In the beginning

There are obvious overlaps between the goals of art galleries and natural history museums. Both set out, albeit with different resources, to interpret rather than simply reflect the world in which we live; to challenge us to question our appropriate roles in the diverse systems of Earth and to bridge cultural or ideological gaps that isolate us from each other. But there are also significant differences in the services stakeholders now and in the future will expect from these two kinds of collecting institutions.

The future of the Australian Museum, the oldest and most significant museum of its kind on the continent, is about to be placed in the spotlight of a major government Review. Although we are the last of the great State museums in Australia to be brought into the 21st (let alone 22nd) Century, awesome crises in space for collections and staff, staffing shortages and our diminished capacity to service the diverse needs of our stakeholders - in ways that only this Museum can do - makes this Review long overdue.

Traditionally, the Australian Museum has focused on gathering and interpreting natural history and cultural objects that document the nature of Australia. Accumulated since 1827, its collections have become a mind-boggling and still-growing resource of more than 13.5 million objects estimated to be worth over $4 billion. For almost two centuries (this year is our 175th birthday!), these objects have been the centre of research by specialised scientists and the heart of thousands of exhibitions that have communicated understanding about zoological, geological and cultural diversity to millions of users worldwide, via the College Street building, our website and our many outreach programs. In a very real sense, these collections and those of other state museums are the foundation that underpins and defines Australia's unique global identity.

This collecting role, as critical as it will always be to our diverse stakeholders (including other Government resource management agencies), is primarily a 'reflective' one - to document, research and communicate understanding about our megadiverse land. Increasingly, however, the value of these collections has broadened and we now recognise their even more important role in documenting short as well as long-term processes of change that threaten our future. Each Australian sees only the relatively small amount of change that occurs during their own lifetime. But the Museum's collections span not only generations but thousands of millennia. They often provide hundreds of data points in time and space through which we can draw a line from the past, through the present and on into the future. This understanding will significantly improve our ability to identify agents of change that could be modified to avert crises.

So what am I saying? I guess that natural history museums, particularly those with large collections, besides gathering and exhibiting treasures in the same way that art galleries do, are also institutions whose collections and scientists are uniquely positioned to contribute to the long-term conservation of Australia's natural and cultural future. When this is understood, recognition of the value of future-focused institutions like the Australian Museum will take a massive leap forward.

Professor Michael Archer
Director of The Australian Museum