Description
Rare c.19th lithograph of an aboriginal stone carving discovered by George Grey in north western, Western Australia.
Grey had found evidence to suggest other Europeans had explored Australia’s northwest hinterland prior to white settlement. On 26 March 1838, and over the ensuing three days, he discovered numerous Aboriginal cave paintings near the head of the Glenelg River. Some of the figures depicted seemed to be wearing long garments, with helmets or hats. Another cave held an unusual painting of a non-Aboriginal man’s figure, over 3m long, wearing a flowing reddish gown. Theories suggest that these paintings were early depictions of Portuguese or Spanish mariners or priests who may have visited the area long before any European settlement on the western coast.
From: Grey, Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, during the years 1837, 38, and 39, Under the Authority of Her Majesty’s Government. Describing many newly discovered, important, and fertile districts, with observations on the moral and physical condition of the Aboriginal inhabitants, ……
References:
Ferguson, J. A. Bibliography of Australia Volumes 1-8, Canberra 1976 : 3228.
Wantrup, J. Australian Rare Books. Sydney, 1987 : 131.
Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID: 740610
State Library Queensland: 996964214702061
State Library South Australia: 994.1 G843
State Library Victoria: CC 919.41 G86J
State Library New South Wales: 1841 RB/E919.41/GRE
Royal Collection Trust UK: RCIN 1141869
