Uncle Bumi and Bernadine Price with the shield found in a Cairns buy back shop. Photo: Jacquie Price.
An Indigenous shield has been returned to traditional owners after it was discovered in a Far North Queensland op shop by a member of the public, Queensland Museum Kurilpa has revealed.
The shield was found at a Cairns Regional Council buy back shop by Bernadine Price in 2023.
She noticed the shield was painted in ochre, suspected it could be fairly old and was concerned it might end up in landfill, according to the museum.
Two years later, Ms Price happened to be tuned in to radio station Bumma Bippera Media (BBM 98.7FM) while she was driving when she heard a National Talkblack host interviewing the museum’s David Dow, project officer of First Nations, Repatriation.
Ms Price contacted the museum and sent through photos of the shield, which allowed staff to carry out assessments.
This year, the museum and partners University of Queensland (UQ) and the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) consulted with Yindiji elder Uncle Peter ‘Bumi (Thunder)’ Hyde.
Uncle Bumi with the Indigenous shield. Photo: Jacquie Price.
Mr Bumi, a “bonafide expert in Far North Queensland shields and cultural items”, identified the discovery as a traditional Gimuy-walubarra Yidi rainforest shield due to the artwork and materials used in its design.
Ms Price said: “I was so excited to meet Uncle Bumi and thrilled to hand over the shield to him.”
“We were both very emotional. It was such an honour to be able to return the shield to its rightful traditional owners,” she said.
Mr Bumi chose the corner of Shields and Abbott streets in Cairns for the handover because it’s where his father would meet others after fishing on the esplanade, according to the museum.
The location also features the Shields Street Heart Project art installation, which showcases traditional Aboriginal shields.
Mr Bumi said it “felt really good” to have the shield returned.
Uncle Bumi with the Indigenous shield and the Shields Street Heart Project art installation in Cairns in the background. Photo: Jacquie Price.
” … I just kept thinking of my father and mother here. I want to thank Bernadine for saving the shield and thanks to everyone at Queensland Museum for this … and for looking after all those other things of ours down there,” he said.
The museum said its role was the custodial care and return of First Nations belongings. It accepts surrendered cultural items from private collections and cares for them until they can be given back.
The museum has acknowledged “inappropriate collecting practices” in the past and has “committed to reconciliation and reframing our relationship with First Nations peoples to forge a path towards healing and justice”.
Original Article published by Luke Mortimer on Region Tropical North Queensland.
