Malay Influence on the Aboriginal Cultures of North‐eastern Arnhem Land

Re‐evaluating the timing of the Indonesian trepang industry in north‐west Arnhem Land: chronological investigations at Malara (Anuru Bay A)

“…The historical trepang industry in the Northern Territory has been extensively discussed by numerous researchers (Baker ; Berndt and Berndt , ; Clarke ; Ganter , ; Macknight , ; Mitchell ; Russell ; Spillett ; Trudgen ; Warner , ). The typical Macassan trepang voyage is described as a trip to north Australia assisted by the north‐west monsoon during the early wet season, often travelling via other islands including Timor to the north of Australia (Clark : 400).…”

‘Small, individually nondescript and easily overlooked’1: Contact beads from northwest Arnhem Land in an Indigenous–Macassan–European hybrid economy

“…The social, behavioural and economic outcomes for Arnhem Land communities during the contact period should result in archaeologically visible economic and behavioural changes. Indeed, this has previously been demonstrated to be the case on the Cobourg Peninsula (Mitchell 1994(Mitchell , 1996 and Groote Eylandt (Clarke 1994) (see also Berndt and Berndt 1954;McIntosh 1996aMcIntosh , 1996bMcIntosh , 2006McIntosh , 2008Thomson 1949;Warner 1932Warner , 1937, although the issue of sustained Macassan contact with the same people on an annual basis has not been effectively demonstrated, researched or explained (Peterson 2003). The Wellington Range is a significant research area in which to explore these questions, owing to close proximity to the known trepang processing site at Anuru Bay.…”

Damper and fish, tea and sugar: post-contact changes in resource use and residence on Groote Eylandt

“…The fi shermen, often referred to as Malays in many 19th century texts, or more commonly as Macassans (Macassar was the major port of origin for many of the boats), came to northern Australia in search of commodities to sell in the RECORDS OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM SUPPLEMENT DOI: 10.18195/issn.0313-122x.79.2011.093-108 marketplaces of island South-East Asia and beyond. The main focus of Asian commercial interest in the region was trepang (bêche de mer), but pearl shell, pearls, turtle shell, sandalwood, tin, manganese and dried shark tails were also sought after by the trepangers (Flinders 1814;Warner 1932;Berndt and Berndt 1954;Worsley 1955;Macknight 1976). The archaeology, history and operation of the trepang industry in Arnhem Land, or 'marege' (as it was called by the Macassans), has been described and analysed in extensive detail by Macknight (1969Macknight ( , 1972Macknight ( , 1976.…”