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[UMA-SRE-20180080] Records relating to the George Murray Black and Richard Berry collection of Aboriginal Ancestral Remains
Description
Content Warning
Extensive correspondence relating to the historic practice of collecting Aboriginal Ancestral Remains by the University of Melbourne - Department of Anatomy.
Correspondence inwards and outwards between George Murray Black and members of the Department of Anatomy including Sydney Sunderland (- 1959), Leslie J Ray (- 1964) and Kenneth Russell (1947-1949). Detailing the University’s sponsorship of, and participation in, excavations as well as financial support for the activity, it describes logistics, includes maps of burial sites, notes on exhumation/s, transport and delivery to the University, as well as description of the number of cases collected at certain dates. George Murray Black’s correspondence show his activities in seeking information from pastoralists and National Parks rangers as to their knowledge of Aboriginal graves and burial grounds. Outward correspondence is principally to George Murray Black, but also document enquiries from the medical community, and acknowledgements of gifts of Aboriginal Ancestral Remains from individuals.
University of Melbourne Archives seeks to demonstrate a commitment to transparency of its historical records pertaining to the University’s practice in collecting ancestral remains. Ongoing description at folio level seeks to identify locations and placenames where excavation field work was conducted, or was proposed to occur, identifying all parties including persons who were explicitly involved in historic practices such as: transferers/donors, excavators and collectors of Aboriginal human remains and Aboriginal material culture stone tools etc. The description aims to capture the details of donations, acquisitions, excavations, collections, as well as use, management and movement overseas.
Extensive photographs taken during George Murray Black’s activities with the Department of Anatomy, particularly Sydney Sunderland, shows the scale of the exhumation, camp site with tents etc. Contains George Murray Black collection inventory of Aboriginal ancestral remains, which consists of registration numbers which incorporate the year and sequential number of the specimen collected, for example, 42.1 or 42.2 etc. Additionally, there are records relating to the management of the George Murray Black collection including articles, manuscripts, journals, newspaper clippings (local and International).
Contains correspondence relating to the legal case brought against the University, which found it in breach of the Archaeological and Aboriginal Relics Preservation Act 1972 (Vic), for unlawfully possessing Aboriginal ancestral remains without the necessary statutory consent as required of the Act (sections 12 and 31). The ‘George Murray Black’ collection of Aboriginal ancestral remains was ultimately transferred to the Museum’s Board for safekeeping at Museum Victoria in 1984.
With regard to the ‘Berry Collection’, this record set includes correspondence, catalogue inventory and report on ‘The Berry Collection of human skeletal remains, Department of Anatomy, University of Melbourne, 1987’. It also includes correspondence regarding the continuing assessment of the collection to determine and differentiate Aboriginal ancestral remains from ancestors from other cultures. Other items include original trace drawings of crania created by Richard Berry published as ‘Dioptrographic tracings in four normae of fifty-two Tasmanian crania Published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Victoria 1909, Volume V, Part I,’ by Professor Richard Berry and A. W. D. Robertson. Over two hundred ‘dioptrographic’ diagrams of Tasmanian skulls, created with an apparatus devised by German anthropologist Rudolph Martin to reproduce skull morphology in two dimensions. Details on where the skulls came from, the age or life history of the individual from whom they were derived, are almost totally absent – with the notable exception of Truganini. Other original photographs from the ‘Richard Berry collection’ of Aboriginal ancestral remains.Collection CategoryUniversity, officialAccess StatusAccess restrictions applyAccess Conditions
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that these records contains images of deceased persons in photographs and written material. These records contain content which is disturbing and may cause sadness or distress and offend against strongly held cultural prohibitions
IdentifierUMA-SRE-20180080Extent2 unitsScope and ContentComprises record sets relating to the George Murray Black and Richard Berry collections of Aboriginal ancestral remains. These records were created by different entities, who either collected, contributed to their management at the Department of Anatomy, or prepared for the collections to be transferred to the Museum’s Board for safekeeping at Museum Victoria in 1984, and 2023 respectively.Extensive correspondence relating to the historic practice of collecting Aboriginal Ancestral Remains by the University of Melbourne - Department of Anatomy.
Correspondence inwards and outwards between George Murray Black and members of the Department of Anatomy including Sydney Sunderland (- 1959), Leslie J Ray (- 1964) and Kenneth Russell (1947-1949). Detailing the University’s sponsorship of, and participation in, excavations as well as financial support for the activity, it describes logistics, includes maps of burial sites, notes on exhumation/s, transport and delivery to the University, as well as description of the number of cases collected at certain dates. George Murray Black’s correspondence show his activities in seeking information from pastoralists and National Parks rangers as to their knowledge of Aboriginal graves and burial grounds. Outward correspondence is principally to George Murray Black, but also document enquiries from the medical community, and acknowledgements of gifts of Aboriginal Ancestral Remains from individuals.
University of Melbourne Archives seeks to demonstrate a commitment to transparency of its historical records pertaining to the University’s practice in collecting ancestral remains. Ongoing description at folio level seeks to identify locations and placenames where excavation field work was conducted, or was proposed to occur, identifying all parties including persons who were explicitly involved in historic practices such as: transferers/donors, excavators and collectors of Aboriginal human remains and Aboriginal material culture stone tools etc. The description aims to capture the details of donations, acquisitions, excavations, collections, as well as use, management and movement overseas.
Extensive photographs taken during George Murray Black’s activities with the Department of Anatomy, particularly Sydney Sunderland, shows the scale of the exhumation, camp site with tents etc. Contains George Murray Black collection inventory of Aboriginal ancestral remains, which consists of registration numbers which incorporate the year and sequential number of the specimen collected, for example, 42.1 or 42.2 etc. Additionally, there are records relating to the management of the George Murray Black collection including articles, manuscripts, journals, newspaper clippings (local and International).
Contains correspondence relating to the legal case brought against the University, which found it in breach of the Archaeological and Aboriginal Relics Preservation Act 1972 (Vic), for unlawfully possessing Aboriginal ancestral remains without the necessary statutory consent as required of the Act (sections 12 and 31). The ‘George Murray Black’ collection of Aboriginal ancestral remains was ultimately transferred to the Museum’s Board for safekeeping at Museum Victoria in 1984.
With regard to the ‘Berry Collection’, this record set includes correspondence, catalogue inventory and report on ‘The Berry Collection of human skeletal remains, Department of Anatomy, University of Melbourne, 1987’. It also includes correspondence regarding the continuing assessment of the collection to determine and differentiate Aboriginal ancestral remains from ancestors from other cultures. Other items include original trace drawings of crania created by Richard Berry published as ‘Dioptrographic tracings in four normae of fifty-two Tasmanian crania Published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Victoria 1909, Volume V, Part I,’ by Professor Richard Berry and A. W. D. Robertson. Over two hundred ‘dioptrographic’ diagrams of Tasmanian skulls, created with an apparatus devised by German anthropologist Rudolph Martin to reproduce skull morphology in two dimensions. Details on where the skulls came from, the age or life history of the individual from whom they were derived, are almost totally absent – with the notable exception of Truganini. Other original photographs from the ‘Richard Berry collection’ of Aboriginal ancestral remains.Collection CategoryUniversity, officialAccess StatusAccess restrictions applyAccess Conditions
These records contain Indigenous cultural heritage and intellectual property. UMA is actively working with Traditional Owners to ensure Indigenous data sovereignty and cultural protocols are respected. See our Statement of Intent for more information.
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CreatorBerry, Richard
Provenance
CreatorMurray Black, George
Provenance
Dates
Date1929-1988
Description Control
Previous System ID2018.0080Records Services IDUM1014
Relationships
Feature CollectionRecords of the University of Melbourne
Department of Anatomy (The University of Melbourne), [UMA-SRE-20180080] Records relating to the George Murray Black and Richard Berry collection of Aboriginal Ancestral Remains (1929-1988), [UMA-SRE-20180080]. University of Melbourne Archives, accessed 10/04/2026, https://archives.library.unimelb.edu.au/nodes/view/70209