Tiwi

The Tiwi: From Isolation to Cultural Change

John Morris

The Tiwi Islanders are unique in Aboriginal society, possessing a distinct culture and language. Although isolated from mainland Aborigines for thousands of years, they had intermittent contact with visitors from Southeast Asia and Europe from at least the seventeenth century. 'The Tiwi: From Isolation to Cultural Change' is an ethnohistory, exploring the reaction of the Tiwi to this exposure to outside cultures until 1918. The presence of buffalo shooters and missionaries in the early years of the nineteenth century signalled the beginning of social and cultural changes in Tiwi society.

John Morris has been involved in Aboriginal affairs for over forty years. He worked with the Tiwi people during the 1960s and early 1970s, and has visited the islands on occasions since then. A sessional lecturer and tutor in Indigenous Studies at the University of Ballarat, he holds qualifications in Anthropology, Aboriginal Studies and Aboriginal History.