National Museum of Australia - 1920 April expedition

1920 April expedition

Warning: This exhibition and website contain some images of nudity and people in distressing circumstances. Visitors should also be aware that the exhibition and website include names and images of deceased people that may cause sadness or distress to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Second medical relief expedition

The Basedows embarked on a second medical relief expedition in South Australia only four and a half months after returning from the first.

During the two-month trip they travelled along South Australia's coast as far as Eucla, Western Australia, and visited the Nullarbor and locations along the Trans-Australian Railway. They travelled in various cars, a Ford truck and a mule-drawn buggy, as well as by train. Basedow took a glass negative camera and a film camera on the journey.

Basedow examined more than 400 Aboriginal people, with chest and eye complaints being the most common ailments. Most people were inspected at Koonibba mission in the south and at Ooldea along the railway, where they met Daisy Bates, who was working with the local Aboriginal people.

Although Basedow found the health of people on the coast to be satisfactory, he reported unfavourably on the health of those living along the railway line. He recommended that Aboriginal people be prevented from going within a certain distance of the railway, and encouraged their return to the 'wilds'.

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Map outlining the second medical relief expedition, South Australia 1920. The stylised map shows the expedition routes in white lines. Locations such as Eucla, Ceduna, Port Augusta and Adelaide are indicated on the map. A small map of Australia is in the lower left hand corner, showing the area covered by the main map.

Map outlining the second medical relief expedition route in 1920 in South Australia

An Aboriginal man standing in front of a building wall, Nullarbor Plain, South Australia 1920. He wears trousers, an undershirt and a hat. He has what appears to be a mailbag over his left shoulder. A dog stands at the man's right side, looking at the ground. The wall is made from earthen materials. To the left of the image the horizon can be seen.

Aboriginal mailman, Nullarbor Plain, South Australia 1920

photograph by Herbert Basedow
reproduced from glass plate negative
National Museum of Australia

Two teams of camels ploughing a field, Fowlers Bay station, South Australia 1920. Six camels are in each team, in two rows. One team is in front of the other; the direction of both teams is diagonally from right to left across the image. A person is seen walking at the back of the second team. To the left of the image, turned topsoil with clumps of grass shows were the teams have ploughed.

Ploughing with camels, Fowlers Bay station, South Australia 1920

photograph by Herbert Basedow
reproduced from glass plate negative
National Museum of Australia

Nullarbor Plain, South Australia 1920

photograph by Herbert Basedow
reproduced from glass plate negative
National Museum of Australia

An Aboriginal woman with an infant being carried on her back, Denial Bay, South Australia 1920. The woman wears a dress and hat; she is barefoot. She stands facing the right side of the image with her head turned toward the camera. The infant sits on her back in a carrier made from material wrapped around the woman's body. Another infant being carried on a woman's back can just be seen on the right side of the image.

Woman and child, Denial Bay, South Australia 1920

photograph by Herbert Basedow
reproduced from film negative
National Museum of Australia

A T-Model Ford truck with two passengers, South Australia 1920. The truck has a flat tray body, upon which is stacked some equipment. The driver and a passenger are in the open cabin. The truck appears to have just driven through an open gate at the left side of the image. The gate is part of a fence that is between the truck and the camera. A single telegraph pole is at the far left of the image, rising up through the horizon line.

Nullarbor station's T-Model Ford truck in which Herbert Basedow travelled to Eucla, Western Australia and later, from Nullarbor station to Fisher, South Australia 1920

photograph by Herbert Basedow
reproduced from film negative
National Museum of Australia