Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Material

Introduction

Many museum, gallery and library collections include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage items. These items can be made from a wide range of materials; and caring for them is not always straightforward. As with all heritage items, compromise is necessary when trying to find a balance between using and preserving collections. Yet, there is much that you can do to preserve items in your care: through careful and thoughtful handling, storage and display.

This section identifies the main problems you will encounter with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage items in your collections, and provides information that will help you to prolong the life of these items. The measures recommended in this section relate to standard museum conservation practice, and do not take into account regional, indigenous conservation methods.