'Following a field trip in 1966 to a number of Central Australian Aboriginal communities collecting and studying children's art as a member of a party led by the late W D Nicol, Noel Wallace embarked on a 12-year field study of Pitjantjatjara religion and culture. Every year Noel and his wife Phyl travelled from Melbourne to Central Australia to spend four months in Pitjantjatjara communities. These field trips were partly self-funded and partly funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.' (Introduction)