The Wild Australia Show was a troupe of Indigenous Australian performers that toured Australia between late 1892 and mid-1893. The group was formed by the journalist and businessman Archibald Meston and his business partner Brabazon Harry Purcell with the intention of performing in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe on their way to Chicago to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition. It was composed of 27 Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people recruited from across northern Queensland and the surrounding region, including 21 men, five women, and one child.
Inspired by the ethnological performances and human zoos that were popular in the colonial era, including Buffalo Bill's Wild West, the show included dances, corroborees, demonstrations of spear and boomerang throwing, and stagings of scenes inspired by the Australian frontier wars. Meston and Purcell acted as narrators and lecturers, providing commentary on Aboriginal culture during the performance. The group staged performances in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne and were heavily photographed during their tour, including by the photographers Charles Kerry, John William Lindt, and Henry King. While the identities of the performers were largely ignored or lost, many of these images eventually became widely reproduced.
Facing financial difficulties and contractual disputes as part of the Australian banking crisis of 1893, Meston abandoned the troupe in Melbourne in 1893, leaving Purcell and the performers stranded with insufficient funds to return to Queensland. Purcell made attempts to continue their planned world tour but was eventually forced to return to Queensland. The performers returned home and largely faded from the public view. The failed endeavour led to harsh public criticism of Meston and Purcell, as well as a fierce legal battle between the two former business partners.
Archibald Meston was born in Scotland in 1851 and moved to New South Wales with his family in 1859.[1] As a young man he travelled across Australia and encountered various Aboriginal groups, sparking his interest in Aboriginal culture and languages.[2] He moved to Queensland in 1874, where he managed a sugar plantation and became a successful journalist.[1] In 1876 he became the editor of the Ipswich Observer.[3] Meston was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 1878, but was forced out of his seat after entering into bankruptcy in 1881.[4] He moved to North Queensland, where he became editor of the Townsville Herald and founded a sugar plantation near Cairns.[5] He later became editor of the Cairns Chronicle.[6] After the collapse of his sugar business, he became a property speculator. His property ventures also ended in failure, resulting in accusations of fraud from those who had lost money in a failed settlement scheme near the Russell River.[7]
Despite having once held virulently racist views, and having spoken openly of having personally killed Aboriginal people, he developed an interest in Aboriginal culture and joined the Aborigines' Protection Society of Queensland in 1890.[1][8] He eventually developed a more admiring attitude towards Indigenous Australians, describing their treatment by white Australians as "a reproach to our common humanity", while still holding many of the prejudiced views of his era.[1][9] He began to present himself as an ethnologist and as an "expert" in Aboriginal cultures.[8] He often praised the athleticism of Aboriginal Australians and spoke of his admiration for their prowess as warriors.[10][11] He presented his first "illustrated lecture" on Aboriginal Australians at the Theatre Royal in Brisbane on 29 September 1891. These lectures, which featured live Aboriginal people, painted bush scenes, and taxidermied animals, would become the model for the Wild Australia Show.[12]
In late 1891, it was reported that Meston was putting together an Aboriginal performing troupe to perform at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.[13] His intention was that the troupe would perform in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, before finishing their tour in Chicago.[10] Meston was joined in the endeavour by Brabazon Purcell, a journalist and stock and station agent, who was promised one third of the profits.[14] The pair borrowed a substantial sum of money to pursue the project, hoping that it would prove to be a commercial success.[15][16] Meston later claimed that he had spent more than £1000 on the show and that he had been primarily motivated by "benefit of the aboriginals".[17]
History
Recruitment of performers
Newspaper advertisement for the Wild Australia Show published in the Queensland Punch, 1 November 1892
Meston and Purcell's recruitment of Indigenous performers took place between November 1891 and October 1892.[18] Meston insisted that all of the Aboriginal recruits should be physically fit to illustrate his vision of the athleticism of Aboriginal Australians.[19] Purcell set out across northern Australia to recruit Aboriginal performers and collect artefacts, while Meston worked to secure financing for the tour.[20] Purcell began by visiting the rainforest region surrounding Cairns and climbed Mount Bellenden Ker.[21] While he did not recruit any performers during this initial trip, he collected a number of artefacts that were likely among the props used during the Wild Australia Show.[21]
He then travelled to the frontier region of northwestern Queensland near the Northern Territory border.[22] In late 1891[23] or early 1892,[24] Purcell met the first group of Aboriginal people who would join the Wild Australia Show—five Wakaya people from near Lake Nash, including an elder named Kudajarnd and two of his wives.[23] It is not known how Purcell convinced this group to join him. Purcell was later accused of kidnapping or coercing some Aboriginal people into joining the show, although it is likely that some of the performers also joined willingly.[25][26] He arranged to meet up with the group again a few months later.[25] In late July 1892, Purcell brought the five Wakaya recruits back to Townsville, before arriving in Brisbane on 3 August to hand the group over to Meston.[27]
Purcell left Brisbane three days later to travel to Normanton via Thursday Island and collect groups of Aboriginal people who had been recruited by middlemen in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria.[28] It is believed that these members had been recruited by local police with whom Meston had made arrangements earlier that year. He collected five members from the Kimberley Town Camp and 11 from camps in the town of Croydon.[29] Most of this group had likely been displaced into the camps as a result of the violent settler incursions of their lands that had begun in the 1860s and 1870s.[30]
Purcell then travelled to Thursday Island to collect a group of Kaurareg people who had been brought there from Muralug (also known as Prince of Wales Island). This group had been recruited by public servants that Purcell was using as agents.[31] This group included "King" Gida, a Kaurareg chief, and his wife and adopted son.[32] On 14 September Purcell arrived in Cairns with the 21 Indigenous people that he had collected from across the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Torres Strait, before continuing on to Brisbane.[33] There, the 26 recruits who made up the troupe assembled at a camp in St Lucia to begin rehearsals.[34]
The last member recruited to the Wild Australia Show was a Kabi Kabi man named Yamurra who had previously performed with Meston. He arrived a month after rehearsals had begun.[35][36] Fluent in English and the only performer from southern Queensland, Yamurra was likely recruited by Meston in order to act as a liaison between the other Indigenous performers and white Australians.[23] He travelled on his own to the camp in St Lucia by train from Maryborough.[36]
Rehearsals and initial performances in Brisbane
A frontier conflict scene shown on an 1892 greeting card, featuring Archibald Meston and his son being ambushed by members of the troupe
The Wild Australia Show troupe spent several months rehearsing in St Lucia between late September and November of 1892.[37] Meston drummed up substantial media attention and attracted many visitors to the rehearsal camp. One visitor was the painter Oscar Fristrom, who painted a portrait of one of the members of the troupe, a Walangama man named Werdbura.[38] Many of the advertisements and newspaper articles that began to be published about the upcoming show made reference to the Wakaya tradition of penile subincision; the practice, known as "Sturt's terrible rite", had become notorious among white Australians.[39][40] Many newspapers referred to the performers as part of a "doomed race", echoing the popular notion at the time that Indigenous Australians were destined for extinction. Others suggested that the show would correct the misconceptions that audiences had been taught and would show them "the true character of the wild tribes of Australia".[41]
The opening performance was held in Brisbane at Her Majesty's Opera House on 5 December 1892.[42] The performance was positively received, although some reviewers criticised Meston's long-winded commentary and expressed their wish that the Indigenous performers would simply be able to perform uninterrupted.[43] The show's audience soon dwindled, and the show moved to weekly outdoor performances at the Breakfast Creek Sportsground and then at the Exhibition Grounds, where it attracted much larger audiences.[44]
Performances in Sydney
Three of the Kaurareg members of the Wild Australia Show troupe wearing Dhari, photographed by Charles Kerry in January 1893
The troupe travelled from Brisbane to Sydney in late 1892, before performing their opening show at the Bondi Aquarium on 26 December 1892.[45] The show quickly came under scrutiny from New South Wales government officials, who were alarmed by their lack of control over the Indigenous performers.[46][23] Unlike the Queensland government, which did not have a dedicated protection office for managing its Aboriginal population, the New South Wales government was pursuing a strict policy of segregation and wished to remove Aboriginal people from the city of Sydney entirely.[46][47] Despite this scrutiny, the troupe attracted large crowds and began staging daily afternoon and nighttime performances.[46] It was reported in The Sydney Morning Herald that the opening performance had attracted a crowd of 10,000 people.[46] During their time in Sydney the performers were photographed by Charles Kerry at his studio near the Aquarium, with the photographs being sold to the public and turned into postcards.[48][49]
In January 1893, the troupe began performing a condensed nightly show at the School of Arts as part of the Walshe Family Circus along with its regular afternoon performances at the Bondi Aquarium.[50] Due to the smaller size of the stage, this version of the show dropped the spear and boomerang throwing demonstrations and instead focused on the acting and dancing scenes.[51]
The reviews during the show's time in Sydney were not universally positive. One review in the Daily Telegraph described the performers as "merely an indiscriminate assortment of blackfellows...having no proper supervision, and run purely as speculation".[52] This concern about a lack of supervision was a common refrain; the New South Wales Aborigines Protection Board, fearing that the performers might be left unsupervised in the city and unhappy with the "unseemly spectacle" of their presence, sought to have the show shut down throughout its time in Sydney.[53] The board was also determined to avoid a repeat of a prior incident in which a troupe of 100 Aboriginal performers had been brought to Sydney and then abandoned in the city.[54] The Aborigines Protection Board placed the troupe under police surveillance and sent a letter to the Queensland government to clarify whether Meston had been given permission to take his Indigenous performers out of the state.[55][23] Meston attempted to soothe the board's concerns, while increasingly facing intense financial pressures, until leaving for Melbourne in late January.[56]
Performances in Melbourne
Photograph of Kudajarnd and wife Langinkab taken by John William Lindt during the troupe's time in Melbourne
The troupe arrived in Melbourne on 25 January 1893.[57] Meston and Purcell had booked a performance as part of the Australian Natives' Association fete at the Royal Exhibition Building.[58] While the fete attracted a crowd of about 50,000 people, the Wild Australia Show received a less positive reception.[59] Melbourne was experiencing a severe economic depression, causing many residents to lack interest in the performance, and the members of the troupe had become exhausted by their long tour.[60][23] Meston was also faced with financial difficulties and a dispute over contractual terms with the Australian Natives' Association.[61]
The contractual dispute caused a breakdown in the relationship between Meston and Purcell. Meston returned to Sydney, abandoning Purcell and the performers in Melbourne.[62] With the show in substantial debt and the troupe stranded in Melbourne, lacking the funds to even return to Queensland, Purcell attempted to book additional performances.[63] Newspapers blamed Meston for leaving the troupe stranded in Melbourne, while Meston, who was attempting to raise funds by selling a collection of artefacts to the Australian Museum, defended himself and blamed Purcell and the Australian Natives' Association for the predicament.[64]
Purcell was still hopeful that the troupe could continue its planned tour of England and Chicago.[65] He borrowed money to continue the show and booked a performance at the National Baby Show on 16 February.[66] He also began to stage more sensationalised acts to revive the curiosity of the audience, including a scene depicting Aboriginal cannibalism, and a lecture on "Sturt's terrible rite".[67] On 6 March, the troupe began to perform afternoon and evening weekday performances at the Rotunda Hall.[68] The show attracted a sizeable audience and was positively received during its time at the Rotunda Hall, until the performers departed for Sydney on 22 May.[69]
Second season in Sydney and journey home
Purcell had secured a booking for the troupe to perform in the play It Is Never Too Late to Mend, which was opening on 27 May in a production staged by George Rignold at Her Majesty's Theatre.[70][71] The Wild Australia Show troupe performed dances and demonstrations and acted in background roles to enhance the play's effect.[72] Their performance was positively received, with one critic writing that "nothing more striking has ever been witnessed in this city".[72]
By July, Purcell had abandoned his hope of continuing the world tour and appealed to the Queensland government for financial assistance in returning home.[67] The Queensland government had also decided that it would not allow the tour to continue and that the Aboriginal performers must be returned to their lands.[73] The Queensland and New South Wales governments debated who should bear the £65 cost of feeding the performers and transporting them back to Brisbane.[73] Eventually the Queensland government agreed that it would pay the cost.[74]
The performers departed from Sydney and arrived in Brisbane on 14 July, although one performer—likely either Bula or Dugum—decided to remain in Sydney after being offered employment.[74] However, the employment arrangement quickly fell through and the man returned to Queensland a week later.[75] The performers continued on from Brisbane to ports in northern Queensland, where the police would help escort them home.[74] Following their returns, all of the performers with the exception of Gida faded from public view and left little trace in the historical record.[76]
Court case and aftermath
Purcell had been arrested in Sydney on 11 July after Meston alleged that he had stolen money, although the case was quickly dismissed.[74] He was arrested again after his return to Brisbane, but the case was once again dismissed.[77] Allegations began to surface that Purcell had used violence and coercion to force some of the Indigenous performers to join the Wild Australia Show; Meston denied involvement and blamed Purcell for any coercion, saying that he had given Purcell strict instructions that all performers must join voluntarily.[77]
Purcell sued Meston on charges of "false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and slander".[78] Purcell sought damages of £1500, while Meston launched a civil counter-suit for £2000 for injuries to his "credit, reputation and character". Meston's suit proved unsuccessful, while Purcell was awarded damages of £50.[79] The lawsuits left a detailed historical record in the form of court documentation, and remain the source for much of what is known today about the Wild Australia Show's tour.[79]
Performance
The Wild Australia Show performing on an indoor stage in front of backdrop showing Mount Bellenden Ker
The Wild Australia Show performances evolved over the course of the tour as the performers adapted to different venues and audiences.[80] The performances included demonstrations of skill, such as spear and boomerang throwing and staged conflicts, as well as ceremonial performances, corroborees, and dances.[23][81] Meston acted as a narrator, educating the audience between performances and explaining the cultures and practices of the performers.[42][23] At times, Meston himself would participate in combat displays with the Aboriginal performers.[82][83] Performers from the distinct cultural groups that made up the troupe performed dances inspired by their own traditions; for instance, Kaurareg dances were characterised by their use of drumming and masks, while the Wakaya members of the troupe would perform in feathered headdresses.[23] The performances held outdoors featured athletic and pyrotechnic displays, such as "aerial flight of fire-tipped spears and boomerangs" and the staged burning of a settler's hut, while performances held indoors featured more detailed lectures from Meston and Purcell.[84][85][86]
Each Wild Australia Show performance would open with a war dance within a staged camp. This was followed by a series of five corroborees: the Wermugga (Cockatoo), Rengwinna (Goanna), Fish, Waka Linga (Crocodile), and Rah Min (Adolescents).[87] The show included at least 11 distinct dances in total.[88] Each performance would end with a staged scene of conflict inspired by the Australian frontier wars—violent conflicts between settlers and Indigenous peoples that were ongoing at the time.[89] The frontier scene showed innocent settlers being attacked by Aboriginal warriors, who were then shot and killed by the Native Police.[89] The anthropologist Paul Memmott has described the show's depiction of white settler innocence and Aboriginal aggression as an example of "settler denialism", calling it a "colonial fantasy [that] played into convenient mythologies about frontier life".[90] The show took inspiration from Wild West shows, particularly Buffalo Bill's Wild West, which often depicted an attack on a homestead as its final act.[23] It was also inspired by American minstrel shows, which were popular in Queensland at the time.[86]
The final scene of the performance portrayed a confrontation between white settlers, Aboriginal warriors, and Native Police
The stage for the performances featured a set of backdrops painted by the South African-born artist Carl William Vennermark. At least three backdrops were painted; one featured Mount Bellenden Ker, another featured Russell River, and the subject of the third backdrop was not recorded.[91]Taxidermied animals, including kangaroos and cassowaries, had been loaned from the Queensland Museum and were used as stage props.[87] The stage was also decorated by gunyahs.[40] A collection of artefacts and specimens—which Meston and Purcell claimed included over 3000 items, but likely numbered closer to 2000—was assembled to be used and displayed during the show.[92] What became of this collection remains unknown, but it is likely that many of the artefacts eventually became part of museum collections or were sold at auction.[93] A 2022 study examined archival records and transactions between Meston and the Queensland Museum, but concluded that it was impossible to conclusively associate any of the artefacts held by the museum with the Wild Australia Show collection.[94]
During their tour the performers were photographed by many of Australia's most prominent photographers, including Charles Kerry, John William Lindt, and Henry King. Many of these images became widely circulated, but often without naming the performers or mentioning the connection with the Wild Australia Show.[95] At least eight of the images taken by Charles Kerry were later turned into postcards.[96] Some of the photographs of the performers were also used as inspiration for other artworks. The first was an 1897 bust of Kungkardi by James White based on one of Henry King's photographs, which is now held in the Art Gallery of New South Wales.[97] The painter Oscar Fristrom painted a portrait of Narimbu named Nahmbo in 1909 based on one of Charles Kerry's photographs.[98]
In a 2025 book, researchers reported that 150 photographs of the Wild Australia Show troupe had so far been identified, many of which were originally uncaptioned or mislabelled.[99] The photographic historian Michael Aird has attempted to re-assemble an archive of images of the Wild Australia Show.[100] An exhibition of these photographs curated by Aird, the anthropologist Paul Memmott, and Mandana Mapar named Wild Australia was staged at the Queensland Anthropology Museum in 2015.[101] A selection of portraits of the performers was displayed at the Sydney Opera House later that year.[102] A travelling exhibition through regional areas in northern Australia, including the traditional lands of many of the show's performers, was undertaken by Aird and Memmott between 2017 and 2018.[103] In 2021, Aird and Memmott published the first known set of properly labelled portraits of all 27 performers.[100][104]
↑ The names given are the contemporary spellings of the Indigenous languages spoken by the troupe's members. The alternate names given in brackets are the most common spellings used during the troupe's existence.[23]
↑ Believed to be a shortening of either "Little Charlie" or "Left Hand Charlie".[106]
Nugent, Maria (2019). "'Protection talk' and popular performance: The Wild Australia Show on tour, 1892–1893". In Furphy, Samuel; Nettelbeck, Amanda (eds.). Aboriginal Protection and its Intermediaries in Britain's Antipodean colonies. New York: Routledge. pp.228–247. doi:10.4324/9780429316364. ISBN9780429316364.
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