Government expeditions in Top End, 1905–1911

In 1905 Herbert Basedow accompanied South Australian Government Geologist HYL Brown and mining inspector Lionel Gee on a seven-month geological investigation of the Northern Territory’s western coast and hinterland.

Seven Aboriginal people standing in a line, Cape Dombey, Northern Territory 1905. Two men stand at each end of the line; the one to the right looks along the line. Between them are women and children. Four of them stand with their hands modestly clasped in front of their groins. The group stands on bare sandy soil. - click to view larger image — Aboriginal people at Cape Dombey, north of Port Keats, Northern Territory

Open-cut mine formation, Daly River Copper Mine, Northern Territory probably 1905. The open-cut mine is on the left side of a hill in the background. It's seen as a jagged gash in the hillside; there is loose rock on the eroded slope in front of the mine. The hill slopes toward an area of scattered trees and long grass in the middle and foreground. - click to view larger image — Open-cut workings, Daly River Copper Mine, Northern Territory

Aboriginal man standing to the right of a child's burial pole, Bathurst Island, Northern Territory 1911. There are four other burial poles to the left of the child's pole; the poles are roughly in line. All of the poles are about the height of the man. They are all carved in their upper sections and have been marked with customary Aboriginal ochres and patterns. - click to view larger image — Man standing beside a child’s grave, Bathurst Island, Northern Territory

Nine Aboriginal boys in a dugout and two bark canoes. One canoe is at the water's edge in the foreground. The other two are just offshore, about parallel to the first canoe. Behind the canoes is open water and low hills on the distant opposite shoreline. The water's surface is slightly rippled. - click to view larger image — Boys in a dugout and two bark canoes, Apsley Strait, with Melville Island in the distance, Northern Territory

Four bark containers collected by Basedow on Bathurst Island, Northern Territory 1911. The largest container is on the right side of the image. Two of the smaller containers have plain sides. The other small container and the large container have customary Aboriginal markings and designs on them in the form of stripes, bands and oval shapes. - click to view larger image — Bark containers collected by Basedow on Bathurst Island, Northern Territory

Two groups of men standing facing each other holding spears, Anson Bay, Northern Territory probably 1905. The men hold their spears at head height. A smaller group of younger Aboriginal males stands between the larger groups, also holding spears. An Aboriginal man sits on the ground in the far right foreground, looking toward the groups. - click to view larger image — Aboriginal people at Cape Dombey, north of Port Keats, Northern Territory

Four Aboriginal people and three non-Aboriginal men with horses, Northern Territory 1905 or 1911. Two of the non-Aboriginal men stand at the left and right of the horses. The third sits on a horse at the rear. Three Aboriginal women chained together stand in front of the horses; a Aboriginal man with a neck band and long chain stands to the right of them. - click to view larger image — Prisoner, charged with cattle killing, with female ‘witnesses’, Northern Territory

Five boats at anchor near Fort Hill, Darwin, Northern Territory 1905 or 1911. Four of the boats are sailboats and have their sails furled. The fifth boat, behind the others, appears to be a hull and not much more. Fort Hill is in the background; the water has a lightly rippled surface. - click to view larger image — Five boats at anchor near Fort Hill, Darwin, Northern Territory

Brown was impressed by the young Basedow, who worked alongside him and contributed to the final report and geological map. Basedow also investigated the Territory’s early mining history, including Chinese mining methods, and joined the South Australian Governor on a sightseeing and buffalo-shooting excursion to the Adelaide River.

Basedow returned to the Northern Territory in 1911 as Chief Medical Inspector and Chief Protector of Aborigines, but resigned from the post after only 45 days. During his brief appointment Basedow accompanied one of his inspectors on a short trip to Melville and Bathurst islands to assess the health of Aboriginal people living there.

A stylised map showing the 1905-1911 Northern Territory expedition routes. A smaller map of Australia in the top left-hand corner shows the area covered by the main map. Locations such as Darwin, Melville Island, Daly River and Bradshaw Station are shown. The expedition land and sea routes are marked by white lines.

Map outlining the 1905-1911 expeditions route through the Northern Territory’s western coast and hinterland

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