IDNO

N.22832.ACH2

Description

Family portrait of Arei (Harry) the mamoose (chief) of Mer, with his wife and small child. Arei is standing facing the camera with one arm on the back of the chair upon which his wife is seated, a child sits on her lap; both face the camera. Arei wears formal European clothes of pith helmet, coat buttoned to the neck, and trousers. His wife wears a straw bonnet and missionary dress, and the child a smock. In the background is a fence and small coconut palm. [Jude Philp 27/2/1999, updated JD 23/5/2011]

Physical Condition: Limited cracking and peeling of the emulsion at the left and right edges. Three corners have become silvered in appearance. February 1999.

Place

Oceania Australasia; Australia; Torres Strait; Mer

Cultural Affliation

Torres Strait Islander

Named Person

Arei (Harry)

Photographer

Haddon, Alfred Cort

Collector / Expedition

Haddon, Alfred Cort [Torres Strait, 1888 - 1889]

Date

November 1888 - 5 April 1889

Collection Name

Torres Strait Island ExpeditionHaddon Collection

Source

Haddon, Alfred Cort (Dr)

Format

Glass Negative Halfplate

Primary Documentation

Other Information

This negative was kept in an envelope marked C44/19/ by the cataloguer. The envelope was kept in box marked C44/ by the cataloguer. The envelope is now re-housed in Neg. Env. Box 8 which is stored in Storage Box B in the Photo Archive room.

Related Archive: Referenced in notebook titled ‘List of Torres-Straits Photographs. 1888 - 1889. A.C. Haddon’, “13 A. Chief & his wife, side. Mer.” [JD 9/5/2011]

Date: Haddon arrived at Mer in late November 1888, and departed 5 April 1889. While at Mer the services of the indigenous police force were placed at his disposal by the Acting Government Resident, Hugh Milman (1888: 3) subsequently reinforced by the Government Resident, John Douglas, when he visited Mer (1888: 85). [Jude Philp 27/2/1999]

Named Person: The mamoose (head-man/chief) were given authority by the Government Representative to act as the Government Representative of each island. Their powers were restricted to their island. Arei mamoose was a friend and informant of Haddon’s in both 1888 and 1898. This portrait was probably taken as a gift to Arei and his family. [Jude Philp 27/2/1999]

Online Publication: This image is published on 'True Echoes: Reconnecting indigenous communities with historic audio records of the sung and spoken cultures of Australia and Oceania' website - a British Library Sound Archive project in conjunction with seven institutes, including MAA. This research project focuses on early collections of wax cylinder recordings from the Pacific region, including those from the Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits. Website launched October 2020. [JD 02/10/2020]