Imagine if you had to pick one item that summed up your life. What would you choose? A piece of clothing, a book, a treasured heirloom? Not an easy question for any of us.
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Now imagine if you had actually done something with your life. That you’re one of the cave divers who rescued the boys in Thailand, or Australia’s greatest Paralympic wheelchair athlete, or a journalist passionate about women’s rights and gender equality, or an Australian Football legend and outspoken opponent of racism, or a scientist dedicated to treating river blindness in Africa, or a man responsible for investigating online child exploitation and abuse, or a woman who’s an advocate for teenage parents after having her own son at 16.
What would you choose then?
A new exhibition, Australian of the Year, at the National Museum of Australia showcases eight personal items selected by this year’s state and territory recipients.
Craig Challen, one of the cave divers, has selected The Ashley Book of Knots, his go-to reference book that has complemented his cave diving.
Dr Richard Harris, who joined him in Thailand, has selected his first scuba regulator he purchased as a 15 year old.
Kurt Fearnley’s helmet and gloves he wore in his farewell race at the 2018 Commonwealth Games sit next to Michael Long’s sandals he wore on “The Long Walk”.
A pink knitted “pussyhat” belonging to Virginia Haussegger, worn in protest and solidarity joins a ceramic scorpion and unit patch selected by John Rouse.
Bernadette Black promised herself, pregnant and 16, that she would write a book to help other young parents, the original manuscript for that, and the book it would eventually become sit side by side.
And for Mark Sullivan, he broke with tradition, and selected something that belonged to someone else: a small version of the statue which stands at the entrance to the World Health Organisation headquarters in Geneva, a young boy leading a blind man.
“It was very hard process,” says Sullivan, the Victorian Australian of the Year.
“I went back through things that were from my childhood and wondered whether they were relevant, my career, one of the things I thought about was I spent some time in the UK, that first move there, the job that I did there, that was quite an important thing for me.
“But this ended up being a pretty easy choice for me to make. I just had to lay my hands on the statue because I don't own it. It's a beautiful statue and it's very inspirational.”
National Museum director Mathew Trinca said the recipients have chosen diverse and deeply personal objects reflecting their life’s journey.
“We are so proud to feature these fascinating objects chosen by eight exceptional individuals,” said Dr Trinca, who was this week reappointed for another five year term as director.
“We hope many Australians will see this exhibition and reflect on the issues raised by the objects before us – and the endeavours of the Australians who selected them.”
The exhibition will be on display at the National Museum until February 17, 2019, and then tour nationally.
