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An original bamboo musical instrument made by Minh Tam Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee to Australia, illustrates a meeting of European and Asian traditions and a life changed by war, explains curator Jennifer Wilson.

The ways the ‘active’ Indigenous voice has changed the representation of Indigenous cultures from urban areas in museums and keeping places is explored by Indigenous artist Gordon Syron, poet Sam Wagan Watson and writer Stephen Hagan.

An exploration of the term ‘urban’, whether it is an appropriate reference for Indigenous people living in Australian cities, and the many ways Indigenous culture is expressed in these environments.

An examination of the expression of Indigenous culture and identity by a dynamic group of contemporary artists and authors. Explores the impact the ‘art’ movement has had on Indigenous people and how cultural material can be ‘read’ as documentary text.

Environmental historian Libby Robin and novelist Nicholas Drayson share an interest in nature and the history of science and discovery. They explore the dynamic relationship between historical evidence, recollections and the reconstruction of the past.

Tom Darragh uses Ludwig Leichhardt’s diaries to show the skill and accuracy with which the explorer and naturalist recorded scientific observations and information about plants and geological specimens, in terminology which is still used today.

Scientist Henry Nix argues that had explorer Ludwig Leichhardt lived, he could have published the results of his scientific observations and joined the company of peers including Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin.

Conservator David Hallam outlines the metal and corrosion analysis which helped to authenticate the Leichhardt nameplate. The plate is the only known artefact from Ludwig Leichhardt’s lost 1848 Australian expedition with a corroborated provenance.

Alice Springs historian Dick Kimber proposes an alternative theory for the fate of Ludwig Leichhardt’s expedition, arguing that it was lost in the Simpson Desert, in a closing discussion with earlier symposium speakers.

Curator Matthew Higgins outlines the work undertaken to establish the authenticity of a small brass nameplate, the first object with a corroborated provenance from explorer Ludwig Leichhardt’s lost 1848 expedition.