Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1956-1994 (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
6 folders
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Dick Roughsey was born near Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in 1924. His name is translated from his tribal name Goobalathaldin, meaning 'water standing on end'. Brought up within the tribe, he was educated at a Presbyterian mission, subsequently returning to his people. Roughsey was assisted in his painting career through the encouragement of an Ansett pilot, Percy Trezise, and has successfully exhibited bark paintings and oils. Roughsey and Trezise collaborated for many years producing picture books which retold traditional stories. These were among the first to introduce Aboriginal culture to children. The stories include The Rainbow Serpent (1975), Banana Bird and the Snake Man (1980), about how the birds outwitted the snakes, The Magic Firesticks (1983) a legend from the Yalanji people and The Flying Fox Warriors (1985). Roughsey's richly illustrated autobiography Moon and Rainbow: the Autobiography of an Aboriginal was published in 1971. He was the first chairman of the Aboriginal Arts Board in 1973.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Elsie Roughsey (Labumore), of Lardil descent, was born on Mornington Island in Queensland. She was taken from her parents and placed in the local mission school at the age of eight. When the missionaries were evacuated during the war, she returned to her family and lived in the bush learning Lardil customs. In 1946 Elsie married Dick Roughsey. In 1984 she published her autobiography An Aboriginal mother tells of the old and the new. -- excerpted from the Australian Women's Register
Name of creator
Biographical history
Lindsay Roughsey was an Aboriginal painter and tribal leader of the Lardil people of Mornington Island. He was the brother of the painter and illustrator Dick Roughsey.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Eighty one letters in total are in this series, fifty-six by Dick Roughsey.
Box 1
Folder 1
Letters from Dick Roughsey, 1956 to 1965 (22 items)
Folder 2
Letters from Dick Roughsey, 1965 to 1979 (21 items)
Folder 3
Letters from Dick Roughsey, undated (13 items)
Folder 4
Letters from Elsie Roughsey, 1963 to 1975 (9 items)
Folder 5
Letters from Lindsay Roughsey, 1964 to 1967 (7 items)
Folder 6
Miscellaneous, 1964 to [1994] (9 items)
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Unrestricted access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Coyright applies.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Box 1
Note
Some letters previously catalogued at F3074.
Alternative identifier(s)
Former Call Number
Access points
Subject access points
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Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Minimal
Dates of creation revision deletion
Created, Linda Justo, 28-Aug-2023.