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Curator and historian Roslyn Russell talks about the work of amateur scientists, including astronomer WJ Macdonnell, in the New South Wales coastal town of Port Macquarie, as part of her research for the Creating a Country gallery.

The development of the Australian pastoral industry at Bowen Downs in central Queensland, one of four places to be featured in the ‘Never enough grass’ module of the National Museum’s Creating a Country gallery, is outlined by curator George Main.

Collections manager Liz Marsden outlines the objectives of the Victoria Police Museum, examines its exhibitions and how the presentation of stories can create challenges in regard to the emotional ‘charge’ experienced by some visitors.

Curator Jay Arthur on the creation of an exhibition on the struggle for Indigenous civil rights from 1920 to 1970 for the National Museum. She examines the notion of the ‘untold’ story and the challenge in assembling objects to tell this story.

Conservator Nicola Smith examines the management of exhibition light levels at the National Museum of Australia. She addresses display periods, object replacement and new non-destructive methods of assessing object degradation from light.

Historian Michael Cathcart critiques the new Australian Journeys gallery, which traces Australia’s interconnections with the world. Exhibition curator Martha Sear responds, in a discussion chaired by museum general manager Louise Douglas.

Curator Charlotte Smith outlines the development of an exhibition at Museum Victoria based on urban archaeology. She discusses the challenges in interpreting the ‘rubbish’ and creating a snapshot of life in nineteenth-century Melbourne.

Museum consultant Brian Crozier considers how material culture might be interpreted by museums for popular rather than academic audiences. He examines the cultural contributions that museums may make in the study of history.

Elspeth Wishart outlines the challenges facing the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in exhibiting important two-dimensional artefacts. She relates how the museum must balance the needs of visitors with the care of these artefacts, a letter and a flag.

Alison Wishart examines the challenges of displaying rare cookery books in museums. She focuses on Flora Pell’s Our Cookery Book, published in 1916, and suggests display methods to allow better visitor interaction.