Ms ROSOL – A few years ago, we saw a very welcome commitment from the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) and Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG) to return rock art stolen from the far north‑west coast of the state. Early last year, they were finally returned to Country. After meticulous research and preparation, they were repatriated to the exact same place from which they were cut. This was a really profound moment for palawa, the institutions and the broader Tasmanian community, which took years of advocacy, appeal and action.
TMAG holds other cultural material of the palawa and the case is just as strong for that material to be returned. Has TMAG provided a complete list of palawa cultural material in its possession to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community? And if it hasn’t, can that happen?
Ms OGILVIE – It’s a really good question and it goes to the heart of why we’re here, I think. TMAG has been working closely with communities across Tasmania to ensure strong representation of Tasmania’s First Nations people’s cultural material in all of its programs and also working closely on repatriation issues. I did speak about this yesterday but I don’t think you were in the session. It’s not just cultural heritage objects. There are also human remains. The human remains, in particular, may have come from elsewhere internationally. It’s quite a complex process they’re going through.
TMAG returned the Preminghana petroglyphs to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community team. TMAG wishes to return and help with those transitions and wants to work with Aboriginal Tasmanians to ensure that happens. The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania has requested the return of the Greens Creek petroglyph. The exact process for the return of that petroglyph and a petroglyph from Sundown Point is still being investigated. That’s one underway.
The return of the Preminghana petroglyphs followed successful consultations with the community and a permit process. The community collected the petroglyphs from TMAG and QVMAG on 23 November 2022 and they were taken to the car park at Preminghana. Then we understand they were put back into place.
As somebody who is a little bit obsessed with cultural heritage and the management thereof in museums, I’ve taken a deep dive into this question of how best to treat cultural heritage we hold that is not our own or perhaps should be returned to third parties. It is an issue that is being worked on by museums globally, certainly across Australia. Dialogue between museums, between the federal government and museums, and also between nations, is occurring to make these things happen.
I have been advised that an audit was done on holdings. My understanding is that the museum is very warmly working with those who wish to have things returned so we can do this carefully and well. But it is no small task.
