| Coordinates WGS84 | 14°47'S, 143°58'E -14.79, 143.97 |
AMus_E013403
Title: A message stick carried by a woman at Morehead River to 8 mile Cooktown to report that her brother was sick
Description: Summary: This message was sent prior to 1898 by an Aboriginal woman in Cooktown whose Country was the Morehead River in Lamalama. It was presented to Walter Edmund Roth, then serving as a doctor, to inform him that her brother was sick and (presumably) required Roth's medical attention. In 1935 it featured as part of an illustration to a fictional series in the Brisbane Telegraph.
Museum description:
Message or letter stick [ref reg]; Message stick [ref LC] Oblong. Sida A: 2 chevrons, one comprised of concentric bands of chevrons, other, slight irregular incisions. Side B: Incised cross-hatching, concentric chevrons, and herring bone. Squared ends [ref LC]; Conditions: complete [ref LC].
Primitive Letters (1935): Appeared as part of an illustration to a fictional series in the Brisbane Telegraph featuring the adventures of Captain Coldweather, Tom Barnacle, Mrs Noah and Bosun Bill. It is likely that this artefact is from the collection of WE Roth, who is cited. Two other artefacts in the same photograph can be positively traced to Roth's collection as illustrated in Roth's 'Ethnological studies among the north-west-central Queensland Aborigines' (1897). The images of two artefacts have been merged with the records derived from Roth (1897).
Message: «My brother is sick»
AMus pdf from 24.01.2023: "Message or letter stick given me by a Morehead R. gin, at the 8 Mile, Cooktown, whose brother "by these presents" had sent word to say that he was sick (35 & 36) are probably portions of 1 stick [ref reg]; Half a stick (Bull 8, p. 12) [ref LC];"
Creator of Object: AMus pdf from 24.01.2023: Sender: brother Messenger: "Message or letter stick given me by a Morehead R. gin"
Date Created: 1898
Notes on date created: terminus ante quem
Item type: message stick in a collection
Subtype: traditional
State/Territory: QLD
Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Lamalama Austlang: Y136 - Mbarrumbathama Glottolog: lamu1254
Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is Cooktown, Cape York, Queensland, Australia, but the sender is a Morehead River woman AMus pdf from 24.01.2023: "REGION: Cape York; ...at the 8 mile, Cooktown [ref reg]; The 8 mile, Cooktown, Queensland [ref LC]"
Dimension 1: 68mm Dimension 2: 21mm Dimension 3: 8mm
Source types: museum collection
Date collected: Acquisition date: 1898 Accession date: 24 March 1905
Institution/Holder file: The Australian Museum object identifier: E013403
Collector: Purchased by: Roth, Dr Walter Edmund
Coordinates: 14°47'10.600800"S,143°58'12.201600"E (-14.786278, 143.970056)
Media copyright: The Australian Museum
Notes on coordinates: An approximate mid point on the Morehead River
URL source 1: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180628845
Notes: REGISTER
Date: March 24, 1905
Name or Description: Message or letter stick given me by a Morehead R. gin at the 8 mile Cooktown whose brother "by these presents" had sent in word to say that he was sick (35+36) are probably portions of 1 stick, Cooktown 1898
Locality: Morehead river
How Acquired: Purch.
Name of Donor or Seller: Dr. W. E. Roth
Estimated or Market Value: S. 35
Destination: Fig. 5 Bull. 8 Pl. 3 f4 reg. 2341
Remarks:
OTHER NOTES
14.12.23 NR: this msg stick is similar in shape/design to AMus_E013402.
AMus pdf from 24.01.2023: "Part of message also involving E.13401 and E013404 [ref LC];"
09.07.2024 PK: Merged with image from 'Primitive letters' (1935)
Roth Bulletin 8 (1905):
Fig. 5.—Similar to Fig. 4, but slightly smaller. Obverse—Three triangular spaces are countersunk, one at the lower end, and two lateral; above are five widely V-shaped incisions. Reverse—The greater portion of the surface is occupied by irregular rhombs and three triangular spaces, two infilled with V-shaped incisions, and the third with a small shrub.
Half a stick given by a Morehead River gin at the Eight-mile, Cooktown.
Media Files:
Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Piers Kelly, Nitzan Rotman
Related Entries: AMus_E013401, AMus_E013404