Introduction
Relating to the Australian population, cultural diversity can be defined and explained as the variety of different cultures observed in Australian society. Ethnic and cultural diversity is the feature that determines Australian society, and this diversity can be noticed with references to all the spheres of people’s life. The history of cultural diversity in Australia has its origins in the process of migration because the Australian nation was formed as a result of the intensive immigration observed during several centuries. The Immigration Museum in Melbourne proposes a range of permanent exhibitions and changing displays where immigration, diversity, citizenship, and multiculturalism are the main subjects to be displayed with the help of exhibitions. The Immigration Museum consists of several galleries whose collections are devoted to different subjects, and these galleries are Leaving Home, Immigration Stories, Journeys of a Lifetime, Getting In, and Community Gallery. This report aims to discuss the ways used in the Immigration Museum to present the history of cultural diversity in Australia.
Leaving Home Gallery
Australia is a multicultural country where diversity has deep historic origins associated with immigration. According to the Census of 2011, 26% of the Australian population can be discussed as migrants because of being born in other countries (Reflecting a Nation 2013). The majority of migrants come from Asia and Europe, and this part of the country’s population contributes to the development of a culturally and ethnically diverse society. The causes of migration are also different. Thus, many migrants left their houses and countries to find a better life, to avoid the repressions, to avoid the war, and to avoid legal or religious persecution (Bennett & Carter 2001; Maiz 2005). From this point, the reasons are divided into social, economic, and cultural ones. The exhibition in the Leaving Home Gallery contributes to understanding the reasons and causes of the immigration process leading to the cultural diversity because of presenting the immigrants’ reasons in the form of videos, sounds, and objects taken with them while migrating (Immigration Museum 2013). The variety of the objects presented supports the idea of cultural diversity because these objects are extremely different and provide information about the ethnic features and values of immigrants, as is noted while observing different types of religious texts, traditional items, and everyday objects.
Immigration Stories Gallery
It is possible to speak about the idea of cultural diversity while referring to the uniqueness of people comprising the diverse Australian population. Diversity of the Australian citizens can be described with references to differences in their races, languages, ethnic backgrounds, religions, values, customs, traditions, and political views (Bennett & Carter 2001). The Immigration Stories Gallery provides visitors with the opportunity to explore the idea of the cultural diversity with references to the stories of five persons who have different cultural backgrounds. For instance, the personal story of John Cotton, the English ornithologist who migrated to Australia in the 19th century, is presented along with the modern story of Yasser Al-Alwayi, a photojournalist, who migrated from Iraq in order to develop his career in peaceful environments of Australia (Immigration Museum 2013).
As a result, it is possible to compare and analyze the diverse factors motivated persons to migrate and to think about the Australian society as the community where the Christian traditions can coexist with the Islamic ones, and where the East can meet the West. The timeline presenting the main periods of immigration which is exhibited in the gallery can help to understand the development of the cultural diversity in Australia from the historic point of view because various periods contributed to the development of the Australian population differently (Stratton 2000). For instance, the immigration during the gold rush period is associated with a lot of immigrants coming from England, Germany, Spain, and China during the 1840s-1860s years (Immigration Museum 2013).
Journeys of a Lifetime Gallery
While discussing the idea of migration and diversity, it is necessary to refer to the notion of journey. The Journeys of a Lifetime Gallery exhibits a large replica ship which length is 17 meters which are developed to illustrate the progress of the maritime experience during the twentieth century (Immigration Museum 2013). This replica ship is important to associate the cultural diversity of the Australian society with the idea of migration as a result of a long sea voyage because immigrants coming to Australia during several centuries had to experience the extremely long voyage (Bennett & Carter 2001). The information available with the help of the Origins Interactive computers presented in the gallery provides more information on the specifics of the immigration communities which contribute to the population’s diversity (Immigration Museum 2013).
Getting In Gallery
The Australian society is the most tolerant in the world because of its cultural diversity and necessity to provide the rules for living peacefully in the country. The Australian society can be discussed as culturally enriched with references to the idea of immigration (Docker & Fischer 2000). However, during a long period of time, national diversity was not supported and protected with the help of legal policies. Today, the Australian society consists of persons coming from about 200 countries that are why effective legislation to protect the rights of the diverse population is necessary in order to avoid discrimination practices (Hodge & O’Carroll 2006). As a result, different policies are developed to protect the rights of people with different backgrounds about their languages, education, cultural values, and social rights (Jupp 1997, p. 30). The exhibition in the Getting In Gallery provides real documents on the immigration policies. To understand the principles of the immigration policies, the visitors can use the computer interactive resources and interview and be interviewed as immigrants to decide about the immigrant’s future in Australia.
The context of developing the immigration policies is observed with references to images and photographs representing the associated events. Referring to the collection and exhibition, it is possible to determine such main periods in the development of the Australian immigration policy as the period of the gold rush in the 1840s-1860s, the period of the Federation, the post-war period, and the current period starting in the 1970s (Immigration Museum 2013). Thus, the aspects of the national identity and cultural diversity typical for the Australian society are significantly influenced by the immigration policies, as it is noted with references to the exhibition because any policies’ points could be discussed as barriers or advantages for different nations or representatives of various social classes.
Community Gallery
The idea of cultural diversity is closely connected with the people’s identity and their feeling of belonging. The changing exhibition titled “Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours” provides the factual data on the people’s feelings regarding their identity. Having diverse ethnic, racial, and religious backgrounds, the representatives of the Australian society seeks the idea of belonging in order to feel the necessary security within the society. Referring to the personal stories presented in the gallery with the help of multimedia resources and photographs, it is possible to note that the diverse population of Australia feels concerned about the issues of prejudice, discrimination, equality, and understanding (Immigration Museum 2013). In spite of the fact that the Australian society is tolerant because of its original diversity, the above-mentioned problems are characteristic for many persons who are discussed as immigrants (Docker & Fischer 2000).
The exhibition aims to focus on sharing the experience related to identity to understand this concept in the context of the observed cultural diversity. The displayed objects, cultural products, and the items of decoration emphasize differences in the Australian people’s identity. The exhibited photographs and objects such as the traditional dresses and accessories, the Bible, and the Torah accentuate the differences in beliefs and cultural heritage (Immigration Museum 2013). The interactive resources provide the idea that the Australian people are different in languages and in the ways to build and develop family connections based on traditions (Bennett & Carter 2001; Dale 1997, p. 42). The elements of clothing and of everyday use also emphasize the idea that the Australian culture is developed under the great impact of the global tendencies because globalization as the concept is actively discussed with references to the ways of the people’s interaction in Australia (Immigration Museum 2013).
The message of the galleries belonging to the Immigration Museum is that immigration contributed significantly to developing the cultural diversity of Australian society. The organization of the galleries contributes to demonstrating the objects which are grouped according to the subjects and topics. The observed tools of work, photographs, personal stories, decorative items, cultural products, and objects support the idea that the population of the country is extremely diverse in relation to the national heritage, cultural background, traditions, values, and languages. The collections displayed in the Immigration Museum are important to contribute to forming the idea about the Australian society as multicultural where different cultures meet to form the new community.
Reference List
Bennett, T & Carter, D 2001, Culture in Australia: Policies, publics and programs, Cambridge University Press, USA.
Dale, L 1997, Mainstreaming Australia, Journal of Australian Studies, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 42-58.
Docker, J & Fischer, G 2000, Race, colour, and identity in Australia and New Zealand, University of New South Wales Press, Australia.
Hodge, B & O’Carroll, J 2006, Borderwork in multicultural Australia, Allen & Unwin, Australia.
Immigration Museum 2013, Web.
Jupp, J 1997, Tacking into the wind: Immigration and multicultural policy in the 1990s, Journal of Australian Studies, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 29-40.
Maiz, R 2005, Democracy, nationalism, and multiculturalism, Routledge, USA. Reflecting a Nation: Stories from the 2011 Census, 2012–20132013, Web.
Stratton, J 2000, Not just another multicultural story, Journal of Australian Studies, vol. 24. no. 66, pp. 23-47.