QM_QE870

Title: Sketch of a message stick from Queensland by Hamlyn-Harris (1918)

Description: Sketch of message stick on p.21, Fig.5, of "On messages and "Message Sticks" employed among the Queensland Aborigines" by R. Hamlyn-Harris

Message: A roughly fashioned and untrimmed stick made of ironbark, containing a message with reference to a long journey. The flat obverse side only contains a long sinuous line and a very short one, together with one notch on the side of the same. On the reverse there are a number of irregularly placed lines producing in the manner of their arrangement a roughly carved diamond-shaped figure, so characteristic of message sticks (p. 21)

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 origin of the message stick is given simply as “Queensland”. It therefore cannot be associated with a linguistic area.

Semantic domains: sd_journey, sd_time

Dimension 1: 131mm Dimension 2: 10mm

Materials: ironbark

Sources:

  • Hamlyn Harris, R. 1918. “On messages and ‘message sticks’ employed among the Queensland Aborigines.”
  • Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 6:13-36.

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

    Notes: QM REGISTER

    Date: Feb 28, 1916

    Registration no: 16/870

    Name or Description: Message stick, made of iron bark

    Locality: Q.

    From Whom Acquired: Acting Sergt. Keane

    How Aquired: Don.

    References to Papers: Re-registered

    Destination:

    Remarks: Sinuous line on obverse side indicating a long journey

    OTHER NOTES:

    04.02.2026 PK: Previously RHH1918P21F5

    Media Files:

    Data Entry: Julia Bespamyatnykh, Nitzan Rotman, Piers Kelly