IDNO

P.7.ACH1

Description

On Catalogue Card: “3 Cape York Australians on Mabuiag (profile).” [typed text, circa 1935]

Half-length portrait of three Cape York men who were probably pearlshellers working on Mabuiag. The men have cicatrisation on their chests and abdomens, and are wearing calico (sarongs). The men are standing side on to the camera in front of what is possibly the stone jetty at the pearl shell factory at Mabuiag, with a sea bay with distant land fall is in the background. [JD 1/11/2009]

Place

Oceania Australasia; Australia; Torres Strait; Mabuiag; Queensland; Cape York [Mabuyag]

Cultural Affliation

Cape York Australians

Named Person

Photographer

Wilkin, Anthony

Collector / Expedition

Haddon, Alfred Cort [Cambridge University Anthropological Expedition to the Torres Straits, 1898 - 1899]

Date

circa 28 - 29 September 1898

Collection Name

Mounted Haddon CollectionTorres Strait Island Expedition

Source

Haddon, Alfred Cort (Dr)

Format

Print Black & White Mounted

Primary Documentation

Other Information

Related Archive: Haddon writes in his 1898 journal: “Mabuiag is a centre of the pearl-shelling industry or rather of the kind that is known as swimming diving. The great pearl-shell banks have been worked out by the diving boats & soon after I left in '89, till within the last year or two, the shelling industry has been very slack & much money has been lost, owing to a decrease in the market value of shell. Now prices are better and the natives either own their own boats or hire themselves out to white men and they swim down in shallow water & collect pearl shell. A great deal of money has been made by natives in this way. Some white men have crews of mainland (Queensland) blacks and we have taken this opportunity to measure, psychologies & photograph some of them. I think about 11 or 12. This is fortunate for us as we wanted to get some observations on the N.Q. Aborigines.” (p.230) [JD 26/4/2011]

Place: The men are positioned in front of what is possibly the stone jetty at the pearl shell factory at Mabuiag. This fits with Haddon’s writing in his journal (p.230 see above). [JD 26/4/2011]