Until the beginning of 1986, the National Museum of Australia was named "The Museum of Australia". On this day in 1986, The Canberra Times reported that the museum had changed its name, with the help of a Sydney-based design firm. The museum was planned to be opened in 1990, and did not yet have its permanent home in Acton where it currently resides.
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The minister for arts, heritage and environment, Mr Cohen, announced that the museum's "new identity" reflected "the national character of the museum." The name change would also prevent any confusion between the newly titled National Museum in Canberra and the Australian Museum in Sydney.
Along with the change in name, the museum had some new colours: blue, representing the sky, ochre, representing the earth, and, separating these colours, a thin wavy white line to represent clouds. It was said that these colours together represented the vastness of Australia and depicted its horizon.
Mr Cohen announced that a visitor centre at Yarramundi Reach was to be opened in four months, which would include a theatrette, plans and models of the museum project, and an exhibition of some objects featured in the national historical collection. The centre would also feature Phar Lap's heart, which at the time was undergoing "conservation." He said the museum was on target for its planned opening in 1990.
