Paper short abstract:

This presentation will give a glimpse of Brisbane Aborigines during the 1860s as documented by early photographers, and how Aborigines are now researching historical photos and the important role these images play in enabling families to assert their connection to community and country.

Paper long abstract:

When looking at photographs of Aborigines taken over 100 years ago the viewer often considers the huge changes to Aboriginal society and the landscape, especially when looking at photographs that were taken in areas that are now highly urbanized cities such as Brisbane in south-east Queensland, Australia.

The commercial precinct of Brisbane in the mid-1800s would have proved quite an attraction to Aborigines, as a place where European commodities could be obtained. By the 1860s several photographers had formed relationships with local Aboriginal people and had been inviting them into their studios and were photographing them. These early photographers obviously would have valued Aborigines as something 'exotic' and 'savage' to be photographed, so in turn they could profit from selling their images.

I have no doubt that Aborigines were well aware that the photographers intended to profit from them and at times they may have negotiated some form of payment prior to posing. Although historical research can never fully describe the complex relationships between the early photographers and the many of the Aboriginal people in their photos.

My presentation will give a glimpse of the Brisbane Aboriginal community during the 1860s as documented by photographers, and I will also discuss how there is an ever increasing involvement of Aboriginal people in documenting and portraying our own histories and how we are gaining a much more accurate understanding of the people featured in these old photographs and their connections to country and future generations of descendants.