A London exhibition of indigenous objects will improve the UK's limited understanding of Aboriginal Australia, according to Canberra's man in the English capital.
But UK High Commissioner Alexander Downer has refused to enter the heated debate about possible repatriation of artefacts.
Mr Downer on Thursday night (Friday morning AEST) attended a reception at the British Museum's Indigenous Australia: Enduring Civilisation exhibition with the show's patron, Prince Charles.
"This will be extremely educative," Mr Downer told reporters.
"People have a very simple understanding here in the UK of indigenous Australia and this will give them a much clearer picture of the richness of the culture."
Some Aborigines in Australia are demanding the museum return objects they insist were stolen during British settlement.
There was a small protest outside the exhibition ahead of the opening, but museum director Neil MacGregor has welcomed the debate.
"People have different views on what belongs where and that's precisely what this exhibition allows," Mr MacGregor told reporters.
"The debate can now take place, as you would hope, between friends on the basis of proper information."
Mr Downer neatly side-stepped the controversy on Thursday night.
He said the Australian government's priority was to have human remains repatriated from the British Museum and other institutions.
"Some have been, (but) there's still some here though," he said.
"There are obviously legal issues that have to be addressed, (but) I think the philosophical debate might be pretty much won (in favour of repatriation)."
However, when it came to the potential repatriation of objects, the high commissioner was more measured.
"It depends a lot on the artefacts and how they were acquired - the circumstances in which the British Museum got those artefacts," Mr Downer said, adding he'd defer to indigenous people from the relevant communities.
"They have a lot to say about it".
Mr MacGregor told AAP the museum was hoping to soon exhibit some Australian indigenous objects permanently.
"We've begun talking with the indigenous representatives about how they'd like that story to be set in the context of what's happening all around the world," he said.
The current exhibition, a joint project with the National Museum of Australia, will travel to Canberra in November.
Yawuru man Peter Yu, from the Australian museum's indigenous reference group, believes the exhibition is the first step on a long road towards possible repatriation.
"Let's give the dialogue and the discussion a chance, and then see what the possibilities are," Mr Yu said.
"Everything is based on relationships and trust. If you don't have that, this isn't going anywhere. There are no easy answers at this stage."
Earlier this year, Aboriginal activist and historian Gary Foley cast doubt on the British Museum's willingness to engage in serious debate.
"Bet they won't be prepared to seriously discuss issues of repatriation of cultural materials obtained through nefarious means ... because of their retention of the so-called `Elgin marbles'," he wrote.
The objects on display include a shield believed to have been collected at Botany Bay in 1770 by Captain Cook or one of his men.
It's expected indigenous people will mount a legal challenge to try and stop some objects returning to the UK following the Canberra exhibition.
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