Collecting Australia

Collecting Australia: colonial consumption and the display of Australia in Scotland during the long nineteenth century

Last updated: 12 December 2025

About the research

This PhD investigates the colonial consumption and the display of Australia at the National Museum of Scotland during the long nineteenth century. This was a period of intense colonial activity and expansion, reflected in museum practices of collecting and classification. Crucially, it covers the formation and transformation of the national museum from an Industrial Museum, into a Museum of Science and Art, and the separation of once-conjoined collections in disciplinary, curatorial and institutional terms.  

Through museum-based and archival investigation of cultural artefacts, artworks and natural specimens, the project asks what these expansive cross-disciplinary collections reveal about the role of Scots in colonial expansion in Australia and their understanding of the so-called ‘Terra nullius’. 

How did the interpretation of these collections shape public perceptions of the people and environment of Australia in Scotland? What might the repercussions of historic collecting and interpretive choices mean for mediating knowledge about First Australians today?