Port Stephens Aboriginal Artefacts in the British Museum

Introduction

The Port Stephens region is the traditional land of the Worimi Aboriginal people. Various artefacts of the Worimi people have been found over the years.

Lady Isabella Parry who lived at Tahlee House at Port Stephens in the early 1830’s collected numerous Woromi artefacts that are now housed at the British Museum in London.

This paper is the story of her collection.

Collector of the Artefacts – Lady Isabella Parry (1801-1839)

Lady Isabella Parry was the wife of the Sir Edward Parry who was the second Commissioner of the Australian Agricultural Company based at Carrington, Port Stephens, during the 1830’s.

Both Sir Edward and Lady Isabella Parry did much to encourage religious observance by the local aboriginals, convicts and company employees.

Lady Isabella Parry

In February 1831, Lady Parry, sent a box containing Worimi Aboriginal items to her family in Cheshire, England. She believed such objects would hold value in England.

Some of her collection was later donated to the British Museum by her grandson Frederick Parry in 1926.

Although Edward Parry was credited as the collector, it was Isabella who collected the items, as documented in her correspondence to family members.

These artefacts are available for viewing on the British Museum’s ‘online collections search’.

They include four fishhooks (Oc1926,0313.16-19), three fishing spears (Oc1926,0313.34-36) and a shield (Oc1926,0313.37) as collected from the Worimi at Port Stephens.

Worimi Objects at the British Museum

The following photos show Worimi objects in the British Museum online collections: