Aboriginal Hermannsburg

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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this item may contain images or names of deceased persons in photographs or printed material.
Some material may contain terms that reflect authors' views, or those of the period in which the item was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of the University of Melbourne. While the information may not reflect current understanding, it is provided in an historical context

Accession[1988.0061] PAPERS OF FRANCES DERHAMIdentifierUMA-ITE-1988006101150Scope and ContentIncludes article from Table Talk Christmas Annual 1 November 1928 'In camp with the stone-age men' by Donald Thompson (page 56-57, 78), describing the camp and lifestyle of the Yinjinga tribe (QLD), featuring photos of Aboriginal men spearing fish, an Aboriginal man holding a turtle, a Yinjinga wood message stick, Aboriginal men and child cooking wallaby, a child holding spears, Aboriginal men climbing palm trees for coconuts, and an Aboriginal woman carrying 'Anjabi' (edible bulbs) on her head; includes pages from Walkabout magazine 1 October 1939 'Hermannsburg mission' by E.M. Embury, describing proceedings and Aboriginal people at the mission, featuring photos of a group of young children, the main road from Hermannsburg to Alice Springs, and native huts built at the mission; includes article from Magazine 'Sacred art in northern wilds' by Charles Barrett, describing an exhibition in Delamere led by Hugh Stuart depicting the 'lightning brothers', key figures in dreaming of the Wardaman tribe, featuring photo of the huge 'lighting brothers' - Yagtchadbulla (younger brother, large figure) and Teabuiji (older brother, small figure); includes article (no publication/date) 'Desert mystery' describing the discovery of skeletons thought to be Leichhardt's exploring party; includes article (no publication/date) 'Aboriginal art' describing Mrs Derham's appearance at a kindergarten training college to talk about Aboriginal child art. Includes the following articles from The Herald 'With the blacks of the northern wilds' by anthropologist Donald Thomson, describing his travels to the Cape York Peninsula and his time living and learning with local Aboriginal tribes; (no date) (no. 1); 11 June 1929 (no. 2); 12 June 1929 (no. 3), featuring photo of young Aboriginal man wearing a fish vertebrae necklace and nose shell; (no day/month) 1929 (no. 4), featuring photo of two Aboriginal men and the skeleton of a dead man; 14 June 1929 (no. 5), featuring photo of Aboriginal fisherman holding a spear and his catch; 19 June 1929 (no. 9); 21 June 1929 (no. 11), featuring photo of Aboriginal woman making a net/string bag; (no date) (no. 12), featuring photo of an elderly Aboriginal man Mr Thomson lived with for a time; 24 June 1929 (no. 13). Includes correspondence between B.G. Strehlow and Frances Derham 27 August 1938, describing her attempts to get Aboriginal children on the mission to draw, and an upcoming exhibition of child art; includes correspondence between C.P. Mountford and Frances Derham 27 October 1938, describing Aboriginal child art drawings collected from the Warburton Ranges (WA); includes correspondence between Georgina Sweet (vice president of the National Young Women's Christian Association of Australia) and Frances Derham 12 July and 23 August 1939, about acquiring photos of Aboriginal children from central Australia for the book 'Children of the World' to be used for the education of Japanese children; includes correspondence between F. W. Albrecht and Frances Derham describing Christmas services and festivities in central Australia, and the appearance of a new Aboriginal camp west of Hermannsburg at Undanditam, with reference to a hunting ground in the Peterman Ranges; includes annual Christmas letter from The Finke River Mission staff to friends, describing the Christmas gifts allocated to Aboriginal residents based on their efforts in the past year, presents including beach umbrellas, frying pans, cocoa, soap, and tobacco; includes correspondence between Ruth Pech and Frances Derham 21 February 1940, describing the tendency for Aboriginal children to draw in a smaller scale. Includes the following ten black ink drawings by Aboriginal children: six Aboriginal figures with outstretched arms surrounding a dry river by Lester Mathews (age 9); 'throwing weapons' by Stanly Hepple (age 9) featuring four Aboriginal figures with weapons; landscape scene featuring three Aboriginal figures approaching a tree (side 1) and a bird perched on a branch next to a nest with eggs (side 2) by Noel Brouman (age 9); three Aboriginal figures with weapons aimed at animal in a tree by Ray Dodd (age 9); three Aboriginal figures with weapons aimed at animal in a tree, one saying "come down", by Barry McMurray (age 9); landscape scene featuring eight Aboriginal figures with weapons surrounding animal in a tree by Jack Southgate (age 9); 'when the blacks went hunting' by Ray Wild (age 10) featuring three Aboriginal figures with weapons chasing kangaroos; 'the empty camp' by Kelvin Shaw (age 10) featuring animals, weapons, fire pit and Aboriginal huts (side 1), and two clothed figures (side 2); 'natives falling from tree' by Barry Bosward (age 9) featuring seven Aboriginal figures surrounding animal in a tree, one with a weapon and two falling from the tree; 'blacks falling from tree' by Jack Glisson (age 10) featuring three Aboriginal figures surrounding animal in a tree, one with a weapon, one climbing and one falling from the tree. Includes Christmas card from Isabel MacKenzie to Frances Derham featuring print of Aboriginal child landscape artwork; includes artwork by M. Penglase of an emu, dog and Aboriginal man in stationary and running positions; includes two copies of 'The legend of the eagle hawk and the crow' sent to Frances Derham by C.P. Mountford 25 August 1938, describing an Aboriginal dreamtime story; includes copy of 'Australian Aboriginal Project' report by Patricia Daly, describing activities carried out in 1945 with a group of five year old children at a Melbourne school to teach them about Aboriginal Australians and their customs, featuring cover artwork of Aboriginal symbols and animals; includes flyer from a meeting of citizens, describing calls for the Federal and State government to change various policies for the benefit of Aboriginal Australians. KEYWORDS: Aboriginal, Indigenous, Walkabout, The Herald, camp, stone-age, Yinjinga, child, art, hunt, weapons, dreaming, Wardaman, lightning, exhibition, Cape York Peninsula, anthropology, mission, Alice Springs, Hermannburg, Christmas, skeletal remains.Access StatusOpen for public accessRequest TypeRequest unitUnit1988.0061 Unit 0063

Provenance

CreatorDerham, FrancesRoleProvenance

Dates

Date1 November 1928-January 1940

Description Control

Previous System ID1988.0061.01150

Subjects

SubjectAboriginal AustraliansArt - Art motifs - Hunting and weapon; Religion - Dreaming; Anthropology.Art - DrawingArt - ExhibitionFirst PeoplesHabitation - CampsHunting, gathering and fishingIndigenous AustraliansReligions - Christianity - MissionsSubject (Agent)Hermannsburg MissionSubject (Place)Delamere (North NT SD52-16)Mparntwe / Alice Springs (South Central NT SF53-14)Cape York Peninsula (Qld SC54, SD54, SD55)Petermann Ranges (South Central NT SG52-07, WA SG52-06)Ntaria / Hermannsburg (South Central NT SF53-13)

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Aboriginal Hermannsburg