Australian Aboriginal Culture (Pamphlet)

Description

Author: McCarthy, F. D. (Frederick David) (1905-1997)

Publisher: Australian National Commission for UNESCO

Pub Date: 1974 (Second edition)

Binding: Paperback

Condition: Fair.  Stapled binding tight.  No tears, bends or folds.  There’s an inscription on the ffep, but I’m not sure of its provenance (see Notes below)

Notes: Radiocarbon dating of Aboriginal campsites indicates their ancestors arrived in Australia at least 30,000 years B.P.  I imagine this publication was designed to be sold in Australian museums, or anywhere Aboriginal artifacts were displayed.  Each verso page covers a different subject (e.g.  Origins, Religion and Ceremonies, Games and Music), with photos and captions on the opposite recto page.  On the front end paper is the inscription (in green marker) “Stanley Roach of the Bunjahlung Tribe Australia.”  I could find almost nothing about Stanley Roach (possibly 1915-1976) of the Bunjahlung tribe, but there is a great deal about Archibald “Uncle Archie” Roach (1956-2022), an Aboriginal singer, activist and elder (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Roach ), also of the Bunjahlung tribe.  I may be reading too much into the inscription, but it could be an interesting association.