Summary

Portrait of a man standing in front of a log with a possum skin cloak wrapped around him. Taken in a studio or a makeshift studio. He is holding two spears in one hand and a three spears and a boomerang in the other. Foliage has been placed to either side and the cloth backdrop can be seen behind him. Original print from the R.E. Johns album. Written in front of the album is the date '05/01/90'.The handwritten entry in the index at the front the of the album provides a the following information: 'Male Aborigine of Upper Murray River 1870'. The dates entered into the index alongside each entry most likely refers to the the date the photograph was created or added to the album. Although the name of the Neddy Wheeler had not been recorded originally, research undertaken in 2013 located the same photo and other photos of Neddy Wheeler in other collections, which were dated and the photographer identified however where the actual photograph was taken is still not known. Thomas Washbourne was active as a photographer from 1870 to 1888.

Physical Description

Albumen print. Adhered to standard cardboard stock. Print is inserted into window mount through an opening at the bottom of the page. The page is sealed on three sides. Mount has gilded edging and the window is framed by a decorative gold border. One of 52 photographs in an album dated 1890 with an index located at the front. Page number "2" annotated top left-hand corner.

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