A view of a tall termite mound with an unidentified European leaning against it, back to the camera.

A portrait photograph of a bearded man facing away from the camera and learning against a termite mound, with thick vegetation in the background, on Thursday Island [Waiben/Waibene]. The man is likely to be there for height comparative reasons, as the mound is about one and three-quarters his height.

The photograph is captioned: 'Ant heap. Thursday Island.'

Dr Coppinger records arriving off Somerset and Albany Island in early June and remained in the Torres Strait area for four months. They left on 1 October for Port Darwin, arriving on 20 October 1881.

Object Details

ID: ALB0167.135
Type: Photographic print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: North, Frederick
Date made: June to September 1881
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Measurements: Overall: 165 mm x 118 mm
Parts: The Cruise of HMS Alert in Patagonian and Polynesian Waters, 1879-1882 (Photograph album)