Behind the Photograph – Heide Smith’s One Tree Tuross The story of Heide Smith’s photograph of One Tree Tuross Head began with the bushfires in late 2019, which were unprecedented in their extent and intensity. This was followed by unusually heavy rainfall in the catchment area of the Tuross River in early 2020. The result was […]
Heide Smith’s Tiwi Collection – Tiwi Culture Pukamani CeremonyThe image above shows a Pukamani Mortuary Ceremony. The description below is taken from The Tiwi College Brochure.”Performance of this ceremony ensures that the spirit of the dead person goes from the living world into the spirit world. The Pukamani is a public ceremony and provides a forum […]
Heide Smith’s Tiwi Collection – Bush Tucker Sarah Puruntatameri eating Urili Worm 1988 Going bush with my Tiwi friends meant I had to live and eat and sleep as they did. No eski’s or barbecue’s then. The one thing I did take , was my Muesli and nuts.When Gerardine was roasting a ‘flying fox’ over the fire, I […]
Heide Smiths Tiwi Collection – Village Kids Mary Dechantel Timaepetua 1988 Children are meant to smile and be happy! Aren’t they? Mary Dechantel Timaepetua was not unhappy. She was simply being herself. The smiles come either readily from the very young, or you know it is meant to be a pleasing gesture.I loved being in the company […]
Child of the Rainforest Heide Smiths Tiwi CollectionChildren of the RainforestClear warm seas rich in fish and other marine creatures are flanked by large stands of mangroves, rocky headlands and beautiful clean white sandy beaches. Some of those “creatures” include crocodiles (salties), box jellyfish and sharks, so swimming in the sea can be deadly. Fortunately, there […]
Heide Smiths Tiwi Collection- My adventure begins Off to Tarantippi Beach 1987 You may have seen this post before. I used it to introduce a series called “Ardent Indigenous Australian Women”. My apologies, but it perfectly describes my introduction to the Tiwi, and particularly my introduction to Gerardine.It was ‘Dry Season’ 1987 when I first set foot […]
Heide Smiths Tiwi Collection – How it all started in the beginningEven as a teenager I had dreams of visiting indigenous people on the globe somewhere. When we emigrated to Australia, my thoughts often wandered to the OUTBACK of Australia, wanting to meet the FIRST AUSTRALIANS. When we moved to Canberra an opportunity arose and I took […]
The Worlds Oldest Civilisation – Indigenous AustraliansHeide Smiths Tiwi Collection Ngiya Mamante Tiwi -My Friends the Tiwi50,000 years ago, the Tiwi people settled on Bathurst and Melville Islands 60 km north of Darwin Australia. The Tiwi are Indigenous Australians, the world’s oldest civilisation.12,000 years ago, the last ice age ended, resulting in sea levels around the […]
Happy Birthday Dr H C Nugget Coombs (1906-1997) Some years ago, my husband Brian and I collaborated on a series of articles for the Canberra Times; he wrote the article and I provided the photograph. The articles were about both the photo session, and the person being photographed. Nugget Coombs was, quite simply, one of the […]
Ardent Indigenous Australian Women – Part 6Beach Combing Tiwi Style Part 6 of a series of portraits of Ardent Indigenous Australian Women by photographer Heide Smith. After an hour on various dirt tracks, we arrive at the open Timor sea. The sun comes up suddenly, harsh and hot. The glare from the white sand hurts my […]