Donald Thomson

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Donald Thomson,
Aboriginal Australian anthropology
InstitutionsUniversity of Melbourne
Academic advisorsAlfred Radcliffe-Brown
Ramingining men on the Arafura Swamp

Donald Finlay Fergusson Thomson

ornithologist. he is known for his studies of and friendship with the Pintupi and Yolngu peoples, and for his intervention in the Caledon Bay crisis
.

Early life and education

Donald Finlay Fergusson Thomson was born on 26 June 1901 in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton.[1]

Thomson was went to

B.Sc. in zoology and botany at the University of Melbourne in 1925. . In 1927 he studied at the University of Sydney, earning a diploma in anthropology in 1928.[1]

While still a school student, he joined the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union in 1917. He served as press officer in 1923, and then as assistant editor of its journal, Emu from 1924 to 1925.[1]

After two trips to

Melbourne, and in 1932 joined the University of Melbourne as a research fellow, obtaining his PhD in 1934.[1]

Career

When he graduated in 1925 he joined the Melbourne Herald as a cadet. After earning his diploma in anthropology in 1928, he set off on an eight-month journey, working with and recording the Indigenous people of Cape York. On his return, he was falsely accused of dishonesty, because of the loss of some funds, which was later traced to fraudulent activity by a staff member of the Australian Research Council. This unhappy episode forever damaged his relationship with other anthropologists at Sydney.[1]

Thomson lived at the property of Worlingworth, Eltham from the 1930s. The c.1922 residence and surrounding farm site is considered historically significant and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Databases because of its association with Thomson.[2]

Caledon Bay crisis (1932–3)

Main article: Caledon Bay crisis

In 1932–33, as the Caledon Bay crisis erupted, Thomson offered his services to the Australian Government to resolve the crisis, and to the surprise of the government succeeded in doing so. His success had long-term ramifications for the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, and is regarded as the crowning achievement of his life.[3][further explanation needed]

Squadron Leader Donald Thomson training the NTSRU during the Second World War.

He formed a strong bond with the

Ramingining people is told through the eyes of the Indigenous people in Rolf de Heer's 2009 film Twelve Canoes.[4]

In 1941, he persuaded the Army to establish a special reconnaissance force of Yolngu men known as the

Dutch New Guinea, and spent the rest of the war in hospital before being discharged from the Armed Forces.[1]

In central Australia (1957)

Main article:
Bindibu Expedition

In 1957, Thomson carried out the "Bindibu (Pintupi) Expedition" to the

ethnographic skills. The photographs taken here, like those he took in the 1930s in Arnhem Land, have become invaluable historical records for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians, particularly for the Pintupi. Thomson lived with the Pintupi, and liked them, through much of the 1950s and the 1960s.[citation needed
]

Later life, death and legacy

He returned to the

Northern Territory and, accompanied in the plane by two of the sons of Wonggu, scattered over the waters of Caledon Bay.[citation needed
]

The Thomson Collection, which is currently held by

bark canoes on a swamp, and was the inspiration for the title of a critically acclaimed film Ten Canoes. The title of the film arose from discussions between co-director Rolf de Heer and the film's narrator, David Gulpilil, about a photograph of ten canoeists poling across the Arafura Swamp, taken by Thomson in 1936.[6]

Thomson is remembered as a friend of the Yolngu people, and as a champion of understanding, by non-Indigenous Australians, of the culture and society of Indigenous Australians. He was largely responsible for turning the Caledon Bay crisis into a "decisive moment in the history of Aboriginal-European relations".[citation needed]

Thomson's story is tolde in an episode in the 2013 documentary television series

SBS on Demand.[8]

Personal life

Thomson married, first, Gladys Winifred Coleman, on 30 December 1925. They had two sons, before divorcing in 1954.[1]

On 7 May 1955 he married Dorita Maria McColl, a 25-year-old technical assistant.[1]

List of works

  • Thomson, D. (1935). Birds of Cape York Peninsula. Ecological notes, field observations, and catalogue of specimens collected on three expeditions to north Queensland. Government Printer, Melbourne.
  • Thomson, D.; & Peterson, N. (1983). Donald Thomson in Arnhem Land. Currey O'Neil, South Yarra.,
    ISBN 0-859-02097-5
  • Thomson D. (1975). Bindibu Country. Melbourne, Thomas Nelson,
    ISBN 0-17-005049-1

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Morphy, Howard (1 January 2002). "Thomson, Donald Finlay Fergusson (1901–1970)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 12 February 2023. This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, (Melbourne University Press), 2002
  2. ^ "Victorian Heritage Database". vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  3. ^ Thomson, Donald, Donald Thomson in Arnhem Land, The Miegunyah Press, Melbourne, 2006 (reprint)
  4. Ronin Films
    . Retrieved 13 July 2019. Includes link to study guide PDF.
  5. ^ McEvey, A.R. (1971). Obituary. Donald Fergusson Thomson. Emu 71: 88 (See: http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=MU971088.pdf )
  6. ^ "Long Synopsis" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  7. ^ "Donald Thomson with Agnes Waramba (2013) - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  8. SBS on Demand
    .

Further reading

External links

External image
image icon National Library of Australia Newspaper photograph of Dr Donald Thomson
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