Australian Sculptural Extravaganza

A Collection of Contemporary Australian Sculptures

Australian Sculptural Extravaganza

A Collection of Contemporary Australian Sculptures

Australian Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) artwork by JIMMY KENNY THAIDAY of Erub Erwer Meta. The title is Massacre at Bikar (Told by Elder Selly Thaiday). [15-40] (Ceramic - Woodfired with Natural Fibres, Feathers and Cast Resin) Australian Indigenous (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) artwork by JIMMY KENNY THAIDAY of Erub Erwer Meta. The title is Massacre at Bikar (Told by Elder Selly Thaiday). [15-40] (Ceramic - Woodfired with Natural Fibres, Feathers and Cast Resin)
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JIMMY KENNY THAIDAY

Massacre at Bikar (Told by Elder Selly Thaiday)
15-40
Ceramic - Woodfired with Natural Fibres, Feathers and Cast Resin
 Massacre at Bikar (Told by Eld… | 15-40
Ceramic - Woodfired with Natural Fi…
 45 x 12cm | 17.72 x 4.72in (irregular)
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Actual Dimension: 45 x 12 x 2cm

In 1793, a ship by Captain Bampton and Alt anchored off the shore at Bikar Bay on Erub. The sailors were short of water so they rowed ashore to barter with the Erub people to fill up their canteens. The islanders gave their permission for the sailors to fill their canteens from the well, for there was plenty of water. After they were done, the sailors took their canteens back to the ship and some returned with their dirty clothes and soap and started to bath themselves in the water. Bikar was the only water supply on the island at that time, the natives became very angry with the sailors. A fight broke out and people from both sides were killed, the sailors using their guns. Soon after, Captain Bampton and Alt ordered a revenge party to go back onshore, they destroyed the villagers’ huts, gardening plantations and more people were slaughtered. The club was not as effective as the gun. The story as we know it on Erub is called the Massacre at Bikar. The destruction they left behind was felt by the islanders for many years, today it is a history that people still talk about.

Source: AC Haddon. Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Strait, Vol I, Cambridge University Press 1935. Reprinted 1971. Pp6, 7.

Actual Dimension: 45 x 12 x 2cm

In 1793, a ship by Captain Bampton and Alt anchored off the shore at Bikar Bay on Erub. The sailors were short of water so they rowed ashore to barter with the Erub people to fill up their canteens. The islanders gave their permission for the sailors to fill their canteens from the well, for there was plenty of water. After they were done, the sailors took their canteens back to the ship and some returned with their dirty clothes and soap and started...