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Book review of 'Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers'

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-23, 01:45 authored by Rebe TaylorRebe Taylor
Philip Jones must have had an enjoyable time fossicking through half-forgotten artefacts in the dusty cupboards of the South Australian Museum. His use of some of them to re-tell half - or even totally - forgotten stories distinguishes him as a curator possessing a flair for what Clifford Geertz called ‘thick description’: narrative that interprets as it goes. There are echoes of the National Library’s ‘National Treasures’ collection and of his own work on the Afghan cameleers exhibition, but each of these essays is a substantial scholarly contribution in its own right. The only precedent that comes to mind is John Mulvaney’s 1989 Encounters in Place… (not mentioned in Jones’ bibliography), which has a similar emphasis on Aboriginal–European interaction in what Jones properly calls the ‘frontier zone’. As one might expect, all but one of the stories focus on South Australia and its late-nineteenth century explorers’ and pastoralists’ forays into the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland’s channel country. Three are set on mission stations, one of them providing a backdrop to today’s vibrant Western Desert art movement.

History

Publication title

Australian Aboriginal Studies

Pagination

131-133

ISSN

0729-4352

Department/School

College Office - College of Arts, Law and Education

Publisher

Aboriginal Studies Press

Place of publication

Australia

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Understanding Australia’s past

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