Northern NSW Aboriginal Bark Canoe
Vessel numberHV000037
(not assigned)EO45964
Vessel type
Indigenous Watercraft of Australia
Builder
Albert Woodlands
Datec 1938
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 3 m x 0.4 m (9.85 ft. x 1.3 ft)
DescriptionThe northern NSW coast has many rivers, and this Aboriginal canoe is an example of a craft that were used on local rivers for transport, fishing and food gathering activities by the Indigenous inhabitants. It was made in the Kempsey region by Albert Woodlands, an Indigenous community member from the local area, as a commissioned item for the Australian Museum and acquired around 1938.
The construction is a single piece of bark, most likley to be a stringybark eucalypt. To form a bow and stern it is folded at each end after the bark has been thinned down, and then this is lashed together and secured with a spike. The ends are creased across the hull at the end of the folds to give the bow and stern some rise, and this crease has been identified as a feature of northern rivers tied bark canoes . It has very shallow depth or freeboard and this would have restricted the craft to relatively calm water use on rivers or lakes.
SignificanceCultural Warning
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are advised that the Australian Register of Historic Vessels may contain names and images of people who are deceased
The Northern NSW Aboriginal Bark Canoe is an example of a tied bark canoe, common to communities along the eastern Australian coatsline. It was built around 1938 near Kempsey in NSW. It is an example of the specific construction of the tied-bark canoes used on rivers in Northern NSW and is now in the collection of the Australian Museum.
Vessel Highlights
c 1900
