Silences
Banks's voyage marked the incorporation of Australia into the
processes, practices and concepts of Western science. In the years
that followed, Australia's flora and fauna were catalogued, its
geology studied, its scientists admitted to the international
community. Science has provided a means of understanding the country,
and forms an important part of our culture. But what opportunities
have been lost? What perspectives have not been viewed? The Cabinet
of Curiosities allows many voices from Australia's past to
speak, but many more are silent. What are the difficulties of
communicating across seas compared to communicating across cultures?
What might have been learnt if science had been more ready to
interact with other knowledge systems, such as those of Australia's
original inhabitants? The opportunities remain.
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