AMus_E029706

Title: A message stick from the Darling River, Walgett District, in the Australian Museum

Description: SUMMARY: This message stick is an announcement of a buurra ('bora') or young man's initiation ceremony on the Darling River in the "Walgett District". According to the scope of this district, as it was understood in 1925, this would refer to a stretch of the Barwon River (a tributary to the Darling/Baaka) within Yuwaalaraay Country. Mobs participating in the ceremony are not recorded but could have been those going in for the same Law. The markings indicate the route that the participants will take to lead them to the main ceremonial ground, known in those languages as a buurrabang (written "Boorbong" in the pasted register note), defined as the "public ground at the bora" (Gamilaraay, Yuwaalaraay, & Yuwaalayaay Dictionary, 2003). The ceremony would have taken place some time prior to November 1925 when the message stick was accessioned at the Australian Museum. While male initiation ceremonies exist throughout First Nations communities, they differ from place to place and only certain groups go in together. This specific form of this buuraa ceremony appears to be shared by the Yuwaalaraay, Wayilwan and Gamilaraay as well as Wiradjuri. By contrast, the multjirra male initiation ceremony is a joint event of Muruwari, Budjiri and Gunya mobs in an adjacent region to the northwest. Women and children are also traditionally part of the buura for the stages that take place on the buurabang (public ground), as indicated on the message stick. Later restricted stages of the ceremony involve men and initiates only and take place at grounds near to the buurrabang but out of sight. Message sticks are public objects designed to be seen by all participants, even for ceremonies that have restricted stages. However, messengers carrying this message stick may also have carried restricted ceremonial items as part of the communication, to be seen by initiated men only. This message stick shows several paths through landscapes. Such designs are common on message sticks and settlers often misrecognised them as 'maps' as if they were revealing a route to an unknown destination. Instead they tended to be diagrams for coordinating movements and timing, so that participants would arrive at the ceremonial grounds within a few days of one another. In other cases the 'maps' verified the authorised route taken by the messenger himself in order to deliver the message, like stamps in a passport. We assume the source of the provenance information – Darling River within Walgett District – is an Aboriginal man by the name of Webster, who in 1925 was working at Menindee station but had a relationship to Countries further north on the Darling/Baaka system. He may be the father of Big Will Webster (Thartu) of Menindee and was perhaps the custodian of this message stick before it was acquired by the Aborigines Protection Board and donated to the museum. In any case, Webster was considered the authority for interpreting the object in 1925. We hope to find more information about the Webster family. Chain of stewardship: A best estimate is that prior to 10 November 1925 the object was in the possession of someone named 'Webster' in the Walgett District. It subsequently entered the possession of an APB inspector named W. Donaldson who delivered it to A. C. Pettitt in Sydney. Pettitt then donated the message stick to the Australian Museum. He said that "No data can be furnished" but that he would be happy to meet with the museum's ethnologist William Walford Thorpe to discuss it. That meeting took place on or prior to 14 November 1925. At this meeting Thorpe may have disclosed that he was considering writing an article about message sticks for the Australian Museum Magazine. It would appear that, following this meeting, Pettitt made enquiries of Chas. P. Cherbury, then a manager at Carowra Tank Aboriginal Camp who made contact with somebody named Ashmore. Ashmore supplied the information that the message stick was about young men's business and represented the route to the public ceremonial ground (burbang) but he wanted to follow up with Webster to find out more. Cherbury wrote "When the line is completed from Ivanhow to Menindie Ashmore will visit Webster and get fuller information". The fact that the surnames only are listed suggests that these men were already known to the A. C. Petitt and thus may have been employees of the APB. However an likely possibility is that Webster is an Aboriginal man connected to somebody named Will Webster who was: "Born early 1920s, Netley property [Bindara Station], on Darling River between Pooncarie and Menindee. Grew up on Netley and other Darling properties, had some schooling at missionary schools Pooncarie and Wilcannia before family forcibly removed to Menindee station, 1934. Attended station school there. Later worked as shearer along Darling properties north and south of Wilcannia and Menindee." (Goodall 1982, p423). This shows that Webster's family were already associated with Menindee in 1925 and prior, and that Ashmore regarded this family as the primary source of knowledge about the object. Thorpe ended up publishing an article in the Australian Museum Magazine. It included photographs of three message sticks and one message stick wallet, but none are of this object, nor is the object mentioned in the text. Most of the information is drawn from existing published sources. PROVENANCE RESEARCH: "Walgett District" is not a strict cartographic term, but from the 1880s it appears in print to encompass a large area from Walgett proper, to Angledool in the north, Moongulla in the northeast, Wee Waa in the east, Polly Brewan and Wingadee in the south, and Milrea Tank in the west. The "Darling River" meanwhile does not strictly exist within this area, but rather the Barwon river which is an upper tributary to the Darling. However, there is good evidence of Darling being used as a synonym for Barwon even in historical maps up until at least 1964. Accordingly the attributed area of provenance would be somewhere in the stretch of the Barwon-Darling river that also intersects with Walgett District. This would narrow it to the stretch of river from Gowrie north of Walgett to Milrea station in the east. This stretch of river is quite firmly within the Yuwaalaraay area. Walgett District on the Barwon in 1964: https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-557665291/view Map showing the 'Darling' as opposed to Barwon next to Walgett in 1911: https://mapsearch.nla.gov.au/?text=&type=map&mapClassifications=all&geolocation=all&bounds=-30.14003995948486%2C145.85120239999998%2C-30.02352664911082%2C146.0512024 This one from 1934 shows territorial divisions but for parishes not districts. Walgett the town is in between Finch, Denham and Barradine parishes: https://mapsearch.nla.gov.au/?text=&type=map&mapClassifications=all&geolocation=all&bounds=-30.14003995948486%2C145.85120239999998%2C-30.02352664911082%2C146.0512024 However this article here lists all the stations in "Walgett District" in 1882, showing quite a large extent: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article141020160

Message: «Participants to assemble at public ceremonial ground for young men's business»

Creator of Object: From: Once-known man on the Darling river in Walgett District To: Once-known man on the Darling river in Walgett District

Date Created: 1925

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

State/Territory: NSW

Notes on linguistic areas: This message stick is associated with Walgett Dist.

Institution/Holder file: The Australian Museum object identifier: E029706

Coordinates: 30°01'19.300800"S,148°07'3.298800"E  (-30.022028, 148.117583)

Media copyright: The Australian Museum

Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinated for Walgett, New South Wales.

Notes: REGISTER

Date: Nov 18, 1925

Name or Description: Aboriginal message stick

Locality: Walgett Dist. (said to be)

How Acquired: Pres. A. C. Pettitt

References to papers: A. 54/1925 Destination or Remarks: A West Aust. type

[Glued note in the margin: Top left corner "[325a]"; top right a stamp of the Aborigines Protection Board dated July 1925; Text: "COPY RE Stick sent by Ashmore.

[Refers to E. 29706]

Ashmore says the stick or map belongs to the Darling and shows the route of the "Big Camp" "Booroobong" where the lads of the tribe are initiated into the mysteries of manhood.

When the line is completed from Invanhow to Menindie Ashmore will visit and get fuller information.

The "Boorong" is held at different places, the chief men of the tribe making the choice, and a route stick or map is given out showing where it is, and only those whose business it is to be there understanding the marking.

(Sgd) Chas. P. Cherbury

Mgr. Carowra Tank

Abo. Camp.

ASSOCIATED CORRESPONDENCE: [Memo A 54] 29th October, 1925. Mr Chas. G. Anstey, Public School, FAIRFIELD WEST Dear Sir, On behalf of the Trustees I acknowledge receipt of your remittance for 4/4d, being renewal subscription to "The Australian Museum Magazine." This will cover Vol. II Parts 9 to 12, which will be duly forwarded to you on publication. Thanking you for your continued interest and support, Yours faithfully, W. T. Wells, Secretary. ENCLOS. ORDER FORM Please accept my order for four copies of "The Australian Museum Magazine" for this and the next 3 issues, for which I enclose 4/4 Address: CAs. G. Anstey Name: Public School, Fairfield West Date: 28/10/25 [Handwritten in new hand:] Vol II 9.10.11.12 A. Tr: 9.10 Museum. 11.12 in advance. [Memo A.54 10 Nov 1925] SUBJECT: ABORIGINAL – Message Stick Mr Petitt – Secretary Aborigines' Protection Board to-day handed me the accompanying Stick – which he donates to the Museum. The Stick was brought down by W. Donaldson – Inspector – and is from Walgett District. No data can be furnished – but Mr. Petitt would be glad to meet Mr. Thorpe at any time. Nov 10 1925 [new hand in pencil] Mr Thorpe. Ed 11/11/25: [new hand in ink:] Message stick registered, E. 29706 Have met Mr Pettitt, but will make an informed call at the office of the Board at first opportunity. W.W.T. 14/IX/1925. [new hand:] Should this be formally acknowledged on letter of thanks. ascertain. 15/11/25 W. Murphy. [new hand:] A L/T. was forwarded on 18/11/25 to Mrs Pettitt. OTHER NOTES

Data Entry: Piers Kelly, Nitzan Rotman