Aboriginal armaments, utensils and ornaments, as depicted by Charles-Alexandre Lesueur

Article | Updated 7 years ago

Myra Stanbury
Research Associate
Department of Maritime Archaeology
Western Australian Museum

Charles-Alexandre Lesueur (1778–1846) was twenty-three years old when he enlisted on Nicolas Baudin’s corvette Géographe as an Assistant Gunner, 4th class (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 579). Preparing to depart from Le Havre on 19 October 1800, Baudin was pleased that everyone appeared ‘happy to be engaged upon so glorious an expedition’ (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 11). The aims of voyage as prepared by Count Fleurieu were: (1) to complete the charting of the Australian coast, much of which was still entirely unknown and/or known only imperfectly; (2) to compile an inventory of the types of animals, plants and natural resources to be found ‘to perfect the natural sciences’; and, (3) to study the inhabitants encountered, with written descriptions and illustrations to ‘increase the mass of human knowledge’ (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 1–6).

Accompanied by the corvette Naturaliste, commanded by Emmanuel Hamelin, the two vessels headed for Tenerife then Île-de-France (Mauritius) to resupply. After the long voyage, a number of the sailors, scientists and three of the official artists—Gérard Milbert, Pierre Louis Lebrun and Michel Garnier—deserted or disembarked because of illness (Bonnemains, Forsyth & Smith 1988: 15–16). Duties at sea needed to be rearranged and Baudin noted that:

On the Géographe I filled the positions uselessly occupied by Messrs Milbert and Garnier with Citizens Petit and Lesueur. We shall see from the work of these two young men whether my choice of them was good or bad (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 138).

Whether prior to leaving France, or during the initial part of the voyage, Baudin soon discovered the artistic talents of Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and Nicolas-Martin Petit and selected them to prepare the illustrations of his log-book (Bonnemains et al. 1988: 16). While Petit’s pictorial work focussed principally on landscapes and the inhabitants, Lesueur concentrated on paintings of animals and other zoological specimens, notably delicate aquatic species that formed the first major marine collections from Australian waters (Jones 2007; Fromont 2008). By the end of the four-year expedition the Commander must certainly have been pleased with their work: Lesueur and naturalist François Péron, with whom he worked in partnership, collected some 100 000 zoological specimens representing 2 500 new species, and Lesueur made 1 500 drawings (Charles-Alexandre Lesueur, viewed 16 Dec. 2015, http://faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/lesueur.html). In 1845, Lesueur was appointed curator of the Muséum d’histoire naturelle du Havre, which was created to house his many drawings and paintings. Both Lesueur and Petit had specimens named after them (Stanbury & Northey 2008); and, Petit was highly praised by scientists on his return to France for his sensitive paintings of the indigenous people of Tasmania, Port Jackson and Western Australia (Encounter 1802–2002, Baudin’s voyage, viewed 12 Feb 2016, http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/encounter/baudinsvoyage.html).

In the ‘Plan of Itinerary for Citizen Baudin’, drawn up by Count Fleurieu, Baudin was instructed to examine ‘in detail the south-west, west, north-west and north coasts of New Holland’ as well as the east coast and Van Diemen’s land (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 1). Specifications were given as to the route to be taken and the estimated amount of time that would be available for the ‘reconnaissance and examination of the different sections of the coast that his navigation must take in’ (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 2). With regard to his behaviour towards the inhabitants of the countries he might visit, Fleurieu referred him to the instructions provided for Lapérouse for his exploratory voyage with the frigates Astrolabe and Boussole in 1785 to 1788 (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 2; La Pérouse 1799: 39–40). Here, Baudin was advised to consult the various narratives of previous voyagers to acquaint himself with the ‘character and manners’ of the different people with whom he may have to deal; and, ‘imitate the good conduct of some of these navigators, and avoid the faults of others’ (La Pérouse 1799: 39). On arrival in each country Baudin should endeavour

…to conciliate the friendship of the principal chiefs, both by tokens of good-will and by presents…inform himself what resources the place affords, to supply the wants of his vessels, and…employ all honourable means of forming connexions with the natives (La Pérouse 1799: 39).

There followed more specific instructions regarding the precautions that should be taken when meeting the inhabitants, without employing force; how the security of the ships’ boats and personnel were to be maintained when sent ashore; and, the signals to be made in case of alarm (La Pérouse 1799: 40). The schedule was necessarily tight, largely dependent on weather and oceanic conditions, efficient and speedy re-victualing at ports of call, ‘short landfalls for the purpose of renewing supplies and making essential repairs’ (Fornasiero 2010: 30), and limited unforeseen delays.

It may be questioned, therefore, as to whether the artists had sufficient time during their brief encounters with Aboriginal people to obtain the necessary details they required to accurately describe and draw the various weapons, utensils and ornaments they depicted in their paintings? As Fornasiero (2010: 30) states

…most of the exchanges with indigenous peoples were fleeting and confined to the space of the littoral, to the beaches and strands of the Australian continent and its islands.

Thus, the Aboriginal implements the artists were able to observe were mostly associated with coastal living and exploitation of the marine resources rather than inland habitats. While the artists had opportunities to see various items being held or used by the indigenous people, it was not always in the friendliest of circumstances: for example, during their first encounters at Geographe Bay (WA) and Shark Bay (WA) in 1801, they were faced with Aborigines brandishing their clubs and spears in acts of intimidation to persuade the French visitors to retreat. Furthermore, they rarely enjoyed receiving Aboriginal objects in exchange for the handkerchiefs, beads, mirrors, and other trinkets that were offered as peaceful overtures. Not until the expedition arrived in southern Tasmania, in January 1802, were there greater opportunities for interaction with the inhabitants who behaved in a very friendly way and mingled with the Europeans without any distrust or fear (Dyer 2007: 100–103).

Early explorers were often puzzled by the fact that they rarely received anything from the Aborigines in exchange for the gifts that they offered (Dyer 2007: 94–96). Although the inhabitants were usually pleased to receive the offerings, they were often quickly discarded, unless there was a perceived beneficial value—like an iron axe that could be used more effectively than a stone hatchet. Baudin observed that the indigenous people of Tasmania attached a certain value to some utensils remarking on the baskets used by women.

The baskets that the women use for fishing have some worth, from the great amount of work that must go into them, and so they place considerable value on them and will only exchange them with reluctance (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 345).

A rush basket from Tasmania was illustrated by Lesueur (see Bonnemains et al. 1988: 121) but interestingly there is little evidence to suggest he actually saw the women making the baskets or indeed collecting the rushes used to weave them.

Both the Naturaliste and the Géographe spent several months at Port Jackson, during the winter and spring of 1802. Even though this port of call was not included in their official itinerary it was essential because of the ‘need to replenish supplies and to offer [the] men respite and medical care’ (West-Sooby 2013: 147, fn 13). Baudin made no entries in his log during his five-month stay, but from the reflections of Louis de Freycinet (2001) and the diary of Pierre Bernard Milius (2013) we are able to gain some interpretation of the Aboriginal armaments, utensils and ornaments drawn by Lesueur (Item no. 16036, Engraving XLVII. This was intended for Atlas (1LP) but was not published; it becomes Plate 29 in Atlas 2). Whether the objects were drawn by Lesueur on the return voyage or from the collections back in France has been questioned by Rhys Jones (1988), perhaps on account that Lesueur and Péron were fully occupied carefully recording and packing all the natural science specimens while in Sydney.

Certainly, as Péron’s letter to Madame Bonaparte indicates, she was being sent

…a great quantity of apparel, weapons and utensils of the savage peoples of Van Diemen’s Land, Maria Island [and] New Holland…(Draft Letter from Péron to Mme Bonaparte, 25? Floréal an 12, MHNH, Coll. Lesueur, MS 22054, quoted in Duyker 2006: 212).

The ethnographic collection was originally collected for the Société des Observateurs de l’Homme but was defunct by the time the collection was presented to Madame Bonaparte on 29 may 1804 (Duyker 2006: 212). Whether the original items still exist is uncertain.

Interpretation of the artefacts in Lesueur’s Plate XLVII/29 based on de Freycinet and Milius’ accounts.

The following artefacts illustrated in Lesueur’s engraving represent a range of ethnographic material used by the Aboriginal people of the Sydney region of New South Wales. Many are similar to objects used throughout Aboriginal Australia and reflect their skilled craftsmanship and knowledge of their environment. Today, in many parts of Australia, Aboriginal communities actively engage in manufacturing artefacts according to the ancient traditional methods as a means of cultural expression and a way of passing down the knowledge from one generation to another.

1. Bandeau en filet, que les naturels portent sur le front.

Net band, which the natives wear on their forehead.

Referring to this as a form of ‘ornamentation’ de Freycinet (2001: 126) described the head-band as:

A string of woven opossum fur of oval shape, and most artistically contrived [that] surrounds the forehead like a head-band. Sometimes they [the Aborigines] attach fragments of opossum skin to this, which partly covers their eyes and which they have to lift up when they want a completely clear view, or they use scraps of cloth obtained from the Europeans, which they stick in their hair in strips.

It was the role of the women to manufacture the braids of opossum fur suitable for the net headbands and men’s girdles (De Freycinet 2001: 177). An individual’s belt was particularly important as it could be used to hold tools, weapons and food, freeing hands for other activities (Lofgren 1975: 54).

In Sydney, Milius (2013: 168) observed Aboriginal men wearing head-bands, arm bands (or ‘bracelets’), and ‘a sort of loin cloth’ made of old pieces of cloth and attributes this to ‘those who have had the most contact with the English’. A painting of Bata, a Port Jackson Aborigine 1802, (possibly attributed to Milius) shows him wearing such items, as well as strings of shell necklaces (Milius 2013: 168–169).

2. Sac en filet dans lequel ils mettent leurs provisions.

A net bag in which they put their provisions.

Among the essential ‘household utensils’ the Aborigines carried with them when travelling were:

Small rush-baskets and, most commonly, large string bags…used not only for carrying the fish and the fern-roots that [were] needed for food, but also the tools needed to sharpen or construct their weapons, fishing lines, and fish-hooks made of shell, as well as for carrying the resin that is used for gluing things together—and for many other purposes. It is a sort of store that the poor women are forced to carry about attached to their forehead [with a string] and hanging behind their back (De Freycinet 2001: 129; 105–106; see New Holland—Native Family Travelling. Plate 102 of the Historical Atlas of Voyage autour du monde).

From his observations in the Sydney region, Milius (2013: 168) comments that: ‘These indigenous people…subsist on bracken roots and what fishing and hunting bring in’. In addition to providing fish for the household, it was the responsibility of the women to gather fern-roots, a major source of food, as well as the stems of giant lilies (possibly the Gymea Lily Doryanthes excelsa which is only found near Sydney: Nash 2004: 20, viewed 24 Feb. 2016, http://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree-descriptions/forests-and-trees/forest-79) selected berries and native bulbs (De Freycinet 2001: 122–123, 173). While early written accounts credited the Aboriginal men with being the main providers for their family, modern research (frequently carried out by women) indicates that Aboriginal women ‘provided about sixty per cent of the daily food, bringing it to their family in their fibre containers and string bags’ (Resture 2012, viewed 16 Dec 2015, http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_aboriginal_fibrecraft/index1.htm).

Men also used the bags for carrying things. Stepping ashore at Geographe Bay (WA) Milius sighted ‘a dark-skinned man carrying a sort of bag on his shoulders, with a long stick in his right hand’ (Milius 2013: 53).

2a. Détail de la maille du filet précédent.

Detail of the mesh of the preceding net.

Making net bags for hunting, fishing and carrying luggage was one of many tasks allotted to women (De Freycinet 2001: 131). For this purpose, string and twine were necessary products and were spun from locally available vegetable fibres such as the fibrous inner bark of sapling kurrajong trees (Brachychiton populneus) (Nash 2004: 9, viewed 24 Feb. 2016, http://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree-descriptions/forests-and-trees/forest-79). The bark was chewed or pounded and then spun by twisting and rolling with the palm of the hand along the thigh a few strands at a time.

String bags were made throughout Aboriginal Australia from various natural fibres that were often dyed vivid colours either by boiling in ground-up roots of plants or simply rubbing the spun string through ochred hands. The pandanus and Merrepen palms (also known as Livistonia or fan palms) are still used today in central and northern Australia to weave and dye string bags (Merrepen–Dilly bag weaving, 2005, viewed 16 Dec. 2015, Spinning string was an important art, though the French texts lack any detail as to how the women prepared the fibres or wove the twine to make the bags and fishing nets. The quality of the work, however, did not escape de Freycinet’s attention: ‘Near Sydney the mesh of these nets is of a most remarkable construction in that there are no knots’ (De Freycinet 2001: 177). His referral to Lesueur’s ‘detailed and most precise drawing of this work’ tends to suggest his remarks were based on the illustrated article rather than his personal observation of an actual crafted object. The art of spinning fibre into twine demanded a degree of skill, and more importantly, knowledge of the properties of all the plants in their environment and their seasonal changes. Preparing the thread took many hours. Strands of prepared fibres or opossum fur were either rubbed and twisted on the inside of the thigh or, as in parts of central Australia and the Kimberley, formed using a simple spindle (see Lofgren 1975: 56–57).

Two string bags of two-ply vegetable (Kurrajong bark?) cord in the Museum of Mankind, London, (BM (MM) 4060-1) are said to have been acquired from Port Jackson natives, and are similar to the bag illustrated by Lesueur (Megaw 1993: 34, fig. 11). With the exception of a bag found in a rock-shelter in the suburb of Killara (Allchin 1966: 163, cited in Megaw 1993: 35), these appear to be the ‘sole surviving examples from the Sydney region’ (Megaw 1993: 35).

Although the string bags have a variety of names, depending on their place of origin, they are commonly referred to as ‘dilly bags’. The term Dilly is thought to have originated from the Turrubal word dili (Colquhoun, J., 1968, viewed 24 Feb. 2016, http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/intertwined/basket-types/dilly-bags). In recent times, the production of dilly bags by Aboriginal women in Northern Territory and Central Australian communities has become recognized as a significant form of fine art. Using traditional spinning and weaving techniques, but with new designs and colours, the bags have become ‘important objects for cultural expression’ (Resture 2012, viewed 16 Dec. 2015, http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/merrepen). In 2011, women from a remote Arnhem Land community travelled to Broome, Western Australia, to teach other women the ancient skill of weaving. A new generation of Broome women were thus able to learn from them and ensure that the traditional knowledge is passed on from generation to generation (Mills 2011, ABC Kimberley WA, viewed 16 Dec. 2015, http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/07/21/3274981.htm). The bags had extremely important functions within the society from which they came, a function that is still apparent in some remote Aboriginal communities where modern materials, such as nylon string, is used to weave the traditional style dilly bags to collect cockles and other shellfish from the sea shore (Isaccs 1988: 170).

3. & 4. Collier de dents de kangaroos.

Necklace of kangaroo teeth.

As for ornamental objects, the women produce necklaces made of fragments of yellowish reed or animals’ teeth…(De Freycinet 2011: 177).

Two of the necklaces illustrated by Lesueur are made from kangaroo teeth—one of incisors and one of molars—attached to string (Jones 1988). De Freycinet (2001: 126) notes that the long and ‘strikingly white’ incisor teeth of the kangaroo’s upper jaw were ‘valued and highly prized’. Necklaces were made by joining together a dozen or so of the teeth and were ‘mainly worn by women, who sometimes put it around their foreheads like a tiara’ (De Freycinet 2001: 126, pl. 103). Men and women also used teeth to add adornment to their head-bands as shown in many of the French engravings, and fixed kangaroo and human teeth in their hair ‘with xanthorrhoea [grass tree] resin’ (De Freycinet 2001: 126).

5. Collier fait avec des morceaux de roseaux enfilés.

Necklace with pieces of threaded reed.

6. Un morceau de ce Roseau, de grosseur naturelle.

A piece of reed, natural size.

Necklaces were a common form of adornment for all the indigenous people encountered by members of the Baudin expedition, both for men and women. Simple strands were made from sections of dry cane or the common reed (Phragmites australis) (Nash 2004: 4, viewed 24 Feb. 2016, http://www.nationalarboretum.act.gov.au/living-collection/trees/tree-descriptions/forests-and-trees/forest-79), and ‘wound seven or eight times around the neck’ (De Freycinet 2001: 126).

Others were made from local shells or even bunch of seeds (Lofgren 1988: 51). While ashore at Partridge Island (Tasmania), botanist Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour was presented with a necklace of ‘fairly well-polished shells’ by one of the Aboriginal chiefs who had crossed the strait from Bruny Island in exchange for a necklace of glass beads (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 302). Tasmanian shell necklaces were traditionally made from the pearlescent kelp shell (Phasianotrochus irisodontes) known as the ‘maireener’, were highly prized and often traded between tribal groups and with visitors to Tasmania (Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, viewed 22 Feb. 2016, http://www.aboriginalheritage.tas.gov.au/aboriginal-cultural-heritage/material-culture/necklaces). The shells are still treasured by the community today and the tradition of shell stringing continues to be a highly regarded cultural practice.

Reed, shell and seed necklaces were also common personal ornaments among the Aborigines of the Kimberley region of Western Australia as illustrated in Lofgren (1975: 51) and shown in the accompanying early 20th-century photographic record.

7. Cassé tête, d’un seul morceau de bois noueux.

Club made from a single piece of knotty wood.

Pierre Bernard Milius’ stay at Port Jackson appears to have been more focussed on meeting ‘some of the colony’s most distinguished persons’ (Milius 2013: 157) rather than studying the indigenous people. His account of the Sydney Aborigines is cursory, typically ethnocentric and quite derogatory. Whereas de Freycinet appears to have had a ‘genuine curiosity and desire to understand the workings of Aboriginal society’ (Fletcher 2001: vii), Milius regarded the Aborigines as uncivilised, indolent, still living in the ‘darkest ignorance’ with ‘no form of industry’ and little desire ‘to change their own condition’ (Milius 2013: 168). He demonstrates little understanding of traditional Aboriginal way of life and his information on their weapons was obtained by witnessing ‘a number of fights between the natives, generally on account of women’ (Milius 2013: 170).

De Freycinet’s work was published some years after his second voyage to Sydney in the Uranie and he acknowledges that much of his information was obtained from the publications and personal contact with people who had been able to spend time living with the Aborigines ‘intimately’ over long periods of time (De Freycinet 2001: 103). Although his descriptions of the weapons used by the Aborigines are detailed in respect of their construction and use, supported by his reference to the images produced by Lesueur, there is little evident appreciation of the craftsmanship and knowledge needed by the Aboriginal groups in order to fashion efficient tools that were essential to meet their daily needs.

As Lofgren (1975: 52 ff.) indicates, the Aboriginal life-style demanded knowledge of the environment, tools that could easily be constructed from readily available material, served a number of purposes and could be conveniently carried from day to day. Since they relied heavily on wood for a range of useful objects the Aboriginal craftsman needed to know how to select the best piece of wood for a particular purpose.

Clubs—or ‘bludgeons’ as de Freycinet (2001: 184) refers to them—were of various shapes and names. The one with the large mushroom-shaped head depicted by Lesueur (Plate XLVII, Item 7) appears to have a stone tool mounted in gum in the head, which was not uncommon, and created a woodworking tool as well as a conventional club.

8. Casse tête consistant en une pierre fixée à un manche de bois.

Club consisting of a stone fixed to a wood handle.

The making and use of stone axes was exclusively the preserve of Aboriginal men. As de Freycinet (2001: 177) describes:

These axes are made from a hard stone that is sharpened at the ends and bears a slot, to the middle of which a handle is fitted; the whole thing is reinforced with strong lashing which is also covered with [xanthorrhoea] resin.

Xanthorrhoea resin was favoured for its property of not softening in the heat of the sun (De Freycinet 2001: 177). Stone axes were multifunctional tools used for a variety of purposes—climbing and felling trees, or in some circumstances as a weapon of attack.

De Freycinet (2001: 131), like earlier European visitors, was fascinated at the way the Aborigines at Port Jackson and at King George Sound (WA) used the axes to cut notches on tree trunks as footholds when climbing to the tops of trees, which they did with great speed.

It was during the expedition’s soujourn at King George Sound in February 1803, that Midshipman Ransonnet was presented with a stone axe by a group of friendly natives—the first they had met on the west coast of Australia. The Aborigines had hurled their spears a long way off before helping Ransonnet and his crew to land, rather than brandishing them in an attempt to get them to leave as occurred at Geographe Bay and Shark Bay (Baudin 1974 [1800–1803]: 491; Péron & De Freycinet 2003: 122–123). Buttons from the sailors’ coats, which were highly prized, were exchanged for the axe, which was said to differ from those seen in New South Wales (Péron & De Freycinet 2003: 123). Péron notes that: ‘M. Laugier has done some interesting studies on the composition of the mastic that joins the granite to the wooden handle of this axe. It is valuable mastic, whose hardness rivals that of rock’. However, he fails to reveal the nature of the mastic in his haste to complete his chapter on Nuyts Land.

An edge-ground stone hatchet head, similar to specimens from the Cox’s River Valley (Central NSW) (McBryde & Watchman 1993) was recovered in 1987 from the wreck of HMS Sirius (1790) at Norfolk Island (Henderson & Stanbury 1988: 143–144; Stanbury 1994: 86–88). Analysis of the surface residue was undertaken (using proton and carbon 13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) (Ghisalberti 1988) in order to identify the bonding substance used to secure the hatchet handle, initially thought to be beeswax (Kelly 1987). Results indicated that a plant resin had been combined with animal product filler, such as kangaroo dung, but the precise origin of the compounds was inconclusive.

9. Extrémité d’une sagaie de guerre, barbelée avec des dents de requin.

End of a war spear barbed with shark’s teeth.

10. & 11. Deux sagaies de guerre, barbelés.

Two barbed war spears.

Aboriginal men depended upon their spears above all other tools, and were rarely without them. As de Freycinet (2001: 105) remarked: ‘The bow and arrow are nowhere to be seen, but spears are everywhere’. Not only was it the ultimate weapon of the hunt but also a source of security and defence. Milius (2013: 168) comments that the Aborigines have a habit of holding their weapons in their right hand, and when walking unarmed they ‘pass their right arm behind their backs and hold their left arm with it’.

At Port Jackson, de Freycinet (2001: 184–185) notes that there were several types of spears, each named differently, and varying in length. The main spears were generally made from two stems or saplings of the grass tree (Xanthorhoea sp.) held together by a binding which was then covered by a layer of resin (De Freycinet 2001: 183–184). Some of the spears were simply sharpened to form a point while others, like those illustrated by Lesueur, had barbs—sometimes shell fragments, slivers of hard stone or shark’s teeth—that were attached with resin. Both de Freycinet (2001: 184) and Milius (2013: 170) agreed that the barbed weapons were designed to inflict a more severe and potentially deadly wound, as it was difficult to remove the fragments from the inflicted lacerations.

Conclusion

Although Rhys Jones comments the quality and detail of the French Sydney artefact drawings he regards them of ‘less value’ than the Tasmanian artefacts as there were ‘numerous other depictions and their uses by artists on Cook’s first voyage and by several artists of the First Fleet, and during subsequent decades’ (Jones 1988: 60). However, Megaw’s extensive research into the surviving iconographic and ethnographic evidence for the initial period of European culture-contact history in New South Wales and south-east Australia (Megaw 1993) shows how important the early records and surviving Aboriginal artefacts are to present archaeological and anthropological analyses of the Sydney and Botany Bay regions. In particular, whether existing artefacts actually match the written descriptions and various depictions, or whether anonymous artists and engravers working for publishers ‘may have been following the same models’ rather than original material sources (Megaw 1993: 28).

In the report to the Government by l’Institut Impérial Péron upholds the accuracy and validity of Lesueur’s work:

Tous les details de l’existence de ces peuples nous ont été peint ou dessinés par lui (Lesueur) avec l’exactitude la plus scrupuleuse; tous leurs intruments de musique, de guerre, de chasse, de pêche ou de ménage; tous les particularités de leurs vêtements, de leurs ornaments, de leurs habitations, de leurs tombeaux; en un mot, tout ce que leurs industrie naissante a pu produire jusqu’à ce jour, se trouve réuni dans les traveaux de cet artiste habile autant qu’infatigable (Péron, F., 1807–1816, Voyage de découvertes aux terres australes éxecuté par ordre de Sa Majesté l’empereur et roi, sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste. Et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendant les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804. Volume 1. A Paris: De l’Imprimerie Impériale: xiii

---

References

Allchin, B., 1966, The stone-tipped arrow. Phoenix House, London.

Baudin, N., 1974 (1800–1803), The journal of Post Captain Nicolas Baudin Commander-in-Chief of the Corvettes Géographe and Naturaliste: Assigned by Order of the Government to a voyage of discovery. Trans. C. Cornell, with a foreword by Jean-Paul Faivre. Libraries Board of South Australia, Adelaide.

Bonnemains, J., Forsyth, E., Smith, B., (eds), 1988. Baudin in Australian Waters: The Artwork of the French Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands 1800–1804. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Pp 81 & 89.

Charles Alexandre Lesueur (1778–1846) naturalist, artist, viewed 13 Feb. 2016, http://faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/lesueur.html.

Colquhoun, J., 1968, Intertwined, viewed 16 Dec. 2015, http://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/intertwined/basket-types/dilly-bags.

Duyker, E., 2006, François Péron—An impetuous life. Naturalist and voyager. The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne University Publishing Ltd, Australia.

Dyer, C., 2007, The French explorers and the Aboriginal Australians 1772–1839. University of Queensland Press, St Lucia (Reprint).

De Freycinet, L.-C. de Saulces, 2001, Reflections of New South Wales 1788–1839. Limited edition, Hordern House, Sydney. Translated into English by Thomas Cullity, assisted by Katherine Pratt and Jen and Bernice Pasquier, from the original publication of de Freycinet’s Voyage autour du monde (Paris, 1824–1844).

Fletcher, B.H., 2001, Foreword. In: L.-C. de Saulces, de Freycinet, Reflections of New South Wales 1788–1839. Limited edition, Hordern House, Sydney. Translated into English by Thomas Cullity, assisted by Katherine Pratt and Jen and Bernice Pasquier, from the original publication of de Freycinet’s Voyage autour du monde (Paris, 1824–1844): v–viii.

Fornasiero, J., 2010, Music from the littoral. Viewed 16 Feb. 2016, http://www.artroom5.com.au/downloads/Littoral-catalogue.pdf.

Fromont, J., 2008, Scientific discovery—then and now. In: M. Stanbury and V. Northey (eds), Journeys of Enlightenment. French exploration of Terres Australes, Western Australian Museum, Perth: 28–29.

Ghisalberti, E.L., 1988, Report on analysis of sample from Sirius stone hatchet. WAM File MA 143/82.

Henderson, G. and Stanbury, M., 1988, The Sirius past and present. Collins, Australia.

Isaccs, J., 1987, Bush food Aboriginal food and herbal medicine. Weldon Publishers, Australia (Reprinted 1988).

Jones, D., 2007, The Baudin voyage of discovery to Terra Australis (1800–1804)—The legacy. In: M. McCarthy and V. Northey (eds), Voyages of Grand Discovery, Western Australian Museum, Perth: 20–22.

Jones, R., 1988, Images of natural man. In: J. Bonnemains, E. Forsyth, B. Smith, (eds), 1988. Baudin in Australian waters: The artwork of the French voyage of discovery to the southern lands 1800–1804. Oxford University Press, Melbourne: Chap. 6: 35–64.

Kelly, D, 1987, Sirius edge-ground hatchet head resin analysis. In: G. Henderson and M. Stanbury et al., Australian Bicentennial Authority Project. 1987 expedition report on the wreck of HMS Sirius (1790). Report—Department of Maritime Archaeology, Western Australian Maritime Museum, No. 28: 61.

La Pérouse, J.F.G. de, 1799, A voyage round the world performed in the years 1785, 1786, 1787 and 1788 by the Boussole and Astrolabe, Milet-Mureau, L.A., (ed.). English edition, A. Hamilton, London. (Reprinted Edition, Bibliotheca Australiana #27 and # 28, N. Israel/Amsterdam, Da Capo Press/New York, 1968).

Lofgren, M.E., 1975, Patterns of life. The story of the Aboriginal people of Western Australia. Western Australian Museum Information Series No. 6, Western Australian Museum, Perth (Fourth printing 1988).

McBryde, I. and Watchman, A., 1993, ‘…lost in the Sirius…?—Consideration of the provenance of the hatchet head recovered from the Sirius wreck site. In: J. Specht, (ed.), F.D. McCarthy, Commemorative Papers (Archaeology, Anthropology, Rock Art), Records of the Australian Museum Supplement 17: 129–143.

Megaw, J.V.S., 1993, Something old, something new. Further notes on the Aborigines of the Sydney district as represented by their surviving artefacts, and as depicted in some early European representations. In: J. Specht, (ed.), F.D. McCarthy, Commemorative Papers (Archaeology, Anthropology, Rock Art), Records of the Australian Museum Supplement 17: 25–44.

Milius, P.B., 2013, Pierre Bernard Milius last Commander of the Baudin expedition. The Journal 1800–1804. Trans. K. Pratt. National Library of Australia, Canberra.

Mills, V., 2011, Weaving magical baskets and sharing Aboriginal knowledge. ABC Kimberley WA, viewed 16 Dec. 2015, http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/07/21/3274981.htm.

Nash, D., 2004, Aboriginal plant use in south-eastern Australia. Education Services, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Acton ACT. Viewed 23 Feb. 2016, http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/botanic-gardens/pub/aboriginal-plantuse....

Péron, F., 1807–1816, Voyage de découvertes aux terres australes éxecuté par ordre de Sa Majesté l’empereur et roi, sur les corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et la goëlette le Casuarina, pendant les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804. Volume 1. A Paris: De l’Imprimerie Impériale: xiii.

Péron, F. and De Freycinet, L., 2003, Voyage of discovery to the southern lands. Second edition 1824. Trans. C. Cornell. The Friends of the State Library of South Australia, Adelaide.

Resture, J., 2012, Aboriginal fibre craft. Viewed 16 Dec. 2015,

Stanbury, M. and Northey, V., 2008, Journeys of Enlightenment. French exploration of Terres Australes. Western Australian Museum, Perth.

West-Sooby, J., (ed.), 2013, Discovery and Empire: the French in the South Seas. The University of Adelaide Press, Adelaide.