Preview

PDF, English Download (302MB) | Terms of use

Abstract

The trade of goowarn (Pinctada maxima), more commonly known as mother-of-pearl shell) as a powerful and valuable resource, began in what is now known as the southwest Kimberley region of Australia over 20,000 years ago—the Saltwater Country of theIndigenous (Saltwater) people who lived and navigated in the treacherous local waters of the West Kimberley coast. This is the 'home' of the pearlshell, and they engraved its surface with their story, to wear as a sign of manhood, imbue it with power, and to exchange through networks that crossed most of the continent of Australia. Goowarn continues to be an object of great cultural and spiritual significance, integral to the identity of the Saltwater people and their understandings of the world.

In the late 1800s, pearlers arrived along the coast to exploit the vast pearlshell beds, and a world-renowned industry developed based on the exploitative use of Aboriginal and Asian indentured labour, that set a course for the transformation of the social and cultural history of the northern frontier.

This thesis investigates the pearling story of the northwest of Australia from an Aboriginal gaze that is founded in their spiritual understandings of the world. Although there is a multitude of histories about pearling, there is very little that focuses on the ongoing Indigenous presence and contribution, reflecting the ‘Great Australian Silence’ that WEH Stanner (1979), one of Australia’s best-known anthropologists, drew attention to in 1968. This silence, or ‘the cult of dis-remembering’ continues in current pearling narratives and has turned into ‘habit’.

Through the lens of the art and story of pearlshell artist and riiji carver, Aubrey Tigan Galawa (dec) a maja (cultural leader), and who, like many people of the northwest, worked in the pearling industry, this thesis presents a holistic account of the values of pearling, positioning this story as one of the most significant heritage stories of northern Australia.

Following Aubrey’s lead, who used the medium of riiji (pearlshell carving) to preserve and share the story and vision, of his Mayala people, my aim is to bring to light the pearling heritage, of the community in which I live, as a shared, reconciled and living heritage, worthy I argue, of world heritage recognition. Whilst presenting the harsh colonial truths of Australia’s pearling industry, I also celebrate the ongoing contribution to the industry and resilience of the Indigenous people who continue to value the pearlshell, and the beauty of their Indigenous story.

I provide a new conceptual framework, founded in an Aboriginal gaze, that identifies key components of Place-Object-People that interrelate with one another and presents the pearling heritage as a grid of storylines (Neale and Kelly 2020, Ingold 2007, 2011) that is embedded in the Country as story and memory, and celebrated in song, dance, and art.

The thesis is significant for its reassessment of and recognition of the pearling heritage of the north, to reconcile Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal values and narratives, and incorporate, as key values, people’s responsibilities and rights to identify, assess and maintain their own heritage.