Great Southern Land: Aussie band Icehouse and National Museum of Australia team up for new gallery launch, announce one-off concert

And the two worlds of music and Australian natural history came together on Thursday when the National Museum marked its most significant gallery redevelopment since it opened its doors in 2001.

The opening event saw singer Iva Davies, other members of Icehouse and special guest and didgeridoo player William Barton, perform Great Southern Land for museum guests.

The Great Southern Land gallery, which opens to the public on Friday, features more than 2100 unique objects and interactive digital experiences that celebrate Australia's unique landscape and questions the environmental challenges that lay ahead.

Friday also sees the official opening of the Tim and Gina Fairfax Discovery Centre - an immersive, innovative play space for children aged up to six years. Together, the $34 million revamp reimagines more than one-third of the museum.

"I think that what [these additions] do is reinvent the idea of the museum for the 21st century, and make it fit for purpose," National Museum director Mat Trinca said.

"It's work like this that brings to public notice the great questions that we have and we face at this time. The great environmental questions. It's work like this, that is precisely what the museum is here to do."

While the new gallery and the Icehouse song share a name, that's not where the similarities end.

In the museum's foyer is the Prophet 5 synthesizer used on the song points people in the direction of the gallery. But more than that, Davies said the essence of the song runs through the exhibition itself.

"The general soul of the song, I think, is about protecting the land," he said.

"What I tried to do when I was writing the song is actually have a conversation with a face about the importance of listening to it. And I think if we do that, it will tell you what needs to be done."

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The Great Southern Land gallery is divided into four chapters. The first is Power, which examines the country's natural forces, followed by Connection which looks at the seasonal migratory rhythms. Life looks at Australia's unique biodiversity and finally, Change examines how the country has transformed and adapted over time.

Among the items that are included in the gallery are a four-and-a-half-metre long saltwater crocodile, a steel electricity pole that was bent and twisted by Cyclone Tracy in 1974, and three life-sized models of orcas that help tell the story of how the predators once helped humans hunt humpback whales.

"Ultimately, though, this gallery reveals our deep love of this land and inspires old and young to cherish and care for it," National Museum program manager Martha Sear said.

"By understanding what the land means to us, we can feel optimistic that listening to this ancient continent will provide the answers to addressing the great global challenges that we face now and into the future."

On Thursday it was also announced that Icehouse would return to the National Museum of Australia on November 4 for a one-off concert.

"The location of the concert in the museum during the opening months of the Great Southern Land exhibition gives us all a unique opportunity to celebrate not only 40 years of our song but the unique story of our home country," Davies said.

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am from nma.gov.au. Both galleries open to the public on Friday.

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