Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1875-1930 (Creation)
Level of description
Item
Extent and medium
1 album : ill. ; 23 x 30 cm.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles Kerry joined the studio of A.H. Lamartiniere in 1875 and after 1883 ran the firm as Lamartiniere & Kerry. He then operated a large commercial photographic firm under various forms of name: Charles H. Kerry (1884), Kerry & Jones (1886), Kerry & Co. (1893). He employed professional photographers and after 1895 took few photographs himself. He left the firm in 1911 to concentrate on his mining interests. From 1913 onwards he visited Tonga, Noumea, Fiji, New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Samoa, and photographs of these subjects are his own work. About 8000 glass negatives from his studio (including some negatives of Henry King which had been purchased by Kerry & Co.) were acquired in 1930 by Tyrell's Bookshop, and this collection was purchased by Australian Consolidated Press in 1980.
Repository
Archival history
Previously described as Fryer Album A8. [Probably from the Hayes collection]
Handwritten spine title: Australian Aboriginal ceremonies.
Previously titled: Australian Aboriginal ceremonies.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Album of 52 albumen prints, (20 x 15cm) mounted on board. Captions include a photographic number and the name of the photographic studio 'Kerry, Photo, Sydney'. Handwritten on the mounting boards are pencil captions, often with less information than the captions on the images and the photographic number supplied by Kerry crossed out and alternative numbering provided. The album itself has been bound and has a handwritten spine title stuck to it "Australian Aboriginal ceremonies". It looks to have been added to the album at a later date, thus not the original title of the album. Photographs are most likely taken between 1875 and 1930.
The images are of Australian Aboriginal people in what appears to be mostly staged poses for Australian Aboriginal ceremonies, corroborees, dance, tracking, fights as well as photographs of various individuals. Some of the photographs have painted backdrops. Some of the people in the photographs were members of "Meston's Wild Australia" (also know as Archibald Meston's "Wild Australia Show"). There are some photographs that were most likely taken in Sydney in December 1892 by Charles Kerry. This is based on the beach setting and the backdrops being identical to those photographs for Archibald Meston's "Wild Australia Show".
Listed below are the contents of the album. The number corresponds to the page number in the album; the title is what appears on the image itself; and in brackets is the Kerry Studio photograph number and the alternative number if provided. Information in square brackets is provided by the processing archivist:
- Aboriginal ceremony. Death of the deity (Kerry, Photograph number 2804 / 136). --
- Leaving the bora ceremony (Kerry, Photograph number 2616). --
- Crossing the mystic figures (Kerry, Photograph number 2614 / 137). --
- Approaching the kings ground (Kerry, Photograph number 2615 / 138). --
- Aboriginal ceremony "The sick warrior" (Kerry, Photograph number 2598 / 139). --
- Aboriginal ceremony "Lying in wait" (Kerry, Photograph number 2608 / 140). --
- Aboriginal ceremony "Death of the wild boar" (Kerry, Photograph number 2603 / 141). --
- Aboriginal ceremony "Arrival of the king" (Kerry, Photograph number 2605 / 142). --
- Aboriginal bora. "Waiting the decision of the king" (Kerry, Photograph number 2617 / 143). --
- Aboriginal ceremony. "A duel to the death" (Kerry, Photograph number 2610 / 144). --
- Aborigines worshiping figure of the deity (Kerry, Photograph number 2597 / 145). --
- Arrival of the novices [unable to decipher writing on photograph] (Kerry, Photograph number 2611 / 146). --
- Aboriginal ceremony "Warriors in ambush" (Kerry, Photograph number 2600). --
- Aboriginal ceremony "Opening the Bora" (Kerry, Photograph number 2609 / 147). --
- Aboriginal ceremony, "Spearing the wild bull" (Kerry, Photograph number 2599 / 148). --
- Aboriginal corroboree "A battle" (Kerry, Photograph number 2586 / 149). --
- Aboriginal ceremony "Following the footsteps of the deity" (Kerry, Photograph number 2606 / 150). --
- Waiting for instructions ([Kerry, Photograph number] 2612 / 151). --
- Aboriginals "Corroboree" (Kerry, Photograph number 2584). --
- Aboriginal ceremony, "The Bora tree" (Kerry, Photograph number 2607 / 152). --
- Aboriginal ceremony, "Spearing the Alligator" (Kerry, Photograph number 2601/ 153). --
- Aboriginal ceremony, "Gathering wild bird eggs" (Kerry, Photograph number 2602 / 154). --
- Aboriginals "Corroboree" (Kerry, Photograph number 2585 / 155). --
- Aboriginal corroboree "Healing the sick warrior" (Kerry, Photograph number 2588 / 156). --
- [Writing indecipherable] "Drafting sheep" (Kerry, Photograph number 2587 / 157). --
- Aboriginals tracking ([Kerry, Photograph number] 2583 / 158). --
- Corroboree Austn Aborigines [painted backdrop] (Kerry, Photograph number 1360 / 159). --
- "Wermugga Dance" Austn Aboriginals [painted backdrop] (Kerry, Photograph number 1361 / 160). --
- Aboriginals & Black Trackers (Kerry, Photograph number 1388 / 161). --
- Group fighting men [painted backdrop] (Kerry, Photograph number 1391 / 162). --
- Bora Corroboree (Kerry, Photograph number 1390). --
- Aboriginal Corroboree (Kerry, Photograph number 1367). --
- Fish Corroboree (Kerry, Photograph number 1393 / 163). --
- Aboriginals & Black Trackers (Kerry, Photograph number 1378 / 164). --
- Wermugga Corroboree (Kerry, Photograph number 1392 / 165). --
- Aboriginals & Black Tracker (Kerry, Photograph number 1389 / 166). --
- [Writing indecipherable on photograph] Group of Northern Territory natives (Kerry, Photograph number 1368). --
- An Aboriginal fight (Kerry, Photograph number 2553). --
- Aboriginals, upper Macleay River (Kerry, Photograph number 2162 / 167). --
- Aboriginals, upper Macleay River (Kerry, Photograph number 2160). --
- Aboriginals, upper Macleay River (Kerry, Photograph number 2161). --
- Darling R. natives (Kerry, Photograph number 141). --
- Aboriginal climbing tree (Kerry, Photograph number 2126 / 168). --
- Aboriginal spearing fish (Kerry, Photograph number 2125 / 169). --
- Native climbing with vine (Kerry, Photograph number 535). --
- "Wharangoo". Aboriginal, Tenterfield District [painted backdrop] (Kerry, Photograph number 1989 / 170). --
- "Borree", Aboriginal Chief, Jervis Bay (Kerry, Photograph number 2013). --
- "Yenohan". Girl, Tumut Tribe, N.S.W. (Kerry, Photograph number 1899 / 171). --
- Aboriginal women [painted backdrop] (Kerry, Photograph number 1914 / 172). --
- Aboriginal girl, Brungle [painted backdrop] (Kerry, Photograph number 1913 / 173). --
- Aboriginal warrior, Bellinger River (Kerry, Photograph number 2014). --
- Aboriginal with Derri Head dress (Kerry, Photograph number 1371 / 174).
Content advice: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are warned that photographs may contain images of Aboriginal and Islander people now deceased. It may also contain historically and culturally sensitive words, terms and descriptions. The descendants' request was that the subjects of the photos be recognised as Wailwan. None of the descendants expressed any desire to censor or withdraw the photos from general viewing. In particular, women should be cautious when viewing the image as it includes some aspects of traditional Men's Business.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Out of copyright. Able to be reproduced without permission. Please attribute the Fryer Library.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Binding is fragile.
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Alma MMS ID
Millennium Local System Number
Libraries Australia ID
OCLC Number
Access points
Subject access points
- Photographs -- Catalogs
- Aboriginal Australians -- Rites and ceremonies -- Pictorial works
- Aboriginal Australians -- Pictorial works
- Aboriginal Australians
- Dhanggati / Dunghutti people E6
- Gamilaraay / Gamilaroi / Kamilaroi people D23
- Wiradjuri people D10
- Dhungutti (Australian people)
- Kamilaroi (Australian people)
- Wiradjuri (Australian people)
- photographic prints
Place access points
Name access points
- Meston, Archibald, 1851-1924 (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Revised
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Revised, Linda Justo, 2-Dec-2022. Revised, SJB, 22-Nov-2022. Revised, Linda Justo, 2-Aug-2021. Migrated from LMS: April 2019, P.A.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
McKay, Judith and Memmott, Paul (2016). 'Staged savagery: Archibald Meston and his Indigenous exhibits'. Aboriginal History, 40, pp. 181-203.