An Australian Aboriginal encampment on the beach at Port Darwin

A view along a beach at Port Darwin to the tree and shrub-covered rocky outcrop in the background that closes off the beach. In the foreground is (l-r) an Australian Aboriginal woman, man and child sit on the sand, the latter two cross legged. The boy has a thin white nose bone through the septum of his nose. The man is wearing armbands just above his elbows and has a pattern of raised scars on his left upper arm, just below the shoulder. All three are sitting wearing cloth wraps around their waists only. To their left (viewer's right) are two dogs, one of which is looking at a third in the distance further along the beach. A short way behind the three people in the foreground are three young Aboriginal women also sitting on the ground, but with their legs out in front. Behind them is an encampment of shelters made from corrugated iron sheets, blankets and branches. Two sewn bark canoes, one double the size of the other, are resting on the sand by the encampment. These six people are the same in the more formal group photograph in the album - see ALB0167.142.

The photograph is captioned: 'Native encampment on the beach at Port Darwin. N. Australia.'

Dr. R. W. Coppinger records arriving at Port Darwin on 20 October 1881 but does not state when they left. However, he does say that they saw Timor on 5 November.

Object Details

ID: ALB0167.141
Type: Photographic print
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Frederick North
Date made: Circa 20 October to late October 1881
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Measurements: Overall: 148 mm x 214 mm
Parts: The Cruise of HMS Alert in Patagonian and Polynesian Waters, 1879-1882 (Photograph album)