Howitt and Fison Papers

At the end of the 19th Century A.W. Howitt and Lorimer Fison collaborated on pioneering anthropological research in Australia and the Pacific. Their book Kamilaroi and Kurnai (1880) revealed the complexity and diversity of Aboriginal society and pioneered important advancements in anthropological method and theory. The papers presented here include their correspondence with informants, some of their wordlists and their various notes on the cultural practices of Australian Aboriginal people of Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Transcribing this material is of great significance for many Aboriginal communities across southern, central and eastern Australia, as well as for anthropologists, historians and linguists.