Conversations with community relating to past exhibitions, research and public programs celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures.

Explore the museum's keeping place of conversations with community relating to past exhibitions, research and public programs related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island cultures.

The Australian National Maritime Museum acknowledges many contributions by Individuals, communities, artists and staff and is a reservoir of knowledges relating to the museum's custodianship and ongoing responsibilities to freshwater and saltwater.

As an island nation, Australia has a unique relationship with the oceans that surround us.

Permanent

Free

First Nations

First Nations knowledge

First Nations navigation

Pram

Wheelchair

Indoor

All ages

Adults

12+ years

5-12 years

Under 5's

Shaped by the Sea

Exhibition showcasing the work of Torres Strait artist Brian Robinson.

Temporary

First Nations craftsmanship and arts

Family and kids

Ur Wayii (Incoming Tide)

Current Exhibitions

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This figurehead is believed to be the earliest known surviving ship carving of a First Nations person from Australia.
The timber, carving and decorative motifs date it to the early to mid-1800s.
With the help of technology, the museum's curators are unravelling the figurehead's full story.&nbsp;

Figurehead of a First Nations woman

Search our First Nations objects collection

Experience Garrigarrang Garaguru

This is a dedicated space created to highlight voices and works of community. In consultation with Community, we will continue to build on this selection of featured First Nations people.&nbsp;

Saltwater Cloud

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Au Karem Ira Lamar Lu - Ghost Nets of the Ocean exhibition is the largest collection of ghost net art in the Southern Hemisphere. They carry a message from the Torres Strait for the world to heed: the oceans are connected to everyone. Humans everywhere are affecting the world's oceans.

Au Karem Ira Lamar Lu – Ghost Nets of the Ocean

In 2017, Thomas was part of the foundational moment at Uluru that conceived the Uluru Statement from the Heart, having been elected from the Darwin Dialogue on Constitutional reform to participate in the culmination of 13 regional constitutional dialogues. Following the Convention, Thomas was entrusted with carrying the sacred canvas of the Uluru statement across the country on an 18-month journey to garner support for a constitutionally enshrined First Nations voice and a Makaratta Commission for truth telling and agreement-making or treaties.

Thomas Mayo

The east coast of Australia is a bountiful source of marine resources. Abalone sourced from Narooma on the South Coast of NSW is served in Australia’s top restaurants, but the abalone shell is also a container of practical knowledge among the local Yuin community members who have deeply held understanding of when, where, and how best to harvest abalone sustainably. Yuin community leader Sharon Mason shares knowledges of her artistic representations of a traditional fishing technology that requires many hours of skilful craftsmanship.

Sharon Mason

Alick Tipoti is a renowned visual and performance artist, community leader, linguist and regional advocate from Badu in Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait). His elders named him Zugub, meaning Spiritual Ancestor, due to the spiritual encounters he experiences through his art practice.

Alick Tipoti

Brian Robinson, of the Maluyligal people of Western Torres Strait and the Wuthathi people of Cape York, was born in 1973 on Waiben (Thursday Island) into a Roman Catholic fishing family shaped by both Christian and Torres Strait spirituality. His celebrated practice draws on reef ecologies and Torres Strait sea country. For over 25 years, he has developed a multidisciplinary practice drawing on ancient and contemporary ideas, blending cosmology, literature, humour, and history through graphic prints and sculpture. Based in Cairns, his major commissions include Woven Fish (2003), Reef Guardian (2017), and the 2018 Commonwealth Games parade track. His work is held in major national and international collections.

Brian Robinson

Featured Community

This education resource introduces students to the Duyfken, which was the first European vessel to meet the First Nations people of Australia on Wik country on the Cape York Peninsula in 1606.

1606 - Contact at Cape Keerweer

Sculptures made from abandoned fishing nets weave a message of sustainability

Ghost Nets - message of sustainability

In 1847 an early colonial businessman shipped 65 men from New Caledonia and Vanuatu to Eden on the south coast of New South Wales.

Blog post

Blackbirding: Australia's slave trade?

In the 19th century, Aboriginal people in Sydney used rivers, creeks and waterways as places of refuge after the devastation of colonisation.

Contested waterways - Aboriginal resistance in early colonial Sydney

Saltwater and Freshwater Stories

A 6,000-year-old network of eel traps in south-west&nbsp;Victoria are&nbsp;among the earliest surviving examples of aquaculture in the world.

An Australian Stonehenge?

A contemporary Aboriginal artwork has links to the beliefs of the people of Arnhem Land and to their relationships with their Makassan neighbours.

Spirit figures from Arnhem Land

Contact the First Nations Curatorial team at <a href="mailto:indigenous.programs@sea.museum">indigenous.programs@sea.museum</a>

How do I get in contact with the First Nations Curatorial team?

In some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,&nbsp;hearing recordings, seeing images or the names of deceased persons may cause sadness or distress and in some cases, offend against strongly held cultural prohibitions.

What does cultural sensitivity mean?

Clicking on the eye symbol on the cultural sensitivity badge will remove the banner message from the image and display the image unblurred. To turn the cultural sensitivity badge back on, please clear your cookies.&nbsp;

How do I disable or enable the cultural sensitivity badge?

A cultural sensitivity badge or warning can be found on some First Nations content across the Australian National Maritime Musuem website. The badge is there to help identify content that could be potentially distressing to some First people's audiences.&nbsp;
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What is a cultural sensitivity badge or warning?

A few frequently asked questions 

Discover more stories in Signals

Manager of Indigenous Programs
Matt&nbsp;Poll is South Sea and Torres Strait Island man originally from the Watego family in Byron Bay.&nbsp;Matt works as the manager of Indigenous programs at the Australian National Maritime Museum&nbsp;is currently a member of the Reimagining the British Museum working group representing Australia.&nbsp;Matt’s curatorial projects focus on embedding consultation process in exhibition design and most recently published work is in the journal&nbsp;Aboriginal History&nbsp;(volume 45), Bark Paintings as ambassadors, 1948-63, and the circle back to Aboriginal cultural agency.

Matt Poll

First Nations Program Officer, Indigenous Programs I am a proud Dharawal-Dunghutti-Yuin Woman. My grandmother, Rene Campbell and my grandfather, Roy Page, are La Perouse Elders. I grew up in Lennox Head on Bundjalung land and I am currently living and working on Gadigal land, Sydney. As an artist and designer, I work as the museums Indigenous Programs officer I enjoy traditional styles of dot painting with acrylic paint and combining mixing media and manipulating the designs digitally. My artist style is a mix between traditional Aboriginal stories told and created in a contemporary way.

Dakota Dixon

First Nations Curatorial Team

First Nations Advisory Committee
Alison Page is a descendant of the Dharawal and Yuin people whose career began in the late 90’s working in architecture and interior design and expanded to urban design, sculpture and film. She is currently Associate Dean (Indigenous Leadership and Engagement) at UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture &amp; Building, and a member of several cultural boards including the National Australia Day Council, Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, and Aboriginal Hostels Ltd. She is the founder of the National Aboriginal Design Agency and in 2015 she was inducted into the Design Institute of Australia Hall of Fame and in 2022 was the Interior Design Excellence Awards Gold Medal winner. Alison was a panellist for eight years on the ABC television program The New Inventors, which showcased Australian innovation.

Alison Page

First Nations Advisory Committee Term: 4 March 2020 – 30 June 2026
Mr Kenny Bedford lives on and represents the remote island of Erub (Darnley) on the Torres Strait Regional Authority Board. He is also a Board Member of Reconciliation Australia and has held the Executive position of Portfolio Member for Fisheries since 2008 and is President of the Erub Fisheries Management Association, a member of Erubam Le Traditional Land and Sea Owners (TSI) Corporation and sits on Far North Queensland’s Abergowrie College Community Consultative Committee. Mr Bedford has a Bachelor of Applied Health Science and Diploma of Youth Welfare, received the Vincent Fairfax Fellowship in 2000, and is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Program.

Kenny Bedford

First Nations Advisory Committee Term: 20 February 2025 – 19 February 2028
Elizabeth is a proud Dharawal woman, she belongs to the La Perouse Aboriginal community and is a descendant of the Timbery family.
She is currently leading the consulting and research team for the Gujaga Foundation and is passionate about learning and sharing knowledge on the Aboriginal people of Coastal Sydney.
Elizabeth has previously worked as the Finance &amp; Operations Manager for Bangarra Dance Theatre. And has also taught traditional, contemporary and commercial dance to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and communities across Australia. &nbsp;

Elizabeth Tierney

First Nations Advisory Committee Term: 20 February 2025 – 19 February 2028
Rowena Welsh-Jarrett is a Dharawal and Gumbaynggirr woman. She was born on Gadigal Land and is a proud member of the Redfern and La Perouse communities with cultural connections to multiple coastal Sydney clan groups. Rowena is a culture and heritage practitioner that has been working to integrate Cultural and environmental Aboriginal knowledges, stories, truth telling, history and engagement with the delivery of built environment projects.
She is Director of RWJ Pty Ltd (Rowena Welsh-Jarrett Pty Ltd), helping design teams to understand Country and how the values inherent in First Nations stories can be translated into urban design, landscape architecture, public art and architecture projects. Projects include Bays West redevelopment, Circular Quay redevelopment, Barangaroo development, Harbourside as well as a number of public art projects.
Rowena is a member of the NSW Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Council (ACHAC). She is a passionate Southern Sydney/ South Coast Native title delegate and sits on the D.A.B - Industry Advisory for UTS.
She has a BA in Adult Education and Community Management, focused on Land Conservation, Cultural Heritage and Management. Rowena is dedicated to all aspects of cultural education and self-determination. She is currently undertaking Post graduate studies in Archaeology and History.

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