Birrundudu Drawings presents an extraordinary collection of 810 crayon drawings created in 1945 by sixteen Aboriginal men working on Birrundudu, a Northern Territory cattle station. The drawings emerged through the men’s collaboration with anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt, forming a record of Country, ancestors, history and ceremony.
For eighty years these works remained unseen, first kept in the Berndts’ home and later cared for by the Berndt Museum at the University of Western Australia. This book brings them into public view for the first time, revealing a monumental body of Aboriginal knowledge and creativity.
The Birrundudu Drawings hold more than artistic importance. Their scale and originality offer a transformative perspective on both Aboriginal art and Australian history. Some of their silences are explored in these pages; others will take time to unfold. A breathtaking and deeply significant contribution to the story of Australia’s art.
Hardback, 384 pages, 270 x 250 mm.
Published August 2025 by Upswell Publishing.
