What is it about?
Archaeological surveys documenting Aboriginal petroglyphs across the Dampier Archipelago (Murujuga) discovered a depiction of a sailing ship on Enderby Island. We argue that this is a depiction of HMC Mermaid, captained by the British naval officer Phillip Parker King in his survey of Australia’s coastlines between 1817 and 1822.Archaeological evidence and a range of historical sources are used to interpret the image as part of a series of mark-making behaviours commemorating their voyage along the Western Australian coast by King and members of his crew.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
This engraving of a ship, in a landscape full of Aboriginal engravings from deep time and the recent past provides new insights into Yaburara people’s traditional life-ways in the Archipelago prior to the significant impacts that followed the colonisation of North West Western Australia
Perspectives
The discovery of this image occurred during a visit to Enderby Island for the clearance of the Murujuga: Dynamics of the Dreaming Australian Research Council funded Linkage Project work’s program by senior male custodians of Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation. This was facilitated by the Murujuga Land and Sea Unit. The team recorded the image in detail and the historic research into Kings' diary and sketches for the Archipelago added to our understanding of early encounters.
Prof. Jo McDonald
University of Western Australia
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Mermaid? Re-envisaging the 1818 exploration of Enderby Island, Murujuga, Western Australia, The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, May 2019, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/15564894.2019.1604007.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
