DFAT_002_DF_D00031011

Title: Unidentified Mornington Island man carving a message stick

Description: AIATSIS: Printed on verso: Australian scientists have uncovered further evidence that Australia's Aborigines may have had their origins on the Indian sub-continent. A four-year survey among Aborigines in remote Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory has revealed work habits and dexterity patterns of traditional craftsmen which fit closely those of certain tribal groups in southern India and Ceylon, including the Sinhalese and descendants of the Veddas in Ceylon. The discovery is the latest in a recent series of finds supporting a number of theories as to the origin of Australia's Aborigines. It was made by Professor Leslie M. Haynes, head of the Department of Industrial Arts at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Professor Haynes, an ethno-technologist, made intensive studies of Aboriginal craftsmen during an Australian Government project to ascertain the industrial aptitudes of the Aborigines. The research lasted four years, during which time Professor Haynes was also engaged on similar work for the Smithsonian Institute of Washington among tribal groups in Ceylon and India

Item type: image of a message stick and messenger

State/Territory: QLD

Notes on linguistic areas: The message stick is associated with Mornington Island, Queensland, Australia

Coordinates: 16°30'56.498400"S,139°24'18.201600"E  (-16.515694, 139.405056)

Notes on coordinates: Coordinates for Mornington Island, Queensland, per Google maps

Media Files:

Data Entry: Piers Kelly, Nitzan Rotman