PastMasters

Fascinating image of young men at Galiwin’ku, Elcho Island, 1922-23. One wonders how they came upon that old English boater (classic summer hat). Some of the men are familiar, being members of the Liyagawumirr clan. But other images from this time show how the mission attracted people from multiple clans, including Djambarrpuyngu, Warramiri, and others.

PastMasters MH and TS came upon these tunnels while searching for remnants of the old Silk Road between Baucau and Venilale in Timor Leste. The Japanese Caves (Fatuk Kuak Hitu), also known as the Seven Caves were dug by forced Timorese laborers during the Japanese occupation of the island in World War II. They were originally used to hide ammunition and war tools and later on served as hideouts for Timorese guerrilla fighters in the 1970s and 80s, including by former President Xanana Gusmao. MH saw similarities here with Darwin’s Stokes Hill Tunnels. The sign is in Tetum, the second language (alongside Portuguese) in Timor Leste, and reads as follows: REMEMBER TO TAKE CARE AND NOT DAMAGE OR DESTROY THIS HISTORICAL PLACE. LEAVE IT AS IT STANDS. HELP US TO VALUE EVERYTHING THAT IS STILL BEAUTIFUL IN OUR WORLD.

PastMasters archaeologists MH and TS are currently on the NE coast of Timor Leste at Com searching for a remnants of the 11th century Chinese sandalwood port, as mentioned in the writings of Zhao Rukuo. The most extraordinary discovery so far has been this pig skull shrine opposite the ruins of an 18th century Portuguese customs house.
According to our colleagues, pig skulls hanging from trees indicate a Tara Bandu, a restricted or taboo area where the animals have been ritually sacrificed for religious purposes.
Zhao Rukuo (1170–1231) was a prominent Chinese trade official, imperial clan member, and writer during the Song dynasty. He is best known for authoring the Zhu Fan Zhi while serving as the Superintendent of Maritime Trade in Quanzhou. This two-volume text serves as one of the most comprehensive records of global trade and geography in the Middle Ages.

There are so many rock art galleries on the Wessels yet to be to documented. The PastMasters have worked hand-in-hand with the Marthakal Rangers of Elcho Island in this work but we have barely scratched the surface. In an addition, many of the galleries that are known require protection, with recent cyclones causing considerable damage. Back in the 40s, naturalist Charles Barrett took this photo from a Wessels cave, a beautiful example of a cargo-laden sea craft and a steamship, but its exact whereabouts is unknown.

While hard copies of ‘Between Two Worlds’ are hard to find—the publisher went out of business—free e-copies of this compilation of essays in honour of the visionary Yolngu elder David Burrumarra MBE—who has guided much of the work of the PMs—are available on our website www.pastmasters.org.au
Note: The PastMasters (PMs) is a registered not-for-profit heritage research institute based in Darwin NT. All our posts are made by members of our network, not AI. We used to make 2 or 3 posts on Top End history each week but on January 1, 2026, we set ourselves the task of creating a new post every day for 200 days. Such is the richness of our history that this has not been too much of a challenge. In fact it’s been great fun!

Skulls painted with madayin minytji (sacred designs) from NE Arnhem Land are held in collections across Australia and overseas. They were once common in Wessels caves but not any longer. Painting skulls was a secondary burial practice and at least 80 were collected for universities and museums from 1930s to the 1960s, including by noted naturalist Charles Barrett. In 1948, scientists in the American-Australian Expedition to Arnhemland stole the skeletal remains of over 60 Aboriginal people from burial caves near Gunbalanya. These remains were sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Following years of lobbying, the bones were finally returned to the traditional owners in 2010 and 2011. It’s time for the Wessel skulls to be returned as well.

There is a place on Howard Island In NE Arnhem called Marege Sikki by the Macassans. It’s on Gupapuyngu land and it means danger. The trepangers knew that if they landed there they would be speared. And yet at nearby Elcho Island the Macassans had a major presence and a long history of interaction with the Yolngu. Howard island is the setting for a famous myth that Yolngu students learn in their classrooms. It goes like this: At the beginning of time, the Macassans arrived and were met on the beach by a curious dingo. The Macassan offered the dog matches, but the dog said that he preferred his own method, even though rubbing sticks together took longer. The visitor offered him rice, but the dog said he preferred the food of the bush, which was plentiful. The Macassan then offered to build a house for the dog and lift him up off the ground, but the dog preferred the long grass. The Macassan was now angry, saying, ‘Why do you reject my gifts? You could have everything that I have!’ But the dingo replied ‘if I had all these things then I would be the Macassan and you would be the Yolngu.’ And with that, the groups parted, never again to interact.

When Macassan Abdi Karya (a follower of this page) performed at the Garma Festival in 2024, he joined a long line of Macassans who have spent time on the ‘farthest coast.’ As Campbell Macknight writes in ‘The Voyage to Marege’, back on 1839, Timbo was left at Port Essington to act as an interpreter with the Bininj. He traveled with them as far as the Arnhemland escarpment and reported favourably on the land and his reception. Then there was Da’Atea who deserted from a prau in Trepang Bay and presumably lived the remainder of his life in the NT. In 1869, two Macassans who had escaped a massacre joined the party establishing Darwin. There are so many stories. Ana, an old Japanese trepanger living in Darwin gave an account of a Macassan boy in 1915 who was living with Bininj near Junction Bay (between Croker and Maningrida) and had been there for nearly a decade. The PMs have many more stories of Macassans living their lives with Yolngu and some will be shared in our forthcoming book on the Kilwa coins.

This map by our colleague Paul Clark shows Arafura, Banda, Timor and Flores Sea trade routes in trepang, plumes, pearls and turtle shell in the mid -1800s. Macassan trepangers would travel to Marege (Australia’s Top End and the Gulf) past Selayar and then southwest towards Timor, stopping at Tanahjampea (shown here) where dugout canoes were purchased. The anchorage there is still known today as Labuan Marege. Many of these canoes would stay in Australia, being given to Bininj and Yolngu as payment for services rendered in trepang gathering and processing.

Darwin has seen its fair share of world headlines (with the WW2 bombings, Cyclone Tracy, and the trial of Lindy Chamberlain etc.) But perhaps only a few will recall this major Cold War espionage event at the old Darwin airport in 1954 when Evdokia Petrov defected from the Soviet Union.
In April 1954, her husband Vladimir Petrov, a KGB officer and Soviet diplomat in Canberra, defected to ASIO passing on secret documents in exchange for political asylum, leaving his wife under house arrest in Canberra. A dramatic stand-off occurred when anti-communist protesters attempted to intervene to prevent her deportation to Moscow but she was eventually forced onto the plane by Soviet couriers. When her plane stopped to refuel in Darwin, Australian officials and police overpowered the guards, allowing her to be reunited with her husband. This day marked the climax of what was known as the Petrov Affair.