Whose Stories Are We Telling? Chinese Australian History in New South Wales and Victorian Museums

Abstract

This article examines the ways that mainstream museums in New South Wales and Victoria have incorporated Chinese Australian history into their displays from the 1980s onwards. Using archival research and interviews conducted at Museums Victoria, the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences and Museum of the Riverina, I explore the ways that these museums have chosen to frame Chinese Australian history and the ways that Chinese Australians sought to shape the exhibits and collections that represent them. I then reflect on the approaches of two recent exhibitions at the Museum of Sydney and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka.