Tony Albert’s 2022 solo exhibition at Sullivan+Strumpf, Remark, continues the artist’s investigation into the imagery and identification of appropriated Indigenous Australian iconography in domestic decoration and design. Incorporating fabric from his extensive collection of ‘Aboriginalia’, Remark sees Albert expand on his acclaimed Conversations with Margaret Preston series dimensionality, critically engaging with the fabric in his own right. Like the fabric of Australian society, the appropriated Indigenous imagery printed on souvenir tea towels intertwines in a complicated web of national identity. These are not images by Aboriginal people and our voices and autonomy continued to be silenced through the object’s inauthenticity. As a country we must reconcile with these objects’ very existence. They are painful reiterations of a violent and oppressive history, but we also cannot hide or destroy them because they are an important societal record that should not be forgotten. As an artist this juxtaposition and tension fascinates me. Tony Albert’s multidisciplinary practice investigates contemporary legacies of colonialism, prompting audiences to contemplate the human condition. Drawing on both personal and collective histories, Albert explores the ways in which optimism can be utilised to overcome adversity. His work poses important questions such as how do we remember, give justice to, and rewrite complex and traumatic histories. Albert’s technique and imagery are distinctly contemporary, displacing traditional Australian Aboriginal aesthetics with an urban conceptuality. Appropriating textual references from sources as diverse as popular music, film, fiction, and art history, Albert plays with the tension arising from the visibility, and in-turn, the invisibility of Aboriginal People across the news media, literature, and the visual world. australian first nations art, colonialisation

Decorative object made by silversmith Ernest Leviny.Silver mounted emu egg goblet with detachable silver lid decorated with a kneeling Aboriginal figure holding weapons (spear is missing). Emu egg is mounted on a silver base with filigree acanthus leaf designwork on the stem, leading to four sprays on the egg surface with a rose, thistle and shamrock design. The inner egg is lined with a gold wash.Noneernest leviny, silversmithing, colonial silverware, castlemaine, emu egg goblet, buda, c 1859

Two bronze commemorative plaques on rocks, unveiled by Wurundjeri Tribe Council Elders, mark two eastern boundaries of the former Warrandyte Aboriginal Reserve on the north and south sides of the Yarra. This project was initiated by Nillumbik Reconciliation Group in close association with Reconciliation Manningham and the Wurundjeri Tribe Council, as a means of commemorating the last great corroboree of the Kulin Nation which was held at Pound Bend in March 1852. This plaque is on the Nillumbuk side of the Yarra, accessed via The Boulevard, North Warrandyte. The plaque is set on a rock approximately 50 metres before the turning circle at the end of The Boulevard. Plaque : Warrandyte Aboriginal Reserve This commemorative rock marks an eastern boundary of the former Warrandyte Aboriginal Reserve established in 1852. Centred on Pound Bend, it covered 1,908 acres on both sides of the Yarra River (Birrarung). That same year saw the last great gathering of the Kulin nation here in Wurundjeri country which was celebrated over two weeks with traditional performance and games. For a few years longer the reserve intermittently served as a ration station.With gold having been discovered at Warrandyte, the Wurundjeri were moved on again but ultimately secured a permanent home at Coranderrk, Healesville. A second commemorative plaque and rock is located on the opposite bank of the Yarra and its confluence with Stony Creek. Melway ref : 23 C 9 Unveiled by Wurundjeri Elder, Uncle Bill Nicholson on 23rd March 2013 Funded by the Robert Bridgford Indigenous Trust (Nillumbik Community Fund) with assistance from Manningham City Council Small Grants Program Ref: Monument Autralia https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/culture/indigenous/display/99680-warrandyte-aboriginal-reserve-fay bridge collection, 2016-11-07, aboriginal reserve, north warrandyte, plaques, warrandyte aboriginal reserve

This sketch of a tree whose bark was cut, by aboriginal craftsmen, to produce a canoe for fishing in the rivers running through the Kiewa Valley either before or just after the 1800's. The tree trunk depicted in the sketch would have been used at the beginning of European settlement in the Kiewa Valley or just before contact was made.As this sketch was of a tree found along the Kiewa River it indicates that Aborigines lived by the river. This sketch depicts the usage of tree bark by the Aboriginal fisher person in crafting a canoe to cross rivers and to fish in the deeper sections of the river course.This freehand sketch detailing the outline of bark removed to provide a canoe is in ink portraying a tree trunk with one branch which has a plaque in front a gravel section to the right and open fields in the mid background and scattered trees on a hill slope in the far background. The sketch is on thick cardboard with a plastic protective cover over it (fastened on the flip side). It is a sketch of the tree now exhibited at the Kiewa Consolidated School.Written in black ink on the top section (heading) "ABORIGINES CUT CANOE FROM TREE. NOW AT KIEWA SCHOOL"crafted canoe, aboriginal craftsmanship, tree usage, early aboriginal craftsmen, kiewa river. kiewa consolidated school

This stone Grinder or pounder was used as part of an indigenous grinding food preparation method, by the original inhabitants of the Kiewa Valley and its region. In conjunction with its grinding stone was used not only to grind seeds and but also to dig up eatable roots and leaves and served with the regions Bogong moth. This method of food preparation has survived in its basic form for centuries and is still used by master chiefs in modern eateries. This item has been registered with Aboriginal Affairs in Wangaratta, Victoria. Dhudhuroa elder Alan Murray has examined this tool, in Feb 2015, and said it was also used for sharpening axe heads as well as pounding food items. This item has a very significant historical and social aspect to it. Firstly it demonstrates the division of labour within a indigenous tribe. It was an era when the female had a definitive role within the family and the broader social indigenous tribal group of, gathering and preparing non animal(hunted) food. Hunted food was the domain of the initiated males of the tribe.Secondly it demonstrates the ability to fashion implements from raw materials(rock) into effective tools for the purpose of preparing a meal for human consumption. This was in an era where inter family and intra family participation in an indigenous tribal social protective environment was at a very high level. The Kiewa Valley/Mount Bogong region was an area where annual "get together" indigenous tribes for feasting, bartering and settling of disputes highlighting the importance of a regional gathering. Grooved stone, carved to a cylindrical shape with a relative pointed end tip one side (grinding or pounding end) and a rough other end (holding end} Made from Rhyolite stoneThere is a worn grove in the top side due to this tool being used for axe sharpening. indigenous, aboriginal, stone grinding, meal preparation, natural environment, pounding stone

Aboriginal children in remote communities have the lowest rates of success in school. The reasons for the lack of success are well known, and mainly lie outside of the schools and their programs. Education authorities have made some poor choices in the past. They have not enforced the necessary discipline on children to attend school, and they have placed cultural sensitivity above the needs of the child to cope in the modern economy. More recently they have begun to concentrate on programs in literacy and numeracy, but success is limited because of the perverse incentives of other government initiatives. These initiatives have been blind to the need to deal with the absence of an economy in remote areas, and the absence of a work ethic among Aborigines who are welfare dependent. The absence of the work ethic and the absence of work have severely constrained the returns on the investment in Aboriginal education. The correct policy response to failure at school will be determined not simply by additional programs at school, but by how various issues of transition to the real economy - work, individual obligation, mobility - are managed. The transition will be better managed if educators and governments understand that education is essentially an instrument in economic integration, and that many remote communities are not viable, and where they are not schools should not be used as pawns to keep them afloat. Moreover, educators and governments should understand that western education cannot and should not preserve Aboriginal culture. Most importantly, parents' behaviour needs to change and where incentives to send children to school fail, compulsion must be used.school programs, education policy, literacy and numeracy, employment outcomes

The journals of George Augustus Robinson (1788-1866), the Chief Protector of Aborigines of Port Phillip from 1839- March 1850 are a rich source of historical and ethnohistorical information. His voluminous private papers and journals were acquired by the Mitchell Library in NSW in 1939. The publications of Robinson's journals is an important addition to the already published material, for they offer insights into the state of relations between Aboriginal people and Europeans in the districts visited.document reproductions, b&w illustrationsgeorge augustus robinson, port phillip, colonisation

The journals of George Augustus Robinson (1788-1866), the Chief Protector of Aborigines of Port Phillip from 1839- March 1850 are a rich source of historical and ethnohistorical information. His voluminous private papers and journals were acquired by the Mitchell Library in NSW in 1939. The publications of Robinson's journals is an important addition to the already published material, for they offer insights into the state of relations between Aboriginal people and Europeans in the districts visited.document reproductions, b&w illustrations, tables, word listsgeorge augustus robinson, port phillip, colonisation

The journals of George Augustus Robinson (1788-1866), the Chief Protector of Aborigines of Port Phillip from 1839- March 1850 are a rich source of historical and ethnohistorical information. His voluminous private papers and journals were acquired by the Mitchell Library in NSW in 1939. The publications of Robinson's journals is an important addition to the already published material, for they offer insights into the state of relations between Aboriginal people and Europeans in the districts visited.document reproductions, b&w illustrations, tablesgeorge augustus robinson, port phillip, colonisation

The journals of George Augustus Robinson (1788-1866), the Chief Protector of Aborigines of Port Phillip from 1839- March 1850 are a rich source of historical and ethnohistorical information. His voluminous private papers and journals were acquired by the Mitchell Library in NSW in 1939. The publications of Robinson's journals is an important addition to the already published material, for they offer insights into the state of relations between Aboriginal people and Europeans in the districts visited.document reproductions, b&w illustrations, tablesgeorge augustus robinson, port phillip, colonisation

The journals of George Augustus Robinson (1788-1866), the Chief Protector of Aborigines of Port Phillip from 1839- March 1850 are a rich source of historical and ethnohistorical information. His voluminous private papers and journals were acquired by the Mitchell Library in NSW in 1939. The publications of Robinsons journals is an important addition to the already published material, for they offer insights into the state of relations between Aboriginal people and Europeans in the districts visited.document reproductionsgeorge augustus robinson, port phillip, colonisation

The collection of artefacts formely belonged to the writers father, J.M. Marshall of Sturt Street. He was born and lived in Ballarat most of his life, and was interested in the Ballarat School of Mines Museum during the era of Professor Alfred Mica Smith. The response to this letter foreshadows the closure of the Ballarat School of Mines Museum. Alan Sonsee of the Ballarat Teachers' College was a Field Naturalist and collector of Aboriginal artefacts, and may have been associated with the decision. Handwritten letter from Jessie Marshall of Adelaide offering a collection of Australian "Native Weapons and Curios" to the Ballarat School of Mines Museum. The writer describes the collection as "not a large collection but a very good one - there are also some lovely shells." Ballarat School of Mines Registrar, F.E. Ferguson, declined the offer on behalf of the School Council, suggesting the Ballarat Teachers' College (Dana Street) would like to have the weapons, etc.C/- Collison & Co 32 Waymouth St Adelaide 11/2/54 Sear Sir A am writing this to offer a collection of Native Weapons and Curious - Australian - the Islands and S. Africa - the the Museum as a gift - they originally belonged to my father J.M. Marshall - formerly of Sturt Stree - who was born and lived in Ballarat most of his life and who was always interested i nthe Museum and School of Mines back in Prof. Mica Smith's time. This is not a large collection but a very good one - there are also some lovely shells. They have beenin stroage since his death and I feel he would have liked them to be of some use + give pleasure to someone + I can think of no better plance than your museum. Would you be goodenough to put this offer to your Committee + let me know if that are interested. I am yours Jessie Marshall PS I've made enquiries + there is plenty of motor transport available J.M.ballarat school of mines, aboriginal artefacts, ballarat school of mines museum, jessie marshall, i.m. marshall, ballarat teachers' college, f.e. ferguson, museum closure, alan sonsee, ballarat teachers college, museum, shells, j.m. marshall