From French boy to Aboriginal man: the story of Narcisse Pelletier

Photographic portrait of Narcisse Pelletier

In 1875, the captain and crew of a ship dropped anchor off the remote northeastern coast of Australia to replenish their water supply. Among a group of Aboriginal warriors encountered on land stood a young man who, like the others, was naked, and decorated with ritual scars on his chest and arms that were a … Read more

James Morrill: the first white resident of North Queensland

James Morrill portrait photograph

The first white permanent resident of north Queensland arrived at Cape Cleveland, near the present day city of Townsville in 1846, along with 6 other castaways from the shipwrecked vessel, Peruvian. Of these seven people, three died not long after landing. The four remaining survivors: Captain George Pitkethly, his wife, a young apprentice named Wilson, … Read more