiafrom the first encounters between European colonistsand Indigenous peoples through to the present day.It explores 10 key themes in Australia’s past, througha focus on interactions between people, ideas,environments and technologies in particular places.Landmarks will explore how people have responded tothe challenges of living in Australia and the distinctivesocial, political and economic practices they havedeveloped. The gallery’s exhibits will trace how peoplehave responded to the continent’s environments andthe ingenuity and determination that Australians havedisplayed in making their lives here.During 2009–10, content development forLandmarks was completed and the gallery wasdesigned and documented, enabling fabrication ofall elements to commence in July 2010. Museum staffcompleted substantial work conserving and preparingthe Museum’s collections for display, negotiating andtransporting loans to the Museum and working withexternal contractors to design mounts and supportsfor the objects appearing in the gallery. Work alsocontinued on content development for digital andAttempt to Seduce a Wife, carved boab nut by Jack Wherra,1960s.mechanical interactives, exhibition text and archivalimage sourcing.To make way for Landmarks, the Nation gallerywas closed at the beginning of February 2010 andcollections and exhibition furniture were de-installed.Permanent galleriesFirst Australians: Gallery of Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander Peoples(Gallery of First Australians)The Gallery of First Australians represents theAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples ofAustralia as required by Section 5 of the NationalMuseum of Australia Act 1980, and incorporateshistorical collections and exhibitions.To improve audience understanding of Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander history and culture, theGallery of First Australians presents stories, objectsand images that explore the culture and experiencesof Indigenous Australians from time immemorial,through colonisation to contemporary Australian life.In 2009–10 module redevelopments andchangeovers of objects occurred in the ‘Losing ourchildren’ area of the gallery.

part two: performance reports33From Little Things Big Things Grow, an exhibitionon the Indigenous civil rights movement betweenthe 1920s and 1970s (developed by the Museum), andTayenebe, an exhibition of fibre craft by Tasmanianwomen artists (developed by the Tasmanian Museumand Art Gallery) were both displayed in the Gallery ofFirst Australians Focus Gallery.Research continued for the redevelopment ofseveral exhibits planned to open in 2010–11.Old New Land: Australia’s People andEnvironmentOld New Land presents an environmental historyof Australia. It examines the history of Australianattitudes to the environment, looking at therelationship of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderpeoples to the land and the adaptation of settlersfrom Britain and Europe to the continent’s diverseenvironments. The gallery also explores the personaland emotional attachments of people to the greatrange of Australian landscapes and places.Eternity: Stories from theEmotional Heart of AustraliaEternity examines the lives of 50 Australians, famousand not famous, living and dead. The gallery usesthese life stories to highlight larger moments,movements, events and themes in Australian history.The gallery’s display is based on emotions such asjoy, hope, passion and fear, and experiences suchas loneliness, mystery, thrill, devotion, separationand chance. This year, seven new life stories wereinstalled in the gallery, all of which were supported bynew multimedia.These included:• Weary Dunlop and the fears of a Japanese prisonerof war• Frida Dakiz and the hopes of a migrant and smallbusiness owner• Tom Sonter unravelling the mystery of the SouthernCloud aeroplane crash• John McDouall Stuart and the loneliness of aninland explorer• Jean Cook, who survived the Spanish influenzaepidemic of 1915 but was permanently separatedfrom her family.Nation: Symbols of AustraliaNation was closed in February 2010 and allcollections and exhibition furniture was de-installedand stored or disposed of as appropriate. Nationwill be replaced by Landmarks: People and Placesacross Australia, which will open in mid-2011(see p. 32).Australian JourneysAustralian Journeys explores the passages of peopleto, from and across Australia. The gallery, whichopened early in 2009, traces the ways in whichmigrants and travellers have made homes in Australiaand overseas, and have built and maintainedconnections between here and abroad. It is the firstpermanent gallery to be renewed since the Museumopened in 2001.The gallery includes significant purchases madeby the Museum, including the First Fleet table, madeof beefwood collected near Port Jackson for FirstFleet Surgeon-General John White in the early 1790s;and a rich collection associated with Captain JamesCook, including Cook’s plane table surveying frame, astriking marble bust and a copy of Banks’ Florilegium.Other highlights from the Museum’s collection includea motion picture camera used by Frank Hurley inAntarctica, a wall-hanging depicting Little Red RidingHood that was given to an Australian aid worker in adisplaced persons camp in Germany in the aftermathof the Second World War, and tokens engraved andleft behind in Britain by convicts transported to theAustralian colonies.Gallery objects de-installed and installedgalleryobjectsde-installedobjectsinstalledFirst Australians 31 4Old New Land 5 2Eternity 16 16Nation 502 Nil (Galleryclosed)Feb 2010Australian Journeys 22 12total 576 34Temporary exhibitionsDeveloping and presenting exhibitions are keyfunctions of the Museum, as specified in theNational Museum of Australia Act 1980. This year,the temporary and travelling exhibitions programcontinued to be strong, and included content thatsupports the Museum’s core themes of land, nationand people.In 2009–10 the Museum delivered four temporaryexhibitions and hosted three externally developedexhibitions. Eight travelling exhibitions were touredthroughout Australia and two exhibitions touredinternationally.

34national museum of australia annual report 09–10Director Craddock Morton (left), learns some rap moves from Indigenous rap artist Brothablack (Shannon Williams) whoperformed at the opening of From Little Things Big Things Grow in the Gallery of First Australians.Temporary GalleryVoyages of the Pacific Ancestors: Vaka Moana(5 June – 18 October 2009)Purchased from the Auckland War Memorial Museum,this exhibition traced the dramatic story of humansettlement of the Pacific Islands. Content includedthe navigation methods and types of travel craft used,along with the evidence modern investigators havepieced together to retell the story.The exhibition included rare carvings, largecanoes and navigation instruments, as well asinteractive multimedia that enabled PacificIslanders to share engaging stories of their ancestorsand the strong cultural connections that are stillheld today.Water: H20=Life(3 December 2009 – 16 May 2010)Water: H20=Life was developed by the AmericanMuseum of Natural History and toured to theNational Museum, which was the only Australianvenue to host it.The exhibition provided a contemporary and indepthlook at one of the most pressing environmentalissues facing society today. It explored the many waysthat water shapes life on earth and makes our planetliveable, and also provided information on howpeople can help preserve our planet’s water.The Museum added an Australian componentto the exhibition, called Australia’s Water Story.It exhibited locally sourced live animals from theNational Zoo and Aquarium, including mudskippers,tetras, green tree frogs and a Murray cod.Gallery of First AustraliansFocus GalleryFrom Little Things Big Things Grow:Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920–1970(10 September 2009 – 8 March 2010)From Little Things Big Things Grow highlighted thestruggle for Indigenous civil rights in the period1920–70. During these years most IndigenousAustralians did not enjoy the same civil rights as otherAustralians. There were restrictions on where theycould live, what occupations they could holdand where they could travel. They also experiencedsocial discrimination in places such as cafes, cinemasand swimming pools.

part two: performance reports35Using a chronological approach, the exhibitionfollowed the history of the efforts of Australians,both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to improvethe social and legal status of Indigenous Australians.The exhibition highlighted some key relevant eventsin this history, such as the 1938 Day of Mourningprotest, the 1958 arrest of artist Albert Namatjira,the 1965 Freedom Ride through western New SouthWales and the 1967 referendum. It also highlightedthe personal stories of the activists who fought tochange Australian society.This exhibition is now touring Australia withvenues confirmed in Victoria, New South Wales,South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland.Tayenebe: Tasmanian Aboriginal Women’sFibre Work(30 March – 25 July 2010)Tayenebe, a Tasmanian Aboriginal word meaning‘exchange’, celebrated the revitalisation of TasmanianAboriginal weaving that has been taking placeover the past three years. The project supportedTasmanian women in regenerating weaving practicesand knowledge of traditional plants within theircommunity.The Tayenebe exhibition included beautifulbaskets and kelp water carriers in contemporaryand traditional styles, along with a historical basketmade in around 1845 that had not been seen outsideTasmania. This exhibition was developed by theTasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, with supportfrom the Museum.Nation Focus GalleryA Fine Yarn: Innovations in Australia’sWool Industry(22 July – 8 November 2009)A Fine Yarn: Innovations in Australia’s Wool Industryexamined the fine wool industry in Australia todayand recognised the importance of wool in Australia’ssocial and economic history. The exhibition alsoexamined the role of wool competitions and awards inencouraging innovation within the industry.The exhibition explored innovation in a varietyof contexts — from wool farming techniques andpractices, through to clothing manufacturingand product marketing — and was developed toacknowledge the United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganisation’s launch of the International Year of theNatural Fibre.It featured 40 objects including traditional andcontemporary superfine wool garments, a prizewinningfleece, competition trophies, photographsand archival footage of the top wool fashions from the1950s, 1960s and 1970s.Student Dahna Knight shows cartoonist David Pope herprizewinning cartoon for Behind the Lines 2009 on her iPod.Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons 2009(8 December 2009 – 31 January 2010)Each year the National Museum of Australia collectspolitical cartoons to help build a visual archive ofAustralian political history. Each cartoon providesus with a snapshot of a personality or event in thelife of the nation. Some of the year’s best works arepresented in this exhibition, providing an opportunityto reflect on the last 12 months in Australian politics.The major themes from 2009 featured in theexhibition were the GFC (global financial crisis)and natural disasters. The exhibition featured worksfrom Australia’s leading cartoonists includingBill Leak, Alan Moir, Cathy Wilcox, Mark Knight andWarren Brown.Small displays in the Museum HallThe Museum featured 13 small displays in theHall this financial year. Key objects included theEndeavour cannon, a replica of the craft used in thefirst successful heavier-than-air flight by GeorgeAugustine Taylor in 1909, and a collection of itemsfrom the Johnny Warren collection that was recentlydonated to the Museum.

36national museum of australia annual report 09–10Schedule of Hall displaystitle description datesMacdonnell’stelescopeTelescope dating from about 1885, which belonged to respectednineteenth-century astronomer WJ Macdonnell.5 May –16 July 2009NAIDOC Week 2009:Sharing our History,Sharing our FutureA diverse range of photographs of First Australians engaged instorytelling and expressing their cultures and heritage. The photographswere taken by National Museum of Australia photographers’ GeorgeSerras and Lannon Harley, and freelance photographer Wayne Quilliam.3 July –27 July 2009Namatjira’s GiftAn Albert Namatjira painting, given to the girls of CootamundraAboriginal Girls Training Home in 1957.3 July –27 July 2009Australians in theHimalayas: 25 Yearsof AchievementTo mark the 25th anniversary of the first Australians to climb MountEverest, the Museum displayed a number of items loaned anddonated by Geoff Bartram.16 September –5 November 2009Barks, Birds &Billabongs: Exploringthe Legacy of the1948 American–Australian ScientificExpedition toArnhem LandCoinciding with the Barks, Birds & Billabongs symposium, a numberof items collected and used in the 1948 Expedition were displayed.Items included the Kodak Junior 620 folding pocket camera used byRaymond Specht; and two smoking pipes, spear-throwers and a palmbasket collected by Specht and Peter Bassett-Smith.23 October –30 November 2009National HistoryChallenge WinnerThe winning entry in the National History Challenge, a researchbasedcompetition for school students in years 5–12.2 December 2009 –5 February 2010Behind the Lines2009A small collection of works to advertise the larger exhibition ofpolitical cartoons in the Nation Focus Gallery.8 December 2009 –31 January 2010Jack Howe:Gun ShearerA display of medals won by record-breaking shearer Jack Howe, aswell as shears similar to those used by Jack Howe to shear 321 sheepwith hand shears — a record that still stands today.15 December 2009 –9 March 2010Endeavour cannonThe Endeavour cannon is one of six jettisoned from HMB Endeavourwhen it ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef in 1770.27 January –13 May 2010Black SaturdayA commemorative display marking the first anniversary since theVictorian bushfires of 7 February 2009, also known as Black Saturday,which killed 173 people and destroyed over 2000 homes.1 February –1 March 2010The Centenary ofFlight in AustraliaA replica of George Augustine Taylor’s biplane glider, produced bythe Australian Gliding Museum and purchased by the Museum, wasdisplayed to mark the centenary of the first successful heavier-thanairflight in 1909.1 April –19 October 2010‘I told you so’:Johnny Warren andFootball in AustraliaCoinciding with the World Cup, some of the 174 items from theJohnny Warren collection were displayed to pay tribute to Australianfootball legend Johnny Warren and examine the evolution of theworld game of football in Australia.15 May –9 August 2010Everyday HeroesTo commemorate NAIDOC Week 2010, a collection of ‘bush toys’ weredisplayed to celebrate the theme ‘Unsung heroes — Closing the gapby leading their way’.8 June –18 July 2010

part two: performance reports37Conservation and Registration staff installing the Papunya Painting exhibition at the National Museum of China,Beijing, in June 2010. photo: Poppy WenhamOutreachThe Museum continued to enhance its national andinternational profile by delivering and participating ina diverse range of outreach programs and activities.Travelling exhibitionsNumber of exhibitions at venues, 2001–10financial yearnumber of exhibitions2001–02 1 at 4 venues2002–03 5 at 6 venues2003–04 6 at 9 venues2004–05 5 at 9 venues2005–06 8 at 28 venues2006–07 9 at 28 venues2007–08 9 at 26 venues2008–09 11 at 32 venues2009–10 9 at 17 venues (twovenues hosting morethan one exhibition)International travelling exhibitionsThis year saw the Museum reach out to aninternational audience with the display of PapunyaPainting: Out of the Australian Desert at Beijing’sNational Art Museum of China (10 June – 26 August2010). The exhibition signified the Museum’s status asa producer of world-class exhibitions.The exhibition, which was originally shown at theMuseum in 2007, was selected by the Departmentof Foreign Affairs and Trade and the National ArtMuseum of China (NAMOC) to form part of theprogram for the Year of Australian Culture in China,Imagine Australia. Museum staff worked with theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade and NAMOCto translate both the exhibition text and the catalogueinto Chinese. The exhibition, which was opened bythe Governor-General on 10 June and remained ondisplay until the end of August 2010, tells the storyof the artists and supporters of the Papunya Tula artmovement between 1974 and 1981. The exhibition hasgenerated a high level of interest within China with50,000 visitors in the first three weeks.A Memorandum of Understanding has been signedwith NAMOC, putting in place arrangements forreciprocal travelling exhibitions between Australiaand the People’s Republic of China. The Museum will

38national museum of australia annual report 09–10host a return exhibition from NAMOC in late 2011,as part of the Year of Chinese Culture in Australia.The tour of Papunya Painting to China wassupported by the Australian Government throughthe Australia International Cultural Council, aninitiative of the Department of Foreign Affairs andTrade, and the Department of the Environment,Water, Heritage and the Arts under its NationalCollecting Institutions Touring and OutreachProgram.For the first time, the Museum toured a displayto the South Pacific with League of Legends, aphotographic history of rugby league. It travelledto Australia’s High Commission in Port Moresbyand the Museum of Samoa in Apia and was visitedby 1453 people.“Papunya Paintinghas generated ahigh level of interestwithin China with50,000 visitors in thefirst three weeks.”National travelling exhibitionsEngaging national audiences, as outlined in theStrategic Plan 2007–10, has been an importantpriority for the Museum. Travelling exhibitionsare one way of achieving this goal. The Museumaims to tour exhibitions to all Australian statesand territories within a two-year period. In 2009–10,eight exhibitions travelled to a total of 14 differentvenues (with two venues hosting more thanone exhibition) across New South Wales,Victoria, Queensland, Northern Territory andWestern Australia.Of these venues, eight were in metropolitanvenues and six in regional areas, and the Museum’sexhibitions attracted more than 111,935 visitors.The following travelling exhibitions weresupported by the National Collecting InstitutionsTouring and Outreach (NCITO) Program, an AustralianGovernment program aiming to improve accessto the national collections for all Australians:Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route, From LittleThings Big Things Grow: Fighting for IndigenousRights 1920–1970, Symbols of Australia and PapunyaPainting: Out of the Australian Desert.The following exhibitions toured in 2009–10:A Different Time: The Expedition Photographs ofHerbert Basedow 1903–1928Herbert Basedow was an anthropologist, geologistand medical doctor who used photography todocument his expeditions into central and northernAustralia in the early decades of the twentiethcentury. This exhibition drew on the Museum’s richcollection of over 2250 negatives and lantern slidestaken by Basedow. These revealing, sometimesconfronting, images provide a fascinating historicalrecord of the people and places he encountered,and life in remote Australia in the early 1900s.Having been on display in the Gallery of FirstAustralians Focus Gallery, the exhibition embarkedon a three-year tour travelling to Western Australiaand the Northern Territory. Venues in South Australia,Queensland, and New South Wales will host theexhibition in 2010–11.Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons 2008Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons 2009Behind the Lines is a popular annual exhibitionfeaturing works by Australia’s leading politicalcartoonists. The 2008 exhibition finished its tourat the State Library of Queensland in August 2009,while Behind the Lines 2009 visited Sydney andPerth after it was displayed at the Museum inCanberra. The exhibition will travel to theNorthern Territory in late 2010. A cataloguefeaturing all the cartoons was published byNational Museum of Australia Press to accompanythe 2009 exhibition.From Little Things Big Things Grow:Fighting for Indigenous Rights 1920–1970From Little Things Big Things Grow highlights thestruggle for Indigenous civil rights in the periodfrom 1920 to 1970. This exhibition commenced its tourin Melbourne in June 2010 and will travel to venuesacross Australia throughout 2010–11.League of Legends: 100 Years of Rugby Leaguein AustraliaThis exhibition was developed in conjunctionwith the Centenary of Rugby League Committee tocelebrate the centenary of rugby league in Australia.The exhibition completed its major tour closingat the National Sports Museum in Melbourne inAugust 2009.Ned Kelly banner displayThis banner display is based on the Ned Kelly:Fact and Fiction touring exhibition and commencedtouring to community museums and schools inApril 2009.Symbols of AustraliaDrawn from the National Museum’s collection, thisexhibition explores the kangaroo, flag, wattle and

part two: performance reports39other symbols, which represent Australians andtheir nation. Symbols of Australia was developed as atravelling exhibition and toured to Western Australiaand New South Wales in 2010. Symbols of Australiawill tour extensively across Australia until 2012.Still Steaming: Commemorating 130 Years of thePaddle Steamer Enterprise banner displayLaunched in 1878, the PS Enterprise worked on thegreat rivers of south-eastern Australia for more than100 years before becoming part of the collection atthe National Museum of Australia. This exhibitionexamined the history of paddle steamers on the RiverMurray, highlighted through the story of PS Enterprise,and finished its tour in Echuca in July 2009.Reaching a national schools audienceIn 2009–10 more school students visited the Museumthan in any other financial year since opening in 2001and several new facilitated programs were offered tovisiting schools in the reporting period.In addition, the Museum continued to deliver arange of outreach programs to primary and secondaryschools around Australia. It also continued to makea significant contribution to the development ofthe Australian Government’s national curriculuminitiative, especially in the subject area of history,and provided further digital resources for schoolsas part of the Australian Government’s educationrevolution.Travelling exhibitions programexhibition and visitation venue datesA Different Time: TheExpedition Photographs ofHerbert Basedow: 1903–192817,937Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, WANorthern Territory Library, NT25 Sept – 29 Nov 200929 Mar – 2 May 2010Behind the Lines: The Year’sBest Cartoons 200820,281Behind the Lines: The Year’sBest Cartoons 2009116The Constitutional Centre of WesternAustralia, WANorthern Territory Library, NTState Library of Queensland, QldRiverside Theatres, Parramatta, NSWThe Constitutional Centre of WesternAustralia, WA29 Jun – 21 Aug 200914 Sep – 9 Oct 200921 Nov 2009 – 14 Mar 201015 Feb – 15 Mar 201024 Jun – 20 Aug 2010From Little ThingsBig Things Grow27,783Melbourne Museum, Vic 7 Jun – 7 Nov 2010League of Legends: 100 Years ofRugby League in Australia26,869 (not including Samoa)National Sports Museum, VicAustralian High Commission, PNGMuseum of Samoa4 Apr – 2 Aug 20098 Mar – 9 Apr 201014 Jun – 30 Jul 2010Ned Kelly banner display12,652Kyneton Museum, VicGeelong Grammar, VicNational Alpine Museum, VicPublic Records Office, Vic12 Jun – 17 Aug 200920 Aug – 4 Nov 200928 Dec 2009 – 9 Mar 201019 Mar – 28 May 2010Symbols of Australia3964Wanneroo Cultural Centre, WAAlbury Library and Museum, NSW26 Mar – 20 May 201010 Jun – 8 Aug 2010Still Steaming: Commemorating130 Years of the Paddle SteamerEnterprise3786Papunya Painting:Out of the Australian Desert50,000Port of Echuca, Vic 23 Apr – 9 Jun 2009National Art Museum of China, Beijing 10 Jun – 26 Aug 2010

part two: performance reports41write about their communities. The photographs aresubsequently exhibited in the local community, at astate institution and on the Museum’s website. Withthe completion of the current partnership with twoWestern Australian regional museums in Albany andKalgoorlie, and 12 primary schools from these regions,the Museum’s Snapshots website will showcase thesephotographic exhibitions.“Snapshots is anoutreach programfor regional andremote primaryschools thatencourages studentsto photograph andwrite about theircommunities.”Partnerships: Centre for Learning InnovationFor a second year the Museum worked closely withthe New South Wales Department of Education andTraining’s Centre for Learning Innovation, whichproduces learning resources and is a leader in theuse of technology in schools. In the reporting periodthe partnership expanded to include the Museum’sinvolvement with one of the centre’s Australia-widedigital storytelling competitions.The theme of the competition was ‘migration’and students who entered were encouraged to use aspecifically designed and produced digital educationresource that utilised content from the Museum’sAustralian Journeys permanent gallery as preparationfor their entry. The competition produced severalcommendable winning entries and the Museumbenefited through increased exposure for this gallery.National outreach competitionsNational schools political cartooning competitionIn association with its annual Behind the Linespolitical cartooning exhibition, the Museumcontinued to run its popular and anticipated nationalcartooning competition for Australian schools.‘Drawing the lines’ attracted over 500 entries fromprimary and secondary students from more than60 schools, covering a range of issues includingasylum seekers, climate change and the environment,terrorism and international relations.Prizes were awarded to the winning studentcartoonists by the Canberra Times cartoonist DavidPope at a ceremony held at the Museum in December2009. First prize in the primary school categorywas won by Yvette Moulton, Holy Family PrimarySchool, Indooroopilly, Queensland. Two first prizeswere awarded to secondary students: one to DahnaKnight, Toormina High School, New South Wales, inthe year 7–9 category, and the other to Jonathan Mo,Cherrybrook Technology High School, New SouthWales, in the year 10–12 category.The Museum will hold another political cartooningcompetition in 2010 and intends to integrate thecontest with social media services Flickr, Facebookand Twitter to expand its reach.Supporting student history competition:National History ChallengeThe Museum again contributed to the sponsorship ofthe History Teachers’ Association of Australia annualhistory competition for primary and secondarystudents through its special category on museumdisplays. The theme of the 2009 competition was‘Triumph over adversity’ and the winning entry byyear 5–6 primary school student, Emily Doi, fromPrinces Street Primary School in Tasmania, wasa sophisticated and empathetic display about theexperience of a Japanese war bride. The displaywas exhibited in the Museum’s Hall throughoutJanuary 2010.Professional development for teachersEvaluation continues to indicate that efforts toprovide teaching strategies and curriculum resourcesthrough a comprehensive teacher professionaldevelopment program have a positive impact onteaching in Australian classrooms. Professionaldevelopment workshops for teachers, held at theMuseum and at conferences around Australia,attracted over 500 participants in 2009–10.Education staff delivered workshops and madepresentations at a variety of conferences, includingthe Victorian and Australian history teacherconferences. In addition, through the National CapitalEducational Tourism Project’s outreach program, theMuseum presented at several regional and capital cityprofessional development sessions for teachers.Several teacher previews focusing on theMuseum’s temporary exhibitions program werealso conducted, mainly with teachers from schoolsin Canberra, helping to continue to build a strongnetwork of committed teachers across the AustralianCapital Territory.

42national museum of australia annual report 09–10Curator George Main with firemen at a controlled burning of grasslands at Gundary Plains, near Goulburn, New South Wales.Curatorial outreachAll permanent galleries have a strong focus on placeand community. Curators travel extensively to visithistoric sites, research objects and stories, makepresentations and consult with communities. Successfuloutreach is not just achieved by travel, but also througha variety of communication strategies, including regularphone and email contact and visits from communities.Curators remain in constant and close contact withstakeholders in Museum programs, and work hard tomaintain long-established relationships.Curators working on the forthcoming Landmarks:People and Places across Australia gallery visitedmany communities, including Hobart in Tasmania;Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, and Robe in SouthAustralia; Bendigo and Sunshine in Victoria; Grenfell,Forbes and Port Macquarie in New South Wales; Perthand Rottnest Island in Western Australia; Brisbane inQueensland and the Australian Capital Territory.During these visits, curators created relationshipswith community groups, local museums and otherorganisations to develop knowledge and appropriateconservation and display options for collections to bedisplayed in Landmarks. This work strengthens therepresentation of these communities at the Museumand contributes to local knowledge and preservationof cultural heritage.This year, Museum curators worked in particularwith communities of central west New South Walesto develop an understanding of archaeologicalcollections relating to the lives of nineteenth-centurybushrangers and their families, and with the Yirandalicommunity of Queensland to explore histories andmemories of their collections that are held by theMuseum and the State Library of Queensland.In 2009–10 curators from the Eternity and OldNew Land galleries travelled near and far as part oftheir outreach activities. They gave presentationsin various localities relating to the cultural heritageof the Australian Alps, participated in a multidisciplinarysymposium about the culture of food,and gave a presentation about the Eternity Galleryat the American Association of Museums annualconference in Los Angeles.Outreach is an integral component of activitiesundertaken by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait IslanderProgram (ATSIP). ATSIP remains committed to thedelivery of projects relevant to Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander cultures and histories that are based on

part two: performance reports43A panel discussion during the Barks, Birds & Billabongs international symposium.thorough consultation, both for research and approvalpurposes. Many of the outreach projects incorporateelements of community advice and training.Highlights of major outreach events participated inby ATSIP staff over the 2009–10 year included:• curatorial staff travelling to Thursday Island,Darwin, Kakadu, Perth, Brisbane, Cairns, LockhartRiver, Tasmania, Adelaide, Sydney, Papunya,Kintore, Alice Springs, Appin, Melbourne, Londonand Beijing as part of community consultationsabout repatriation, installation of travellingexhibitions and forthcoming exhibitions• providing advice and assistance to the organisationLink Up, which supports members of the StolenGenerations in their search for families• providing advice and assistance on collectionmanagement and exhibition developmentto community members responsible formanagement of the Lake Mungo National Parkin New South Wales• working with members of the Tiwi Islandcommunity on a local exhibition of the Museum’scollections of Tiwi Islander children’s art• consulting with communities and individualsover issues and content associated with ongoingobject changeovers, module redevelopments andcollection acquisitions• presenting tours to visitors from Japan; theUnited States; Britain; Indonesia; Russia; France;Germany; Papua New Guinea; the Department ofthe Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts; andto Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staffpreparing for overseas postings.In addition, two issues of Goree: Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander News were published.This newsletter, which presents the activities andevents relating to the Museum’s Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander Program, is delivered to over5000 communities, schools, organisations andindividuals across Australia. The newsletter is alsoavailable online. Contributions are provided bystaff and invited authors.Centre for Historical Research outreachDuring 2009–10 members of the Centre for HistoricalResearch have been involved in outreach workwith colleagues in other museums, schools anduniversities and in community bodies. Staff deliveredtalks to groups ranging from primary school classes tointernational scholarly bodies.

44national museum of australia annual report 09–10Highlights included:• extensive travel to consult and work withIndigenous communities in the Northern Territory,outback Queensland, rural Victoria and New SouthWales. Centre members also travelled to England,Germany and Hawai‘i to conduct research oncollections• several members delivering lectures in universitiesin Australia and overseas, and receiving awards inrecognition of the high quality of their research• a one-day symposium on biography jointlyorganised by Dr Nick Brown and Dr Paul Pickeringof The Australian National University and held atthe Museum on 10 September 2009• a major symposium, Barks, Birds & Billabongs,organised by Margo Neale and held at the Museumin November 2009• a conference on Baz Luhrman’s film Australia heldat the Museum and convened by centre associatesDr Maria Nugent and Dr Shino Konishi (formerly ofthe centre)• the Collections Symposium 2010: Caring forCollections, jointly organised by the centre andby senior curator Dr Guy Hansen and held at theMuseum in May 2010.Extending our national reachSharing our resources and expertiseFor the third year, the National Museum of Australiawas a valued partner in ‘Working spaces 3 formuseum volunteers: Helping to put museum theoryinto practice’, a weekend of workshops organised bythe Lachlan Chapter of Museums Australia at Galong,New South Wales, in October 2009. Many Museumstaff gave presentations at these workshops.The Museum also provided support for a one-dayworkshop, ‘Post accreditation: Where we’re at’, atCanowindra, New South Wales, in May 2010. Theworkshop drew staff and volunteers from a range ofregional museums across New South Wales, includingCanowindra, Cootamundra and Forbes.ICOM Australia Museum Partnerships ProgramThe National Museum of Australia is a long-terminstitutional member and key sponsor of theInternational Council of Museums AustralianCommittee Incorporated (ICOM Australia).In addition to providing financial support for thejoint ICOM Australia/Museums Australia secretariat,the Museum has also been a major sponsor of theICOM Australia Museum Partnerships Program.This program focuses on formally partneringgovernance and heritage projects in the Asia–Pacificwith Australian not-for-profit and incorporatedcultural organisations.Community Heritage Grants ProgramThe Museum continued to support the CommunityHeritage Grants Program with a grant of $40,000.This program aims to preserve and provide accessto nationally significant Australian cultural heritagematerial held by community groups across the countryby providing small grants for preservation projectsand collection management training. The program isadministered by the National Library of Australia withfunding partners the Department of the Environment,Water, Heritage and the Arts; the National Archives ofAustralia; the National Film and Sound Archive; andthe National Museum of Australia.Online outreach — the Museum’swebsite: www.nma.gov.auThe total number of website visitors continued to rise,increasing from 2,533,138 in 2008–09 to 3,291,874 in2009–10. Of these, some 413,322 used the collectiondatabase compared with 253,138 in 2008–09.The number of podcasts on the Museum’s websiteincreased by 108 programs to a total of 223. TheMuseum also forged ahead in Government 2.0 (useof social media by government). Museum initiativesin 2009–10 included Twitter feed and presence onYouTube channel, hosting three blogs and continuedonline interaction through its Facebook page. TheMuseum increased its Flickr collection to 1511 images,including the addition of sets of images from curatorsin the field relating to the new Landmarks gallery andthe forthcoming exhibition on the experience of Irishpeople in Australia.Feature exhibition websites were developed forthe Landmarks gallery, Behind the Lines: The Year’sBest Cartoons 2009 and the upcoming ForgottenAustralians exhibition. The website for From LittleThings Big Things Grow included the production of24 online audiovisual reflections on experiences ofdiscrimination. ‘Bottles from the basin’, a web featuresupporting Water: H2O=Life, attracted more than160 participants who sent water samples from acrossthe Murray–Darling basin.The Museum won a number of online andmultimedia awards in 2009–10. The audio-on-demandprogram, developed by Icelab Pty Ltd, won Best of theWeb (Best Podcast Site) from Museums and the Weband the 2010 Gold MUSE Award (podcasts) from theAmerican Association of Museums. The AustralianJourneys interactive ‘European voyages’, developedby Roar Film, won an Australian Teachers of Media(ATOM) Best Multimedia award and the Grand PrixMultimedi’ART Interactive from the InternationalCouncil of Museums. The online version of the annualreport won a gold award from the Institute of PublicAdministration Australia (ACT Division).

part two: performance reports45The launch of Peter Stanley’s book, Men of Mont St Quentin.Research and scholarshipResearch and scholarship underpin all the Museum’sexhibitions and programs, and are critical to theMuseum achieving its PBS outcome. Under theNational Museum of Australia Act 1980, the Museum ismandated to conduct and disseminate research aboutAustralian history. Sustaining research and scholarshipactivity is one of the Museum’s key strategic priorities,outlined in the Strategic Plan 2007–10.Centre for Historical ResearchThe Centre for Historical Research comprises ahead, four senior and four research fellows and anadministrative and grants officer. In 2009–10 thecentre hosted two visiting fellows, four Museum staffon curatorial fellowships and 17 associate researchers,as well as student visitors. These visitors have workedon a range of projects spanning the Museum’sprincipal themes.Research activitiesCentre staff and visitors conduct research in thefields of human and environmental history andmaterial culture of Australia, including anthropology,environmental, cultural and social history, andIndigenous studies. They include:• Dr Peter Stanley, whose latest book, Men of MontSt Quentin: Between Victory and Death, waspublished by Scribe Publications in September2009. In November 2009 he spoke at the conferenceNational Museums in a Transnational Age at Prato,Italy and continued research for his latest book,‘Black Saturday at Steels Creek’• Dr Mike Smith, a desert archaeologist with aninternational reputation, who continued his fieldwork in central Australia, and made substantialprogress on his forthcoming book on the history ofhuman settlement in Australian deserts• environmental historian Dr Libby Robin of theFenner School of Environment and Society atThe Australian National University, who works atthe Museum for half the year. She completed herbook ‘Desert channels’, due to be published byCSIRO Press early in 2010–11• biographer Dr Nicholas Brown of The AustralianNational University’s Australian Dictionary ofBiography, who works at the Museum for half the yearand has made substantial progress on his biographyof environmental and Indigenous activist Rick Farley

part two: performance reports47Children’s craft activities in the Discovery Space in the Hall were popular with visitors during school holidays.mainly comprising personal papers and bookcollections relevant to the Museum and its themes.The special collections are increasing in value andinterest to scholars. Notable recent additions tothe collection include further acquisitions from thepersonal and library collections of Dr Robert Edwardsand a large collection of books donated by historianBill Gammage. The Library is open between 9.30 amand 4.30 pm, Tuesday to Friday.reCollectionsThe Museum’s scholarly e-journal, reCollections: Journalof the National Museum of Australia, is a leading vehiclefor museum and collection research in Australia, with agrowing national and international reputation.The journal, which focuses on museum practice andthe history and interpretation of objects in Australiaand the Asia–Pacific region, was published twice in2009–10 and averaged 15,280 visits per month, up from10,265 per month in 2008–09. The journal’s EditorialBoard is drawn from the academic and museum sector,and National Museum of Australia staff.During 2009–10 reCollections won a majorinternational prize in the scholarly journals categoryof the American Association of Museums (AAM)design competition. The AAM is an organisationthat represents over 3000 institutions and helps todevelop standards and best practices, gather andshare knowledge and provide advocacy to ensure thatmuseums remain a vital part of our culture.Programs and eventsat the MuseumThe Museum increases the public’s awareness andunderstanding of Australian history and culture (itsPBS outcome) through a broad range of public andschools programs for visitors to the Museum.These programs explore subjects related topermanent and temporary exhibitions; the Museum’sthemes, collections and research; and historic andcontemporary issues. In 2009–10 the Museum attracted28,166 participants to its public programs and had itsmost successful year yet for school visits, with 88,981students attending from approximately 2235 schools.The Museum develops these programs to ensurethey are accessible to a wide range of audiences andrepresent the diversity of the Australian community.

48national museum of australia annual report 09–10Young visitor Kaytlyn joins in children’s activitiespresented as part of the NAIDOC on the Peninsula eventheld in conjunction with the Australian Institute ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.A father and son build a car together during the‘Australia’s own car’ school holiday program in theDiscovery Space in the Hall.For families and childrenIn line with the Public Programs interpretationstrategy, and responding to regular and positiveevaluations, family programs continued to includea free discovery drop-in space, in-gallery and otherfacilitated workshops, mini festivals and a familytrail throughout the permanent galleries. Activitiessupported the temporary exhibitions Voyages ofthe Pacific Ancestors: Vaka Moana, Water: H2O=Lifeand Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons2009. Programs also supported the permanentgalleries, Australian Journeys and the Gallery ofFirst Australians.Winter 2009 school holiday workshops werestructured around the theme of the temporaryexhibition, Vaka Moana. The Discovery Spaceencouraged children to ‘Make a vaka’, their ownboat, to take home. This was well-received, with 1700children participating over the two weeks. Artists fromthe Pacific community facilitated henna tattooingworkshops and a musical ‘Moana beats’ workshop.A mini festival linked to NAIDOC Week, celebratingAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture throughstorytelling, dance workshops and the Museum’sannual didjeridu competition, attracted 1902 people.In Spring 2009 ‘Australia’s own car’ was the themefor the Discovery Space, based on the Museum’sHolden Prototype No. 1. Children enjoyed makingtheir own car of the future. Summer workshopsfocused on the Water: H2O=Life exhibition, withchildren making water bugs in the Discovery Space.This was a very successful collaboration withACT Waterwatch, with nearly 2500 attendees, theMuseum’s largest attendance at a Discovery Spaceprogram, to date.Autumn programs were inspired by handmadeobjects in the Museum’s collection. Childrenwere encouraged to make their own toys (1714participants); while paper plane demonstrations,ACT Woodcraft Guild, spinners and weavers andmetal smithing were featured during the HandmadeFestival — ‘Built to Last’ (1498 visitors). Papersculpture workshops and an in-gallery workshopin the Australian Journeys gallery using air-dry claymaterials were not as popular but a wooden toyworkshop was fully booked.

part two: performance reports49Elena Kats-Chernin entertains visitors with a musical performance in front of the Kimberley Points in the Gallery ofFirst Australians.Recognising that children and families are coreaudiences, the Museum also supported importantcommunity events such as Children’s Week and thedisability sector with Music for Everyone programs.For adults and young peopleThe Museum presented forums and panel discussionsinterpreting the Museum’s collections, highlightingsignificant aspects of Australian social history andrelating to temporary and permanent exhibitions.These included programs and events related to:• Voyages of the Pacific Ancestors: Vaka Moana,including a public lecture with researcher KirkHuffman (July 2009), a seminar series (July, Augustand September 2009), gallery tours (August 2009)and an outrigger demonstration (October 2009)• Behind the Lines 2009, for which the Museumorganised a public conversation interpreting theexhibition, with Mike Bowers, Karen Middleton andGuy Hansen (December 2009)• Water: H2O=Life, including a water tasting andpanel discussion, a film screening, an authorpresentation and a poetry slam (March 2010)• the book and exhibition Symbols of Australia,including a public forum hosted by comedian RodQuantock, a discussion with sports commentatorGideon Haigh, and the first Collectorfest programfor collecting enthusiasts to share and show offtheir collections, featuring travel memorabilia(June 2010)• From Little Things Big Things Grow: a public forum(September 2009); a discussion on Indigenousfootball held in conjunction with Manning ClarkHouse (September 2009); and an in-gallery publicconversation (March 2010).This year the Museum hosted a number of talks,workshops and conferences that attracted academics,researchers and professionals.These included:• ‘Current research in free-choice learning’, a seminarfor museum professionals with John Falk andLynn Dierking, held in conjunction with MuseumsAustralia (July 2009)• a symposium, Sites of Memory, featuringpresenters from the arts, sciences and humanities(August 2009)

50national museum of australia annual report 09–10Visitors engage with stories about the fight for Indigenous rights at the official opening of From Little Things Big Things Growin September 2009.• lectures on ‘Death and dying in multiculturalAustralia’ and ‘Australians in the Himalayas’(October 2009)• a ‘Weekend of ideas’ held in partnership withManning Clark House• Barks, Birds & Billabongs, symposium andperformances in November 2009• ‘Defining moments’, a facilitated workshop forhistorians held in November 2009• a two-day conference on Baz Luhrmann’s Australiain December 2009• Collections Symposium 2010: Caring for Collections.See also Appendix 6, pp. 131–136.Adult workshops and demonstrations were alsoused to interpret collection objects through hands-onactivities. These included calligraphy, corsetry, actingand music-making.Performance was another key form of interpretationused throughout the year for adults and youngpeople. In February 2010 the Museum held a largeoutdoor concert featuring Holly Throsby and TheCashews. In May 2010 composer Elena Kats-Cherninreturned to the Museum for two performances of her2009 composition that was specially commissionedby the Museum. Also in May 2010, in conjunctionwith the Canberra International Music Festival 2010,the Museum hosted the premiere of Henryk Górecki’sSongs Are Sung for string orchestra, to commemoratethe people who died in the 2010 Polish air disaster.The Museum continued to deliver programs forpeople with a range of disabilities, and carers ofthose with disabilities, by providing opportunitiesto experience the exhibitions and participate inworkshops specifically designed for their needs(see Appendix 10, pp. 146–149).Our visitors and audiencesVisitation for 2009–10 was 4,171,904 (including880,030 visitors to Acton and travelling exhibitionsand 3,291,874 online visitors) and exceeded theset target of 3.27 million identified in the 2009–10Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS). The year’svisitation was marked by:• a change in visitor counting methodology tothermal imaging counters, which allow for moreaccurate recording. The thermal image counterswere installed in the permanent galleries and thetemporary exhibition gallery in July 2009.• a slight decline in visitors to permanent galleries,which reflects an overall decline in visitationto Canberra• a substantial reduction in visitation to travellingexhibitions due to the smaller number of majorexhibitions travelling in 2009–10• a record number of school students visitingthe Museum• a better than expected result for functions andvenue hire by external users in the context of theeconomic downturn.

part two: performance reports51Web visitation has grown from 2,533,138 last yearto 3,291,874. This growth is due to the continuedaddition of content including features on Indigenousculture and more detailed information relating to theMuseum’s collection.Visitation numbers (excluding the web), 2001–10financial yearvisitation2001–02 903,4002002–03 825,0002003–04 820,2002004–05 666,2002005–06 770,6012006–07 945,2102007–08 1,007,8562008–09 941,3612009–10 880,030Monthly web visitation figures, 2009–10monthvisitationJuly 235,305August 290,584September 287,507October 292,885November 276,375December 200,024January 230,356February 268,158March 341,144April 280,531May 315,100June 273,905Total 2009–10 3,291,874Program highlights for visiting schoolsThe Museum ran a number of new and innovativeprograms for visiting schools in the reporting period.Of particular note were two programs offered toschools in conjunction with two of the Museum’stemporary exhibitions. The first, entitled ‘Waterwonders’, was a program designed to exploit theeducation potential of the Water: H2O=Life exhibition.This hands-on program was well attended byschools with almost 3000 students taking part.A second program, based on the exhibition FromLittle Things Big Things Grow, encouraged studentsto consider the issue of Indigenous rights and wasalso well-attended.In addition, the Museum modified a number of itspre-school to year 4 programs in an attempt to attractmore local schools. This was successfully undertakenwith school numbers for this age group significantlyincreasing in 2009–10 from 3506 in 2008–09 to 4114in 2009–10. This increase was also in part due to theredevelopment of Indigenous programs for youngerstudents.“Visitation was4,171,904 andexceeded theset target of3.27 million.”Overall, 99 per cent of schools were satisfiedwith the programs provided by the Museum.When asked to evaluate the programs, teacherscommented that they appreciated and enjoyed theprograms’ ‘hands on’ nature, describing them as‘engaging, child-centred and positive’.Breakdown of national visitation numbers (excluding the web), 2005–10location 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10Permanent exhibitions 428,123 418,790 393,141 366,541 489,888Temporary exhibitions 91,101 105,710 89,348 95,417 91,464Travelling exhibitions 63,762 248,641 372,407 344,512 163,388Public programs and events 69,061 53,097 33,297 29,649 28,166Schools 83,780 86,444 87,266 86,457 88,981Functions/venue hire 34,234 32,528 32,397 18,785 18,143total 770,601 945,210 1,007,856 941,361 880,030

3552national museum of australia annual report 09–10Number of paid versus teacher-guided student visits*, 2009–10*Paid visits are facilitated by a Museum staff member. Teacher-guided visits are supervised by the accompanying teacher.1400014343paid programs teacher-guided total120001235210000880810,2348869102988863875610669800060006594659177605735616673294000200004587354441092007227825384881499198718822382015692389312813102238354825903340july aug sept oct nov dec jan feb mar april may juneNumber of primary versus secondary students, 2009–101400010974primary secondary total120008211100001434376598466800012352614410298543261971066960006594886988638756400039314141336934312445200026632725263911452389184935482559220301987842223158july aug sept oct nov dec jan655401103feb march april may june

part two: performance reports55A rapt audience at the launch of From Little Things Big Things Grow in the Gallery of First Australians.Barks, Birds & Billabongs: Exploring the Legacy ofthe 1948 American–Australian Scientific Expeditionto Arnhem Land, an international symposiumthat investigated the expedition’s significant andcontroversial legacy, drew an impressive group ofcommentators, including former politician andAustralian Ambassador to the United States, KimBeazley; Australian of the Year, Mick Dodson; andactor, Jack Thompson.Television director Rachel Perkins generatedconsiderable media coverage when she reflected onher father Charles Perkins’ role in the struggle forIndigenous rights, which featured in the exhibitionFrom Little Things Big Things Grow: Fighting forIndigenous Rights 1920–1970.The exhibition Water: H2O=Life gave the opportunityto provide managed media events: the arrival of a largeMurray cod to be displayed in the exhibition, the visitof a descendant of the inventor of the Dethridge waterwheel and a visit by Jeffrey L Bleich, the United StatesAmbassador, all helped to promote the exhibition.Objects and acquisitions continue to build nationalmedia curiosity and interest in the Museum. Thearrival of a huge backhoe rock shovel from Rio TintoLimited’s Mount Tom Price iron ore mine in thePilbara provided a media ‘scoop’ and attracted publicattention to the Landmarks: People and Places acrossAustralia gallery development project.Behind the Lines: The Year’s Best Cartoons 2009 isan annual favourite of the national media and drawswidespread coverage. Media commentator MichaelBowers, who opened the exhibition in Decemberthis year, praised the exhibition for recognising theimportant role cartoonists play in our understandingof politics.The announcement by Prime Minister the HonKevin Rudd mp that an exhibition on the experienceof Irish people in Australia will open at the NationalMuseum on St Patrick’s Day 2011 was widely reportedin the national media and has created a great deal ofinterest in the exhibition.The Museum also attracted international mediainterest with the opening of the exhibition PapunyaPainting: Out of the Australian Desert at the NationalArt Museum of China in Beijing in June 2010. TheChinese media showed a great deal of interest inAboriginal art from the Western Desert of Australia.Closer to home, New Zealand and Pacific mediaclosely followed the Museum’s decision to accept theunanimous advice of international conservation andanatomy experts to decline requests to remove andtransport Phar Lap’s heart to New Zealand.

56national museum of australia annual report 09–10National Museum of Australia PressNational Museum of Australia Press was established in2004 and supports the strategic priorities of sustainingresearch and scholarship, engaging national audiencesand enhancing exhibitions, programs and services.It does this through publishing scholarly and specialinteresttitles, as well as books for general adultreaders and exhibition catalogues.In 2009–10 the press published eight books, whichincluded two exhibition-related books, three scholarlypublications, as well as two books for general adultreaders and a number of corporate publications. It alsopublished two issues of the Museum’s scholarly journal,reCollections: A Journal of Museums and Collections.The year’s highlights included the followingpublications:• Symbols of Australia: Uncovering the Stories behindthe Myths (edited by Melissa Harper and RichardWhite; co-publication with University of New SouthWales Press) offers an entertaining, provocative andoften surprising look at 26 of Australia’s best-lovedsymbols. This book examines how symbols makethe abstract concept of the nation tangible and giveus an identity by representing Australia to itself andthe world.• Sinners, Saints & Settlers: A Journey through IrishAustralia (by Richard Reid and photographerBrendon Kelson) takes readers on a journey throughthe Irish experience in Australia, visiting locationsright across the nation where the Irish storyunfolds. The book concentrates on the period 1788to 1921, when the Irish presence in Australia wasproportionately at its most influential and visible.• Discovering Cook’s Collections (edited by MichelleHetherington and Howard Morphy) focuses onthe collections of art and material culture broughtback from the Pacific on Captain Cook’s voyages. Itincludes essays from some of the world’s leading andmost innovative historians and anthropologists thatcelebrate the richness of Pacific Island cultures inthe initial years of European contact, as well as thecollections’ contemporary relevance to historians andthe Indigenous communities who produced them.CopyrightIn 2009–10, the Copyright and Production Servicesunit undertook significant work to source andclear images owned by individuals, commercialorganisations and cultural institutions throughoutAustralia and internationally. The Museum’s website,exhibitions, marketing and publications requirecopyright clearances for a large number of images.Approximately 7300 images were delivered to supportthe Museum’s documentation, exhibitions, publishingand communication activities.The contribution of volunteersThis financial year 65 volunteers contributed6179 hours, or 3.5 full-time equivalents, to areasincluding marketing, administration and Friendsof the Museum, and for festival days.Volunteers also contributed to:• Education: Twenty-seven volunteers contributed2776 hours assisting in the delivery of the Museum’sEducation programs, enhancing the students’ andteachers’ experience of Australian history. Volunteersactively facilitated programs such as ‘Talkingpoints’ and ‘Quiz’, and assisted visitor services hostswith introductions for teacher-guided groups and,on occasion, accompanied these groups into theexhibition spaces to provide further guidance.• Public Programs: Five volunteers contributed 473hours assisting the Museum’s Public Programs staffdeliver school holiday programs for families.• Library: Two volunteers spent 160 hours workingon the Laurie Fitzharding collection by creatingassociation notes and insertions on the collectionrecord and creating minor displays for currentpolitical changes and general library support.• Photography: One volunteer has contributed 170hours assisting with business as usual activities andexhibition photography for the Landmarks gallery.• Research: One volunteer has contributed fivehours assisting researchers in the Museum’s Centrefor Historical Research.• Conservation: Two volunteers have contributed56 hours to several projects including an operationsmanual for the McDonnell telescope.The Museum’s largest volunteer program supports the130-year-old paddle steamer, PS Enterprise — the crewbeing drawn entirely from volunteers. Dependingon qualifications and experience, the 37 volunteersperform various roles aboard the vessel: master,mate, engineer, leading deckhand, deckhand andgalley hand. The crew brought the PS Enterprise to lifeeach weekend from September 2009 to May 2010. In2009–10 the volunteer crew contributed 2238 hours,ensuring the PS Enterprise operated most weekends.In March 2010 the PS Enterprise was taken out ofthe water for 17 days at the Barrenjoey Slipway forits biannual hull inspection and licensing by theAustralian Maritime Safety Authority. Some longawaitedmaintenance on the superstructure wascarried out. The vessel was fully repainted and thedecks re-oiled. The volunteer crew, under the directionof Museum conservators David Hallam, Ainslie Greinerand Ian Cramer, significantly contributed to this work.The PS Enterprise missed five weekends of operationdue to maintenance of the vessel. Visitor numbers were2121 in 2009–10, a decrease from last year’s visitationof 4258.

part two: performance reports57Our ambassadors:The Friends of the NationalMuseum of AustraliaIn June 2010, there were 1131 Friends memberships,comprising 3621 individuals. The membership shiftedslightly with more families and fewer individualsjoining or renewing their membership. Friendscontinued its role of maintaining and enhancingcommunity support for the Museum throughout2009–10. The Friends provided a range of benefitsto members in the Australian Capital Territory andbeyond, including 74 Friends events, which wereattended by more than 2958 people.Highlights included:• the popular series Playlunch with Friends andGet messy with Grandma (or Grandpa)• two programs, exclusively for Friends membersand aimed at under-5s: Making Music with Friends,which expanded to include two sessions, andDramatic Play with Friends• the Women’s Voices series, now in its seventh year,continues to be strongly supported by Friendsmembers and visitors• curator-led previews of all Museum exhibitions• a very successful series of talks featuring Museumcurators presenting their research into keycollection objects linked to gallery redevelopment• Cultural Treasures, a well-attended series of talks,featuring embassy representatives speaking aboutmuseums in their countries• the introduction of a new set of talks, History atHome, in April 2010, looking at domestic socialhistory• in conjunction with the Centre for HistoricalResearch, an annual Friends’ History Workshop foramateur historians, and new in 2009, a quarterlyBookTalk, focusing on Australian authors and theirbooks on Australian history• exclusive cruises on the lake aboard thePS Enterprise during the steaming season.Events were presented in partnership with otherorganisations, including the Australian Federationof Friends of Museums, the National Trust and theMuseum’s own Centre for Historical Research.Friends also appreciated the benefit of special‘Friends reserve’ seating at popular Museum eventsincluding the Behind the Lines ‘In Conversation’ withMike Bowers and Karen Middleton, and ‘Bowled Over’with Gideon Haigh.The Friends quarterly magazine, published inJuly, September, March and June, continues toshowcase the activities of the Museum and theFriends. The magazine is also distributed widely toparliamentarians, libraries and museums in Australiaand to Australia’s diplomatic missions overseas.The Friends received support from the Hyatt Hotel,and Pauline Hore (auditor). In addition, the Museumcontinued to provide invaluable in-kind support.Enhancing key services:Information technologyThe Museum continued to upgrade and enhance itstechnical infrastructure. Major achievements duringthe year were:• completion of the upgrade of all interactives in thepermanent galleries• implementation of an automated IT disasterrecovery capability at a secondary Museum site• asset replacement of network printers to a mixof mono printers and multifunctional devicesproviding more cost-effective, reliable, fast,high quality colour printing, as well as colourphotocopying and document scanning capability• completion of the scoping and planning for theintroduction of wireless networking capability forthe Museum’s collection storage locations.A new ICT Strategic Plan was completed covering theperiod 2009 to 2012. The strategy focuses on:• implementing improvements to existing businesssolutions• introducing capabilities to improve services for staff• enhancing the Museum’s communications with itsaudiences and business partners.The Museum trialled and implemented an occupationalhealth and safety (OHS) incident reporting moduleand has undertaken preliminary work in preparationfor a major upgrade of the Museum’s Human ResourceInformation System (HRIS), which will take place in2010–11. A new videoconferencing solution was alsoimplemented to provide an efficient and lower costoption for the Museum’s communications withexternal parties.The Museum and the National Archives of Australiahave completed the development of the Museum’sRecords Authority which sets out the requirements forkeeping or destroying records for core business areas.It represents a significant commitment on behalf ofthe Museum to understand, create and manage therecords of its activities.Paper-based records spanning over 30 years ofCollection Group meetings, Interim Council, Counciland sub Committees of Council meetings weredigitised and stored in the TRIM electronic recordsmanagement system, enabling ready access to thisinformation by staff.