Wansolmoana
The Australian Museum's new permanent Pasifika Gallery, Wansolmoana, celebrates the rich history and traditions of the Pacific nations.
One Salt Ocean
Experience the diverse and dynamic cultures of Pasifika peoples through stories and objects from across the region.
The Australian Museum (AM) has one of the world's largest and most significant Pacific cultural collections, which this year went on display in the new permanent Pasifika Gallery, Wansolmoana. It features more than 300 objects from the Pasifika collection of more than 60,000 held at the AM, along with newly commissioned pieces from 32 Pacific communities across 19 Pacific nations.
Wansolmoana, which means ‘one salt ocean’, celebrates the rich history and traditions of the Pacific nations, looking at their past, present and future, blending the wisdom of ancestors with the voices of the present to ensure a vibrant legacy for future generations.
The gallery acts as a springboard for educating visitors about the historical plights of Pasifika peoples and their concerns about the global climate emergency. Pacific nations are some of the most threatened coastal communities on Earth. ‘One salt ocean’ reflects the cultural significance of the immense body of water that connects the islands and people across the region.
AM audiences are also encouraged to engage in outreach programs, public talks, and other activities, such as the outreach initiative Wansolmoana Connect, which brings together Sydney’s Pasifika diaspora community leaders and youth groups to help preserve knowledge and traditions within families with Pacific Island heritage.
Curated by the Australian Museum’s Pasifika staff and cultural knowledge holders in Australia and from around the Pacific, Wansolmoana is the result of five years of engagement with community voices from Rotuma, Fiji Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Kiribati, Aotearoa New Zealand and other Pasifika nations.
The Australian Museum’s exhibition lead curator and Manager of Pasifika Collections & Engagement, Melissa Malu, is a proud Fijian and Tongan woman. She led the curation of the gallery, saying that Wansolmoana is an invaluable step towards reconciliation between Australia and Pasifika people and that by displaying this unique collection, the AM hopes to encourage the exploration of cultures that are also part of the social fabric of Australia.
These objects are significantly important to the Pacific diaspora in Australia and offers them the opportunity to reconnect with their ancestral heritage.
What's in the gallery?
A total of 300 objects are on display, including musical instruments, masks, canoe models and tattooing implements. There’s a stunning Kapa (Hawaiian bark cloth) by artist Roen Hufford, and intricate traditional Tongan pole lashings — the first to be featured in a museum in Australia. There is also a video installation by Angela Tiatia, and powerful and evocative artworks by Australian South Sea Islander (ASSI) artists Jasmine Togo-Brisby and Dylan Mooney.
Rotuman Suru
The exhibition features a rare Rotuman Suru (headdress), believed to be the first of its kind made since the 1800s. A testament to the tenacity of knowledge holders passing their expertise on to a new generation, this cultural practice has been resurrected after two centuries.
Tokelauan Vaka
Tokelau, a dependent territory of New Zealand, is one of a number of low-lying Pacific islands seriously threatened by climate change. This Tokelauan Vaka, a canoe fashioned from traditional wood from Tokelau by the Sydney-based diaspora, symbolises the preservation of traditional canoe-making skills, language, and a fight for survival in the face of the climate emergency. It was also used in the 2014 Climate Change protest in Newcastle Harbour.
Turaga
Wansolmoana is helping to regenerate precious art-making traditions in the region. A Turaga — a Fijian warlord’s ceremonial attire — was commissioned and created specially for the gallery by an artist who learnt the craft from his grandfather more than 50 years ago.
Exhibition opening
The opening of Wansolmoana was marked by a community event, attended by members of the Pacific diaspora, providing a meaningful way to reconnect with their ancestral heritage.
The new Pasifika Gallery will also serve as a springboard for engaging audiences through outreach programs, public talks, and other activities. This includes the outreach initiative Wansolmoana Connect which brings together Pasifika diaspora, community leaders and youth groups from western and south-western Sydney. Run as pilot workshops in recent years, the programs have had a proven impact, building confidence and a sense of belonging among Pasifika youth participants.
Acknowledgements
The Australian Museum would like to thank the Pasifika curatorium, Pasifika diaspora in Australia and communities from within the various Pacific Islands for their generosity, insights, stories and cultural knowledge shared throughout Wansolmoana.
The Pasifika Gallery has been made possible through the generous support of The Macdoch Foundation. With their support, the AM is now able to realise its mission of education, research and special programs with the Pacific community.