Kirrenderri, Heart of the Channel Country

11 March 2022 - 7 August 2022

Exhibition publication available here

Kirrenderri, Heart of the Channel Country presents a visually striking and narrative rich exhibition chronicling extraordinary stories from one of the most remote locations at the very heart of Australia. Channel Country is renowned as an intersection for Aboriginal trade networks that connect the continent. Revelations of the age and scale of sites in this landscape are evocative and lead to a reimagining of the deep history of this country.

In June 2019, the Mithaka people of Southwestern Queensland met with collaborators in Toowoomba to create a substantial cultural mapping project. At the meeting, distinguished researchers from the Australian National University, University of Queensland, the Alice Duncan-Kemp family and University of Queensland Anthropology Museum, discussed how best to conserve this unique environmental and cultural heritage.

This rich resource of knowledge is presented in Kirrenderri alongside objects donated to the University of Queensland Anthropology Museum by author Alice Duncan-Kemp (1901-1988). Duncan-Kemp’s family owned and ran Mooraberrie cattle station on Channel Country and this exhibition highlights stories by the author through Indigenous perspectives.

Rarely seen collection artefacts, historic and contemporary photographs, letters, maps are featured, as we as recently discovered archaeological artefacts from several key quarry sites revealing important stories from the past, including what now appears to be the largest Aboriginal quarry in the world. With over 25,000 individual quarry pits documented in 3D with fixed wing drones, revealing the dramatic scale of this site.

Kirrenderri, Heart of the Channel Country is a timely exhibition illustrating the cultural and aesthetic riches of the Mithaka region of Channel Country which underscores historic milestones and the resilience of relationships forged on Channel Country from the late 1890s to the present between Aboriginal and pioneering families.
 

Exhibition curated by:
Mandana Mapar
Tracey Hough
Shawnee Gorringe

Publication contributors:
Michael Aird, Peter Hiscock, Tracey Hough, Shawnee Gorringe, Joshua Gorringe, Michael C. Westaway, Tom Griffiths, Jane Willcock, Mandana Mapar, Richard Martin, Geoff Ginn, Kelsey Lowe, Doug Williams, Ian Andrews, Jen Silcock, Andrew Fairbairn, Nathan Wright, Natalie Franklin, Phillip Habgood, Ray Kerkhove, Duncan Keenan-Jones, Tiina Manne and Julien Louys.

Kirrenderri Learning Resources

Learners and educators are invited to use these resources to engage with the Kirrenderri, Heart of the Channel Country exhibition. The resources are for Year 7 to 10 students and align with the Australian Curriculum, version 8.4. with version 9.0 aligned reprint coming soon.

Educators can adapt the materials into units they already teach by using the curriculum links in each resource as guidance. The learning resources complement a visit to the exhibition but can still be used if a visit is not possible. Embedded links provide access to online content, including sound and video files. Additional learning material is highlighted throughout the resources and in the ‘Find out more’ section at the end. First published in 2022 by The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum in conjunction with the exhibition Kirrenderri, Heart of the Channel Country. This project was developed in partnership between The University of Queensland Anthropology Museum, Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, and researchers from The University of Queensland.

Education resource authors:
Eve Haddow, Kelly Chase, Tracey Hough, Shawnee Gorringe and Mandana Mapar

Specialist advisors:
Louise Zarmati (Education), Michael C. Westaway (Archaeology), Kelsey M. Lowe (Archaeology)

The Kirrenderri Education Resource is available for free as a PDF (PDF, 2.8 MB) or purchased as a hardcopy.

Discover how the Kirrenderri exhibition evolved over the last two years with Mithaka Curators, Tracey Hough and Shawnee Gorringe; and UQ Anthropology Museum's Curator, Mandana Mapar.

Teaser image: Stone arrangement on Mithaka Country, September 2021. Photography by L. Mechielsen.