Bush TVs: piliyi good one

An exhaustive process of research and discussion was entered into before the final selection of themes for each diorama was decided upon. In the end there were nine key themes, with ten Bush TVs needed to interpret them. The lengthy decision-making process of identifying the themes was only the start of the community consultation needed when making the dioramas. Every idea, every image, every object had to go through a rigorous process of being approved by the old people of the community. Trisha Frank Narrurlu and Michael Jampin Jones undertook this work with incredible sensitivity and patience which, in the end, gave the whole community responsibility for the work.

The dioramas became a rich compilation showing the power of oral history when combined with archival documentation and visual material. Storyboards for each diorama were made based on the documentation and oral histories were collected or uncovered by a variety of researchers working on the project. A preparator who had previously worked with the Museum of Victoria, Ewin Wood, came to Tennant Creek to assist with the bush tucker and kuyu (literally meat or stuffed animal) displays. Ewin taught many valuable skills in making the Bush TVs – including the use of a hot glue gun and soldering brass to make miniature billycans and pannikins. He alerted people to issues of longevity in museum displays and the need to freeze any natural materials that were used to kill any organisms that may have been living in the natural materials. Natural and found materials were used to make the Bush TVs and a strong part of the process involved being inventive with what was available.