SLSA_PRG280_1_11_60

Title: Photo of Aboriginal man carrying a message stick

Description: State Library of South Australia description: "An Aboriginal man carrying a message stick; location unknown, possibly in the Northern Territory." This image was cut and pasted into Searcy's scrapbook but it is likely that Searcy sourced it from: Spencer, Baldwin. 1913. "Preliminary Report: On the Aboriginals of the Northern Territory." Bulletin of the Northern Territory 7:7-28. This is where he sourced another Baldwin Spencer image of messengers. Sadly the NLA copy is missing all accompanying images [the originals are problem at Museums Victoria] but it does include this caption: Figure 4.—Aboriginal carrying message or “Paper yabber.” n.p. Note that Spencer reserved the term "paper yabber" for a pen-and-paper letter and it looks like he has amended the caption from "yabber" to "wand" (For Spencer a paper wand is not so much a message stick as a ceremonial object that confers passport like protection status).

Item type: image of a message stick and messenger

Subtype: traditional_context

Cultural region: TopEnd

Institution/Holder file: State Library of South Australia

Media copyright: State Library of South Australia

Media Files:

Data Entry: Piers Kelly