‘Primitive, Antique, and Modern’: An Exhibition of Music in Interwar Sydney and the ‘Australian’ Music Question

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 1933, the city of Sydney hosted the first dedicated musical exhibition in Australia. Showcasing historic instruments, manuscripts, and ephemera in the settler-colonial society of Australia, this exhibition raised uncomfortable questions about the nation’s history. This article explores the exhibition in the context of contemporary musical culture and collecting practices, arguing that this event physically manifests ongoing debates about the formation of Australian social and cultural identity. Its displays demonstrate both a desire for connection with European traditions and an increasing awareness of Australia’s position in the Pacific and white Australia’s relationship with First Nations people and culture.