Centuries 19 to 21. The Macleay Museum’s Pacific collections
At what date the Macleay family started collecting objects made by peoples from the Pacific islands is not known. But living in Sydney from the 1830s certainly gave them opportunity …
Stories from all OAS Journal Volumes
Mark Blackburn on Understanding Polynesian Art
Lecture to Oceanic Art Society, Sydney, 20 June 2016. Report by Robin Hodgson On Monday 20 June 2016, in the Annexe of the Australian Museum, our visiting lecturer, Mark Blackburn …
Slit Gongs of the Sepik and Madang Provinces
By Barry Craig, South Australian Museum I have prepared a paper from a dataset of a large number of slit gongs of the Sepik and lower Ramu region, documented during …
Tribal Art Fair Report
By Robin Hodgson The OAS Tribal Art Fair in Sydney this year on Saturday 23 July was, according to the organisers: ”A good, successful day… Probably the best presentation to …
La-Sisi – Malangan Canoe
By Harold Gallasch and Neil McLeod. Melbourne Publishing Group, 2012. 60 pages with colour illustrations. Review by Jim Elmslie This lavishly illustrated book by OAS members, Harold Gallasch and Neil …
Andrew Moutu, Director, National Museum & Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea – Part I
Interview with Jim Elmslie, at the NGA Myth + Magic Exhibition, Canberra, August 7 2015 JE – Andrew, you have come a long way from a village in Dagua, and Wewak, …
Mystery Object
By Barry Craig This mystery object has been donated to the South Australian Museum. The donor obtained it at a bric-a-brac shop so knew nothing about its provenance. It is …
Knowledge Grows Through the Work of a Few
In this edition of the OAS Journal we read the story of George William Mostyn, the third in Barry Craig’s series of short biographies on early collectors for the South …
A mystery resolved
The world is becoming ever smaller, driven mostly by the increasing interconnectivity provided by the internet. People anywhere can research and access the most obscure and idiosyncratic alleyways of human …
OAS Journal Goes Online
It is with great satisfaction that we can announce that the OAS Journal is finally to join its peers in cyberspace. The OAS Committee, after protracted discussion, has decided to …
Cultural Treasures of the Lower Sepik River, PNG
By Chris Boylan The National Cultural (Preservation) Act of 1965 was the strongest comprehensive legislation protecting the cultural heritage of Papua New Guinea ever enacted. In the years that followed, …
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor – Part III
Hunter was born in Adelaide in 1871 and served three years in the South Australian Infantry during the Boer War (1899-1902). He married in 1905 and was an accountant at …
A New Chapter Begins for PNG’s National Museum
This edition of the OAS Journal celebrates the opening of the exciting new exhibition, “Built on Culture: the Art of Papua New Guinea, celebrating 40 years of PNG Independence” on 14th September this year at the National Museum and Art Gallery of Papua New Guinea.
Using archaeological perspectives to uncover indigenous perspectives on the colonial process in PNG
Saturday 14 November – Australian Museum via William Street new entrance 10:00 am registration, 10:30 OAS AGM, 11:00 Dr Robin Torrence (see below), 12 Noon close, 1:00pm Lunch at Sky …
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor – Part II
By Barry Craig. Continued from the last edition of the OAS Journal In a previous issue of the OAS Newsletter, I provided an introduction to the WW1 military collectors and …
Myth & Magic: Art of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea
Myth & Magic: Art of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, by Crispin Howarth Reviewed by Peter McCabe The National Gallery of Australia published this book in association with its …
A New Era Begins for the PNG Museum and Art Gallery
In an exciting new development, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill, opened “Built on Culture: the Art of Papua New Guinea, celebrating 40 years of PNG Independence” …
A Brief History of the Sepik (continued)
Although the Sepik District became increasingly important as a source of labour – with a corresponding increase in the activities of labour recruiters in uncontrolled areas – no steps were …
‘Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor’: The World War One Military Collections from German New Guinea in the South Australian Museum
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Gentleman, Apothecary, Ploughboy, Thief . . . Army, Navy, Medicine, Law, Church, Nobility, Nothing at all. By Barry Craig Britain declared war on Germany on 4 …
NGA’s Sepik Exhibition a Stunning Success!
Myth + Magic: The Art of the Sepik River, the new exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia, in Canberra, is all that it was promised to be. A very …
Myth & Magic: Art of the Sepik River
The long anticipated opening of the National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition, Myth & Magic: Art of the Sepik River.
Crazy Bailers
By Hermione Waterfield. Bailers are used all over the world to scoop the water from the bottom of boats, but those in the Pacific are carved in wood. Objects for …
Oceanic and Aboriginal art in the collection of the Melbourne Savage Club
Lecture Review Lecture by Dr. Ross Bowden, November 15, 2014 Ross Bowden, DPhil (Oxford), taught anthropology at La Trobe University, Melbourne, from 1979 to 1999 and was then a visiting …
Myth & Magic: Sepik Art Coming to the NGA
The countdown for the National Gallery of Australia’s landmark exhibition, Myth & Magic; Art of the Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, has started with the grand opening date set for …