Museum of Central Australia
The Museum of Central Australia is currently closed to the public due to refurbishment and to prioritise the care and protection of sacred and significant cultural items held within the facility.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
From the big bang to the present day, the Museum of Central Australia follows the geological history of the area.
The Museum of Central Australia is based in the Araluen Cultural Precinct in Alice Springs. It tells the story of the region's unique natural history, following the evolution of the landscape and the fascinating creatures that inhabited it.
The Museum of Central Australia also houses the Strehlow Research Centre, one of Australia's most important collections of film, sound, archival records and museum objects relating to Indigenous ceremonial life.
Museum of Central Australia
4 Memorial Avenue, Gillen,
Alice Springs, NT 0870
PO Box 831, Alice Springs NT
0871
The Museum of Central Australia remains closed to the public until further notice. The Strehlow Research Centre is accessible by appointment only.
P +61 8 8951 1121
E Strehlow.MAGNT@magnt.net.au
Strehlow Research Centre Access Requests
Anyone wishing to access Aboriginal heritage material held by MAGNT must fill in an access request form. Please note that other records do not influence the Strehlow Collection.
There are three types of forms, please choose which one is most applicable to you:
Genealogy Access Request – A person wanting to access their family history through the tracing of lineages and lines of descent.
Researcher Access Request – A person studying Aboriginal cultural materials. Access fees will apply and are dependent on the complexity of the request.
Custodian Access Request – A person or persons directly related to material in the collection/s. Anyone wanting to access material beyond genealogies must be first identified via genealogy request and culturally appropriate protocols.
Once you have filled out the appropriate form, please email it to Strehlow.magnt@magnt.net.au. If you need a physical copy of the applicable form, you can collect it and drop it off at Megafauna Central (21 Todd Street, Alice Springs, NT, 0870). The completed form will then be delivered to the Aboriginal heritage team.
After the form has been submitted, the research request can take up to two or three months to process. The Aboriginal heritage team needs time to research the request, and they do this on top of all their regular duties. However, if the request is asking about material beyond genealogies, it will take at minimum of 3 months or longer to process this request. These types of requests need to be evaluated by the Strehlow Research Board, who meet every three to six months.
Once the Aboriginal heritage team has processed your research request, they will reach out to make an appointment. Appointments are required to access the collection and occur at pre-agreed times and dates. If it has been longer than three months since you’ve submitted your request, please email Strehlow.magnt@magnt.net.au or call 08 895 11121 to follow up on the state of your request.
Following your genealogy appointment, which includes a copy of your family tree. A minimum waiting period of 12 months is required before another genealogy appointment can be scheduled. This will help the Aboriginal heritage team process the high number of requests.
A Frontier Journey:
1915-1918 photographs by Otto Tschirn
A remarkable insight into the social world of the Central Australian frontier in the early 20th century.
Natural History Gallery
From the big bang to the present day, meteorite fragments, fossils and interpretive displays detail the geological history of Central Australia.
The Strehlow Research Centre
Located within the Museum of Central Australia, The Strehlow Research Centre manages one of the most important ethnographic collections of film, sound, archival records and objects relating to Indigenous ceremonial life found anywhere in the world.
This collection is based around the field work and writings of Professor Theodor George Henry Strehlow, often referred to as TGH Strehlow, who spent more than four decades in recording the ceremonial customs and traditions of Aranda culture in Central Australia.
