Mackay exploring expedition in Central Australia, 1926

Donald Mackay, a wealthy pastoralist with a keen sense of adventure, organised an expedition to explore central Australia and invited Herbert Basedow to join him.

Frank Feast and Bert Ollife, who had both accompanied Basedow on earlier trips, were also selected. Transport on the four-month expedition was provided by 25 camels, with a buggy to carry Mackay's and Basedow's personal equipment, including two film cameras brought by Basedow.

An Aboriginal man at the Piltadinya Waterhole, Petermann Ranges, Northern Territory 1926. The man is in the centre middle ground of the image, walking toward the camera, holding a spear and shield horizontally behind him. He is dwarfed by two large rough rock faces in the background. Their surfaces show evidence of prolonged weathering and splitting away of large sections of rock. The head of a pass between the rock formations is visible in the upper centre background. The foreground shows tufts of grass growing amongst rocky patches. - click to view larger image — Piltadinya Waterhole

Aboriginal camp of about 20 people, McNicol Range, Northern Territory 1926. About twenty two Aboriginal peoples sit on the ground, roughly arranged in two groups. The group closest to the camera is mostly men; two children sit with them. Behind the men sits a group of women, partially obscured from the chest down by patches of scrub grass. Some of the men in the group sit around several branches laying on the ground. The ground in front of the men is thinly covered with patchy grass. Behind the women is some open scrub with scattered low bushes and trees. The image has white marks on it indicating possible damage to the print or the negative. - click to view larger image — Aboriginal camp

Bert Oliffe removing splinter from camel's foot, Yununba Hill, Northern Territory 1926. Four men are gathered around a camel lying on the ground. the camel's underside is toward the camera. A length of rope trails away to the left from its body. One non-Aboriginal man leans over the camel at the left, working on removing the splinter from its foot. Another non-Aboriginal man stand to the right, also leaning over. Two Aboriginal men stand further right, ready to assist. All of the men wear long trousers, boots, shirts and hats. The two Aboriginal men wear coats as well. The ground near the camel is bare earth. In the background are spiny grass clumps. A low ridge line is just visible in the distance. - click to view larger image — Bert Oliffe removing splinter from a camel

Spotty, a terrier dog, possibly at Ernabella, South Australia 1926. The dog is in the centre of the image, facing to the right, with its head turned toward the camera. Its body is one light colour (possibly white), while its head is a darker colour. On its paws are small handmade boots, just big enough to provide protection for its paw pads and top of each paw. The ground upon which Spotty stands is covered in spiny ground plants that appear to bear many prickles. Spotty's mouth is open, suggesting that the dog is panting. - click to view larger image — Spotty, wearing leather shoes

Rock paintings, southern side of Uluru, Northern Territory 1926. The paintings are on a rock wall that curves up gently from the ground. It is in shadow, suggesting that there is a rock overhang above. Much of the visible rock wall is covered in the paintings, which depict customary patterns, figures and animal totems. The paintings have been overlayed, creating a mult-layered effect. Some images are brighter than others, suggesting that they are more recent additions or perhaps in lighter colours. A few loose rocks are scattered in the foreground. One, in the front right hand corner if the image, is quite close to the camera and out of focus. - click to view larger image — Rock paintings, southern side of Uluru, Northern Territory, 1926

Waterhole at foot of Ruined Rampart, Petermann Ranges, Northern Territory 1926. The waterhole is in the image foreground. Its surface is still and mirror-like, reflecting the landscape and the sky. In the middle ground at the water's edge are numerous large rocks, some stacked next to each other like books. A large smooth rock in the image centre disappears into the water. Beyond the rocks is scrub with scattered trees and bushes. In the distance is a mountain range, with two ridges in front and a third ridge behind them. - click to view larger image — Waterhole at the foot of Ruined Rampart

Musgrave Ranges from the west, 1926. A view across an open plain. In the fore and middle ground are tall rounded bushes with spiny leaves.. They sit scattered on bare sandy soil. Occasional clumps of dry grass sit in amongst the bushes. In the background are scattered trees that are visible all the way to the horizon. The horizon is about two thirds of the way up the image from the bottom of the frame. - click to view larger image — Western approach to the Musgrave Ranges

Two Aboriginal men, Artuatama and Mingerinnya, carrying a theodolite to the summit of Mount McCulloch (Nangorru), Petermann Ranges, Northern Territory 1926. The two men are in the centre of the image, with their backs to the camera as they walk up to the summit. The man closest to the camera carries what appears to be a folding stand on his right shoulder. He carries what appears to be a Aboriginal tool or weapon in his left hand. He partially obscures the man walking in front of him. This man is bending over, perhaps as he negotiates a patch of loose rocks. The ground around them is covered in slate rock formations leaning over from left to right. The summit of Mount McCulloch is visible in the centre distance; the mount's flank drops away on the right hand side. - click to view larger image — Artuatama and Mingerinnya carrying a theodolite to the summit of Mount McCulloch (Nangorru)

Two Aboriginal men, Artuatama and Mingerinnya, on the summit of Mount McCulloch (Nangorru), Petermann Ranges, Northern Territory 1926. The men sit to the right of a cairn of rocks in the centre of the image. One sits directly on the cairn, the other sits at its edge. Both face to the right of the image. The ground around them is covered in rocks and tufts of grass. The horizon is visible in the background. It slopes slightly down from right to left, suggesting that the camera was not level when the photograph was taken. The sky in the image appears to be compeletly cloud-free. - click to view larger image — Artuatama and Mingerinnya on the summit of Mount McCulloch (Nangorru)

Mackay expedition in Central Australia, 1926 4:00

Frank Feast’s recollections and photos of the Mackay expedition in Central Australia, 1926. Read the transcript

While camped at Uluru Basedow studied the area's geology and rock paintings. He also surveyed the country they traversed, and later published a map that included Aboriginal names of features in the landscape.

At Mount Currie, north-west of the Olgas, two local men joined the group for a while, guiding it through difficult terrain. Basedow used his knowledge of the Luritja language to communicate with these men and other Aboriginal people they encountered.

Map outlining the expedition in 1926 through the Northern Territory and South Australia. The stylised map, in a yellow ochre colour, shows the expedition route as a white line. There are no ground features or other forms of map information, apart from the border sections separating the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia. Locations such as Charlotte Waters, Oodnadatta, Uluru, the Olgas and Mt Currie are indicated. A small map of Australia is in the upper right-hand corner of the map. It shows the expedition area as a small rectangle.

Map outlining the 1926 expedition route through central Australia

Mackay exploring expedition in Central Australia, 1926

Read more on the 1926 expedition