Title: A message stick held in the South Australian Museum
Description: Message stick from the South Australian Museum
Message: «help»
Date Created: 1929
Item type: message stick in a collection
Subtype: traditional
Source types: museum collection
Date collected: Acquisition Date: 03. Oct 1929
Institution/Holder file: The South Australian Museum object identifier: A-15403
Collector: Donated by: estate of Birks, L.N.
Media copyright: The South Australian Museum
Notes: 18.10.23 NR: According to SAM original register - associated label "calling for help" and "Presented H.m.a.s arunta 6-6-42" (HMAS Arunta is a Tribal Class destroyer, built at Cockatoo Dockyard during World War II. It was commissioned on 30 March 1942 under the command of Commander James C Morrow DSO RAN). This above remarks are marked for the following records: 15401, 15402, 15403. 23.1023 PK: This article from Royal Australian Navy News (http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article267311393) indicates that the message sticks were transferred from Arunta I to Arunta II in 1998. "A number of artefacts passed on from HMAS Arunta 1, including message sticks with traditional symbology should be carefully examined to determine whether it was appropriate for the ship to retain them". Note that these message sticks are of unknown provenance and thus the interpretations of Arrernte elders might not be appropriate. Message sticks are not a Central Australian technology but the term 'message stick' has been misapplied to refer to tjurungas. For details on the collector, see Terry, Michael. 1930. "A Journey Through the North-West of Central Australia in 1928." The Geographical Journal 75 (3):218-222.
Data Entry: Nitzan Rotman