String Bag from Sydney coastal area, collected before 1821

String or net bags are produced first by making rope, then weaving it together to make intricate loops that hold together, like a net. These bags were used by both men and women to carry knobs of resin, fishing tackle, scrapers and other personal items, as well as fish, shellfish, fern roots, berries, bulbs, blossoms and other food items. Depending on what they held inside, the bags would expand to become quite large and were very strong. There are early colonial images of string bags, similar to this one, being carried — hung over shoulders, held in hands or strung over the head and down the neck. 

Bags like these are usually made of rope from certain kinds of tree barks, stripped and soaked before being woven into rope. It was then twisted and looped into a bag or net, like the one shown here. This strong weaving technique is still used today by myself and many others. 

This particular bag was made from plant fibre from the Illawarra flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), and other bark fibres. It measures 45.1 cm high, 35 cm wide, and is 3 cm deep. One distinct feature of the bag that you can see on closer inspection is that it has a separate handle that is threaded through the opening. Notice the beauty of this bag and how intricate the loops are, creating a moving or waved look. 

Weaving is an important cultural practice passed down to me from generations before, from when I was a young age. Since I can remember, I have been using different plants and fibres, weaving and creating things, like rope, with my pop. I still practise and even teach weaving to others today. Weaving grounds me and connects me to my culture. Being able to see this bag today is a unique glance into the past and allows me to make connections to our current practice. We are still using the same techniques and practices we have been using for tens of thousands of years. 

Wadgayawa Nhay Dhadjan Wari, an exhibition of 30 objects that is part of a joint Australian National University–Australian Research Council project called Mobilising Aboriginal Objects: Indigenous History in International Museums, continues at the Library until 5 May 2024. This string bag was acquired, somehow, by midshipman Frederick Bedwell for the private collection of George Annesley, 2nd Earl of Mountnorris, and housed at Arley Castle in Worcestershire, England. It has been held by the British Museum in London since the 1860s. 

Kodie Mason is a community researcher who belongs to the Gweagal clan of the Dharawal nation. 

This story appears in Openbook summer 2023.