The grand vision and concept of the Museum of Australia is suffering the death of a thousand cuts. The vision was for some low-level buildings in a very large natural setting that would reflect key features of the Australian experience. It was a vision that reflected the history, culture and aspiration of both Aboriginal Australians and those that came later.
Those that had the vision saw Yarramundi Reach as the place to fulfil it. That was in the 1970s. In 1980 the first major step to fulfilment was taken with the passing of the Museum of Australia Bill. Labor MP Barry Cohen, then in Opposition, presumably was speaking for his party when he told Parliament, “”We would like an assurance that the passage of the Bill will not just allow a great fanfare of publicity, followed after the election by the project being quietly shelved.” His suspicion was directed at the wrong side of the House.
There seem to be two power enemies to the vision … political and bureaucratic. In the Hawke years, bureaucratic opposition … especially from the economic departments … saw the museum postponed Budget after Budget. In the Keating years, it has been Paul Keating’s own inexplicable opposition that has seen mere postponement of the vision transmogrify to outright destruction. Mr Keating has couched his attitude to the museum as “”another mausoleum” down by the lake. No-one in the Ministry dare dissent.
Mr Keating’s description shows how completely he has misunderstood the original concept. A mausoleum is a large monumental building used to house a dead body. The original idea for the Museum of Australia was to do precisely the opposite. Its buildings were not to be large or monumental. Much of the museum was to be outside. And its displays were to be moving, interactive and designed to portray living Australia. Mr Keating’s opposition is inexplicable in the face of his usual support for symbols of nationhood.
This opposition first manifested itself with a plan … mercifully abandoned … to send part of the museum’s collection … stored at Mitchell … to South Australia. Then the Government announced that the Aboriginal gallery of the museum would be housed on the Acton peninsula. The aim was to cut costs, reserve Acton for national purposes in light of the closure of the hospital, and to appease Aboriginal expectations … the last has failed in light of Aboriginal objection to a former “”death” site.
All the time, the museum’s council has been allowed to run down with retiring members not being replaced.
This week, publication of the museum’s 1995-98 seems to accept that Yarramundi is to be abandoned. Instead, the museum will concentrate on travelling exhibitions, creating electronic products to deliver knowledge of the museum’s collection to the nation, and the political museum at Old Parliament House. It is a misguided emphasis. These are desirable adjuncts to a museum; they are not the real thing. Presumably, it is the museum bureaucracy’s holding pattern … which is marginally better than crash landing.
It seems, the original vision will have to wait until there is a new Prime Minister. In the meantime, any pre-emptive plans to put the Aboriginal gallery on Acton should be shelved.