Rock art directly represents how our ancestors saw the world. A new approach involving the history of the landscape brings fresh meaning to Arnhem Land rock art.
Dhunggala Munungurr (left) sole surviving signatory of the petitions and (on right), a ceremony at which the fourth petition was returned to Yolŋu descendants of their original creators.
Photos: Clare Wright, National Gallery of Australia
Clare Wright has spent ten years researching the history of these groundbreaking petitions. Though few Australians have heard of them, she writes, we can learn much from the story of their creation.
The view from the Arnhem Land escarpment over the floodplains that contain a hidden landscape.
Ian Moffat
Beneath the floodplains of Arnhem Land lies a hidden landscape that has been transformed over millennia as seas rose and fell.
Large painting of a crocodile attributed to Majumbu along with two child hand stencils.
Photograph courtesy of the Melbourne Museum, object 019930, object size 2.94m by 1.03m
Tim Rowse concludes that Paul Daley’s new novel, inspired by true events in Arnhem Land, is fluent and skilfully paced – but doesn’t risk complicating the critical narrative of our colonial history.
The bark painting depicting a barramundi that Namadbara created for Spencer at Oenpelli in 1912 and that he identified in the interview with Lance Bennett in 1967, now in Museums Victoria Spencer/Cahill Collection (object X 19909).
The Spencer/Cahill Collection at Museums Victoria contains approximately 170 bark paintings – and now we can name one of the artists behind them.
Josie Maralngurra touching her hand stencil made when she was around 12. In the background are three white barramundi fish figures with red line-work also created by her father Djimongurr.
Photograph by Fiona McKeague, copyright Parks Australia
Kava is not commonly used in Australia. But that will change and we need to keep an eye on what happens next.
Rock paintings from the main gallery at Djulirri in Namunidjbuk clan estate, showing traditional Aboriginal motifs as well as European boats, airplanes, and more.
Photo by Sally K May.
Pictures of boats and ships in rock art at the northwestern tip of Australia show the European incursions from the 1800s — but also the much earlier and lesser known sea trade with southeast Asia.
Jacob Junior Nayinggul (left) and Simon Baker in High Ground (2020).
Maxo, Bunya Productions, Savage Films
In depicting brutal massacres and mission life, this film gets a lot right. And the model for its central protagonist may well be a young man called Narlim, exiled from his country in the late 1930s.
A series of four live-streamed concerts from Arnhem Land offers a welcome break from bad news and a way for Indigenous musicians to share their talents with the world.
A hollow-log coffin painted with Dhal̲waŋu clan Octopus, Perahu Hull, Anchor and Coral Sunset motifs at Gurrumuru against a coral sunset on the horizon.
Photo: Aaron Corn
Yothu Yindi’s music introduced the world to the Yolŋu clan traditions of northeast Arnhem Land. But few listeners know these songs echo long histories of engagement with Southeast Asian visitors.
Venice is among the cities that have had public protests against soaring numbers of tourists – including this protest banner on the Rialto bridge.
Andrea Merola/EPA/AAP
The future of tourism depends on ensuring visitors do not wear out their welcome. Giving locals more of a say in tourism can help ensure they share in the benefits and minimise the costs.
The sea cucumber, or trepang, Australia’s first export to Asia.
Shutterstock
Trade tells a story of modern Australia that began long before January 26, 1788.
Part of Mandy Martin’s painting Cool Burn (2016): in her painting workshops at Djinkarr, Indigenous rangers brought the threats to their land to life on canvas.
Feral cats and pigs, mission grass and climate change - in western Arnhem Land, Indigenous rangers are battling many environmental threats. Through painting and performance, they are also telling ‘healthy country’ stories.
Yidaki, maker unknown. Collected from Milingimbi by Charles Mountford.
courtesy of South Australian Museum.
The yidaki, a musical instrument owned by the Yolngu people of North East Arnhem Land, is created by both termites and instrument makers, who tap trees to find hollow logs. A new exhibition tells its fascinating story.
The remote rivers of northern Australia could be home to untold numbers of new and threatened fish.
Matthew Le Feuvre
Author, artist, weaver; teacher at Yirrkala school; Bawaka Cultural Experiences; Honorary Associate of the Department of Environment and Geography, Macquarie University