From the Frontier: Outback Letters to Baldwin Spencer

by John Mulvaney, Alison Petch (Contributor), Howard Morphy (Contributor)

Among the newcomers to the centre of Australia in the 19th century were policeman Ernest Cowle and telegraph official Paddy Byrne. Their letters to anthropologist and biologist, Baldwin Spencer, reveal their observations on their surroundings: the Aboriginal people, the flora and fauna.

Genres: Nonfiction

338 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Garry Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly important historical book by Mulvaney et al, in addition to “My Dear Spencer”, giving an understanding of the personalities and providing additional context to the academic Anthropological works of Spencer and Gillen.
The book provides an initial 50 pages of interpretive analysis of both Constable Cowell of Illamurta and Paddy Byrne of Charlotte Waters followed by most of their letters to Spencer. It is a great loss that we do not have Spencer’s letters in reply as would have given great insight into the Anthropological venture that he and Frank Gillen were involved in. Of course we also do not have the views of the Aboriginal people involved in the same. It is a must to read both books and The Native Tribes of Central Australia in conjunction with each other.