Mari Nawi: Aboriginal Odysseys 20 Sep 2010 2:30pm - 12 Dec 2010
1:30pm - Mitchell Library, Macquarie St - New South Wales -
Cost: Gallery entrance fee - 02 9273 1414 - State Library of New
South Wales Exciting new research has revealed the significant
role Aboriginal men, and some women, played in Australia’s early
maritime history. The focus of this exhibition is the Eora and
Darug people from the Sydney area, who sailed on English ships
through Port Jackson to destinations in Australia and throughout
the world during the period 1790-1855. Theirs was a canoe
culture and they called these ships mari nawi meaning ‘large
canoes’. Curated by the acknowledged authority, Dr Keith Vincent
Smith, Mari Nawi: Aboriginal Odysseys will feature rarely seen
oil paintings, journals, letters, maps, sketches, objects and
rare printed books drawn from collections throughout Australia.