Sydney Rare Book Auctions sold a message stick from the Kimberley that was given to Ion Idriess in about 1930.

I have no idea whether the object has ended up in a public institution or a private collection.

Here it is: https://amsd.clld.org/contributions/IDRIESS1930#4/-16.62/125.74

In the same Lot there were a number of headbands for sale, traditionally worn by messengers and apparently made by Tracker Bull. A message stick from Tracker Bull is referred to in this lot but not photographed or listed for sale: https://amsd.clld.org/contributions/amsd_01121

Does anyone know who collected these items?

I recently obtained a couple of letters from Walter Murdoch to Idriess from a SRB Auction, which I will reproduce here. Not everyone would be familiar with Murdoch, so here are some details: Professor Sir Walter Murdoch, 1874 to 1970, was born in Scotland. He became an English lecturer at the University of Melbourne (from which he had graduated) and then the inaugural Professor of English at the newly founded University of Western Australia in 1912. But he also found time to write essays and articles for various publications and newspapers, such as the Argus in Melbourne (where he had been a journalist) and The West Australian. He was the great uncle of media tycoon, Rupert Murdoch. He was much admired and lauded, not only in academia, but by the general public. Murdoch University in Perth (established 1974 - one hundred years after Murdoch's birth) - and my alma mater…

I mentioned in a previous post - Flynn of the Inland 2nd Edition, June 07 2024 - that I had found an early AIM (Australian Inland Mission) pamphlet stuffed in the front of that second edition, so I thought I'd reproduce it here. This is the front cover of the little bi-folded pamphlet.

Of interest here is the photo of an early plane of the A.I.M. Aerial Medical Service, forerunner of the RFDS, a DH 50 with call sign ending in R. I made some comments about this in another post - Letter from John Flynn to Idriess 1936 (May 27, 2024), noting that our $20 RFDS plane has its call sign ending in E - whereas Wikipedia, a NAA letter and this plane all end in R. The accompanying note with this photo suggests this may have been the first plane (used in the "Experimental Year"). On a personal…

I have in my collection a couple of second editions and a first edition of Flynn of the Inland - all sans Dust Jackets (and a 22nd edition 1942. Actually I have a 1956 Memorial Edition and a 1990 Australian Classics edition with Dust Jackets as well). It is a second edition of Flynn that I find most interesting. For one thing it contained some early A.I.M. material - a little pamphlet - inserted into its pages, about which I may do another post. But this copy also provided some provenance: the name and address of its owner.

Some collectors like their copies to be unmarked - "cleanskins" I call them. Generally, the more "as new" a copy is, the more valuable it is. Others like an Idriess signature - because an Idriess autograph can also add value. But I like copies that give more provenance. In the case of…