Field Report of Melbourne Immigration Museum in Australia

It also serves as a “Discovery Center” because it helps visitors in sharing their feelings and accessing the immigrants’ database. The inauguration of this museum endorsed a magnificent social and cultural dimension in a country that is culturally diversified(Boumankhar, 2011). Almost 25% of the population in Australia are foreigners, and approximately 44% of its population have at least one parent who is not a Australian. Therefore, Australia is composed of a multiethnic and multicultural group of people complicating the situation of migration. The field report explains background history of the museum, its current exhibitions and outlines depiction of Australia’s history of migration. On the other hand, products are commodities that immigrants come with, such as suitcases. The visuals are projected as videos to explain the reality of routes of migration and other testimonies recorded by immigrants that show forced movement from their home countries because of war and such for better life.

The permanent exhibition is composed of another theme which has different tools that portray the expertise of newcomers, clothing, customs and traditions of their places of origin. The following diagram is a sample presentation of themes placed at the entrance of the museum. Current Exhibitions The following are some of the current exhibitions that are taking place within the museum. The third era occurred from 1946 to 1972, and it was accompanied by the relaxation of policies of migration immediately after the end of WWII and permitted trading with neighbouring nations such as the Middle East and Asia. The last historical period of immigration was witnessed from 1973 up to 2006, and it presents the multicultural policy in the country where the idea of national identity is still in existence (Ang and Stratton, 1998).

It is a period that stresses on the principle of opening ethnic and cultural diversification of the Australian community which fails to emphasize the idea of identification but adopts the peoples’ diversity in its multicultural society. Therefore, looking at the “Immigration and National Identity,” the history of migration experienced by the country triggers different issues connected to the definition of identification: “For over two centuries immigration has raised questions about national identity. What kind of society do we want? Is Australia a southern outpost of British culture? Or is its identity bound to Asia and the Pacific? Is there a 'typical' Australian? Or does the very idea of 'typical' deny the diversity of our society? How does Aboriginal identity fit into the idea of Australia as an immigrant nation? Can different cultures maintain their identities while participating in a 'national identity'?” The Immigration Museum addresses the above reports and answered questions through audios, visuals and images archived (Lra.