David Unaipon, Inventor single work   criticism  
Issue Details: First known date: 2023... 2023 David Unaipon, Inventor
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'Unaipon descendant, Kym Kropinyeri, had promised to Unaipon and other Ngarrindjeri elders that he would pass on their history, including accounts of what happened to them at Point McLeay mission. This article addresses the Unaipon inventions. We provide a comprehensive account of Unaipon’s patent applications and the Protection-era restrictions that impacted Aboriginal inventors. The fate of Unaipon’s much celebrated 1909 shearing patent is fully explored. Exploitation of this invention is contextualised with reference to the patent activities of one of the most successful twentieth-century agricultural conglomerates that sold shearing handpieces, Cooper Engineering Ltd (Aust). Unaipon’s claim he was ripped off is considered in light of the demands made on him by the Chief Protector, politicians, religious groups, museum staff, and harassment by mission superintendents and police. All these factors impacted the capacity of Unaipon to pursue his scientific interests and delivered him into poverty.' (Publication abstract)

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    y separately published work icon Australian Historical Studies vol. 54 no. 4 2023 27235576 2023 periodical issue 'In this year of the Referendum for the Voice and Australian First Nations contemporary art politics, including ‘decolonisation’, Black Lives Matter and the call for ‘truth-telling’, a review of the nation’s eurocentric art history is necessary and timely. Until relatively recently, the category of Aboriginal art was constructed as ‘primitive’ in relation to the more ‘sophisticated’ European-Australian art, while the category of ‘Australian art’ itself excluded recognition of the lived experience and visual cultures of First Nations Australians. As we demonstrate in this journal issue, dismantling the eurocentric notions of art and history, while being alert to racism and the eliminatory tendencies of Australian settler colonialism, is not a straightforward process.' (Editorial introduction) 2023 pg. 794-815
Last amended 5 Dec 2023 07:45:00
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