These items were on display in the Slab Hut (Orbost Visitor Information Centre).These items are examples of pre-decimal Australian currency and British coins no longer in use.Three decimal notes and nine coins. There are two $2 notes and one $1 note in a plastic sleeve. The nine coins are separate in small white cardboard frames with black print descriptive labelling. 2366.1 is an Australian $1 note with the queen's head, coat of arms and Aboriginal art. 2366.2 and .3 are $2 notes with John McArthur and sheep and William Farrer with wheat. There are seven coins dating from 1853 - 1897 with the head of Queen Victoria on them. There are two coins, 1902 and 1910 with the head of Edward V11 on them.currency bank-notes-australian-decimal coin-british

Common wombats are short-legged, muscular, nocturnal marsupials that live in a wide variety of habitats throughout Australia. A common wombat can grow up to 1.2 metres in length and weigh up to 35 kilograms. The name “wombat” comes from the Darug language spoken by the Aboriginal Darug people, who originally inhabited the Sydney area. The wombat was first recorded in 1798 by explorer John Price on a visit to Bargo in New South Wales, however, wombats are depicted on Aboriginal rock-art that date back as far as 4,000 years ago. This specimen is part of a collection of almost 200 animal specimens that were originally acquired as skins from various institutions across Australia, including the Australian Museum and the National Museum of Victoria, as well as individuals such amateur anthropologist Reynell Eveleigh Johns between 1860-1880. These skins were then mounted by members of the Burke Museum Committee and put-on display in the formal space of the Museum’s original exhibition hall where they continue to be on display. This display of taxidermy mounts initially served to instruct visitors to the Burke Museum of the natural world around them, today it serves as an insight into the collecting habits of the 19th century. This specimen is part of a significant and rare taxidermy mount collection in the Burke Museum. This collection is scientifically and culturally important for reminding us of how science continues to shape our understanding of the modern world. They demonstrate a capacity to hold evidence of how Australia’s fauna history existed in the past and are potentially important for future environmental research. This collection continues to be on display in the Museum and has become a key part to interpreting the collecting habits of the 19th century. Medium sized stocky wombat with a broad head and two muscular forelegs and two weaker hind legs that are met with long sharp black claws. The hair is long, thick and coarse in brown/yellow shades. The head features two small black eyes that have been made from glass, two short pointed ears and a bare nose pad. On wooden mount: BMM 5901 /taxidermy mount, taxidermy, wombat, animalia, vombatidae, burke museum, beechworth, australian museum, skin, reynell eveleigh johns, common wombat

The expansion of Bendigo's NAIDOC Week art attractions has strengthened calls for a permant space in the city's arts precinct dedicated to the display of indigenous works.Bendigo Advertiser article: ' Arts Pitch' Push for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Gallery.bendigo, naidoc, indigenous arts

Published: The Age, Sat 14 October 1933 Published title: A Royal Portrait Published caption: "Seen at his studio, Alphington, Mr. W. B. Mclnnes's portrait of the Duke of York, which he painted recently on commission from the trustees of the Castlemaine Gallery, at St. John’s Wood, London, impresses as a vital record of one whose natural habitat is a palace, and whose place in life is one of near relationship to the throne of England. The Duke is painted in the uniform of the admiral of the fleet, a highly ornate vesture entailing much elaboration of gold and numerous medals, in dealing with which the artist has not failed to centre his attention on the head, and has succeeded in producing what is undoubtedly a soundly painted portrait and a good likeness. During the five fittings Mr. Mclnnes, apart from the ordinary social amenities, found his Royal sitter little inclined to talk, though he spoke feelingly of his trip to Australia and the pleasure it had given him: but with the Duchess the tendency to be sociable was much more clearly pronounced. She took, and expressed, a keen interest in the social and political matters of the day with a special concern for the supremacy of England and Australia in all questions relating to sport, such as cricket, tennis and golf. She spoke well of her portrait painted by Quinn, and regretted that she would not see the two hung side by side at the Castlemaine Gallery." Description: An unframed painting of a standing, middle-aged man dressed in the uniform of a Royal Navy admiral of the Fleet with medals, sash, ornate belt, cuffs and epaulettes. His left hand rests on the handle of a sword in its scabbard and his bicorn hat and white gloves are on a table beside him. To his right is a globe of the world showing Australia. Research by project volunteer, Fiona Collyer: In 1933, Castlemaine Art Gallery trustees commissioned artist W.B. McInnes (1889-1939) to paint a portrait of Prince Albert, Duke of York as a companion piece to the portrait of his wife, the Duchess of York, that the gallery had commissioned Australian official war artist James Quinn (1869-1951) to paint in 1930. During the First World War, the Duchess’s childhood home, Glamis Castle in Scotland was used as a makeshift military hospital and convalescence home for wounded soldiers. Many servicemen from the Castlemaine area recuperated there and had fond memories of the kindness of the teenage Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1900-2002, later Duchess of York) who spent the war years running errands and aiding in the welfare and morale of the patients. In 1927, the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth) came to Australia to formally open the newly built Parliament House in Canberra and to tour the country. While visiting Victoria in April, they embarked on a whistle-stop train journey to Bendigo, stopping at Kyneton for ten minutes and Castlemaine for 15 minutes. At Kyneton, an excited crowd of 10,000 people welcomed the couple with “three cheers and three cheers for Baby Betty” before the Duchess was presented with a bouquet of locally grown roses and the Duke a bound album of photographs of noted beauty spots of the district. Next the Royal Couple stopped at Castlemaine to the cheers of 15,000 people. There the couple were presented with a basket of prime quality Harcourt apples and a pair of cot blankets, manufactured at Castlemaine Woollen Mills, a birthday gift for baby Princess Betty. The Duchess recognised Colonel W.E. James, of the Seventh Battalion, who had convalesced at Glamis Castle in 1917, and they chatted before the train departed, while the Duke shook hands with returned soldiers. Last stop was the town of Bendigo which was colourfully decorated with bunting and flags, arches and flowers. 3000 pigeons were released on their arrival and the liberated birds circled overhead for several minutes as if to welcome the Royal Couple. A crowd of 50,000 cheering people lined the streets in bright sunshine as the couple drove by. From an arch over Hargreaves Street, pretty girls showered the pair with rose petals. The Duke was presented with a gold nugget and an album, handsomely bound in morocco, of a history of the Bendigo mining industry, while the Duchess received a bouquet of prize winning white chrysanthemums. After 75 minutes in Bendigo they journeyed back to Melbourne for a State reception. While the couple were in Melbourne, the Duke often played lawn tennis at the Government House courts with three times Grand Slam champion Norman Brookes, who declared that while he considered the Duke a second class player whose serve lacked sting, he had a fine backhand and with time and practice he could become a first class player. The federal Parliament had previously been situated in Melbourne, but Canberra was chosen as the location for Australia’s capital as a compromise between fierce rival states, Victoria and NSW. It is written in the Constitution that the federal capital would be in “the State of NSW... distant not less than one hundred miles from Sydney.” The word Canberra is thought to derive from the local Ngunnawal word “Kanbarra” meaning “meeting place”. The Provisional Parliament House was a large, white, three storey building facetiously dubbed “The Wedding Cake”, plonked down in a bare, former sheep paddock. It was decorated for the event with Union Jacks and Australian red ensign flags. On 9 May, the day of the opening, the expectant crowd assembled in front of the building. Only two of the spectators were Aboriginal. One was Jimmy Clements (1847-1927, aka Nangar or Yangar, but popularly known as “King Billy”), accompanied by his three dogs. (The title “King” or “Queen” was often given by white settlers to Aborigines who were seen as allies and could maintain good relations between First Nations groups and the colonists. Some were given inscribed brass breastplates or gorgets to wear.) Jimmy was an excellent horse breaker and expert tracker for the police. He was also the nephew of “Queen” Nellie Hamilton (1842-1897) of the Canberra-Queanbeyan region, home of the Ngambri and Ngunnawal people. Nellie was the oldest surviving full-blooded Aboriginal woman in the district. The other was George John Noble (1840s-1928, aka Ooloogan, also “Marvellous” due to his regular use of the word). Both were initiated Wiradjuri walamira elders: “clever men” believed to have the ability to heal physical and spiritual ailments. They were also travelling showmen, skilled at boomerang and spear throwing and often performed at country agricultural shows and football matches. They had walked barefoot for three days from the Brungle Mission, near Gundagai. 11 May 1927, The Argus reported that “King Billy... claims sovereign rights to the Federal Territory” which the National Archives of Australia describes as “possibly the first recorded instance of Aboriginal protest at Parliament House in Canberra.” 10 May 1927, The Argus reported on Jimmy Clements: “During the wait great interest was taken in the appearance near the east stand of an aborigine, a member of the Gundagai tribe, and a well known character in the district. He was very old and grey and ruggedly picturesque. He was determined to go his own way in spite of the arguments of two inspectors and one sergeant of police. Immediately and instinctively the crowd in the stands rallied to his side. There were choruses of advice and encouragement for him to do as he pleased. A well-known clergyman stood up and called out that the aborigine had a better right than any man present to a place on the steps of the House of Parliament and in the Senate during the ceremony. The old man’s persistence and the sympathy of the crowd won him an excellent position and also a shower of small change that must have amounted to 30/ or 40/ [shillings].” At 10.30 am, Australia’s eighth Prime Minister, Mr Stanley Bruce (1923-1929) welcomed the Royal couple onto the crimson carpeted portico. Unfortunately, Dame Nellie Melba’s rendition of “God Save the King” and the greater part of the Duke’s reply was drowned out by the roar of squadrons of aeroplanes circling overhead. A brief religious service followed, conducted by leaders of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Anglican churches. Interestingly, there was no Roman Catholic representation at the ceremony even though around one quarter of Australians were Catholic at the time. The Duke unlocked the front doors with a golden key, then unveiled a statue of his father King George V by sculptor Sir Bertram Mackennal in the King’s Hall. Then the official party, Senators, members of the House of Representatives and invited guests entered the Senate chamber where the Duke read a message from the King, establishing Canberra as the seat of the Federal Government, watched on by Australia’s elite. The conclusion of the ceremony was announced by a gay fanfare of trumpets from the entrance of Parliament House and a 21 gun salute and answered by cheers from the crowd. The dignitaries then feasted on a luncheon of turtle soup, poached schnapper, fillets of beef, roast chicken and ham, straw potatoes, green peas, Canberra Pudding (a pudding made with dripping, dried fruit and jam), fruit, ices, coffee and cheese. They toasted the King with non-alcoholic fruit punch as the Federal Capital Territory (later ACT) was a “dry” area and no speeches were made. The diary entry that day of Ethel Baird, Lady Stonehaven, the wife of the Governor-General, is brief and to the point: “To P.H. & waited for Yorks. Ceremony went off without a hitch. Ghastly Banquet Lunch.” Later that day, the Duke mounted a coal black mare, police horse Number 303 which had been hastily re-named “Black Bess” for the occasion, to receive the final salute from the assembled troops and returned soldiers dressed in mufti. The RAAF squadron were flying overhead in “V” formations when suddenly, one of the planes, piloted by Flying Officer Francis Charles Ewen, left the formation, nose-diving 900 metres from Parliament House and landing behind the Y.W.C.A. refreshment marquee. Francis, aged only 28, tragically died of his wounds later that day. The Federal Capital Commission contracted Sargent’s Pies of Sydney to supply 5000 meals for the event. They supplied pies, sausage rolls, scones and sandwiches with the agreed price of 3 shillings a head. Only 1200 meals were served and the uneaten remainder dumped, with the Commission bearing the cost of the unsold food. An estimated crowd of 20,000 attended the opening, far fewer than the expected 100,000. Many visitors travelled long distances, bringing their own hampers of food and camping in tents as there was very limited accommodation available. Thousands of people around Australia listened to the ceremony broadcast on the wireless, with receiving sets installed in schools, public halls and workplaces and it was also filmed for posterity. The next morning, the Royal couple, along with Prime Minister Bruce and Mrs Bruce held an informal public reception on the steps of Parliament House where early settlers, residents and visitors to Canberra filed past them. The Press widely reported Jimmy Clements’ encounter with the Duke and Duchess. The Sun-Pictorial reported 11 May 1927: "MET THE DUKE. ABORIGINE KING HE APPROVED Sugarbag: Sports Suit. John Clements, otherwise King Billy, a full blooded aborigine king, aged 86, was among the 2000 who filed past the Duke and the Duchess at the public reception at Canberra to day. “How you likem Duke and Duchess Billy?” he was asked afterwards. “I think they are both very nice.” he replied in good English. King Billy was a very bedraggled figure, with tangled locks and a beard which almost hid his wrinkled and black face. He wore an old sports suit and carried a sugarbag. Passing the Duke and Duchess he turned full towards them. The crowd cheered, and the Duke and Duchess smiled. The Duke was particularly amused.” The Canberra Times reported 13 May 1927: "A REAL AUSTRALIAN. A quaint but pathetic figure stood in broad relief in the queue of ranks at the reception. Where his dusky forbears have gathered in native ceremonial for centuries past, a lone representative of a fast vanishing race saluted visiting Royalty. Despite the grotesque garb and untamed mane the aborigine comported himself not without dignity. With his three faithful dogs, he made an immediate target for a battery of cameras.” "The Argus reported 11 May 1927: "...an ancient aborigine who calls himself King Billy and who claims sovereign rights to the federal Territory walked slowly forward alone and saluted the Duke and Duchess. They cheerily acknowledged his greeting. The old aborigine, with his long, matted beard and nondescript clothing, is a popular identity of Canberra, and must be one of the most extraordinary figures who has received a Royal salute.” The Sun (Sydney) reported 10 May 1927: “Suddenly, in the midst of the forest of green and white colored hats of women, appeared a head with a shaggy leonine mane and a patriarchal beard. Jacky, the aboriginal, an identity of the district, who is also known as the King of Canberra, had arrived to testify to his loyalty. He saluted the Duke with an excellent dash, and shambled past with his faithful sheep dog aide-de-camp at his heels. The Duke and Duchess were highly amused at this quaint figure moving along with a sort of bodyguard of shrieking young boys and girls.” The Sydney Morning Herald 11 May 1927 mistook Jimmy for his friend “Marvellous”: “...the appearance of an aged aboriginal widely known in the district as “Marvellous, the uncrowned king of Queanbeyan." His beaming black countenance was almost hidden beneath a shock of hair and beard. Bare-footed and carrying a sugar bag in one hand and a tiny Australian flag in the other, he at first mistook a policeman at the foot of the steps for the Duke. To his great embarrassment and to the vast amusement of the onlookers, the policeman became the object of a hearty salutation. However, "Marvellous" was quickly shepherded back to a position in the procession and as he passed along brought his hand up to an approved military salute for the benefit of their Royal Highnesses. The Duke returned it with a special wave.” The Labor Daily 11 May 1927 irreverently reported on the scene: "People March Past. Some 400 people, old identities of Canberra marched past. They were mostly aged ladies with memories faithfully preserving the traditions of other days and curtsied reverently. The younger generations, who speedily joined the procession, behaved differently however. Surely it was the most motley collection that ever passed before Royalty. Men without collars jostled others well dressed. Fat women, young women, children of all heights and ages were there. The oldest inhabitants, in the persons of the abo, "Marbly", and his companion were present. The poor old fellows evidently were keen to get closer to the Duke than the procession dared go, but they were overawed by the stern glances of military men.” The Canberra Times reported 13 May 1927: "...and towards the end of the procession, a full-blooded aboriginal, bareheaded and barefooted, and carrying an old swag on his back, made a picturesque figure as he several times saluted the Royal couple, his old eyes beaming inexpressible delight.” The Register reported 11 May 1927: "PUBLIC MARCH PAST. Old “Jacky”, an aboriginal identity of the district, who has been following the proceedings of the various ceremonies with apparently great interest, appeared in the march past. He halted in front of the steps and raised his hand to his shaggy grey locks in an attempt at a salute. Smiling, the Duke returned the salute, and the Duchess bestowed a charming smile on the figure of mingled pathos and comedy.” Tweed Daily reported 12 May 1927: “King Billy” WAS THERE. Appropriately enough, the inevitable “King Billy” with his refreshing impression of possum and gum-leaves, was present at the dedication of the Federal capital at Canberra. Bare-footed, in a dingy old suit and battered felt hat, he wandered on to the empty stand after the illustrious assemblage had passed into Parliament House. A desolate figure in all that he stood for, he proved, an amiable representative of the dispossessed race. He cheerfully waved a Union Jack for the camera man, and grinned into the very eye of a movie man’s camera without flinching.” Footage of Jimmy filmed that day features in the film “The Birth Of White Australia” produced in 1928 and shows him enthusiastically waving a small Union Jack flag in front of Parliament House with his three dogs at his feet. The caption reads " "King Billy" calls for cheers for the son of the great white King across the seas. “Mine tinkit that pfellers father budgeree King liket me” supposedly says Jimmy." Jimmy told the Daily Telegraph, 13 May 1927 “I have opened your Parliament House on my own ground, now you can go and look at it." Jimmy died on 28 August 1927, aged 80. The Herald newspaper on 30 August 1927, published an illustration depicting Jimmy’s dog standing on his grave, his customary chimney pot hat leaning on his headstone. The caption reads: “The Dead King — His Only Mourner. Drawn by Will Dyson (King Billy, last of the Canberra aborigines, lived just long enough to see the Duke of York open Australia’s capital on the site where his tribe once roamed. He died in the Queanbeyan Hospital yesterday morning.)” A letter published in the Sydney Morning Herald, 19 September 1927 reported: "Old King Billy... Sir, ...I would like to mention... the passing away of one, if not the last remaining aboriginal chieftains. He may be called “Old King Billy,” and his death occurred here in Queanbeyan a few weeks ago. The removal of this well-known black has left another big gap in all that remains distinctively Australian in character. He was one of the last remaining tribe of the Monaro district, and one of the most predominant personalities throughout the Commonwealth. ...he had lived through 80 years all told. He was on many occasions sought by artists for his splendid physique and personality as a model, and many a journey he has had to make to Sydney on that account. A more striking and pronounced type could not be found. ...A very fine cast in lifelike form is to be seen in the Australian Museum, Sydney ...his last important appearance in public was at the Commonwealth celebrations at Canberra, to which territory he partly belonged. ...we have no aborigine statue chiselled to the memory of their race, a more fitting and lasting memorial could not be undertaken than to have one modelled from this fine figure and erected to the memory of his race at Canberra... It would be a fitting adornment if planted with the Australian gumtrees for any avenue or garden. [King Billy] ...a very intelligent fellow, responding readily to kindness and common sense. Hoping yet to see a befitting testimonial and a lasting memorial to a race that is rapidly and I may say, unfortunately, disappearing, I am etc., SYDNEY R.OAKLEY, Queanbeyan." The “lifelike form” referred to by the correspondent was a sculpture that Jimmy Clements had posed for: “The Wunderlich Aboriginal Group” for The Australian Museum in Sydney. In 1925, Mr Ernest Wunderlich, director of Wunderlich Limited, manufacturer of building materials and President of the Board of Trustees at The Australian Museum, commissioned renowned sculptor George Rayner Hoff (sculptor of the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney, National War Memorial in Adelaide, and “Lion” the original Holden Motor Company car emblem) to sculpt a life sized Aboriginal family group diorama as a gift to the Museum. There was much concern at this time that the Aboriginal population and especially the “full blooded” were fading into oblivion so fast that they may soon become extinct. Three “full blooded” Aborigines were chosen for models. An article in The Australian Museum magazine, July/September 1926 about The Wunderlich Aboriginal Group explained “...it will not be many years before the aborigine, in New South Wales and Victoria at least, will be an entity of the past. Every year sees a shrinkage in their number, and the coastal tribes that once roamed the Sydney district are, unfortunately, no longer with us. ...the man, who is hurling a boomerang, is Yangar, or “Jimmy Clements,” son of Gayan-Bleuet-Galoom, the late “King of Orange,” western New South Wales. “Jimmy” is an old man, but well preserved. He has a very retentive memory and recollects the various tribal customs and initiation ceremonies, but regarding these he is extremely reticent and will not communicate his “honoured secrets.” The female figure is “Nellie Walker,” a daughter of Geri-Bungel, and a native of Bombala, Monaro district, southern New South Wales. The boy is Harold Marsh, aged nine years, who was born at Kinchela, Macleay River, northern New South Wales. He is now living at the Brewarrina settlement... In the selection of aborigines great care had to be taken to ensure that the individuals were pure bloods, and to the Aborigines’ Protection Board and the Police Department of this State thanks are due for the valuable assistance rendered by them.” Ngarigo woman, Nellie Bungil Walker (1867-1932) had five children, two died as babies and her remaining children were taken from her. She worked as a domestic and was living at La Perouse Aboriginal Community, Sydney at the time of her sculpture’s creation. In the years after the sculpture was made, Nellie and Rayner remained friends. Yaegl boy Harold “Harry” Marsh was from the Kinchela Aboriginal Training Home for boys near Kempsey, (1924-1970), an agricultural training institution under the jurisdiction of the Aboriginal Protection Board to house Aboriginal boys forcibly removed from their families “in the interest of the moral or physical welfare” of the boys. The boys at Kinchela were aged 5-15 years old and referred to as numbers, not names and any connection to Aboriginal culture or language was forbidden. Brutal and cruel physical punishment and sexual assaults were rampant. Survivors recall being flogged and chained naked to a huge Morton Bay fig tree overnight or “sent down the line” where every boy was ordered to punch the “wrong doer” as hard as possible for fear that they would be next. The Kinchela children are acknowledged as part of the Stolen Generation. In 1925, Rayner Hoff created a terracotta bust “Harry Marsh” which is in the collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The figures of the trio were modelled in clay before being cast in plaster and hand-coloured by Museum artist Miss Ethel A. King. The finished figures were completed with wigs and fur pelts and with Jimmy hurling a boomerang and Nellie holding a dilly-bag. They were placed in a glass cabinet in the Australian Ethnology Gallery. The subjects were not named. The Sydney Morning Herald 1 July 1926 critiqued the sculptures. "A GROUP OF STATUARY. MUSEUM’S ACQUISITION. Artistically the group is very fine, for the sculptor has caught his subjects in attitudes that reveal all the stalwart athletic lines of their bodies... The man, who is depicted as about 60 years of age, is bearded, immense, and savagely primitive-is throwing a boomerang, and beside him a boy, aged about 11 years is following beneath a shading hand, the flight of birds at which the hunter aims. Behind them, patient, obedient, stand(s) the woman waiting with her dilly bag to gather the spoils.” In 1996, Nellie’s daughter, Victoria Kempsey née Walker, happened to visit The Australian Museum and saw the sculpture of her mother, displayed semi-naked in a glass cabinet, alongside glass cabinets of taxidermied animals. She had last seen her mother 62 years previously when Nellie was dying from tuberculosis. Greatly distressed, Victoria wrote to the Museum requesting that they remove the sculpture, which they did. In 2023, a documentary was produced called “Her Name Is Nanny Nellie” which follows the journey of Nellie Walker’s great-granddaughter Auntie Irene Ridgeway discovering Nellie’s story, honouring her life and restoring her sculpture. Irene told Refinery29 Australia that “It was about reclaiming her life, reclaiming her history and who she really was as a real person. She was not a naked and unnamed lady standing in a museum. It's giving them back their families, they weren't just there to be looked at as flora and fauna or as 'natives'." The documentary was written and directed by Irene’s son Daniel King and premiered at the 2023 Adelaide Film Festival and broadcast on NITV. The restored sculpture of Nellie, dressed in 1920s style clothing was displayed at The Australian Museum, Sydney in The Bayala Nura Gallery in 2023. Irene wanted Nellie to be depicted in the way she actually was when she posed for the sculpture in 1925. The other two sculptures were not displayed due to ongoing conversations with family members and the fragility of the sculptures. It is anticipated that they may be displayed in the future. Melbourne born William Beckwith (Bill) McInnes (1889-1939) studied drawing at National Gallery School in Melbourne from the age of 14 under the tuition of artist Frederick McCubbin before succeeding his former teacher as Master of Drawing at the School from 1916-1934. He was acting Director of the NGV and Head of the National Gallery School from 1934. In 1927, Bill and official war artist H. Septimus Power were commissioned to paint the opening of the new federal Parliament House in Canberra. Septimus painted the general scene of the arrival of the Royal entourage in front of Parliament House, while Bill depicted the ceremony inside the Senate chamber. Bill was widely acclaimed for his landscapes and lauded as the heir to great Australian landscape artist Arthur Streeton. He won the Archibald Prize seven times (including the inaugural, a portrait of architect Desbrowe Annear) which made him a highly sought after portrait painter and he earned kudos for his commission to paint the Duke of York. During the breaks in painting the portrait, the pair chatted and Bill was surprised by the Duke’s wide knowledge of Australian affairs. The Duke was particularly interested to hear how the rabbit crisis was being handled. Bill’s work is held in major Australian galleries including the NGV, which has 12 of his paintings in their collection. Bill was married to fellow artist Violet McInnes and they lived at “The Poplars” in Alphington with their six children. Violet painted still life of flowers and portraits. In 1941, she entered her portrait of fellow artist Sybil Craig into the Archibald Prize and in 1945 Violet was appointed an official war artist. Defending his traditional style Bill said “...we in Australia have not been bitten by Cubism or Futurism or other of the “isms”...and I am glad of it”. References: THE DUCHESS OF YORK. (1931, December 7). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 8. Retrieved April 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4427568 WAR NURSE (1930, March 11). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved April 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223714728 The Royal Visit. (1927, April 29). The Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), p. 9. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205813465 Canberra. (1927, April 30). Advocate (Burnie, Tas. : 1890 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article68233606 Australian Dictionary of Biography, Nangar, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/nangar-33736 Australian Dictionary of Biography, Jimmy Clements, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Clements Wikipedia, George John Noble, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_John_Noble PARLIAMENT AT CANBERRA. (1927, May 14). The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic. : 1864 - 1946), p. 37 (METROPOLITAN EDITION). Retrieved December 25, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140733921 CANBERRA CEREMONY (1927, May 10). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 19. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3853643 CANBERRA. (1927, May 11). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 20. Retrieved November 24, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3853897 THE FINAL SCENES (1927, May 11). The Labor Daily (Sydney, NSW : 1924 - 1938), p. 5. Retrieved January 10, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article236614453 TWIN SONS (1927, May 10). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), p. 11. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223616143 National Archives of Australia, Aboriginal [Jimmy Clements, a Wiradjuri elder] on steps of Parliament House (King Billy), https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3050026 Sydney Morning Herald, The chant of Jimmy Clements: I’ll do the honours on my ground, thanks, https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-chant-of-jimmy-clements-i-ll-do-the-honours-on-my-ground-thanks-20241023-p5kkt5.html MET THE DUKE (1927, May 11). The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956), p. 14. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article275177101 PUBLIC MARCH PAST. (1927, May 11). The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929), p. 11. Retrieved April 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article54271512 A REAL AUSTRALIAN (1927, May 13). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 12. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1213124 THE PEOPLE'S DAY (1927, May 13). The Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995), p. 3. Retrieved April 3, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1213105 KING BILLY" WAS THERE. (1927, May 12). Tweed Daily (Murwillumbah, NSW : 1914 - 1949), p. 2. Retrieved November 27, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article190193273 A BUSY DAY. (1927, May 11). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 15. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16374845 Nothing Wrong With Canberra Opening, Says "King Billy" (1927, May 13). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 2. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245750627 THIS IS MARVELLOUS! (1927, May 11). The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956), p. 16. Retrieved December 9, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article275177155 Mildenhall's Canberra, Royal Visit, May 1927. Canberra citizens passing the Royal Party on the front steps of Parliament House at the Civic Reception 1927 [photograph], https://mildenhall.moadoph.gov.au/rephoto/62 Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1927 - Jimmy Clements, John Noble, and the Opening of Parliament House, https://adb.anu.edu.au/the-quest-for-indigenous-recognition/jimmy-clements YouTube, The Birth of White Australia (1928), amateurish racism on the big screen [Jimmy Clements at 11.12 minutes in], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OByX4iPsTgo YouTube, We Were Just Little Boys, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Hw9d91k2E WASTE AT CANBERRA. (1927, May 20). The South Eastern Times (Millicent, SA : 1906 - 1954), p. 1. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article200058308 YouTube, Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, Whispers in the Corridors-An Aboriginal Presence, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwifXP61M5Y History Snoop, Air Fatality in Canberra Scars an Historic Day in Australia, https://www.historysnoop.com/air-fatality-in-canberra/ YouTube, NFSA Films, The Opening Of Canberra, Australia's Capital City, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOA8llA0iE0 Pauline Conolly, Pudding & Pies at Parliament House, https://paulineconolly.com/2022/pudding-and-pies-at-parliament-house/ THE MENU (1927, May 5). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), p. 13 (FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved April 2, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223623278 PROMISING (1927, May 7). The Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), p. 2. Retrieved December 15, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223616208 The Dead King -- His Only Mourner (1927, August 30). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 6. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article244196114 The VOICE of the CITY (1927, August 31). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 4. Retrieved December 26, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article246406061 THE LAST OF HIS TRIBE. (1927, September 2). Bairnsdale Advertiser and Tambo and Omeo Chronicle (Vic. : 1882 - 1946), p. 6. Retrieved December 24, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article269318935 GONE WEST. (1927, September 17). The Irwin Index (Mingenew, WA : 1926 - 1956), p. 1. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article251554113 King Billy Dead. (1927, September 10). The Port Macquarie News and Hastings River Advocate (NSW : 1882 - 1950), p. 5. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article112534982 DEATH OF KING BILLY OF CANBERRA. (1927, September 16). Huon Times (Franklin, Tas. : 1910 - 1933), p. 5. Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article136428435 OLD KING BILLY. (1927, September 19). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 5. Retrieved November 19, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16404722 "Marvellous" is Dead. (1928, March 30). The Gundagai Times and Tumut, Adelong and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser (NSW : 1868 - 1931), p. 2. Retrieved December 8, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122748136 LAST OF LACHLAN RIVER TRIBE (1926, May 3). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 7. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article117289515 Coal Strike Effects (1926, June 11). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 14. Retrieved November 30, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245759732 SBS On Demand, Her name is Nanny Nellie, https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/movie/her-name-is-nanny-nellie/2300137539512 The Australian Museum Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 11, July-Sept 1926, The Wunderlich Aboriginal Group, https://shorturl.at/uViTe ABC News, King Billy and Marvellous were not invited to the 1927 opening of Parliament House — but that didn't stop their fight for sovereignty, https://shorturl.at/HGpjC Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, The thieving diva: behind the scenes of the opening ceremony at Parliament House, https://www.moadoph.gov.au/explore/stories/heritage/the-thieving-diva-behind-the-scenes-of-the-opening-ceremony-at-parliament Refinery29, Beyond a museum glass case: one First Nations woman's quest to reclaim her ancestors' story, https://www.refinery29.com/en-au/my-name-is-nelly-documentary-irene-ridgeway-interview Sydney Morning Herald, Why it took 100 years to restore the dignity of Nanny Nellie, https://www.smh.com.au/national/why-it-took-100-years-to-restore-the-dignity-of-nanny-nellie-20230719-p5dpjo.html Australian Museum, Meeting Nanny Nellie, https://australian.museum/publications/explore_summer2024/nanny-nellie/ ABORIGINES. (1926, July 1). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 14. Retrieved November 29, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16302447 Wikipedia, Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinchela_Aboriginal_Boys%27_Training_Home Art Gallery NSW, Harry Marsh by Rayner Hoff, https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/59.2000/ Art Gallery of South Australia, Lion (produced for the Holden Motor Company) by Rayner Hoff, https://www.agsa.sa.gov.au/collection-publications/collection/works/lion-produced-for-the-holden-motor-company/27253/ Wikipedia, William Beckwith McInnes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Beckwith_McInnes DUKE OF YORK PORTRAIT UNIVEILED IN CASTLEMAINE GALLERY (1933, December 4). The Sun News-Pictorial (Melbourne, Vic. : 1922 - 1954; 1956), p. 18. Retrieved April 4, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276125581 Castlemaine Art Museum, Portrait of His Royal Majesty the Duke of York, https://collection.castlemaineartmuseum.org.au/objects/181/portrait-of-his-royal-majesty-the-duke-of-yorkPhotographer notations on slide: "Portrait of Duke of York by W.B. McInnes 1933 B4".1930-1939, aboriginal culture, royal visits, openings (events), sculpture, land rights, museums, museum displays

These Lithographs were made for the printing and Publishing of the Book entitled "The History of Winchelsea Shire" by Cr. W.L Koenig who was commissioned by the Shire of Winchelsea to collate, Document and present the Pre-Colonial and Colonial History of the Barwon District and in particular the Winchelsea Shire for posterity and public education. The Book was published including the photographs represented by these lithographs as illustrations, and remains the foundation of the historical narrative of the area, and the context of this collection. This Lithograph is one of four depicting indigenous artefacts collected and displayed by Cr. Koenig.Koenigs collection of indigenous artefacts remain as unique in the Surf Coast Shire as a relic of material culture from the district in Pre-Colonial times. These lithographs remain as significant in themselves being the master copy remaining from the publication of Koenig's work. They are aesthetically beautiful as a work of art, and historically (technologically) important in the narrative of printing.Lithograph for printing a Photograph of a collection of indigenous artefacts for publication in the book "History of the Winchelsea Shire" By Cr. W.L. Koenig.NILkoenig, lithograph, illustration, printing blocks, picture, book, indigenous, artefact, image, stone tools, bone, winchelsea, wadda wurrung, witharong, wathaurong, wito wurrung, aboriginal

1. Rock-art of the Western Desert and Pilbara: Pigment dates provide new perspectives on the role of art in the Australian arid zone Jo McDonald (Australian National University) and Peter Veth (Australian National University) Systematic analysis of engraved and painted art from the Western Desert and Pilbara has allowed us to develop a spatial model for discernable style provinces. Clear chains of stylistic connection can be demonstrated from the Pilbara coast to the desert interior with distinct and stylistically unique rock-art bodies. Graphic systems appear to link people over short, as well as vast, distances, and some of these style networks appear to have operated for very long periods of time. What are the social dynamics that could produce unique style provinces, as well as shared graphic vocabularies, over 1000 kilometres? Here we consider language boundaries within and between style provinces, and report on the first dates for pigment rock-art from the Australian arid zone and reflect on how these dates from the recent past help address questions of stylistic variability through space and time. 2. Painting and repainting in the west Kimberley Sue O?Connor, Anthony Barham (Australian National University) and Donny Woolagoodja (Mowanjum Community, Derby) We take a fresh look at the practice of repainting, or retouching, rockart, with particular reference to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. We discuss the practice of repainting in the context of the debate arising from the 1987 Ngarinyin Cultural Continuity Project, which involved the repainting of rock-shelters in the Gibb River region of the western Kimberley. The ?repainting debate? is reviewed here in the context of contemporary art production in west Kimberley Indigenous communities, such as Mowanjum. At Mowanjum the past two decades have witnessed an artistic explosion in the form of paintings on canvas and board that incorporate Wandjina and other images inspired by those traditionally depicted on panels in rock-shelters. Wandjina also represents the key motif around which community desires to return to Country are articulated, around which Country is curated and maintained, and through which the younger generations now engage with their traditional lands and reach out to wider international communities. We suggest that painting in the new media represents a continuation or transference of traditional practice. Stories about the travels, battles and engagements of Wandjina and other Dreaming events are now retold and experienced in the communities with reference to the paintings, an activity that is central to maintaining and reinvigorating connection between identity and place. The transposition of painting activity from sites within Country to the new ?out-of-Country? settlements represents a social counterbalance to the social dislocation that arose from separation from traditional places and forced geographic moves out-of-Country to government and mission settlements in the twentieth century. 3. Port Keats painting: Revolution and continuity Graeme K Ward (AIATSIS) and Mark Crocombe (Thamarrurr Regional Council) The role of the poet and collector of ?mythologies?, Roland Robinson, in prompting the production of commercial bark-painting at Port Keats (Wadeye), appears to have been accepted uncritically - though not usually acknowledged - by collectors and curators. Here we attempt to trace the history of painting in the Daly?Fitzmaurice region to contextualise Robinson?s contribution, and to evaluate it from both the perspective of available literature and of accounts of contemporary painters and Traditional Owners in the Port Keats area. It is possible that the intervention that Robinson might have considered revolutionary was more likely a continuation of previously well established cultural practice, the commercial development of which was both an Indigenous ?adjustment? to changing socio-cultural circumstances, and a quiet statement of maintenance of identity by strong individuals adapting and attempting to continue their cultural traditions. 4. Negotiating form in Kuninjku bark-paintings Luke Taylor (AIATSIS) Here I examine social processes involved in the manipulation of painted forms of bark-paintings among Kuninjku artists living near Maningrida in Arnhem Land. Young artists are taught to paint through apprenticeships that involve exchange of skills in producing form within extended family groups. Through apprenticeship processes we can also see how personal innovations are shared among family and become more regionally located. Lately there have been moves by senior artists to establish separate out-stations and to train their wives and daughters to paint. At a stylistic level the art now creates a greater sense of family autonomy and yet the subjects link the artists back in to much broader social networks. 5. Making art and making culture in far western New South Wales Lorraine Gibson This contribution is based on my ethnographic fieldwork. It concerns the intertwining aspects of the two concepts of art and culture and shows how Aboriginal people in Wilcannia in far western New South Wales draw on these concepts to assert and create a distinctive cultural identity for themselves. Focusing largely on the work of one particular artist, I demonstrate the ways in which culture (as this is considered) is affectively experienced and articulated as something that one ?comes into contact with? through the practice of art-making. I discuss the social and cultural role that art-making, and art talk play in considering, mediating and resolving issues to do with cultural subjectivity, authority and identity. I propose that in thinking about the content of the art and in making the art, past and present matters of interest, of difficulty and of pleasure are remembered, considered, resolved and mediated. Culture (as this is considered by Wilcannia Aboriginal people) is also made anew; it comes about through the practice of artmaking and in displaying and talking about the art work. Culture as an objectified, tangible entity is moreover writ large and made visible through art in ways that are valued by artists and other community members. The intersections between Aboriginal peoples, anthropologists, museum collections and published literature, and the network of relations between, are also shown to have interesting synergies that play themselves out in the production of art and culture. 6. Black on White: Or varying shades of grey? Indigenous Australian photo-media artists and the ?making of? Aboriginality Marianne Riphagen (Radboud University, The Netherlands) In 2005 the Centre for Contemporary Photography in Melbourne presented the Indigenous photo-media exhibition Black on White. Promising to explore Indigenous perspectives on non-Aboriginality, its catalogue set forth two questions: how do Aboriginal artists see the people and culture that surrounds them? Do they see non-Aboriginal Australians as other? However, art works produced for this exhibition rejected curatorial constructions of Black and White, instead presenting viewers with more complex and ambivalent notions of Aboriginality and non-Aboriginality. This paper revisits the Black on White exhibition as an intercultural event and argues that Indigenous art practitioners, because of their participation in a process to signify what it means to be Aboriginal, have developed new forms of Aboriginality. 7. Culture production Rembarrnga way: Innovation and tradition in Lena Yarinkura?s and Bob Burruwal?s metal sculptures Christiane Keller (University of Westerna Australia) Contemporary Indigenous artists are challenged to produce art for sale and at the same time to protect their cultural heritage. Here I investigate how Rembarrnga sculptors extend already established sculptural practices and the role innovation plays within these developments, and I analyse how Rembarrnga artists imprint their cultural and social values on sculptures made in an essentially Western medium, that of metal-casting. The metal sculptures made by Lena Yarinkura and her husband Bob Burruwal, two prolific Rembarrnga artists from north-central Arnhem Land, can be seen as an extension of their earlier sculptural work. In the development of metal sculptures, the artists shifted their artistic practice in two ways: they transformed sculptural forms from an earlier ceremonial context and from earlier functional fibre objects. Using Fred Myers?s concept of culture production, I investigate Rembarrnga ways of culture-making. 8. 'How did we do anything without it?': Indigenous art and craft micro-enterprise use and perception of new media technology.maps, colour photographs, b&w photographswest kimberley, rock art, kuninjku, photo media, lena yarinkura, bob burruwal, new media technology

These works are a display of my frustration of hour our family were lucky we were not beheaded, scalped, taken away and impaled as a warning to others not to enter farming lands, which had been traditional lands of the Nganyaywana country. The word 'Policy' represents the White Australia Policy, the word "Lost' stands for those lost including hundreds of family members, 'Jobs' asks why Aboriginal people can only find employment if through Aboriginal positions and policies. The number 3 symbolises myself and my siblings, red is for bloodshed, blue is for secrets and black the family history. Patrice MUTHAYMILES MAHONEY OAM Anewan/Nganyaywan/Dunghutti country. Patrice Mahoney is a printmaker, sculptor, weaver, drawer and painter. Her work challenges mainstream and Aboriginal Australians and is profoundly influenced by space, place and country, taking inspiration from nature, environment and looking forward to a time when she can return to her family's traditional country to make work. In 2012 the artist completed a Bachelor of Visual and Media Arts at Monash University’s Churchill campus (from 2014 Federation University's Churchill Campus). The Victorian Indigenous Art Awards 2014 were exhibited and judged at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.This unique edition triptych involves the techniques of intaglio copper plate, pigment, soft ground, open bite, aquatint, spit-bite, stamping, relief, drawing and burnishing on paper. It was awarded the 2014 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards Federation University Acquisitive Award for for work by a Victorian regional artist. Text, colour, metaphor and Aboriginal symbolism are important components of her work. This work expresses the artist's frustration with unjust situations experienced by traditional owners of Nganyaywana country. The word 'Policy' refers to White Australia Policy, 'Lost' the hundreds of lost family members, and 'Jobs' highlights the difficulty of Aboriginal peple obtaining work, especially outside Aboriginal positions and policy. The number 3 symbolises Patrice Mahoney's siblings, with black used to denote family history. The violently splattered red represents bloodshed, with the blue washing across the work obscuring details and representing secrets. The Selection Panel of the 2014 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards made the following comments on the work: 'The selection panel for the Federation University Acquisitive Award for 2014 were highly impressed by this work and applauded the vigorous use of symbolism and metaphor in a well scripted visual composition. The poignancy of connectedness to the past, memory, place and country is palpable and enhanced by the suggestive employment of text and minimal colour. A provocative and evocative work of art!artist, artwork, patrice mahoney, aboriginal, victorian indigenous awards, jobs, culture, printmaking, drawing, policies, lost, victorian indigenous art awards, available, alumni

Peter PILVEN (1956- ) Born Ballarat Peter Pilven is acknowledged by his peers for his high level of tacit skills, including throwing, and for his sound technical knowledge of materials.Training with John Gilbert's Edinborough Pottery from 1972-1975, Pilven trained with Joan Campbell in Fremantle in 1976. In 1977 Peter Pilven obtained a Diploma of Fine Art (Ceramics) from Ballarat College of Advanced Education (now Federation University). The following year he worked with Ian Dowling at Geraldton, WA, and with the Western Australian Aboriginal Education Unit in 1979. He next trained with Alan Cagier-Smith in England between 1980 and 1981. Peter Pilven established his own studion in 1982.Hand built anagama [woodfired] stoneware. This work is part of the Jan Feder Memorial Ceramics Collection. Jan Feder was an alumna of the Gippsland Campus who studied ceramics on the campus. She passed away in the mid 1980s. Her student peers raised funds to buy ceramic works in her memory. They bought works from visiting lecturers who became leading ceramic artists around the world, as well as from many of the staff who taught there.ceramics, artwork, artists, jan feder memorial ceramics collection, peter pilven, churchill, alumni

Troy FIREBRACE (c1994-) Country/Language: Yorta Yorta Troy is a Shepparton born Yorta Yorta man, whose career is on the rise after winning the prestigious Federation University Acquisitive Award for Work by a Victorian Regional Artist at the 10th Victorian Indigenous Art Awards. He completed Year Twelve at Shepparton Secondary College in 2010, and in 2015 Troy was studying Creative Arts at La Trobe University, Bendigo where he has pursued his interest in his Aboriginal identity and art. He is largely influenced by the art of his Uncle Chris Firebrace and he enjoys the design aspects of creating a painting. Usually Troyʼs works contain a narrative, or at least hint of a meaning that he would like to convey to people. Influenced by the imagery of his Aboriginal cultural background he works at bringing together references of landscape, environmental processes and concerns, looking at the way in which we as humans relate to the natural world. Troy seeks to find and demonstrate a connection between humanity and the environment, exploring the idea of harmonious co-existence. Artist's statement: "‘Stories are being told and shared like particles in the universe, a constant swirl of words filled with emotions creating a pattern — explosions — smashing into each other creating a layering effect — creating worlds, planets — well nourished and suited to sustain life, and from this life new stories will emerge, to be told, to be shared — a continuous galaxy swirl. I like the idea that we are a part of something bigger — yes, the earth is massive, but we are just a speck of something far beyond the Milky Way itself.” The work was inspired by the work of abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock, science and space. This work won the 2015 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards Federation University Acquisitive Award for work by a Victorian regional artist. His canvas 'A Galaxy Swirl' was described by judges as ‘‘a vibrant and dynamic painting that, as the artist explains, epitomises a bringing together of modernism and Aboriginal arts’’.victorian indigenous art awards, troy firebrace, artwork, artist, indigenous, aboriginal, painting, indigenous artist

Bonnie Fagan's County is Wadawurrung. Most of her early learning about her Aboriginality came from the father.Aboriginal dot painting telling the artist's learning journey. Bonnie Fagan wrote of this work: "Ochres reflect my connection with the land of my traditional Wadawurrung Country. Yellow ochre forms the background and white ochre defines my pathway, showing where I have traveled from my past and where I am heading in my future. I use reddish ochres for the larger dots along my pathway to show my footprint and for the smaller dots that ripple outwards to show how I've had some influence, either good or bad. The white lines show my pathway with an entry point from my past marking the start of my journey, a middle part showing were my life will continue. Through the middle part, my teenage years, the pathway is very windy. These years were sometime quite difficult and I struggled. The two circle areas symbolize two chapters in my life, first as a child and then as an adult, when I've felt mostly positive and safe. They are periods when I've been very open to learning, gathering knowledge from people and experiences that I trusted, and the circles within the circles symbolize the layers of support, of experience, of connection and of learning that I experienced. Strong visual symbols at the base of the painting under the first circle area represent the key figures in my learning through my childhood: my father (represented by the traditional symbol, of a man with a spear) and my mothers with me as a small child, The spirit of my paternal grandmother, my Nan, hovers above my childhood circle and near the pathway through to my teenage years, showing the strength of her influence and how she was always there guiding me." (Robyn Brandenburg and Jacqueline Z, Wilson [Eds] Pedagogies for the Future: Leading Quality Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Sense Publishers, The Netherlands, 2013, pp40-41)bonnie fagan, bonnie chew, wadawurrung, artists, artwork, aboriginal

William Brian (Badger) BATES (1947- ) Born Wilcannia Barkantji Badger Bates is a Barkantji Elder, political activist and contemporary artist. Known primarily for printmaking, wood and stone carving, his work is intrinsically linked to his lifelong fight for the safety and health of the Barka (the Darling River).'Gitji Woman' is carved from a very old piece of log found at Wittabrinna Creek near Tibooburra, Western New South Wales. The tree was dead for 60-80 years, and was hollow inside. "I could see a figure in the wood so I folowed the shapes already three. The woman has a drawn out figure with long fingers and is coming out of the log, she is an ancestral spirit. I put the pink cockatoo and emu feathers in the leg in the way people used to decorate themselves for corroborees."badger bates, paakantyi, wilcannia, timber, aboriginal, barkantji

Daphne WALLACE (1964- ) Gomaroi, Ullaroi, Wurralli, Muralli Country Wallace is a Gamilaroi/Ullaroi-Yuwaaliaay artist whose intensely coloured and textured abstract and pictorial paintings are interpretations of the Yuwaaliaay stories passed down to her by her grandmother. They are evocative of her spiritual and emotional attachment to her home in Lightening Ridge.Daphne WALLACE Gomaroi, Ullaroi, Wurraili, Muraili country Artist's statement: This painting tells of many different stories, most of them I knew growing up and some were told to me since working on the Bubbles of the Surface Project. ... Reading this landscape through Murri / Murdi eyes and our relation to country. In the top, Yurri Yurri women/people, Rainbow serpents the other side of Coocoran Lake, Bunyip waterhol near Angledool, Ants nest believed to be where Baiame laid his tow wives, where the ants ate off the slime and brought them back to life, mining fields around Lightning Ridge, Bush tucker such as bumbull, burrigan, nappan, greewee, snotty gubbuls. In the middle, Gurra the crocodile, Gurra the crocodile himself, when Baiame killed him to retrieve the two wives, a rainbow shone no him and his scales turned inot opals, left to the Narran Lake was where Baiame sat down and left his bottom imprinted in the rock. he got up and moved onto the blue mountains where his wives gave birth to the three sisters. At the botttom of the painting, Walgett council dug up two old Kings sitting up face to face with their legs crossed, with their Tin King plates around their necks; Their head bands of kangaroo teeth were still inbedded in their skulls. The water dog stories are at spots along river "don't go down thereon the bend (Namour Researve River) the water dog witll get you" Nan used to tell us. It is believed that the water dog makes whirlpools and will drown you. He makes a druming sound, which can be heard along the Namoir, Barwon, Darling, Gwydir, Mihi and the Narran River; and the Duck is part of the creation story, with the twin platypus. It tells how the water dog kidnapped her and kept her in a cave on the river bank, she escaped back to her people. They knew she was bingal therefore vanished her fro that region, she travelled to New England region giving birth to twin platypus.daphne wallace, aboriginal, gippsland campus, churchill, gomaroi, ullaroi, wurraili, muraili

If you can provice further information on this artist or artwork please contact us via the email link. printmaking, aboriginal, koorie camp

Yhonnie SCARCE (1973- ) Born Woomera, South Australia Language group: Kokatha, Southern desert region and Nukunu, Spencer region Yhonnie Scarce works predominantly in glass. She majored in glass withing a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) course at the South Australian School of Art, Adelaide, and holds a Master of Fine Arts from Monash University. One of the first contemporary Australian artists to explore the political and aesthetic power of glass, Scarce describes her work as ‘politically motivated and emotionally driven’. Scarce’s work often references the on-going effects of colonisation on Aboriginal people, In particular her research focus has explored the impact of the removal and relocation of Aboriginal people from their homelands and the forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families. (https://thisisnofantasy.com/artist/yhonnie-scarce/, accessed 10 September 2018)Artist's Statement 'The More Bones the Better', 2016 Yhonnie Scarce was born in Woomera, SA and belongs to the Kokatha and Nukunu peoples. Scarce embraces a non traditional approach to glass blowing using glass as more than a mere material, acting as a lens and a mirror, Scarce reflects and exposes the tragedies of Australia’s colonisation. She applies the technical rigours of traditional glass blowing techniques in an innovative and unconventional manner. In particular Scarce uses glass to explore the lives and histories of Aboriginal Australians. Hand blown glass is shaped, engraved, painted and smashed to create indigenous fruits and vegetables such as bush bananas, bush plums and long yams symbolic of her peoples culture and traditions. With their elongated, torso-like shapes, they even evoke human bodies. Akin to a gatherer of bush food Scarce creates glass-gatherings of the persecuted. The repetition of brittle ambiguous bodies collected for experimentation and examination conjures the relentless impact of colonisation and the litany of abuses suffered by Aboriginal people. Within her research Scarce encountered a variety of ethnographic studies examining the use of scientific interventions amongst Indigenous cultures. These include Government sanctioned illegal drug testing of children in orphanages and other dubious medical practices amongst indigenous prison inmates. This work metaphorically looks at these situations and poses questions of what might have gone on in such a laboratory. The judge of the 2017 Guirguis New Art Prize (GNAP), Simon Maidment, Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria said; “The winning work by Yhonnie Scarce captures the sensitivity to materials she displays throughout her artistic practice. The blown and shattered glass elements are a delicate contrast to the shocking and little discussed histories of Aboriginal exploitation and abuse in the name of science in Australia. Engaging this topic, this work is haunting, in the same way those lived and documented experiences continue to haunt the collective unconscious of this country. Yhonnie Scarce’s work, The More Bones the Better 2016, I believe makes an important contribution to the Collection of Federation University Australia and will engage and move diverse audiences with its technical accomplishment, beauty and message. Yhonnie Scarce was born in Woomera SA and belongs to the Kokatha and Nukunu peoples. Scarce embraces a non-traditional approach to glass blowing using her medium as more than a mere material. Applying the technical rigours of traditional glass blowing in an innovative and unconventional manner, Scarce’s glass objects act as a lens and a mirror to reflect and expose the tragedies of Australia’s colonisation and, in particular, explore the lives and histories of Aboriginal Australians. Hand-blown glass is shaped, engraved, painted and smashed to represent indigenous fruits and vegetables such as bush bananas, bush plums and long yams, symbolic of Scarce’s people’s culture and traditions. While these elongated shapes on the one hand represent fruit and vegetables, gathered and grouped as in the gathering of bush food, Scarce’s torso-like bodies and forms are glass ‘gatherings’ representative of the gathering of people. Here, the many brittle bodies act as a metaphor for the collection, experimentation and examinations undertaken by government authorities on Aboriginal communities researched by Scarce. Exposing a variety of ethnographic studies, examining the use of scientific interventions on Indigenous cultures, Scarce also revealed Government sanctioned illegal drug testing of children in orphanages and other dubious medical practices undertaken on indigenous prison inmates. Scarce’s gatherings also reflect the impact of colonisation and the relentless conjuring and litany of abuses suffered by Aboriginal people. The More Bones the Better metaphorically looks at these situations and poses questions of what was undertaken and investigated in these laboratories. guirguis new art prize, yhonnie scarce, glass, aboriginal

Lin ONUS (1948-1996) Lin Onus was integral to the recognition of Aboriginal art in the contemporary Australian art landscape. His work expresses the dynamism of living culture; Onus was a prominent figure in renegotiating the history of colonial and Aboriginal Australian. An early influence of this dedication was his father, who was the founder of the Aboriginal Advancement League in Victoria and a maker of artefacts. As a young boy Onus was subsequently exposed to visiting Aboriginal artists and assisted his father in decorating artefacts. His painting Barmah Forest won the Aboriginal Heritage Award in 1994; Onus also received a Member of the Order of Australia “for service to the arts as a painter and sculptor and the other promotion of Aboriginal artists and their work.” (https://www.portjacksonpress.com.au/artists/lin-onus)Unframed colour screenprint with a limited edition of 60.lin onus, frogs, aboriginal, screenprint, printmaking, gippsland campus, print council australia

leni (1960s- ) Born Melbourne Wotjobaluk "leni is both a long story and a short life. A Wotjobaluk woman, born in Melbourne in the sixties, adopted into a non-Aboriginal family and raised by true destiny on country in the Wimmera. leni was reunited with her mother and extended family in her late teens. Simple swift sentences with complex challenging undertones. Thus began an ever evolving and endlessly deep cultural and personal exploration which has passionately consumed, confused, enticed and enriched her since. leni’s creativity is inspired strongly by her cross cultural heritage, learnings and loves, failures and fears, passions and dreamings. This artwork has its own determination and authenticity. leni’s work constantly explores concepts of the past and present. leni has exhibited in the Koorie Heritage Trust, The Convent Gallery, Kirret Barreet Gallery, Gallery on Sturt, Tussock Gallery and others. Her work has been commissioned by various organisations, public and private collectors.A triptych commissioned for the Federation University Mt Helen A-Building Staircase.aboriginal, abstract

Ann FERGUSON (1939- ) Country: Wingetllina Area: Alice Spring, Kalka/Pipalyatjara Language group: Pitjantjarara Ann Ferguson (Ann Cleary Nyankulya Bnaka) is a member of the Stolen Generation, she was removed from her family and take to Kalgoorlie Mission, South Australia. She started painting in 1973 when her care givers noticed her artistic talent. Ann Ferguson is also a basket weaver, carver and lino block printmaker at Indulkana Community, South Australia, Acrylic painting on stretched canvasaboriginal, bushfood, anne ferguson, bush food, bush foods, ann cleary, ann ferguson, indulkana

leni (1960s- ) Born Melbourne Wotjobaluk "leni is both a long story and a short life. A Wotjobaluk woman, born in Melbourne in the sixties, adopted into a non-Aboriginal family and raised by true destiny on country in the Wimmera. leni was reunited with her mother and extended family in her late teens. Simple swift sentences with complex challenging undertones. Thus began an ever evolving and endlessly deep cultural and personal exploration which has passionately consumed, confused, enticed and enriched her since. leni’s creativity is inspired strongly by her cross cultural heritage, learnings and loves, failures and fears, passions and dreamings. This artwork has its own determination and authenticity. leni’s work constantly explores concepts of the past and present. leni has exhibited in the Koorie Heritage Trust, The Convent Gallery, Kirret Barreet Gallery, Gallery on Sturt, Tussock Gallery and others. Her work has been commissioned by various organisations, public and private collectors.aboriginal, aboriginal education centre collection

leni (1960s- ) Born Melbourne Wotjobaluk "leni is both a long story and a short life. A Wotjobaluk woman, born in Melbourne in the sixties, adopted into a non-Aboriginal family and raised by true destiny on country in the Wimmera. leni was reunited with her mother and extended family in her late teens. Simple swift sentences with complex challenging undertones. Thus began an ever evolving and endlessly deep cultural and personal exploration which has passionately consumed, confused, enticed and enriched her since. leni’s creativity is inspired strongly by her cross cultural heritage, learnings and loves, failures and fears, passions and dreamings. This artwork has its own determination and authenticity. leni’s work constantly explores concepts of the past and present. leni has exhibited in the Koorie Heritage Trust, The Convent Gallery, Kirret Barreet Gallery, Gallery on Sturt, Tussock Gallery and others. Her work has been commissioned by various organisations, public and private collectors.aboriginal, aboriginal education centre collection

Wayne C. Wemba Wemba This work was donated to the student engagement team at Mount Helen. Aboriginal dot painting featuring a turtle, fish, and crocodile. If you can assist with information on this artist or artwork please make contact using the email link below right.aboriginal, turtle, fish, crocodile

Paddy FORDHAM WAINBURRANGA (1932-2006) (Katherine, Northern Territory) This item is part of the Federation University Art Collection. The Art Collection features over 2000 works and was listed as a 'Ballarat Treasure' in 2007.Framed limited edition lithograph showing a woman with a rabbit like head. Donated through the Australian Gifts Programme by Katherine Littlewood.paddy fordham wainburranga, paddy fordham, aboriginal, printmaking, artist, artworks, available

Paddy FORDHAM WAINBURRANGA (c1930-2006) (Katherine, Northern Territory)Framed lithograph where artist Paddy Fordham Wainburranga has depicted 'Bolung', the Rainbow Serpent, an important life giving figure for the Rembarrnga people whose clan country lies to the south and west of Ramingining, towards the Katherine area. Donated through the Australian Gifts Programme by Katherine Littlewood.bolung, rainbow serpent, rembarrnga, paddy fordham wainburranga, paddy fordham, wainburranga, artist, artworks, aboriginal