MusV_X_119574

Title: A message stick held in Museums Victoria

Description: Message stick. Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon). Etched both with a Dremel engraver and utilised a burner as well. Archival ink paint pen for the artwork, and sealed with a 50:50 mix of linseed oil and mineral turpentine.

Creator of Object: Mr Ben Church

Date Created: 2021

Item type: message stick in a collection

State/Territory: VIC

Notes on linguistic areas: The origin of the message stick is Gunditjmara, Kerrup Jmara, Portland, Western District, Victoria, Australia

Dimension 1: 295mm Dimension 2: 80mm

Materials: wood

Source types: museum collection

Date collected: Date Produced: 2021

Institution/Holder file: Museums Victoria object identifier: X 119574

Coordinates: 38°20'31.599600"S,141°36'4.500000"E  (-38.342111, 141.60125)

Media copyright: Museums Victoria

Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinates for Portland, Victoria, per Google maps

URL institution: https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/2528286

Notes: 21.8.24 NR: MusV online catalogue: "This Message stick was made by Ben Church who is from the Kerrupjmara clan of Lake Condah, south west Victoria, and is one of three commissioned to replace three 19th century message sticks from Lake Condah on Gunditjmara Country that had been held at Museums Victoria for nearly a century, and have now been repatriated back to the Community. The timber for the message stick was sourced by Ben from Lake Condah in 2021, continuing the many thousands of years of cultural practice of making message sticks and reviving this in contemporary ways. Pre-contact a message stick would have been carved with a sharp and durable stone tool and or mussel shell but today Ben etched both sides with a Dremel engraver and an electronic burner. An archival ink paint pen was used for the artwork, and it was sealed with a mix of linseed oil and mineral turpentine. Contemporary Cultural practice is important to the ongoing and thriving living culture of First Peoples of Victoria, the message stick from Ben speaks to the history of his Ancestors and communicates the message to us today of the cultural strength of the Kerrupjmara people that continues and that many future generations of First Peoples will learn from and connect to."

Data Entry: Nitzan Rotman