Brown Men and Red Sand is at once an adventure and travel story, a record of scientific discovery, and the author's expression of affection and respect for a charming, childlike, happy, and unique people. Mr Mountford has done more than any other man to interpret the aborigine to the outside world and he displays in this book for the general reader his adventures among them.
His previous expeditions in the Central Desert had led him to believe that the closer his party came to the very heart of Australia the more primitive would the aboriginal culture become, until it represented the simplest now known - a unique survival of the Stone Age. In this he was not disappointed. For many weeks he and his party lived among these nomadic desert tribes, collecting legends and folk-lore, studying their culture and social customs, their ingenuity in winning their hard struggle for existence, and being privileged to watch the performance of rites and ceremonies which very few white men have seen. To the white traveller the Desert may be only a dreary treeless waste; to the aborigine it is a homeland with a story or legend to account for every stone, rock, pool, and hollow.
The aborigines themselves he found a gentle, industrious, honest, and kindly people with a great love for their children, who enjoy as much affection, freedom, and privilege as in the most enlightened parts of the civilized world.
The many fine photographs, especially of people, are a beautiful feature of this book.
Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other First Nations people are advised that this item may contain the names and images of deceased people and other content that may be culturally sensitive. Please also be aware that you may see certain words or descriptions within this work which reflect the author’s attitude or that of the period in which the work was published and may now be considered offensive.
192 pages. Black and white photographs. Hardback. 220mm x 150mm.