An Aboriginal clan in Victoria is lobbying the British Museum to return the only surviving examples of 160-year-old rare etched barks from Boort, which it sees as the Australian equivalent of the Elgin Marbles.

If the Eiffel Tower had been stolen and erected in Melbourne, the French would stop at nothing to get it back, said the group's spokesman Gary Murray.

Now it was time to return the barks to his people, said Mr Murray, who is a spokesman for the Yung Balug clan of the Dja Dja Wurrung first nation which is based in Boort, Victoria.

The Yung Balug clan has also sought a meeting with the eminent barrister Geoffrey Robertson, QC, who, with Amal Clooney, is representing the Greek Government in its bid to restore the famous Parthenon Marbles to Greece.

One of the Dja Dja Wurrung barks, which are valued at $2.5 million each by the British Museum, will be included in the Encounters exhibition at the National Museum of Australia, opening on November 27. It is one of 150 other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander objects now owned by the British Museum, many of which were seized or taken during battles over land while others were traded, sold or given in friendship.

The exhibition includes two of only four surviving spears and a Gweagal shield that were taken by Captain Cook's men at Kurnell in Sydney in 1770.

The National Museum of Australia consulted for more than three years with 27 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to uncover the stories behind the objects on display – many of which have not exhibited since they were taken.

It hopes Encounters will encourage debate, and promote pride and a deeper understanding of the longevity of Aboriginal culture, and increase awareness of the many tragedies that befell Indigenous groups during colonisation.

NMA senior curator Ian Coates said, "There are horrific things that happened in Australian history that we don't really think about."

It was a bit simplistic, he said, to draw comparisons between the British Museum's collections of Indigenous artefacts and the Elgin Marbles.

"The collection stories behind these objects [in the Encounters exhibit] are diverse: some objects were acquired as a result of violent events on the frontier. Some items were traded. Others were gifted in the spirit of friendship."

The Elgin Marbles - classical sculptures from Athens' ancient Parthenon – were removed from the ruins on the Acropolis by British ambassador Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, in the early 19th century.

Building on the Encounters consultations, a partnership between the British Museum, Australian National University and the NMA was recently awarded a $670,000 grant to further its research.

The historical dispersal of objects across museums around the world has made reconnection a challenge to communities and museums. It will develop new ways to connect Indigenous communities to other objects held in other institutions in the United Kingdom. These include artefacts from Australia's Aboriginal cricket team of 1868, the first organised group of cricketers to tour overseas.

Mr Robertson was unable to comment on the specific details of the Victorian claim. But he said international law concerning the return of unique cultural property has developed. "And in consequence I have advised [with Amal Clooney] the Greek government to assert its rights over the Parthenon Marbles," he wrote in an email to Fairfax.

"In relation to Australian Aboriginal claims, I would emphasise the importance of the Australian government supporting them financially and diplomatically," he said.

Mr Robertson represented Tasmanian Aboriginals in the successful action against London's Natural history Museum which forced the museum to return the human remains of victims of the early 19th-century genocide.