BM_Oc1927_0610_12

Title: A message stick from Queensland held in the British Museum

Description: Message stick made of wood, coloured with red pigment and incised with wavy lines.

Message: ‘Mickey wants warm coat, shirt and trousers. Mickey plenty look out dog’, [Bennett has added] meaning [Mickey] is looking after the kangaroo hounds.’ (Ethdoc 913)

Creator of Object: Mickey (Production ethnic group: Yirandali). Other dates: "1824-1914 (circa)". Biography: "Head-man, ko-bee-berry, of the section Woongo of the Yirandali people, Queensland; married to Mary. Mickey and Mary worked and lived on Lammermoor Cattle Station, run by Robert Christison, who gave him a king plate. Mickey and Mary adopted Jacob Chermside, an orphaned Yirandali boy." Bibliography: "Bennett, M.M. 1927. Christison of Lammermoor.London: Alston Rivers." https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG181587

Date Created: 1927

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

Subtype: traditional

State/Territory: QLD

Linguistic area 1: Chirila: Yirandali Austlang: L42 - Yirandali Glottolog: yira1239

Notes on linguistic areas: The message stick is associated with Lammermoor, Mitchell, Queensland

Dimension 1: 81mm Dimension 2: 6mm Dimension 3: 6mm

Materials: wood

Techniques: pigmented

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: Acquisition date: 1927

Institution/Holder file: The British Museum object identifier: Oc1927,0610.12

Collector: Donated by: Mary Montgomerie Bennett Acquisition notes" Mrs Bennett was the daughter of Mr Robert Christison (see also his collections acquired in 1901 and 1904)." Field Collection by: Robert Christison Curator's comments" In Ethdoc 913 there is Bennett’s label associated with this object. It gives the following account of the meaning of the marks on this message stick: ‘Mickey wants warm coat, shirt and trousers. Mickey plenty look out dog’, [Bennett has added] meaning [Mickey] is looking after the kangaroo hounds.’"

Coordinates: 22°16'30.601200"S,144°34'42.398400"E  (-22.275167, 144.578444)

Media copyright: The British Museum British Museum Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Notes on coordinates: Approximate location of Towerhill Creek

URL institution: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?partid=1&assetid=1133233001&objectid=499219

IRN: EOC16581

Notes: PK: No more images to request from BM. 30.11.23 NR: checked against BM online catalogue.

Media Files:

Data Entry: Olena Tykhostup, Piers Kelly, Nitzan Rotman