August 2011: The Museum acquires John Konrads’ Olympic medals. Konrads was Australia’s youngest male Olympian and set 26 world records. The acquisition, jointly announced by Director Andrew Sayers (left) and John Konrads (right) attracted extensive media coverage (1).
September 2011: A New Horizon: Contemporary Chinese Art, an exhibition examining the art of China since 1949, opens. The launch was attended by dignitaries including Mr Chen Yuming, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China (left) and Director of the National Art Museum of China, Mr Fan Di’an (right) (2).
September 2011: Bipotaim: Stories from the Torres Strait opens with striking photographs, stories and objects representing the lives, culture and identity of Torres Strait Islanders. Guest speaker was Napau Pedro Stephen, Mayor of the Torres Shire Council (3).
November 2011: Inside: Life in Children’s Homes and Institutions opens. This exhibition features the words, voices and objects of the Forgotten Australians and Former Child Migrants. Here, volunteer Wilma Robb (left) talks to a visitor about her personal experience as a Forgotten Australian (4).
December 2011: The Museum acquires a rare 1813 New South Wales ‘holey dollar’ — the first currency minted in Australia (5).
February 2012: The Royal Daimler Project begins to raise funds for the restoration of the Museum’s DE 36hp Daimler landaulette. The aim is to have this vehicle, which was used on Queen Elizabeth II’s first royal tour of Australia, ready for display by the 60th anniversary of this tour.
March 2012: The Museum magazine is successfully launched. The magazine presents information on the diverse range of exhibitions, programs and activities to a broad national audience.
April 2012: The Museum acquires two pen and ink drawings by Aboriginal artist Tommy McRae (about 1835–1901). Senior Curator Carol Cooper is shown here at the unveiling of the drawings (6).
May 2012: On International Museum Day, Director Andrew Sayers becomes the new President of Museums Australia, the key advocacy group for thousands of people who work in and support museums, galleries and cultural centres across Australia.
May 2012: Gold award. For the fourth consecutive year the Museum’s annual report wins a gold award in the Australasian Reporting Awards.
June 2012: Australian History Mysteries case study is launched at Lake Mungo in south-west New South Wales by Professor Jim Bowler (left), shown speaking to students from Chaffey Secondary College, Victoria. This new case study features Bowler’s famous discoveries of ancient Aboriginal people at Lake Mungo (7).
June 2012: The Museum celebrates record visitation. This year 5,297,000 people visited the Museum, its travelling exhibitions and its website, and attended its programs and events