South Sea Islands Museum, Museum of Pacific artifacts in Cooranbong, Australia
The South Sea Islands Museum was a collection of objects from Pacific Island communities, including carvings, weapons, clothing, and shells. The display offered a firsthand view of the material culture from several island regions.
The museum was founded in 1964 and was based on collections gathered by Seventh-day Adventist missionaries who had been active in Australia since 1885. These missionaries had collected objects from the Pacific over many decades.
The collection tells the story of Pacific traditions through objects gathered during missionary journeys across the South Sea. These pieces show how people lived and what mattered to them in their daily lives.
The museum was located in Cooranbong and operated on limited hours before closing in 2017. Visitors should note that access and availability are no longer current considerations.
A key piece of the collection was a war canoe from the Solomon Islands that arrived in 1968. This vessel was the centerpiece of the displays for many years.
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