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Emma Timbery

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(1842–1916) Aboriginal shellworker

Emma Timbery in 1895.

Emma Timbery (c.1842 - 26 November 1916) was a Mulgoa Aboriginal Australian shellworker and matriarch. She was also known as the "Queen of the Illawarra", "Queen of La Perouse" or "Granny Timbery." Her shellwork became part of a family tradition that continues to the present day. Timbery was also a Christian convert and active in the Christian Endeavor Society in La Perouse. Timbery also acted as a cultural informant about her language, Dharawal.

Biography

Timbery was born on the Georges River at Liverpool, New South Wales. She spoke Dharawal and was originally known by her stepfather's last name, Lond or Lownds. At the age of ten, she was taken to live with Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hill in Surry Hills, New South Wales. There, she began attending Sunday School regularly. She married George Timbery, an Aboriginal fisherman, in 1864 in Botany Bay. She and George had 11 children together. The couple had moved to La Perouse by 1882 where Timbery was able to make extra money creating shell baskets. Timbery's shellwork was displayed on a regular basis and sold annually in Sydney at the Royal Easter Show. Timbery's work is part of the "early phase" of La Perouse shellwork. In 1910, her shellwork was displayed in London.

Timbery was revered in the community, known as "Queen of La Perouse" or "Granny Timbery." Timbery was also a skilled fisher, and on at least two occasions, in 1876 and in the early 1900s, a boat was provided for the community to enable them to catch their own fish. The boat provided in 1876 was named the "Queen Emma", in honour of Timbery.

Timbery was also an informant on her own culture, working with the anthropologist R.H. Mathews, who was studying the Dharawal language and culture. Maria Nugent writes that Timbery's "information has been essential for the preservation and revival of the Dharawal language." Timbery, who had become a Christian convert in the early 1890s, was also involved with Christian missionaries at the La Perouse Aboriginal settlement and also with the Christian Endeavor Society. Timbery was elected as vice president of the Christian Endeavor Society branch in La Perouse. Timbery was close to missionary, Retta Dixon and the two women worked together. It was believed by the community that Queen Victoria had left lands to Timbery, but the paperwork had been destroyed in a fire.

Timbery died in La Perouse on 26 November 1916 and was buried in Botany Cemetery. She left behind a long family legacy of arts with her grandson, Joseph Timbery, noted as a boomerang maker and women in her family continuing to do shellwork. Her great-granddaughter, Esme Russell, won awards for her shellwork.

References

  1. ^ "QUEEN EMMA DEAD". Sunday Times. No. 1611. New South Wales, Australia. 3 December 1916. p. 26. Retrieved 6 August 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. Goodall, Heather; Cadzow, Allison (2009). Rivers and Resilience: Aboriginal People on Sydney's Georges River. Sydney: UNSW Press. p. 106. ISBN 9781921410741.
  3. ^ Nugent, Maria, "Timbery, Emma (1842–1916)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 4 August 2019
  4. ^ Warden, Hayley (8 August 2017). "Aboriginal Stories Come to Life in Historical Book". South Coast Register. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  5. ^ Nugent, Maria (2008). "Emma Timbery". Design & Art Australia Online. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  6. Kembrey, Melanie (16 January 2018). "The shell seeker: Esme Timbery's journey from Paddy's Markets to the Biennale". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  7. ^ "The "Queen Emma."". Illawarra Mercury. Vol. XXI, no. C. New South Wales, Australia. 12 September 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 6 August 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "La Perouse Mission Church". NSW Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
  9. Cruickshank, Joanna; Grimshaw, Patricia (2019). White Women, Aboriginal Missions and Australian Settler Governments: Maternal Contradictions. Leiden: Brill. p. 110. ISBN 9789004397019.
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