Tjapukai bids for Australian Indigenous museum

Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park is seeking to become the site of Australia’s first national Indigenous museum, Tjapukai Board Chairman Bruce Glanville announced in Cairns today.

“We propose building Australia’s most comprehensive exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and history using state-of -the-art interactive technologies, drawing on artefact collections across the globe and involving traditional owners from around Australia,” he said.

“We believe a national Indigenous museum could be central to the reconciliation process by becoming a centre of learning, engagement and interaction that would give all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people a place where they can proudly celebrate their culture and display it to a wide audience.

“Tjapukai is in the first stage of a $12 million transformation to become Australia’s leading venue to experience Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture where people from around the world will come to see our country through the eyes of Australia’s Indigenous people.

“A national museum is a perfect fit as it would have an immediate global audience, complement the authentic cultural experiences at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park and provide more employment for Indigenous people.”

Member for Leichhardt Warren Entsch has thrown his support behind the proposal, saying he had long believed Tropical North Queensland, with its diverse mix of Indigenous cultures, was the appropriate location for a national museum.

“Australia needs a national museum as a mark of respect to our country’s first inhabitants and to educate the world about their rich culture,” he said.

“Cairns is now the third most popular holiday destination for international visitors after Sydney and 

Melbourne and an Australian Indigenous museum will add to the depth of experiences our region offers.

“Housing the museum at Tjapukai makes sense as it will give visitors the opportunity to experience authentic Indigenous culture on many different levels that are engaging, entertaining and above all, educational.”

An application had been made to the Federal Government to fund an independent feasibility study for the national Indigenous museum to be located at Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, just a 20 minute drive north of the Cairns International Airport.