Police Collecting investigates the history, legality and contemporary implications of police collecting Indigenous Ancestral Remains and cultural property between 1825 and 1930, including the role of museums and governments in directing this activity. Focusing on collections held in Australia and overseas, it examines relevant law, jurisprudence concerning police acquisition of objects, and assumptions about Indigenous ownership and possession. This talk will present the project’s findings to date for a public audience.

Dr. Gareth Knapman is a Research Fellow with the Return, Reconcile, Renew repatriation network at the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University. He previously served as a Research Associate on the ARC Discovery Project Profit and Loss: The Commercial Trade in Indigenous Human Remains and is the current Research Associate on Police Collecting of Ancestral Remains and Cultural Property, 1825-1930. 

Before entering academia, Knapman worked as a curator and repatriation officer in the Indigenous Cultures Department at Museum Victoria. He has published extensively on museum collections and collecting practices and has made significant contributions to Australian historical scholarship.