G8: Community Voice and Sacred Collections
Tracks
8
| Tuesday, December 1, 2026 |
| 1:45 PM - 3:00 PM |
| RH205 |
Overview
Stream: Museums, Collections, Returns and Repatriation
Paper / Session Submitter
Dr Constance Wyndham
Research And Engagement Fellow
University Of Technology, Sydney
Understanding First Nations connections to the site of Australia’s first Government House
Summary Abstract
The site of Australia’s first Government House was excavated in the 1980s-90s and was registered on the National Heritage List in 2005. The listing focused on the place’s colonial history with little to no representation of First Nations voices or perspectives. In order to begin rectifying this, a research collaboration was launched between members of Sydney’s Aboriginal Coastal communities represented by the Gujaga Foundation and Museums of History New South Wales (MHNSW). This project aimed to understand previously obscured or overlooked First Nations insights and perspectives on this place.
The goals of the project were to progress amendments to the National Heritage listing and to embed First Nations perspectives into MHNSW’s collection management and care, and community engagement strategies. This paper outlines some of the key project outcomes and reflects on some important learnings from this collaboration.
The goals of the project were to progress amendments to the National Heritage listing and to embed First Nations perspectives into MHNSW’s collection management and care, and community engagement strategies. This paper outlines some of the key project outcomes and reflects on some important learnings from this collaboration.
Biographies
Dr Constance Wyndham is a practitioner and researcher with 15 years' experience in international museums and heritage work. She has worked for NGOs, museums and heritage consultancies across Australia, Afghanistan and the UK. She currently manages the Australian Centre for Public History at the University of Technology, Sydney.
Kirsty Beller is a Dharawal Person from the La Perouse Aboriginal Community. Kirsty’s work involves projects, research, Dharawal language, working with stakeholders such as museums domestically and internationally and other cultural institutions. Kirsty and her team are leading the return of the Gweagal Spears – the first objects stolen from Australia.
Clare Woolley is a Dharawal person from the La Perouse Aboriginal Community. Clare has a background in Early Childhood Education and has worked within the community for over 10 years. Clare and her family can trace their ancestry back to first contact. Clare currently leads projects at the Gujaga Foundation.
Dr Penelope Stannard leads the strategic agenda for research and curatorial practice at Museums of History New South Wales. In her 25 year-plus career, she has gained wide and diverse experiences across the history, heritage, museums, education, curatorial, research and arts policy spheres delivering outcomes for communities across Australia.
Joost de Bruin
Adjunct Professor
Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington
Oranjehof as a Migrant Museum: Making Space for Unfamiliar Stories
Summary Abstract
This paper explores the establishment of the Oranjehof Dutch Connection Centre exhibition in Te Awahou/Foxton. Developed by members of the migrant community itself as part of a partnership project in regional Aotearoa New Zealand, Oranjehof tells a multitude of stories about Dutch migrants and invites visitors to connect with the culture and presence of an ethnic minority that they may know little about.
Our research reveals that Oranjehof is in many respects a step forward in representing the Dutch community in Aotearoa New Zealand. Inclusivity and authenticity were achieved because at key moments non-Dutch participants in the exhibition development process made space for unfamiliar and unusual Dutch migrant stories. However, compared to international literature on migrant museums, Oranjehof could and should have included more stories about challenging aspects of the migrant experience. These findings offer insights into a complex intercultural process and recommendations for future practice around telling migrant stories.
Our research reveals that Oranjehof is in many respects a step forward in representing the Dutch community in Aotearoa New Zealand. Inclusivity and authenticity were achieved because at key moments non-Dutch participants in the exhibition development process made space for unfamiliar and unusual Dutch migrant stories. However, compared to international literature on migrant museums, Oranjehof could and should have included more stories about challenging aspects of the migrant experience. These findings offer insights into a complex intercultural process and recommendations for future practice around telling migrant stories.
Biographies
Joost is Director at the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Māori Art Gallery in Whangārei and Adjunct Professor at the Stout Research Centre for New Zealand Studies. He was previously Associate Professor in Media and Communication at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington and President of Dutch Communities NZ.
Arjan is Co-Chair of the Dutch Connection Centre Museum Trust, which established the Oranjehof Dutch Connection Centre in the Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom cultural and community centre in Te Awahou/Foxton. He is a Curator for the Māpuna Kabinet Art Gallery, and a Lecturer in Marketing and Business Studies at Otago Polytechnic Auckland International Campus.
Lee is Associate Professor, Museum and Heritage Studies, at Victoria University of Wellington. Her books include The Visitor Studies Guide: Theory and Practice for Heritage Contexts, Cosmopolitan Ambassadors: International Exhibitions, Cultural Diplomacy and the Polycentral Museum and a guide for promoting intercultural dialogue in museums and heritage sites (UNESCO, 2026).
Dr Anna Dunn
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
University Of Melbourne
Hotwiring Heritage: Catalysing alternative Indigenous-settler relations in National Park places through Australian heritage legislation
Summary Abstract
Australian Aboriginal cultural heritage regulatory frameworks are widely regarded as largely ineffective. The current politics of heritage means that Traditional Owners’ claims about existence (eg. a rock is a family member) are often cast as beliefs (a rock is like a family member) rather than as facts. I explore what it looks like for non-Indigenous people to engage with Aboriginal heritage outside of liberal multicultural approaches, drawing upon Elizabeth Povinelli’s concept of “geontopower”. I introduce ‘hotwiring’ heritage as an analytic that highlights how insufficient regulatory mechanisms are used to get more for lifeworlds that operate outside liberal multiculturalism. Using examples from ethnographic fieldwork in Australian National Park places I consider how heritage is hotwired to catalyse new forms of Indigenous-settler relations that foreground Indigenous sovereignty. In doing so, I argue that heritage might just be an opening for conversations about what and who is included in the polity and how.
Biographies
Anna is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Indigenous Studies, University of Melbourne. Anna is a white settler geographer who specialises in collaborative, community-based work in remote areas. She has worked on the development of land management frameworks, climate change adaptation, knowledge sharing protocols, and repatriation of materials to First Nations communities.
Dr Jennifer Kramer
Associate Professor, Anthropology & Curator, Pacific Northwest, Museum of Anthropology at UBC
University Of British Columbia
Reconnecting with Ista - Returning to Weaving Yakyanlh (Nuxalk Mountain-Goat-Wool Robes)”
Summary Abstract
Ista, the first Nuxalk woman wove the first yakyanlh – mountain-goat-wool robe with crest designs. Sikwlxwlilc was the last Nuxalk woman to weave yakyanlh circa 1900. A generative outcome of the collaborative exhibition "Nuxalk Strong: Dancing Down the Eyelashes of the Sun" is bringing together historical yakyanlh long held in museums across Canada in order for Nuxalk to learn from the hands of their ancestors. This reunion will jump start the return to weaving yakyanlh, a technology that hasn’t been practiced in Bella Coola, BC in over a century. This paper recognizes Nuxalk women artists who wrap Nuxalk leadership in yakyanlh.
Biographies
Dr. Jennifer Kramer holds a joint position at the University of British Columbia as Curator, Pacific Northwest at the Museum of Anthropology and Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology. She has been working in collaboration with the Nuxalk First Nation on the central coast of British Columbia, Canada for thirty years.
