My Black Tracker Accession Number: AWM2022.1320.1

Description

Please be aware that this material relates to Frontier Wars and may cause offence or distress in some circumstances. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples please be aware this description may include the name/s and/or descriptions of deceased peoples.

"This painting tells the story of my mother’s uncle (my great grandfather). His name was Henry Keppel. He was a black tracker for the police. In those days if people had fights with spears then news spread throughout the clans, and eventually large communities like Aurukun and Coen would know all about it. Then they would get black trackers to find them. The trackers knew all the languages including English and speaking with passing clans would help in tracking the offender.

Henry worked as a tracker for many years. He was never paid, but was instead given tobacco, flour, sugar and corned beef. He never killed anyone, but tracked people who were then sent to Palm Island. In the painting, Henry is in the right corner. The chained natives are waving goodbye to their country.

I like to tell stories to my people to keep the stories alive. I learned much from Henry when I was a small child. He had a very hard life and was caught between the old ways the new changes brought by Europeans. This is my way of remembering my great grandfather and the many hard challenges of his life. Today we have many challenges as a people too. But these are not as extreme as in Henry’s time." (artist statement)

This painting is a personal recollection of Syd Bruce Shortjoe's (Wik Mynah people) great grandfather, Henry Keppel’s experiences as a Black Tracker for the Queensland Police. Syd remembers Henry telling him these stories as a boy.

Syd is Pormpuraaw Art & Culture Centre’s most well-known artist. He started with the art centre in 2010, and is known for his leadership skills and printmaking.

Details

Tags

• Horses
• Prisoners
• Policeman
• Wik Iyanh