Just days after the massive fire that destroyed Rio’s Museu Nacional, National Archives of Australia head David Fricker has offered assistance from his organisation as well as the International Council of Archives (ICA) of which he is president.
The assistance being offered includes the onsite recovery of items with qualified conservators and the use of ICA’s international network of archives around the world to locate any replica pieces of the Brazilian collection that may still exist in other parts of the world.
Large fire at the National Museum of Quinta da Boa Vista held at Quinta da Boa Vista in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 2, 2018. Source: AAP
“Maybe we can assist to get some of these pieces back to Brazil and reconstruct the collection,” he told SBS Portuguese.
“We can also have qualified archivists, conservators on the ground working with the museum to provide whatever assistance we can to survey the damage that was done and maybe restore some of the materials that were damaged by the fire.” 
Mr Fricker describes the destruction of the Museu Nacional is a worldwide tragedy.
Museum security guard Felipe Farias Silva shows the page of a book he found across the street from Brazil's National Museum. Source: AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo
“The world is mourning, the images we saw on television of the building in flames… it was just an awful tragedy, the reason is such a loss is because cultural heritage is the heart and the soul of a people and a nation. A collection of the Museu Nacional in Brazil is the heritage of the world. That irreplaceable cultural heritage is also the history of humanity, it is a worldwide tragedy.”
Brazil’s ambassador to Australia, Manuel Innocencio de Lacerda, has welcomed the offer saying the country “will need the help of all our friends to overcome this tragedy.”
“David’s words have given our people solace during this difficult time."
"The National Museum was the oldest scientific and museological institution in Brazil and completed 200 years last June. We are still unable to measure the full scale of the destruction of the treasure. We will mobilize the whole Brazilian society and our international friends for the recovery,“ said Mr Innocencio.
The Brazilian Embassy is trying to raise awareness about the impact of “this calamity” in Australia, said the ambassador, and is working to engage the Brazilian local community and its friends in the reconstruction of the museum.
Ancient Egyptian gold leaf funeral mask dating to 304 B.C and miniature Inca tunic were part of the Museu Nacional's collection. Source: AAP/Museu Nacional Brasil via AP
Mr Fricker, who is also Vice Chair of the UNESCO Memory of the World International Advisory Committee, has a personal connection to Brazil, his mother was born in Rio, and migrated to Australia as a child.
“All my life I’ve been thinking .. I have to get back to Brazil.”
A meteorite on exhibit at the National Museum is seen through a door after the massive fire that tore through the building. Source: AP
He promised one day he will, and when that happens, he will definitely visit the Museu Nacional.
