Before a 600-strong crowd of dignitaries and celebrities, Prime Minister Bob Hawke declares open the first permanent home for the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia on 3 October 1984. While our audiovisual collection dates from the 1930s, it wasn’t until 1984 that the NFSA moved to the Acton site in Canberra.

The NFSA building is located on the ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples who have inhabited the area for at least 25,000 years. Historical evidence suggests that the Canberra region was traversed and occupied by the Ngambri, Ngunnawal, Ngunawal, Ngarigo, and Walgalu peoples, and was an important place for meetings and ceremonies. Their descendants continue to live and practise language and culture in and around the region.

The building was occupied by the Institute of Anatomy from 1931. During this time, the Institute exhibited and stored collection materials containing human remains, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and First Nations people from the Pacific region. When the Institute of Anatomy left the Acton building, the remains were transferred to the National Museum of Australia (NMA). The NMA, in consultation with communities, has a Repatriation program to identify and return ancestors to Country.

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