AMus_E013398

Title: A message stick giving authority to demand a fishing net, held in the Australian Museum

Description: Small, circular stick; deeply incised so most of bark cut away, resulting in 2 colours - reddish brown & light yellow brown where hatching occurs. (ref LC); Condition: Complete. Stick cracked one end. Mould. (ref LC).

Message: «Send my wife's fishing net from Miriam Vale» AMus pdf from 24.01.2023: "Given me by old 'Peter' as an authority for me to demand a fishing net from his wife at Miriam Vale, Gladstone;"

Creator of Object: AMus pdf from 24.01.2023: "old 'Peter'"

Date Created: 1897

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

Subtype: traditional

State/Territory: QLD

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Gureng Gureng Austlang: E32 - GOORENG GOORENG Glottolog: gure1255

Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is Miriam Vale, Bundaberg, Queensland. AMus pdf from 24.01.2023: "REGION: Bundaberg; Miriam Vale, Gladstone [ref reg]; Gladstone, Queensland [ref LC]"

Dimension 1: 91mm Dimension 2: 11mm Dimension 3: 7mm

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: Acquisition date: 1897 Accession date: 24 March 1905

Institution/Holder file: The Australian Museum object identifier: E013398

Collector: Purchased by: Roth, Dr Walter Edmund

Coordinates: 24°19'43.701600"S,151°33'37.900800"E  (-24.328806, 151.560528)

Media copyright: The Australian Museum

Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinates for Miriam Vale, Queensland, per Google maps. Miriam Vale is a rural town and locality in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia.

URL institution: http://collections.australianmuseum.net.au/amweb/pages/am/Display.php?irn=16705&QueryPage=%2Famweb%2Fpages%2Fam%2FQuery.php&highlight_term=message+stick

Notes: REGISTER

Date: 24 March 1905

Name or Description: Message or letter stick

Locality: given me by "Old Peter" as an authority for me to demand a fishing net from his wife at Miriam Vale, '97

How Acquired: Purch.

Name of Donor or Seller: Dr. W. E. Roth

Estimated or Market Value: S.31

Destination: Figs. Bull. 8. Pl. 4. F8 negative v. 2342

Remarks:

OTHER NOTES

Roth Bulletin 8 (1905):

Fig. 8.—A piece of round stick, with four irregular lines of transverse gaping notches; a very rough implement. Length, 3 ½ in.; diameter, 3/8-in.

Gladstone. Given by “Old Peter” as an authority to demand a fishing-net from his wife at Miriam Vale.

Media Files:

Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly, Nitzan Rotman