BILLY1894
Title: A message stick formerly on display at the Petrie Terrace Police Depot
Description: Trove: "The Petrie Terrace Police Depot, Brisbane, is a museum of criminal relics connected with cases in the Queensland courts, and others which never have reached the stage of a trial. Humour as well as tragedy is represented. For instance, there is a small native "message stick," carved into the shape of a shield, about 6in. in length and half an inch in width, on which short marks had been cut, in a criss-cross manner, apparently with a stone knife. The marks were the equivalent of a written message, which, the attached not explained, was sent by a blackboy named Billy, of Gregory Downs, in 1894, to a gin on Lawn Hill. The message, according to the translation printed on the attached card, reads: "Dear Dora,— Send me a shirt and pair of trousers, and steal all you can from Mr. Hann." The Hann family, by the way, is one of the best known in Queensland grazing circles."
Creator of Object: sender: Billy, of Gregory Downs recipient: a woman on Lawn Hill
Date Created: 1894
Notes on date created: exact
Item type: positive text reference
Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Mayi-Kutuna Austlang: G24 - Mayi-Kutuna Glottolog: maya1280
Linguistic area 2: Chirila: Nguburindi Austlang: G19 - Nguburinji Glottolog: ngub1238
Notes on linguistic areas: Mayi-Kutuna is inferred from location of Gregory Downs (now Gregory) Nruburindi is inferred from location of Lawn Hill
Source types: newspaper article
URL source 1: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23266830
Notes: 27.11.25 PK: Dear Queensland Police Museum, I am the lead researcher on the Australian Message Stick Project: https://messagesticks.com.au/ I am writing to enquire about a message stick that was in the collection of the Petrie Terrace Police Depot Museum in 1933 and which I assume is now part of the Queensland Police Museum collection. A 1933 article in the Queenslander Illustrated Weekly (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23266830) describes it in this way: At the Petrie Terrace Police Depot, Brisbane, is a museum of criminal relics connected with cases in the Queensland courts, and others which never have reached the stage of a trial. Humour as well as tragedy is represented. For instance, there is a small native “message stick,” carved into the shape of a shield, about 6 in. in length and half an inch in width, on which short marks had been cut, in a criss-cross manner, apparently with a stone knife. The marks were the equivalent of a written message, which, the attached not explained, was sent by a blackboy named Billy, of Gregory Downs, in 1894, to a gin on Lawn Hill. The message, according to the translation printed on the attached card, reads: “Dear Dora,— Send me a shirt and pair of trousers, and steal all you can from Mr. Hann.” The Hann family, by the way, is one of the best known in Queensland grazing circles. Even if this artefact is no longer in your collection would you be able to provide any images of old registers or correspondence that indicates, for example, how it was acquired, interpreted, displayed, exchanged or re-sold? I would also be grateful if you could provide any images of the artefact in question. Many thanks, Piers 01.12.2025: Good morning Piers, Thank you for your patience while I got back to you. We’ve received a few similar inquiries regarding our Collection. When I joined the Museum four years ago, I found that there was very little documentation available, despite the collection dating back to 1893. Prior to my time, some correspondence from the State Archives mentioning objects or potential acquisitions for the Museum was photocopied. I’ve since digitised and indexed these records. However, the only reference we have to the message stick is the article you kindly shared in your email. I’ve attached our copy of the article for your reference. Additionally, I’ve included a document from 1931 that confirms items in the Museum were described as being ‘scattered’. Although this document predates the article by two years, I believe this dispersal may explain how parts of the collection were lost over time. It’s also possible that further ‘scattering’ occurred in subsequent years. The only photograph we have of the ‘old’ collection is from a 1933 newspaper clipping, which I’ve linked here: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/198664746/21888332 Unfortunately, the article does not mention the message stick, and the photograph is not clear enough to confirm its presence. I’ve attached a higher-quality version of the clipping for your review, but I’m afraid it still doesn’t provide any definitive evidence of the message stick’s existence in the collection. Unless further information comes to light, I am afraid I am unable to provide any answers to your questions. If there’s anything else I can assist you with, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Best regards, K.F. (she/her)
Media Files:
Data Entry: Piers Kelly