QM_QE36_1

Title: A message stick from Turn Off Lagoon in the Queensland Museum Kurilpa

Description: Sketch of message stick on p. 24, Fig.12, of "On messages and "Message Sticks" employed among the Queensland Aborigines" by R. Hamlyn-Harris: "This stick [...] is provided with a plume of yellow-crested cockatoo feathers mounted in gum cement. A stick of this kind, almost a rarity, would only be used by the headman of a tribe in communicating with the headman of another, and as soon as received the plumes would be taken off the stick and worn in the hair, pending the arrival of the ceremony to which he had been summoned. The lines, half circles, and crosses (of which there are six altogether) are but lightly carved on a piece of white gum, and the whole is raddled in dark ochre. Such a message stick might on occasions be wrapped up in a piece of bark. "

Message: Inviting another to a corroborree the little one come in 6 moons [PK: there are two objects, probably 36.1 and 362. This one is the invitation to ceremony and I suspect 36.2 is the "little one" that means come in 6 moons.

Date Created: 1918

Notes on date created: terminus ante quem

Item type: message stick in a collection

State/Territory: QLD

Notes on linguistic areas: The message stick is associated with Turn-off Lagoon, via Burketown, North Queensland

Dimension 1: 196mm Dimension 2: 24mm

Materials: wood

Sources:

Hamlyn Harris, R. 1918. “On messages and ‘message sticks’ employed among the Queensland Aborigines.”

Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 6:13-36.

Institution/Holder file: Queensland Museum Kurilpa object identifier: QE36.1

Collector: This stick was donated by a Protector of Aboriginals, Mr. E. P. Smith, N.E. inland of Burketown (p. 25)

Coordinates: 17°44'27.200400"S,139°32'51.201600"E  (-17.740889, 139.547556)

Notes on coordinates: Absolute coordinates for Burketown, Queensland, per Google maps. Wikipedia: Burketown is an isolated outback town and coastal locality in the Shire of Burke, Queensland, Australia. According to wikipedia: Turn Off Lagoon is located on the Nicholson River about 26 kilometres west of present-day Doomadgee site, which is about 90km west from Burketown.

URL source 1: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/47577#page/51/mode/1up

Notes: QM REGISTER

Date: Aug. 23, 1911

Registration no: 11/36

No. of Specimens: 2

Name or Description: Message stick

Locality: Turn-off Lagoon via Burketown Police Stn

From Whom Acquired: E. P. Smith (Protector)

References to Papers: See letter 11/4/88

Destination:

Remarks: Inviting another to a corroborree the little one come in 6 moons

OTHER NOTES:

17.06.25 PK: Possibly referred to in Best: “one example with added sulphur crested cockatoo feathers” (Best 2003, 107)

03.03.2026 PK: QM correspondence:

"Turn off Lagoon,

Police Station.

2nd August 1911

To

The Director

Queensland Museum

Brisbane.

Dear Sir,

I am sending to you 2 two bundles of Aboriginals things. Vize 18 stone knives, 2 feather mosquito or fly beater, 4 boomerangs 1 cooleman, 5 head bands, 2 arm rings, 4 throat bands, 2 opposoms and 1 head tasil, 1 but made out of Bagging , 2 feather armlets2 musician sticks, 4 letter sticks, 2 stone tomahawk, 2 grass neck laces, 1 red bean neck lace, 2 hair they make things out of it carry there cooliman. 4 pencile sketches drawn by an Abriginal, one Cooliman. It is made out of a cork wood tree. 29 stone and wooden spears, 5 woomeras to be used in throughing spear, one bundle of fire sticks. Hope these articles will reach you safely. Should you require any further collections kindly let me know. Myself and the matron will try and procure some for you.

I have the honour to be

Sir,

Yours obedient servant,

E. P. Smith,

Protector of Aborigines." 05.02.2026 PK: Previously RHH1918P24F12

Media Files:

Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Nitzan Rotman, Piers Kelly