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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.

Historian Paul Tapsell discusses how artefacts in Joseph Banks’ collection from Captain James Cook’s first voyage to the Pacific can be viewed as ‘taonga’, or Maori treasured possessions.

The historical significance of the Cook-Forster ethnographic collection of the University of Göttingen in Germany is examined by historian Paul Turnbull.

Historian Lissant Bolton considers the nature of Captain James Cook’s fame in a museological context and discusses how difficult it is to present artefacts from the Pacific in an exhibition without reference to Cook’s three voyages.

Anthropologist Adrienne Kaeppler outlines the research that has gone into reconstructing the ethnographic collections from Captain James Cook’s three Pacific voyages.

Curator Guy Hansen traces the history of the National Museum’s National Historical Collection. He argues that the collection is eclectic – that there is no single story but many stories, with various collectors bringing different perspectives.

The history of the Springfield collection, more than 2000 objects from a major rural property near Sydney, is outlined by registrar Carol Cooper. She explores the remarkable family who cared for it and the Museum’s work to make this collection available.

Collections and Content General Manager Mathew Trinca outlines the National Museum of Australia’s Collections Development Plan, designed to support collecting efforts for five years.

Historian Ian McShane analyses social history as museum theme and practice from 1981 to 2000.

Sylvia Schaffarczyk reconstructs the history of the Official Papuan collection at the National Museum of Australia and examines Australian collecting in Papua during a key period in the development of anthropology and Australia’s colonial interests.