Cultures and Histories

The Cultures and Histories Program of the Queensland Museum is responsible for research and collection-related activities across four campuses — South Bank (Brisbane), The Workshops Rail Museum (Ipswich), Cobb & Co Museum (Toowoomba) and the Museum of Tropical Queensland (Townsville). Some twelve curators are involved in research and collection development, along with five collection managers who are responsible for the long-term preservation of the State's cultural heritage collections. The program has a collection of more than 350,000 objects. These include artefacts, historical and contemporary photographs, documents and oral histories. The collection is a significant resource for researchers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, students and people with an interest in Queensland's history, society and culture.

A number of specific areas of research and collection development are currently identified for the program's activities. These will ensure a mix of collections and interpretive topics to provide a diverse and satisfying range of experiences for Museum audiences.

Priority Themes:

The Museum is committed to Reconciliation and has given the return of ancestral remains and secret-sacred objects to the State's Indigenous communities a high priority. Increasing visits by Indigenous groups have strengthened ties between communities and cultural objects held in the Queensland Museum, and increased our knowledge about the collections and the communities and country to which they belong.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures Centre

The Queensland Museum is pleased to annouce the development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures Centre. The Cultures Centre's home will be on Level 4 of Queensland Museum South Bank and will showcase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures of Queensland. Planning and development is underway with an opening scheduled for late 2005. Progress on the Cultures Centre can be followed in Newsletters.

Newsletters

Issued every two months, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Newletters are a way of keeping the public, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities of Queensland, informed of the exciting developments and projects associated with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures Centre.

February 2005 newsletter (1.7MB Acrobat PDF)
November 2004 newsletter (689Kb Acrobat PDF)
September 2004 newsletter (1MB Acrobat PDF)
July 2004 newsletter (134kB Acrobat PDF)
April 2004 newsletter (70kB Acrobat PDF)