|
Book description
An indigenous reservation in the
colony of Victoria, the Coranderrk Aboriginal Station was a major site of
cross-cultural contact in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century
Australia. Coranderrk was located just outside Melbourne, and from its
opening in the 1860s the colonial government commissioned many photographs
of its Aboriginal residents. The photographs taken at Coranderrk Station
circulated across the western world; they were mounted in exhibition
displays and classified among other ethnographic "data" within museum
collections. The immense Coranderrk photographic archive is the subject of
this detailed, richly illustrated examination of the role of visual imagery
in the colonial project. Offering close readings of the photographs in the
context of Australian history and nineteenth and early-twentieth-century
photographic practice, Jane Lydon reveals how western society came to
understand Aboriginal people through these images. At the same time, she
demonstrates that the photos were not solely a tool of colonial
exploitation. The residents of Coranderrk had a sophisticated understanding
of how they were portrayed, and they became adept at manipulating their
representations.
Lydon shows how the photographic portrayals of the Aboriginal residents of
Coranderrk changed over time, reflecting various ideas of the colonial
mission--from humanitarianism to control to assimilation. In the early
twentieth century, the images were used on stereotypical postcards
circulated among the white population, showing what appeared to be
compliant, transformed Aboriginal subjects. The station closed in 1924, and
disappeared from public view until it was rediscovered by scholars years
later. Aboriginal Australians purchased the station in 1998, and, as Lydon
describes, today they are using the Coranderrk photographic archive in new
ways, to identify family members and tell stories of their own.
About the author
Dr Jane Lydon is a postdoctoral fellow at the
Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies at Monash University.
She has worked as an archaeologist and historian on numerous projects
around Australia.
Need help? Library frequently asked questions and online
enquiries: current students/staff | public users, online chat,
or phone +61 3 9905 5054
Something to say? Use our online enquiry service to send us
your feedback and suggestions: current students/staff | public users
|
