Photo by Professor Rosita Henry

Photo by Professor Rosita Henry

Accession Number: L76.01.011

Museum: Material Culture Unit, James Cook University

Date Acquired: 1976

Collector: Dr William Craig Christie MacDonald (c.1855-c.1912)

Date Collected: 1883-1909

Where from: North Queensland

Description: L954 x W420mm

Carved wood with natural pigments.

Native bee design. Typical of those made by Jirrbal people, Tully region up to mountains. Dr MacDonald was a medical practitioner in Ingham since 4 October 1883, and although he moved residence to Halifax in 1907, he only lived there until he relocated to Edgecliff in Sydney in 1909. He remained there until his death around 1912. MacDonald collected material from the Ingham area, but also purchased other artefacts or accepted them as gifts. During his time in Ingham, he employed two Aboriginal people as ‘servants’, a man and woman who were both from Cardwell. According to his daughter Helen Reeves in 1984, MacDonald most likely collected material through this couple. His granddaughter Mrs Janet Arnold, also stated that he had been on good terms with local Aboriginal people and South Sea Islanders, and that his friend Dr Allingham had had said he was ‘interested in the Aboriginals and realised they would disintegrate in contact with civilization and wanted to know as much as he could of their culture’ (Reeves, April, 1984). After his death, the collection was placed into storage with Grace Bros. in Sydney from 1938 to the 1940s. When his daughter Janet MacDonald died, the collection was stored away in a loft at the home of his second daughter, Dr Enid Bowman, at 479 Oxford Street, Paddington in Sydney. In 1968 MacDonald’s youngest son Gavin sent the collection to Dr Allingham at Fletcher Vale near Charters Towers. Apparently Dr MacDonald’s eldest daughter Helen, a nurse, had married grazier John Allingham. In 1976 Dr Allingham was concerned that the dry heat at Charters Towers would deteriorate the wooden artefact collection and lent a major selection to the Material Culture Unit at James Cook University for safe keeping.

See: ‘Christopher Allingham, his descendants and associates’ authored by Trish Barnard

http://www.jcucollections.org/?page_id=850

Contact: Professor Rosita Henry, Head of Social Sciences College of Arts, Society & Education Fellow, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811 AUSTRALIA

Phone: (07) 47814231 or (07)40421176 International: +61 7 47814231

Email: Rosita.Henry@jcu.edu.au