First medical relief expedition, 1919

Herbert Basedow was passionate about the health of Aboriginal people, campaigning publicly and lobbying the South Australian Government for action.

In 1919 a group of pastoralists and the government provided £1000 to investigate the health of Aboriginal people in South Australia. Basedow was commissioned to undertake the work, with his wife Nell as nurse.

A family photo taken outdoors, Karrathunka Waterhole, South Australia 1919. The six members of the family stand in the centre of the image. The father stands to the left of the image, slightly apart from the others. The mother stands on his left. In front are four children, all boys. Two older boys dressed in long short pants, braces and hats stand to the right of the mother. Two younger boys dressed in jackets, short pants and hats stand in front of the mother. The group stands on dimpled sandy soil. - click to view larger image — The McAuley family

A portrait image of an elderly Aboriginal woman with a painted face and a close-cropped haircut. She sits at the entrance to a hut, with her eyes shut to keep out the sun. The pigment on her face is roughly applied to her forehead, cheeks and the end of her nose. Her hair and scalp are light in colour, as though the pigment has been applied to them. Behind her are deep shadows formed by the interior of the hut. - click to view larger image — Nyerrekoku, a Yandruwandha woman, in mourning for her husband

A dark coloured horse and two men in a stockyard, Innamincka station, South Australia 1919. The horse has been roped and is bucking vigourously near the stockyard fence. A man has his hands on the horse's right hindquarters in an attempt to control it. The right side of a man just out of the picture is seen at the right side of the image. The horse's bucking and kicking has raised small clouds of dust on the ground. - click to view larger image — Throwing and branding horses

A view of the stockyards, Innamincka station, South Australia 1919. The image looks along a stockyard fence toward other enclosures. A man in the closest enclosure bends over to his right, reaching for something on the ground. Other men can be seen walking in the next enclosure. Beyond them are horses held in other enclosures. A man can be seen in the left side middle distance, sitting up on a fence. Station buildings are in the far background. - click to view larger image — Throwing and branding horses

A dark coloured horse and four men in a stockyard, Innamincka station, South Australia 1919. The horse is against the stockyard fence; its right foreleg has a rope tied around it. The rope is held by a man to the right of the image. The other men are to the left, preparing to move in and restrain the horse. Horses in other enclosures can be seen in the background. The bare ground shows evidence of other station animals having been held in the enclosures. - click to view larger image — Throwing and branding horses

A dark coloured horse in a stockyard with four men, Innamincka station, South Australia 1919. The horse has been roped and lays on its right side on the ground. One man holds its head while another moves in to help restrain the horse. Two men stand to the right watching. A man can be seen in the next enclosure holding the end of one of the ropes on the horse. Some dust hangs in the air over the horse. - click to view larger image — Throwing and branding horses

An elderly Aboriginal man standing in front of a hut facing the camera, Innamincka, South Australia 1919. The hut is about the same height as the man. It has a rough domed timber frame and is covered in a variety of materials. These materials appear to be animal skins and European cloth. A dog stands to the man's left, with its back to the camera and its head just inside the hut. - click to view larger image — Karrawilya (or Peter), a Yandruwandha man

A Chinese gardener working in a garden, Durham Downs station, Queensland 1919. He is dressed in sturdy trousers and a shirt with its long sleeves rolled up. He wears a light coloured hat with two dark bands around the upper part. He holds a shovel diagonally across his body. The shovel head rests upside down in a shallow hole. Behind him are garden plants and the garden fence. - click to view larger image — Jim, the Chinese gardener

A sandstorm near Lake Killalpaninna, South Australia 1919. The image shows a large open plain vegetated with grass clumps and patchy scrub. A sandstorm looms on the distant horizon as a low, long pale grey band. A solitary young tree in the right middle distance breaks the horizon line. The general atmosphere is one of sparseness and the silent approach of the sandstorm. - click to view larger image — Sandstorm approaching from beyond Lake Killalpaninna

Nell Basedow hanging out the washing on a line strung between two trees, Dickerie Water Hole, South Australia 1919. She stands in the middle distance with her back to the camera. One end of the line is tied to a small tree just to her right. In the left foreground are some sacks and camping equipment on the ground next to a horse buggy. A billy boils on a fire in the right middle distance, not far from Nell Basedow. - click to view larger image — Nell Basedow hanging out the washing

Four children sitting on a horse in front of a house, South Australia 1919. The children take up all of the horse's back. An older boy has the reigns; the horse appears to be moving slowly and quietly. The house behind has an overhanging verandah roof and rough timber uprights supporting the overhang. Several large pieces of timber are on the corrugated iron roof. The house appears to have walls made of earthen materials. - click to view larger image — The sub-manager’s children

Basedow’s older brother Erwin and 18-year-old Richard Grenfell Thomas were hired to look after the expedition buggies and horses – a tough job in a drought-affected area.

More than 250 Aboriginal people were examined, mostly at pastoral stations. Many non-Aboriginal people also took the opportunity to seek medical attention. When duties permitted, Basedow took photographs using a Graflex camera with glass plate negatives.

Basedow’s expedition report concluded pessimistically that the Aboriginal people in the north-east were ‘doomed to an early extinction’.

Map outlining the expedition in 1919. The stylised map shows the expedition routes in white lines. The expedition area is in north west South Australia and far west Queensland. Locations such as Birdsville, Marree, Innamincka and Durham Downs are shown. A small map of Australia in the top left hand corner shows the expedition area overview.

Map outlining the first medical relief expedition route in 1919 in South Australia

Read more on the 1919 expedition