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key indigenous australian issues
| home | news lAborigines grab art on loan from BritainBy Dalya Alberge, Arts Correspondent 26 July 2004 - The earliest surviving Aboriginal bark etchings have been seized in Australia along with a ceremonial headdress while on loan from the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. The Dja Dja Wurrung, who can trace their history to the 1790s through “white man’s records”, have secured an emergency declaration order that prevents the return of artefacts made by their ancestors 150 years ago in the Wimmera, in western Victoria. The move has sent a tremor through the international museum community because it will have such an impact on future loans to exhibitions as collectors, both private and public, are likely to refuse to part with prized objects which could be seized under another country’s laws. The fragile pieces, fire-blackened bark etched in the 1850s with images of kangaroos and hunting scenes, had been dispatched to the Museum Victoria in Melbourne in March. They were due to return to Britain this week. Instead, the British institutions are consulting their lawyers. The declaration, under an aboriginal heritage protection Act of 1984, can be extended indefinitely, but the 2,500- strong Dja Dja Wurrung are calling for a permanent order. The cultural objects specified in the emergency declaration are the only three Aboriginal bark etchings known to have survived and experts said that had they not been preserved by British institutions they would never have survived to the 21st century. One, on loan from Kew, depicts men carrying boomerangs. Another, on loan from the British Museum, shows a hunting scene. An emu-shaped headdress belonging to the British Museum has also been seized. The emergency order was described yesterday as “cultural hijacking” and has dismayed British experts. Tristram Besterman, director of the Manchester Museum, was particularly shocked because he has tried to foster a more sympathetic relationship between the West and indigenous peoples in relation to their heritage. Last year he repatriated four Aboriginal skulls and two limb bones to Australia and in the early 1990s, he sent back Maori tattooed heads to New Zealand. More can be achieved through a “proper spirit of discussion”, he said, rather than by “extortion and blackmail”. Lissant Bolton, the British Museum’s Australian-born Curator of the Pacific and Australian Collections, said that the bark etchings were sent to Britain by John Hunter Kerr, a Scot, in the 19th century. “He had good relations with the Aborigines.” Professor Monique Simmonds, Chief Scientist at Kew, emphasised that the etching was acquired in good faith: “It was given to us.” She gave warning that the move would take its toll on future exhibitions. “Very few people will be willing to lend things.” She added: “Thank goodness they were kept in good conditions, they would never have survived.” Maurice Davies, deputy director of the Museums Association, which represents Britain’s 1,500 public collections, said: “I can understand the motivation of people in Australia in trying to seize the items, but it adds to the difficulty of international lending generally. The world gets more litigious and more and more unacceptable things happen, such as physical threats to items because of terrorism.” Gary Murray, secretary to the Dja Dja Wurrung Native Title Group, was unrepentant. “They belong in Australia. If we had your Crown Jewels, you’d be knocking our doors down,” he said. The group said that it was prepared to go to court to lay claim to artefacts, which they believe belong in a proposed museum of their own heritage. Mr Murray said: “If the British museums want to invoke legal rights, we’ve got pro bono lawyers at a major law firm who are prepared to represent us. We are not fearful of the legal process. We’re in for the long haul.” A spokesman for Museum Victoria said: “Museum Victoria is proud to work closely with Aboriginal communities to ensure the preservation and display of Aboriginal heritage and culture. However, Museum Victoria also acknowledges its obligation to abide by its loan agreements with the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.” Mr Murray is calling on John Howard, the Australian Prime Minister, to ask the British Government to return the barks and the hundreds of Aboriginal remains held by the Natural History Museum. He is also due to write to the Queen and Tony Blair. HOLDING ON TO THE SPOILS OF HISTORY
Source: The Times Family tree and a question of bark By Dalya Alberge 26 July 2004 - The Dja Dja Wurrung have traced 2,500 descendants from 11 of their 18th-century ancestors, although their history extends back over 3,000 generations. They initially inhabited the Bendigo region, in central Victoria, before expanding across the state. Today they see themselves as a nation within a larger nation. Gary Murray, secretary to the Dja Dja Wurrung Native Title Group, said that despite colonialism they remained “a very strong group throughout Victoria”. He noted that Victoria once had 38 “nations” or tribes: “Today, there are just around 25. When people say there was no genocide, where have the other 13 gone? From the original peoples, we are scattered throughout Victoria, with university lecturers, archaeologists, lawyers and public servants.” The bark etchings would have been made by smoking bark over a fire and using a fingernail or a stick to etch the drawing. Their appeal to the West was widespread in the 1850s, with exhibitions staged in Melbourne and Paris before the etchings were acquired by British institutions. Aborigines believe that the spirits of their ancestors cannot rest until their bones are laid in their native ground. They have managed to repatriate human remains from various British collections. Last year the Manchester Museum handed over four Aboriginal skulls and two limb bones to a delegation of tribal elders. Source: The Times Australian Tribes Seek Return of Native Artefacts By Jennifer Sym, PA News 26 July 2004 - Historic Aboriginal artefacts loaned by two world-famous British institutions are now in storage in Australia after a bid by a native tribe to keep them. The Dja Dja Wurrung people have embarked on a legal battle to ensure some of the earliest surviving bark etchings made by their ancestors are not returned to the British Museum or Kew Gardens. They accuse the organisations of "colonial" attitudes, and say the pieces are part of their cultural heritage and should stay where they came from. The works - two bark etchings from the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, and a ceremonial emu figure from the British Museum - were loaned to the Museum Victoria for its 150th anniversary exhibition, Etched On Bark 1854. The pieces are now being held in secure storage in Melbourne while the wrangle is sorted out. Gary Murray, secretary of the Dja Dja Wurrung Native Title Group, said the artefacts had been insured for about A$900,000 - just under two million Australian dollars - "but dollars don't interest us. Our value is in our spiritual, emotional value. "It physically connects us - it could have been my great-grandfather who did the work. "We have a personal interest as well as an emotional and cultural one and we are concerned that the British haven't seemed to have changed their attitude in 200 years since they colonised us. "We will explore all legal avenues. We are going to write to Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister and even the Pope to make sure this debate is dragged out and there is proper dealing." Emergency declarations - which last for 30 days - were made on behalf of the Dja Dja Wurrung in June and subsequently renewed, and they now hope the state governor will make a permanent order. Mr Murray said the lack of direct negotiation by the British institutions with them showed "disrespect", and added: "We don't have the Crown Jewels, but by Christ if we did all hell would break loose. There would be a warship stationed off the port of Melbourne. "They came and murdered us and dispossessed us. This is their English inheritance coming back to haunt them. "We are in for the long haul. If the world wants to see them they should come here where they came from." The Museum Victoria says it believes it is the first time such a bid has been launched. Chief executive officer Patrick Greene said the emergency declarations "came really out of the blue" because the legislation was aimed at protecting archaeological sites from development He added: "We have two parts to our priority. First of all, we have a contractual arrangement with the British Museum and the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew and we will stand by that and we will do everything to make sure that we do comply with that and return the items. "The second priority is to ensure that our relations with the aboriginal community - which are very good and which have been built up over many years - also remain good, so therefore that requires a lot of discussion and that is taking place." In a joint statement, the British Museum and Royal Botanic Gardens said they were committed to exercising stewardship of the collections for the benefit of a worldwide public and for future generations. It added: "The emergency declaration puts at risk the very legal framework that allows such exhibitions to take place drawing on loans from Europe and America. "It is in the interests of everyone that objects of cultural and artistic significance such as these continue to be able to move around the world and be seen by many different publics." Source: Press Association
UK exhibits seized in Australia 26 July 2004 - Aboriginal artefacts, including two early bark etchings, have been seized in Australia while on loan from two British museums. Members of the Dja Dja Wurrung tribe secured an emergency order preventing the items being returned to the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The two bark etchings and a Aboriginal ceremonial headdress were on loan to Museum Victoria in Melbourne. Gary Murray, of the Dja Dja, accused the museums of "colonial arrogance". He told BBC News Online the fragile bark etchings, which were made in around 1845 by members of the Dja Dja Wurrung tribe in the Wimmera district of western Victoria, were part of their cultural heritage. The artefacts were due to be returned to the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, south west London, last week, but the Dja Dja Wurrung Native Title Group sought an emergency declaration under an aboriginal heritage protection law. The order can be renewed indefinitely. The group has applied to Victoria's state minister for a permanent order. Mr Murray said: "It's not British culture we are talking about here, we are talking about our rights as a first nation. "We believe strongly that they connect us to our country, our culture and ancestry. "If you haven't got a past then you haven't got a future and it is our future at stake here." The etchings, one depicting men carrying boomerangs while the second shows a hunting scene, were on loan to Museum Victoria for its 150th anniversary exhibition, Etched On Bark 1854. Patrick Greene, chief executive officer of Museum Victoria, said the emergency declarations "came really out of the blue". He said: "First of all, we have a contractual arrangement with the British Museum and the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew and we will stand by that and we will do everything to make sure that we do comply with that and return the items. "The second priority is to ensure that our relations with the Aboriginal community - which are very good and which have been built up over many years - also remain good." But Mr Murray added: "We are not going to be bullied and we are going to stand firm on this. The Emergency Declaration puts at risk the very legal framework that allows such exhibitions to take place drawing on loans from Europe and America "We have had legal advice and representation and we are prepared to exert our Australian legal rights. "We are trying to do this in a fair-minded way. We are not holding anyone to ransom and we are not hijacking art." In a joint statement, the Royal Botanical Gardens and the British Museum said it was important to continue lending objects to exhibitions around the world. "The objects lent by the British Museum and Kew to the Museum Victoria exhibition 'Etched on Bark' are part of a growing programme of worldwide loans from both institutions. "Exhibitions of this kind, bringing rare material from collections throughout the world, provide invaluable opportunities to make available to the world public the latest research and interpretations of the objects and the human cultures that produced them. "The emergency declaration puts at risk the very legal framework that allows such exhibitions to take place drawing on loans from Europe and America." Source: BBC
Row erupts over Aboriginal artefacts Charlotte Higgins, arts correspondent 22 July 2004 - Aborigines have prevented the return of objects on loan to Australia from the British Museum, it emerged yesterday. Two of the items are 19th-century bark etchings, one belonging to the British Museum, the other to the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew. They have been on show at the Melbourne Museum as part of an exhibition called Etched on Bark 1854, which closed at the end of last month. An emergency declaration, made under an Aboriginal heritage act, has temporarily stopping the return of the objects, which include a ceremonial emu figure belonging to the British Museum. The rare etchings were made in the Wimmera region of western Victoria. Their showing in the Etched on Bark exhibition was the first time they had been seen in Australia for 150 years. The emergency declaration was placed by members of Dja Dja Wurrung and Jupagalk peoples, and represents a mounting discontent among Aborigines at the British Museum and Kew's ownership of the objects. In May Gary Murray, the chairman of the the North-West Aboriginal Heritage Board, told the Age newspaper in Melbourne: "If the barks go back to England we will be dispossessed a second time." He told ABC news online: "We've basically put an emergency declaration under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Act to stop them from going back." In a statement, the Melbourne Museum said it had "loan agreements with the British Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and has obtained import and re-export permits from the Commonwealth government, and is currently seeking legal advice on the impact of the emergency declaration on these agreements and permits". Monique Simmonds, who heads the group in charge of the Royal Botanic Gardens' collections, said: "This could have a long-term effect on our ability to share items that could be exhibited as part of international exhibitions." Source: The Guardian (UK)
Community pushes for return of artefacts Melissa Iaria 22 July 2004 - The Boort community has backed a push by its original inhabitants for the return of their ancestors' artefacts from the British Museum, by offering the township as a place to display the 150-year-old etchings. Ken Pattison, a member of the Boort Development Committee, said the township would be pleased to host the three artefacts, loaned by the British Museum to Melbourne Museum since March for an exhibition celebrating its 150th anniversary celebrations. The Dja Dja Wurrung traditional owners have extended an emergency declaration under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act to protect the cultural heritage objects, originally found near Boort, and delay their return to Britain. They also called on Victorian Aboriginal Minister Gavin Jennings to compulsorily acquire the two barks and one carved emu ceremonial figure and asked that the objects be returned to them. The etchings were originally collected by Scottish squatter John Hunter Kerr in 1854 near Lake Boort. Kerr exhibited the etchings in the Sandhurst exhibition in Bendigo that year. The etchings are the only surviving bark etchings by 19th-century indigenous men from south-eastern Australia. Mr Pattison said the committee would be happy to work with the traditional owners to have the artefacts returned and displayed in the region in which they originated. "We would be delighted to work with the Dja Dja Wurrung people in establishing a suitable repository for the public, the community and them to view these unique artefacts," Mr Pattison said. "Boort has some of the best Aboriginal remnants in Australia and it's a terrific story, as far as our Boort community goes. "We're looking to get a motel going and part of the tourist theme and outside dollars to our community is in environmental tourism, and in this case, these things are unique in regard to the first settlers of this country so it's a real plus, provided it's what that community wants.""We have to work in conjunction with the Dja Dja Wurrung community to meet their wishes."Garry Murray, secretary of the Dja Dja Wurrung Native Title Group, said it was keen keen to support the idea and wanted to see an interpretative display in Boort. Source: Bendigo Advertiser
Minister weighs in to artefacts stoush 20 July 2004 - Victorian Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gavin Jennings says he is still deciding whether to force the acquisition of Indigenous artworks from the Mallee in the state's west, on loan from the British Museum. Aboriginal groups have put another emergency declaration over the emu figurehead and three bark etchings, preventing them from being returned to Britain. But Mr Jennings says he needs to have talks with new Federal Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ian Campbell before making a final decision. He says he wants to elevate the discussion with British authorities to many other Indigenous remains and artefacts being held by the British Museum. "We think that they are matters that should be part of the discussion to see what access can be provided for local Aboriginal people in years to come, for these precious relics that relate very much to their own precious cultural heritage," he said. Source: ABC
Museum stoush heats up over artefacts' return 19 July 2004 - A fight by Mallee Indigenous groups, in western Victoria, to keep fragile artworks in the state has heated up with another deadline passing at the weekend for the loaned objects' return. The emu figurehead and bark etchings are on loan to the Museum of Victoria and a contract stipulates that they be back in the British Museum by the end of the month. North West Cultural Heritage Board spokesman Gary Murray says the British Museum is demanding they are returned, or it will instruct other museums not to loan objects to Australian museums. He says the museum has already cancelled one loan agreement with the National Gallery of Victoria and even British Prime Minister Tony Blair is being asked to intervene. "We understand that the objects have been insured for 900,000 English pounds which is near about $2 million in Australian dollars," he said. "So from an economic point of view and, of course, we value them a little bit higher than that from a spiritual point of view and a physical point of view, they connect us to our country and there's no price on that." Source: ABC
Petition calls for return of Koori etchings By Robin Usher 27 May 2004 - An Aboriginal ceremony at the Melbourne Museum tonight is the first step leading to a petition to the British Museum calling for the return of the earliest surviving Aboriginal bark etchings. The two fragile artefacts were made by members of the Dja Dja Wurrung tribe near Boort in the Wimmera 150 years ago and were sent to a Paris exhibition before being bought by the London institution. The etchings are on display until June 27 at the Melbourne Museum in an exhibition, Etched On Bark 1854, as part of its 150th anniversary celebrations. The chairman of the north-west Aboriginal heritage board, Gary Murray, can trace his ancestry back through the late South Australian governor, Pastor Sir Doug Nichols, to the people who made the etchings. "There is an incredible closeness between people alive today and this exhibition," he said. He called on Prime Minister John Howard to ask the British Government to return the barks and the 500 Aboriginal remains still held by the British Museum. "If the barks go back to England we will be dispossessed a second time," he said. Exhibition curator Elizabeth Willis said the show, which also includes Victoria's oldest images of Aborigines taken 150 years ago, demonstrated good relations existed between them and the Scottish pastoralist John Hunter Kerr. It is believed that Kerr asked the Kooris to prepare the two etchings for an 1853 Bendigo exhibition before they ended up in Paris. They are the only remaining examples from an extensive tradition of artistic work around the Loddon and Murray rivers in the 19th century. They are made on the inside of smoke-blackened bark from box trees, with images of kangaroos and hunting parties etched on to the surface. "It's obvious the exhibition was put together deliberately to reflect the richness and complexity of Aboriginal culture," Ms Willis said. Source: The Age relative links :
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