Eden whaling oral history videos
This collection contains over 20 hours of oral history interviews about south-east coast historical whaling practices from the perspectives of Yuin community members and colonists in Eden. The relationship between the Yuin community and killer whales has a deep cultural and spiritual significance that continues to this day. Footage includes interviews with Yuin community members including Elder ‘Guboo’ Ted Thomas and with descendants of white fishermen and whalers. This collection was donated by Greg McKee.
Arrernte watercolour landscape painters
Donated by Dr Jenny Green, this collection consists of documentation—including audio recordings, transcripts in Arrernte and English, and digital images—created as part of a watercolour project with artists from central Australia in 1988. The recordings feature Arrernte watercolourists including Wenton Rubuntja, Jillian Namatjira and Douglas Kwarlpe Abbott from the Hermannsburg School in central Australia, which is internationally renowned for the style made famous by Albert Namatjira. These recordings provide the artists’ insights into the stories, connections and representations of their watercolours.
Papers of Richard Broome
This highly significant collection of research materials by Professor Richard Broome includes oral history recordings with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander professional boxers, in addition to original manuscripts for the book Slideshow Alley which Broome
co-authored with Alick Jackomos.
Dialects of western Kulin, western Victoria
Linguist Barry Blake has compiled a manuscript focusing on south-eastern languages Yartwatjali, Tjapwurrung and Djadjawurrung, based on early historical materials collected in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This addition provides a written record of languages from western Victoria to complement AIATSIS’ UNESCO Memory of the World registered language collection.
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples was a peak representative body for Australia’s First Peoples which advocated for self-determination, with a membership of over 180 organisations and over 10,000 individual members. Following the closure of Congress, we are now the custodian of this collection, with material representing its activity over the course of its operation between 2010 and 2017.
Included in the Congress material is Gathering (2013), a painting by Arone Meeks, which was commissioned for use as the company’s logo. The work represents a meeting place, with outstretched hands representing family: the elders, men, women and children.
Art acquisitions for Ngulla Wellamunagaa
In line with the Collection Development Policy, works from south-eastern Australia were purchased to fill gaps in the collection and to help strengthen stories within the Ngulla Wellamunagaa exhibition.
To acknowledge Ngunnawal Country and the traditional owners of the land where AIATSIS is situated, a large painting was commissioned from Ngunnawal artist Richie Allan and his family. Bulu Murra Ngunna Dhaara (Always a Pathway on Ngunnawal People’s Country) depicts Ngunnawal songlines and significant sites connected to the Molonglo River, recognising the Ngunnawal people’s ongoing connection to the land and water.
The purchase of leewurré - Fire Stick (2019) by trawlwoolway artist David mangenner Gough increased the representation of cultural material from Tasmania. This fire stick is used as a tool, as a torch or to smoke and cleanse country.
A large carved sculpture, Fire Spirit (2017), was acquired from artist Uncle Noel Butler, Budawang Elder from the Yuin Nation on the NSW south coast. To complement Fire Spirit, Noel Butler also included a fire-lighting kit which is used for healing and smoking ceremonies, as well as to burn country. The fire kit contributes to the narrative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land management and cultural practice, an especially significant issue after the 2019–2020 bushfire season.
The woven Shrimp Scoop (2017) by Ngarrindjeri artist Yvonne Koolmatrie was also purchased, the second work by Yvonne to be acquired for the collection. This is a contemporary version of scoops used by generations of Ngarrindjeri people along the Murray River.