The 'Pasifikisation' of Museum Practices: A Case Study of the Tonga Museum Past, Present and Future

Abstract

This thesis examines museology as a changing cultural practice in the Pacific. What are the past, present and future problems of museums in Tonga? From older models of museums as colonial storehouses to dynamic Postmodern models of audience-focused cultural centres, the history of museums in Tonga reflect changes in museological practices - their professional techniques and procedures - which determine how institutions go about the functions of collection and display. What are the circumstances which have shaped the development of museums in the Pacific, and what new models may appear in the future? In order to answer these questions, a combination of academic and indigenous approaches is used in this research. In addition to the survey of the literature, interviews and archival research, I employ the appropriate Tongan cultural methodology of talanoa - informal conversation - in order to gather information and opinion about the specific situation of the museum in Tonga. A case study of the Fiji Museum will be analysed followed by an investigation of the long-standing Tupou College Museum and the newly formed Tonga National Museum. By exploring the introduction, development and adaptation of museum practices in Tonga, situated in the social and cultural context of the Pacific but approached through a western theoretical framework, I identify problems and solutions relating to museums and their operation. How can a Postmodern museum model be modified to incorporate Pacific ways of doing things? In this thesis Andre Malraux's notion of the 'museum without walls' is employed to construct a model of the museum better suited to the Pacific context, an 'invisible' museum embedded within the local community rather than separated from it. An in-depth analysis of recent exhibitions at the Tonga National Museum suggests future directions for the care and fostering of Tongan cultural heritage. I conclude that recent experiences in Tonga represent the 'Pasifikisation' of the museum, the emergence of Pacific practices in museums which preserve and promote tangible as well as intangible heritage.