Pacific cultures gallery

The South Australian Museum has the largest collection of Pacific material in Australia, with around 3,000 bows, arrows, spears, shields, utensils, ornaments, masks and ritual objects exhibited.

The Pacific cultures gallery is currently closed, while a major conservation and cultural care program is underway in partnership with the Pacific Islands Council of South Australian and local Pacific communities, to ensure significant pieces are preserved for future generations.

The closure of the gallery is temporary while the collections enter a planned period of rest after being on display for decades. This collaboration between the Museum and the local Pacific community will ensure that cultural authority, knowledge, protocols and traditional ceremonial practices will guide the care and stewardship of ancestral objects and tumbuna treasures.

In the coming years, the Museum and local Pasifika community leaders will be working together to co-design an enhanced permanent display for the gallery with new stories, stronger community voices and a broader representation of Pacific cultures.

While this working is underway, a number of Pacific cultures pop-up exhibitions and displays will be shared to display objects that have not been seen before or accessed by the public for a long time.

High-resolution 3D digitisations of several significant objects will be available shortly.

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