Canoe wash/sternboard (kor garbad)
Country
Australia
State/Province
Queensland
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Object detail
Description
Canoe wash/sternboard-wood, GOPE, Kiwai style.
Classification
INDIGENOUS CULTURES Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander canoe
Maker
Measurements
L791 x W235mm
Media/Materials description
Wood
History and use
Canoes from the Torres Strait, called gul or nar, were renowned for their elaborate ornamentation. Paint, shells, streamers and feathers were all used to adorn the vessels. The dugout hull was traded from the Fly River estuary and fitted in the Torres Strait with twin outriggers, washstrakes, masks and sails of pandanus matting. The platform midships contained woven storage crates and had a hearth of tea-tree bark and sand for cooking fire. Hulls and washstrakes were decorated in red, black, blue and white, with bunches of sago leaf and white cowrie shells at bow and stern. Often, these vessels featured elaborate canoe prows and washboards.
This washboard was discarded from a trade canoe and collected in 1909 from Erub. In Meriam Mir language, it is called kor garbad.
This item was most recently on display in the exhibition 'Connections across the Coral Sea: A story of movement' at Museum of Tropical Queensland (2021-2022) and Queensland Museum (2022-2023).
This washboard was discarded from a trade canoe and collected in 1909 from Erub. In Meriam Mir language, it is called kor garbad.
This item was most recently on display in the exhibition 'Connections across the Coral Sea: A story of movement' at Museum of Tropical Queensland (2021-2022) and Queensland Museum (2022-2023).
Registration number
QE5027