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We are a DGR approved, not-for-profit Heritage Research Institute for North Australia

Kilwa's beaches in East Africa have yielded tiny copper coins & broken pottery. The coins begin c950AD & the pottery includes Chinese Celadon (qingci) of a similar age. Kilwa coins c900 years old were found on Arnhemland's Wessel Islands in 1944. Kilwa was sacked by the Portuguese in 1513 - they were established on Timor in 1515 so were they the vector. The last millennium is a useful period in which to explore the notion of vessels running south to avoid pirates or to stage at freshwater sites moving westward to Cape Wessel where the fresh SE Trade would carry them northwards and home. Our work is an amalgam of western science and Aboriginal cultural knowledge to winnow hard fact from myth and lead us to the evidence of Australia's earliest visitors.

05/11/2026

At the request of the family, here is a photo of the Golpa Mandjikay elder Berripang, son of Djingulul (who was known to all as the ‘king of the Wessels’.) The PMs worked closely with Berripang over many years in identifying some of the many rock art galleries on the islands.

04/11/2026

Many think the Portuguese could have, should have & indeed did come to Australia but this map of their trade routes, from GeoAllDay, suggests otherwise. They created the trade which included low value European coloured wool & cloth along with Indian cottons like Calico which were exchanged for high value Spices e.g. cloves, nutmeg/mace & pepper. The trade began with da Gama’s 1498 voyage to India that became an enforced monopoly - the Carreira da India (The India Run). Over ensuing decades a series of losses, like the Dutch genocide of Banda in 1621, crippled their monopoly which ran out of puff by the mid-17th century defeated by the more ruthless VOC. This is not to say that Portuguese scouts did not come to Australia but it does suggest why their focus was elsewhere.

02/11/2026

These Wessel Island stills are from Malcolm Douglas’ 1969 documentary ‘Across the Top Part 2’ which is freely available on YouTube. Here the Wessels head man Djingulul show Douglas paintings attributed to his grandfather. They show Japanese pearling luggers, but there is a wealth of other seacraft depicted in adjacent caves that are yet to be fully documented.

31/10/2026

It's one of the most awe-inspiring works of art ever produced in Australia. The 13 metre long hand-painted Roper River Cultural Map was drawn by artist Simon Normand in consultation with the traditional owners from across 20,000 square kilometres of the Roper catchment area. This includes the Alawa, Mangarrayi, Marra, Ngalakgan, Ngandi, Nunggubuyu, Rembarrnga, Ritharrngu-Wagilak and Warndarrang clans. The map was a product of more than 30 years work and the finished product maps songlines, wetlands and river country. In 2023, the TOs from multiple clans traveled to Canberra to present this extraordinary map to the parliament in order to ensure the protection of their river from threats posed by unwelcome water-intensive industries like cotton and fracking. They wanted to be at the forefront of any decision-making regarding the future of their sacred river. The original map remains in the custody of the south-east Arnhem custodians and is brought out occasionally for educational purposes. A high-quality half-sized copy can be found in Darwin at Frames Framing in Stuart Park. It is spectacular. For more information on the painting see www.territoryrivers.org.au

30/10/2026

Thanks to ‘Old Darwin’ for these shots from the WW2 bombing of Darwin. That's the Neptuna that can be seen beside the Stokes Hill wharf.

29/10/2026

A wonderful reunion at Galiwin’ku for PastMaster IM during the launch of Territory Treasures. It’s been nearly a decade and the community has changed in subtle and overt ways, both good and bad. Old friends have passed away and new friends have entered the world. As one colleague said “You never really leave this place.”

28/10/2026

In today’s National Indigenous Times an article on our colleagues Terry and Clely.

26/10/2026

The next time you round northeast Arnhem Land’s dramatic Cape Wilberforce (Dholtji, in Warramiri country), consider the origins of its naming: Matthew Flinders named the cape on the 14th February 1803 in honour of abolitionist William Wilberforce. While Wilberforce’s efforts to abolish the slave trade were not successful for another four years, his influence in the British parliament in the early 1800s was nonetheless undeniable. His spiritual advisor (and priest since childhood) was none other than John Newton, the reformed African slave trader and composer of the classic hymn, ‘Amazing Grace.’

24/10/2026

Archaeologists have found a huge trove of extraordinary artefacts preserved in the arid soil at Juukan Gorge, years after an ancient rock shelter within it was destroyed by a Rio Tinto blast.

24/10/2026

The Dutch ships Pera and the Arnhem played a prominent role in maritime exploration, the latter giving its name to the Indigenous homeland known as Arnhem Land. In January 1623, both ships were sent out on a joint expedition from Ambon to explore the southern coast of New Guinea and to find potential trading opportunities. The Pera was captained by Jan Carstenszoon and the Arnhem by Dirk Melisz (who was killed during a landing in New Guinea), with command being transferring to second mate, Willem Joosten van Colster. The Arnhem was in poor structural condition and repeatedly ran aground, developed severe seam cracks, suffered from a flooded hold that ruined gunpowder and rice, and even lost its rudder after a collision with the Pera. After separating from the Pera in April 1623, the Arnhem drifted westward across the gulf where it sighted and mapped a vast region of northern Australia now known as Arnhem Land. Shown here is a 1620s Verbeeck painting of a three-masted Dutch ship from the Royal Greenwich Museum.

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