Ward McNally "Aborigines, Artefacts, and Anguish".
Biography of Theodor (Ted) Strehlow; founding of Hermannsburg mission; work and death of Carl Strehlow; Aranda relationships with Theodor Strehlow; criticisms of Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies; care of sacred objects; intergroup conflict; establishment of Strehlow Research Foundation; fieldwork in Central Australia, Aranda culture and language research, Max Stuart trial; scattered translations of Aranda songs.
McNally's narrative style is deeply engaging in recounting the extraordinary story of Carl Strehlow's work at Hermansburg mission and his tragic death at Horse Shoe Bend. The greater part of the biography is devoted to his son, Ted, who in his younger days did groundbreaking work collecting knowledge of Aboriginal society as it was, and later and controversially, artefacts of a sacred nature. How regrettable that a man of his calibre fell from grace and popular regard in his final decades. A brilliant insight into the life of the Strehlows and the anthropological legacy they left behind.
Hardcover. First printing 1981.
Brand new. Very minor shelf wear. No remainder mark. Fast shipping.