National Museum of Australia - Speakers program

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Speakers program

Barks, Birds & Billabongs: Exploring the Legacy of the 1948 American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land. 16-20 November 2009.

pdf Download Barks, Birds & Billabongs speakers program

Day 1: 17 November 2009 – Histories

8am–3pm	Registration desk open
9–9.20am	Official opening of symposium Craddock Morton Director, National Museum of Australia Overview of symposium Margo Neale Project director and Principal Advisor to the Director (Indigenous), National Museum of Australia
9.20–9.50am	Overview of the Expedition A history of the 1948 expedition Sally K May Convenor, Graduate Program in Liberal Arts (Cultural and Environmental Heritage), Research School of Humanities, The Australian National University
9.50–10.30am	Unpacking the testimony of Gerald Blitner: An Indigenous perspective on the Arnhem Land Expedition Martin Thomas Research Fellow, Department of History, University of Sydney
10.30–11am	Morning tea
11–11.30am	Locating the Expedition politically: 1948 American–Australian relations Kim Beazley Professorial Fellow, University of Western Australia and Chancellor, The Australian National University
11.30–12pm	Historic perspectives on the Smithsonian's participation in the Arnhem Land Expedition: Transformations of the expeditionary enterprise Paul Michael Taylor Director, Asian Cultural History Program, Smithsonian Institution Paper read by Martin Thomas Research Fellow, Department of History, University of Sydney
12–12.30pm	'A Robinson Crusoe in Arnhem Land...': Howell Walker, National Geographic, and the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition Mark Jenkins Historian, National Geographic Society
12.30–1pm	Fossicking memories Expedition botanist Raymond Louis Specht interviewed by Martin Thomas
1–2.30pm	Lunch
2.30–4.30pm	Session: Charles P Mountford Chair and respondent: Emeritus Professor John Mulvaney
2.30–3pm	Inside Mountford's tent: Paint, politics and paperwork Philip Jones Senior Curator, Department of Anthropology, South Australian Museum
3–3.30pm	The responsibilities of leadership: The records of Charles P Mountford Suzy Russell Content services librarian, State Library of South Australia paper co-authored with Denise Chapman Content services librarian, State Library of South Australia
3.30–4pm	'Bastard barks: A gift from the 1948 Arnhem Land expedition Margo Neale Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Historical Research and senior curator, National Museum of Australia
4–4.30pm	Session responses and discussion
4.30–5pm	General discussion and questions led by Margo Neale (National Museum of Australia), Sally K May (Research School of Humanities, The Australian National University) and Peter Veth (Deputy Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies, The Australian National University) and Peter Veth (Deputy Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies, The Australian National University)
8pm	MANIKAY PERFORMANCE

Day 2: 18 November 2009 – Legacies

8am–3pm	Registration desk open
9–10.30am	Session: Natural Sciences
9–9.30am	Beneath the billabongs: The scientific legacy of Robert Rush Miller Gifford H Miller Professor, INSTAAR and Geological Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, United States of America and Robert C Cashner Emeritus Research Professor of Biological Sciences, Vice Chancellor for Research and Dean of the Graduate School, University of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States of America
9.30–10am	Appraising the legacy of the Arnhem Land Expedition: An insider's perspective Raymond Louis Specht Emeritus Professor of Botany and 1948 expedition member, University of Queensland
10–10.30am	The 'exciting thing was the landscape': Raymond Specht, a botanist in the field Lynne McCarthy Research Fellow, Centre for Historical Research, National Museum of Australia
10.30–11am	Morning tea
11–1.30pm	Session: Collections across media
11–11.30pm	Book launch Collecting Cultures: Myth, Politics and Collaboration in the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition, Sally K May. Craddock Morton Director, National Museum of Australia
11.30–12pm	Birds on the wire: Colin Simpson and the emergence of the radio documentary feature Tony MacGregor Arts Editor, ABC Radio National
12–12.30pm	Snapshots of musical life: Simpson's 1948 recordings Allan Marett Professor Emeritus, University of Sydney and Professor of Ethnomusicology, Charles Darwin University and Linda Barwick Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures, University of Sydney
12.30–1pm	Hidden for 60 years: The motion picture films of the American–Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land Josh Harris Senior Electronic Resources Technician Department of Collections and Technical Services University of Kentucky (Formerly Archives Manager, Film and Audiovisual Archives, National Geographic Society) Paper read by Mark Jenkins Historian, National Geographic Society
1–1.30pm	Collecting Australia at the Smithsonian: 150 years and still going Adrienne L Kaeppler, Curator (Oceania), Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
1.30-2.30pm	Lunch
2.30–3.30pm	Politics of Repatriation panel: The collection and return of human remains and cultural materials
3.30–4pm	Making a sea change: Rock art, archaeology and the enduring legacy of McCarthy's research on Groote Eylandt Anne Clarke Program convener, Heritage Studies, Department of Archaeology, School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, University of Sydney and Ursula Frederick PhD candidate, School of Art, The Australian National University
4–5pm	Indigenous Community Panel Expedition camp 1 — Groote Eylandt
5–5.30pm	General discussion and questions led by Peter Stanley (Head, Centre for Historical Research, National Museum of Australia) and Ann McGrath (Director, Australian Centre for Indigenous History, The Australian National University)
Symposium dinner

Day 3: 19 November 2009 – Continuity & Change

8am–3pm	Registration desk open
9–10am	Session: Fibre
	The forgotten collection: Baskets reveal histories Louise Hamby Postdoctoral fellow, Research School of Humanities, The Australian National University
9.30–10am	Missing the Revolution! Negotiating disclosure on the Pre-Macassans (Bayini) in North-East Arnhem Land Ian McIntosh Director of International Partnerships and Adjunct Professor of Anthropology, Indiana University–Purdue University at Indianapolis, United States of America
10–10.30am	Morning tea
10.30–12pm	Session: Western Arnhem Land
10.30–11am	The forbidden gaze: The 1948 Wubarr ceremony performed for the American–Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land Murray Garde Research Fellow, Research School of Humanities, Australian National University
11–11.30am	From Fish Creek to the Mann River: Hunter-gatherer transformations in western Arnhem Land, 1948–2008 Jon Altman ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University
11.30–12.30pm	Indigenous community panel Expedition camp 3 — Gunbalanya (formerly Oenpelli)
12.30–1.30pm	Lunch
1.30–3.30pm	Session: North-east and central Arnhem Land Chair and respondent Howard Morphy Director, Research School of Humanities, The Australian National University
1.30–2pm	Forget the barks! Bring on the string figures! The string figures of Yirrkala: Activating a legacy Robyn McKenzie PhD candidate, Research School of Humanities, The Australian National University
2–2.30pm	Yolngu ways of knowing Country Ad Borsboom Chair Pacific Studies, Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands)
2.30–3.30pm	Indigenous Community Panel Expedition camp 2 — Yirrkala
3.30–3.45pm	Session responses and discussion
3.45–4pm	Afternoon break (if necessary)
4–5pm	General discussion led by symposium steering committee (Margo Neale, Martin Thomas, Sally K May and Peter Stanley), Howard Morphy (Director, Research School of Humanities, The Australian National University), Ann McGrath (Director, Australian Centre for Indigenous History, The Australian National University) and Peter Veth (Deputy Director, National Centre for Indigenous Studies, The Australian National University) Closing remarks Peter Stanley (Head, Centre for Historical Research, National Museum of Australia)
6pm	NFSA ARNHEM LAND EXPEDITION FILM NIGHT