Aboriginal Australians

Photographs from the Deadly Awards by Jamie James.

This mysterious portrait of an unknown, handsome young Aboriginal man is believed to have belonged to Governor Lachlan Macquarie, described as ‘One of the NSW Aborigines befriended by Governor Macquarie’. Part of the Works in Focus series.

An 1802 portrait of a young Eora man, by French artist Nicolas-Martin Petit, is remarkable for its attention to detail.

Portrait of Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung people from the 1870s show how photography shaped race relationships in the nineteenth century. 

Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are advised that this story contains names and images of deceased people.

Our 2017 Merewether Fellow Stephen Gapps looks at resistance and warfare in colonial Sydney on the anniversary of the Appin Massacre of 1816. 

Hear Jonathan Jones, Bruce Pascoe and Richard Aitken share their thoughts about some of the items on display in Planting Dreams. 

The Gurindji’s struggle sparked a national network of support organisations and became a symbol of the land rights movement.

A Common Place displays 15 dramatic portraits of Moree Murries taken by Michael Riley, one of Australia’s leading Indigenous contemporary artists.

The Proclamation Board (1828-1830) is a four-strip pictogram aimed to communicate that those who committed violent crimes, be they Aboriginal  Australian or colonist, would be punished.

In 1868, 13 cricketers from Victoria's western districts sailed from Sydney to become the first Australian team to tour England.

Members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are advised that this story contains names and images of deceased people.

A great inventor, an Indigenous rights advocate and Australia's first published Aboriginal writer.