Western Australia's layered history

One day, to escape the oppressive sun in Perth, we ducked into the cool confines of the WA Museum Boola Bardip.^* You know, a chance to soak up some history while enjoying the air conditioning and maybe having a little afternoon refresher.^**

The Boola Bardip is a sprawling, $400 million museum that mirrors the inherent contrasts of Western Australia itself—a blend of cutting-edge modernity and historical reverence that speaks to the state's isolation, which is a source of both discomfort and pride. The sleek five-story structure incorporates several heritage buildings that were on the site—the Old Perth Gaol (1855), the Jubilee Building (1899), the old Art Gallery (1908), the old State Library (1913), each designed by a different architect with varying floor levels and street alignments.

The new museum’s 75,000 square feet of gallery space moves seamlessly through, around, and over these old structures, including them to reflect Western Australia's narrative of vast geographies peopled by a vanishingly small population, home to the oldest evidence of human occupation in Australia and the largest foreign-born population in the country, and a center of biodiversity and conservation while also leading the world in iron and natural gas production.^*** And it all works. Well, in terms of architecture, anyway. Proven by the countless awards the museum has earned.

Less obvious is the behind-the-scenes work to ensure the museum appropriately conveys the stories and traditions of all Western Australia's Indigenous communities and those of the Western colonials. This place is serious about telling stories from every angle.

In fact, they worked hard to include perspectives from more than 70 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups, a feat that sounds as exhausting as it does commendable.^† More than 54,000 people were consulted to make this happen, a process I imagine was only slightly less complicated than herding kangaroos.

The exhibits range from the "Oh, that's interesting" to the "Wait, what?!" You've got your standard fare like Australia's oldest grapevine and one rather imposing whale skeleton^†† hanging from the ceiling as if to remind you of both the majesty and the sheer terrifying nature of, well, nature. They also have the southern hemisphere’s most extensive meteorite collection,^††† along with the largest banded iron ore formations in the world—proudly displayed as if to say, "Look at this rock. Just look at it." It's a rockhound’s dream, proving once again that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (or the geologist).

I will say, though, that this museum doesn't shy away from the tough stuff. There's a gallery that includes maps of the 40 Indigenous massacres and stories of people enslaved indentured as pearl divers and domestic help, all presented with the kind of sobering clarity that leaves you needing to take a moment. There’s also a whole section that covers the odious White Australia policy that includes racist T-shirts and stickers proclaiming, “Close the borders. We're full.”º These are jarringly juxtaposed with exhibits on the state's modern multicultural fabric and enlightened stance on refugees. It's like walking through someone's thought process as they try to make sense of history's darker chapters alongside its hopes for the future.

But just when you think you've gotten your fill of the profound, you're ushered into the world of interactive screens and dinosaur models clearly meant for kids, including the Innovations gallery. This gallery is sponsored by the mining industry, so this is where things get a bit more...complicated. This is where your admiration for the museum’s attention and diligence to the continent’s entire history (as opposed to just its white history) takes a little hit. Here, you're reminded of the delicate balance between celebrating progress and acknowledging its costs—or not.

Where’s the “difficult conversation” that explores how Western Australia’s economic activity has impacted its natural resources and Indigenous heritage? Clearly, mining has a firm, longstanding grip on Western Australia. The assumption seems to be that the good of the state is good for everyone. Incidents like Rio Tinto's destruction of the Juukan Gorge, a sacred Aboriginal site, in May 2020 and Woodside Energy’s “relocation” of nearly 2,000 pieces of rock art into a holding compound for their North West Shelf Project in 2014  are not mentioned, not once. Nor is the fact that more than 100 other sacred sites—some predating the Ice Age—might be next. That's a little like patting yourself on the back with one hand while crossing your fingers behind your back with the other.

Located smack in the heart of Perth's cultural precinct, Boola Bardip is hard to miss. It's a monument to the Whadjuk Noongar people and a showcase for the land’s deep history. Overall, it’s a great museum, even if some exhibitions dance around the significance of country, wealth, and the ongoing cultural narrative—sometimes gracefully, sometimes stepping on its own toes. It's a place of beauty, tragedy, complexity, and contradiction, much like Western Australia itself.