Foundation of Anthropology Collections The first Aboriginal
artefacts were acquired in 1835 Museums are dedicated to
collecting, caring, studying and exhibiting the objects of
lasting value and interest. Collections are the museum’s
essence. The Australian Museum was established in 1827 but the
beginning of its collections cannot be precisely dated. Probably
the Museum already had some collections when William Holmes was
appointed Museum Keeper in 1829. Three years later some
collections were accessible for public viewing, when Dr George
Bennett visited the ‘Sydney Museum’ [Australian Museum] in 1832.
In his opinion the best in ‘presentation and numbers’ was the
collection of birds, followed by mammals and reptiles. Bennett
recommended extending the collections by the addition of ‘native
weapons, utensils and other specimens of the arts as existing
among Aborigines’ (Wanderings in New South Wales … London 1834,
p. 67-9). In 1835 Bennett himself became Secretary and Curator
of the Museum, a role similar to a d