Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Picture Imperfect: Re-Reading Imagery Of Aborigines In Walkabout, Mitchell Rolls

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The representation of Aborigines in the popular Australian magazine Walkabout has attracted the attention of a small number of scholars. For the most part their analyses draw a distinction between the portrayals of primitive natives and those of the emergent modernising Australian nation. It is argued that Aborigines appear as debased, as noble savages, or as bearers of an idealised and imagined traditional culture. These representational strategies are evident in both photo- graphs and text in Walkabout. Whilst not necessarily disagreeing with these critiques, more nuanced readings of Aboriginal photographic representation in Walkabout are possible. This article seeks to reveal …