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Keeroongooloo station,…
Sale Title:
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
8-Dec-2024
Lot No.
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Description:
Keeroongooloo station, South-West Queensland, an archive of objects and documents from the estate of Amy Howard Birt, whose family were owners of the huge station in the early 1900s. The earliest item present is a carte-de-visite size albumen print titled 'Cookie & Amy' annotated verso 'Black nurse Cookie & Amy Howard Birt'; a larger original photograph is annotated 'Darwin Blacks & cousin Edith Hartwell'; another original photograph is titled 'Keeroongooloo Blacks'. A small image titled 'Household help, Kooroonglu Stn 1900s' appears to be a circa 1940s print. There is also a large reproduction of an early photograph of the station buildings. Other items include a 'Blacks letter stick from 'Keeroongooloo station, Coopers Creek', a small tin containing pieces of ochre, a leather case (for paperwork) signed by 'Amy Howard Birt, Keeroongooloo Station', two associated boomerangs with incised decorations, a Gulmari wood shield with incised decoration and remains of ochre colour, and a throwing club with incised decoration., the earlier history of the station is important. For thousands of years the area was part of the land of the Bidia people. In the late 1860s, British pastoralist, John Costello, laid claim to the area which became known as the Keeroongooloo pastoral station. Costello offered up part of his lease to his cook and associate James Scanlan who named that part Springfield. Keeroongooloo itself was initially stocked by John Bligh Nutting and Robert Doyle in 1871. Nutting was an ex-Native Police officer, and after a skirmish with the natives over the killing of cattle, his stockmen cleared the 'Niggers' off Keeroongooloo by shooting at them. The Aboriginal population on Keeroongooloo at the time of British colonisation was estimated to be in the hundreds., another part of the lease, which was known as Wombinderry, was taken up by Alexander Reid in 1871. Reid established a horse breeding enterprise at Wombinderry (also known as Wombundarry waterhole) and in early 1872, one of his stockmen named Maloney was killed by Bidia people for shooting at them and killing their dogs. Native Police troopers under Sub-Inspector James Gilmour from the T hargomindah barracks were sent out along Cooper's creek and massacred a group of Aboriginal people in retribution.
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Printed & Written Material: Historical Documents