Sounds like Australia
Our national archive has an eclectic collection of recordings, ranging from the everyday to the extraordinary.
The recent addition of Jack Karlson’s unforgettable “succulent Chinese meal” outburst to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) has placed that institution and its mission in the spotlight.
The archive is tasked with preserving, contextualising, and sharing the sounds and moving images that have shaped Australian life, whether they be solemn, joyful, artistic, or even surreal.
Karlson’s reaction to his arrest outside a restaurant in Brisbane’s Chinatown in1991, which was captured by a passing television crew, became a global internet meme two decades later.
Now, it has been formally recognised as part of the Sounds of Australia registry, cementing its status as cultural folklore rather than disposable viral content.
The NFSA is Australia’s national audiovisual collecting institution, charged with safeguarding more than a century of film, television, radio, music, games, and new media.
Established as an independent body in 1984, the archive collects, preserves, and provides access to audiovisual works dating from the 1890s to the present day.
Its purpose is not merely storage, but storytelling: ensuring Australians can see, hear, and understand their shared history through the media that recorded it.
What makes the NFSA distinctive is the breadth of what it considers culturally significant. Alongside more serious fare, the archive embraces everyday sounds and snippets of popular culture.
Selections for the Sounds of Australia collection, launched in 2007, are publicly nominated, then assessed by curators and industry experts, and must be at least 10 years old.
The result is a capsule of audio that captures creativity, identity, and daily life, ranging from political speeches to advertising jingles and even the beeping noises made at pedestrian crossings.
Among the NFSA’s most celebrated “treasures” are original material from the film, Mad Max, early Australian football footage from 1909, rare film of the Tasmanian tiger (thylacine), and musical performances by artists including Archie Roach, Joe Dolce, Missy Higgins, Marcia Hines, and Yothu Yindi.
Children’s television classics like Skippy, Round the Twist, and The Wiggles sit comfortably beside hard‑hitting news coverage and political broadcasts.
By placing Karlson’s theatrical protest alongside such works, the NFSA highlights its core belief: cultural heritage is not limited to prestige or polish.
A chance moment caught by a news camera can, over time, become as revealing of national character as a feature film or chart‑topping song.
In preserving these moments, the NFSA ensures Australia’s collective memory remains rich, diverse, and unmistakably human.
Related reading: ABC, 7News, The Guardian, NFSA
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