Global artefacts return home to Western Australia's south coast

A collection of cultural artefacts from Western Australia's southern coast has been returned to the region after spending generations in museums across the world. The items are now on display at the Museum of the Great Southern in Albany as part of the Kalyagul: Connections to Menang Country exhibition, which aims to share traditional knowledge with residents and visitors alike.

The Menang word kalyagul means always, ever, continuing. It is interwoven through the exhibition and the broader project behind it, Entangled Knowledges: Kaartdijin, Science and History in the Robert Neill Collection, which brings together the expertise of Menang elders, historians and scientists.

How did the artefacts end up overseas?

In the 1840s, Robert Neill served as a commissariat officer in Albany. During his time there, he painted watercolour drawings of local fish, building on his connections with the Menang people who shared their kaartdijin, or knowledge, with him. The items were later sent back to the United Kingdom.

Deakin University history professor Tiffany Shellam said the project began when researchers noticed fish scales attached to the drawings held at the London Natural History Museum. They then asked curators at the National Museum of Scotland whether any fish from the collection were held there.

When I arrived there they had about 27 boxes of fish on the tables for us to have a look through, and it was just mind blowing, Professor Shellam said.

She described the fish skins as particularly significant because each one carried a label with the Menang name written prominently, preserving the knowledge of the Menang people who caught the fish.

Why is this return significant for the Menang community?

Menang woman Shona Coyne, lead curator of the exhibition, said the case was rare in her experience.

Colonisers and other visitors to our place would often come here, extract the knowledge, claim it as their own, and send it off to museums and universities around the world, she said. Whereas this occasion, Robert Neill actually acknowledged us and acknowledged our elders and wrote down the names of the people who speared the fishes as well, so it's been a wonderful archive for us to explore.

Menang man Larry Blight was part of the team that travelled to the UK to examine the collections. He said the work involved deciphering ancient Menang language and filling in gaps for curators, not just for fish but also for plants.

We were telling them the ones that we knew, we were giving them their local Indigenous names and the usages as well, whether it's a medicine or a bush food and also our relationship with the animals as well, he said.

What other artefacts were located in Australia and abroad?

The research also uncovered further artefacts in museums across Australia and overseas. These included plant samples collected by Menang women Lucy Webb and Lucy Eades, which were sent to the National Herbarium of Victoria in the late 19th century.

Herbarium collections manager Alison Vaughan said five specimens were attributed to Lucy Webb, with one linked to Mrs Eades through an accompanying letter.

It was the first and remains the only definitive evidence that we have of Aboriginal people collecting in the 19th century and contributing to the collection, although we know that there will be many more, she said.

What is being done to continue the cultural revival?

Part of the project involved remaking cultural material, including emu feathered ornaments and fishing spears. Ms Coyne said it was a powerful experience to recreate the plant collection made by one of her ancestors, returning to the original site and adding her own sample to the herbarium's collection.

Scientists and Menang traditional owners also collected fish samples from the Albany area as part of the research, with some joining the collections of Robert Neill at the National Museum of Scotland.

Frequently asked questions

Where can the returned artefacts be seen?

The artefacts are on display at the Museum of the Great Southern in Albany, Western Australia, as part of the Kalyagul: Connections to Menang Country exhibition.

Who was Robert Neill?

Robert Neill was a commissariat officer in Albany in the 1840s who painted watercolour drawings of local fish and collected specimens with the cooperation of the Menang people.

What is the Entangled Knowledges project?

The Entangled Knowledges project combines the knowledge of Menang elders, historians and scientists to research, locate and return cultural artefacts held in museums around the world.