Looking for Arawarra ...... an international research effort .... terminated
| Arawarra 1760-1825 | Berry's Frankenstein & Arawarra | Death ... Arawarra, Berry & Shelley | Finding Arawarra Research Project |
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| John Lewin, Towwaa [Jarvis Bay], 1810 (detail). Collection: British Museum. |
Contents
- Finding Arawarra
- People
- Organisations
- Chronology
- Termination
- References
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1. The Finding Arawarra Research Project
Noble causes come along rarely; the search for Arawarra is one of them.....
In June 2019 the present writer (Michael Organ) was approached by Associate Professor Marlene Longbottom of the University of Wollongong and later James Cook University, Queensland, with the plea: "We have to find Arawarra!" Professor Longbottom, a member of the Shoalhaven Indigenous community, felt that, as a long-term researcher and professional archivist, the present writer would be of assistance in the task of locating the remains - if they survived in an overseas collection - of the late Aboriginal Elder and warrior Arawarra (circa 1760 - 1825). Thus commenced a process of research, study, and community engagement and consultation which, from 2022, gave rise to contact and collaboration with a group of academics from the University of St Andrews. Scotland, the former alma mater of Alexander Berry. Unfortuantely the project was terminated in March 2026 due to a late-stage intervention by members of the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council.
A number of side projects and events arose out of the initial 2019 research project initiative and subsequent international collaboration, including the launch of the Arawarra one-man play / performance piece by Shoalhaven Indigenous community member, the writer, musician, dancer and actor Jacob Morris and his collaborative producer Lincoln Smith in November 2026.
The search for Arawarra began with Professor Marlene Longbottom in June 2019 and her bringing to public attention Indigenous cultural issues surrounding the erection of two large iron sculptures of Alexander and David Berry by the side of the road leading into the South Coast township of Berry (Thompson 2023).
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| Sculptures, Princes Highway, Berry. |
Their erection riled some of the local Indigenous and non-Indigenous population, bringing back memories of the colonial era abuses of the Berry family and their mistreatment of the local community in pursuit of profit. Arising out of that, Professor Longbottom subsequently brought to the present writer's notice the October 2019 article Small histories: a road trip reveals local museums stuck in a rut concerning a visit to the Berry Museum by University of Wollongong research student Jennifer Saunders and the problems with the display, or rather lack thereof, of Indigenous material. The paper also referred to the tragic tale of Alexander Berry's treatment of the Aboriginal warrior, chief and Elder Arawarra during the 1820s.
The present writer had compiled archival material relating to Berry's actions and Arawarra back in 1989 within his A Documentary History of the Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1850; including a Chronological Bibliography 1770-1990, published by the Aboriginal Education Unit at the University of Wollongong. Some thirty years later this material served as one of the sparks for an effort to locate the remains of Arawarra that had been shipped over to Great Britain during the late 1820s as part of phrenological scientific studies. That search continues, and some aspects of it are presented below.
A brief biography of Arawarra was compiled by the present writer in December 2025 and can be found here - Arawarra, Chief of Shoalhaven c.1760 - c.1825. It is the combination of local and international research, often in association with the Arawarra Research Project. The premature termination of the project is discussed in part below.
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2. People
In the recent search for Arawarra, the following individuals and organisations have played a part, and continued to do so up until 24 March 2026 when the project was terminated by three Elders and Cultural Authorities of the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council.
- Arawarra Research Project
- Associate Professor Marlene Longbottom - James Cook University, Indigenous academic, member of Jerrinja community
- Michael Organ - researcher and historian, formerly of the University of Wollongong
- Shoalhaven Aboriginal Community
- Marlene Longbottom (see above)
- Jacob Morris - Shoalhaven Aboriginal teacher and performance artist
- Theresa Ardler - Aboriginal, Wreck Bay, researcher, Global Fellowship, University of St Andrews applicant
- Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council
- Gerry Moore
- Uncle Alfred Wellington - Elder and Cultural Authority
- Aunty Deliah Lowe - Elder and Cultural Authority
- University of St. Andrews, Scotland
- Professor David Herd - academic, Scotland, head of the Centre for the Critical Re-imagining of Human Rights, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
- Senior Lecturer Emma Sutton - academic, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
- Tom Jones - academic, Scotland
- Associate Lecturer Tony Crook - academic, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
- Shoalhaven Working Together Alliance (SWTA)
- Arawarra play
- Jacob Morris (see above)
- Lincoln Smith - director
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3. Organisations and Topics
The following organisations and entities had been involved in, or in some manner associated with, the Arawarra international research project prior to the 24 March 2026 Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council intervention and termination directive.
* Global Fellowship Scheme - Research, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
* Centre for the Critical Re-imagining of Human Rights, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
* Shoalhaven Working Together Alliance (SWTA).
* University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
* James Cook University, Australia.
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4. Chronology
The events listed below relate to the Arawarra Research Project and events which have impacted upon the ongoing search for the remains of the Elder, following their dispatch from Australia by Alexander Berry during 1827.
1989
* Michael Organ, A Documentary History of the Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1850; including a Chronological Bibliography 1770-1990, Aboriginal Education Centre, University of Wollongong, 1989, 649p. Includes copies of 1830s reminiscences of Arawarra by Alexander Berry. These were later used by researchers and community members. One example was Shoalhaven community teacher and performer Jacob Morris in developing a performance piece on Arawarra which was first presented to the public in March 2026.
2019
* circa June - Marlene Longbottom (ML) contacts Michael Organ (MO) regarding researching Arawarra, with the aim of discovering his remains and returning them to Australia. MO begins compiling a preliminary research document for ML.
* 18 October - Jennifer Saunders, Small histories: a road trip reveals local museums stuck in a rut, The Conversation, 18 October 2019. Refers to the story of Arawarra.
* 18 December - Michael Organ, Arawarra of the Shoalhaven: Grave Robbing and the Frankenstein Connection: Research Notes for Associate Professor Marlene Thompson (Longbottom), manuscript, 15 pages. Updated 12 March 2020 and then through to 2024.
2020
* 11 October - Marlene Longbottom and Michael Organ, Research Proposal - Frankenstein Australis - Terror Incognita: Violence, Grave Robbing and the Aboriginal Body, James Cook University, manuscript form, 9 pages. Complied as part of standard academic research proposal protocols.
2021
* Ongoing preliminary research by ML and MO into Arawarra and the Australian Indigenous body trade during the early colonial period.
2022
* Ongoing preliminary research by ML and MO into Arawarra and the Australian Indigenous body trade during the early colonial period.
* 5 February - Marlene Longbottom and Michael Organ, Alexander Berry, grave robbing and the Frankenstein connection, blogger.com, 5 February 2022. Research notes from 2020-2021 compiled into a narrative regarding the grave robbing activities of Alexander Berry and the tenuous links to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, the author of Frankenstein (1818). Incorporated historical archival material as initially published in Organ 1989.
* 6 June - email MO to ML re Frankenstein Australis: Terror Incognita! Draft paper on Google Docs.
* 17 June - email MO to ML re preparation of Powerpoint slides by MO for possible Alexander Berry as Dr. Frankenstein presentation by ML/MO.
* 9 July - Lorina Allam, Alexander Berry: holes in the story of a NSW pioneer conceal a dark past of Indigenous exploitation, The Guardian, 9 July 2022. Newspaper article based on an extensive interview with Associate Professor Marlene Longbottom.
2023
* Stuart Thompson, Alexander Berry statue wipes away Aboriginal history says Academic Dr Marlene Longbottom, South Coast Register, 14 September 2023.
* 19 September - Professor Emma Sutton of St Andrews University, Scotland, emails Professor Longbottom as an introduction, having read The Guardian interview of 9 July 2022. Informs Professor Longbottom of the forthcoming colloquium at St Andrews University which centres around Alexander Berry.
* 21 - 22 September - Alexander Berry and Colonial Legacies: A Colloquium hosted by the School of English, University of St Andrews, Scotland, 4-6pm Thursday 21 and 9am-3pm Friday 22 September 2023, School V, United Colleges, North Street, St Andrews. Organized in part by Professor Sutton.
2024
* 26 January - Marlene Longbottom and Michael Organ, Frankenstein Australis & clandestine dismemberment - a terror incognita, 26 January 2024. Draft article.
* 7 June - Frankenstein Australis.... journal article submitted to Australian Historical Studies. Unpublished. Comments received from blind reviewer.
* 17 - 23 June - Three academics from St. Andrews University, Scotland, visit the Shoalhaven to discuss the Arawarra Research Project - Professor David Herd, Professor Tom Jones and Professor Emma Sutton. They meet online and in person with members of the local Indigenous community, including Alfred Wellington of the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council; staff of the Wollyungah Education Centre, University of Wollongong; plus both Professor Longbottom and Michael Organ. No restrictions on the research project are discussed or put in place at that time. All aspects of the research project are open and publically discussed at the time, and from the point of implementation of the research project.
* 17 June - Marlene Longbottom, IE&RC Brief, James Cook University - Discussion brief for a meeting with researchers from St Andrews University, Scotland.
* 23 October - Michael Organ, Marlene Longbottom and Tony Crook, From death to death ..... Arawarra, Alexander Berry and Mary Shelley's connected timeline, blogger.com, 23 October 2024. Research notes arranged around a timeline format in order to facilitate the ongoing research collaboration process between St Andrews and Australia. Published online and promoted.
2025
* 30 March - Peter Botsman, Australian Frankenstein: Alexander Berry, Mary Shelley and Arawarra, The Author, 30 March 2025. An article based in part on the work of Longbottom and Organ, alongside Botsman own Indigenous research. No mention is made therein of the ongoing research by Longbottom and Organ or of the origin by MO of the Frankenstein connection.
* November - Jacob Mara (Morris) and Lincoln Smith, Arawarra [Performance / play], 2026 Program, Merrigong Theatre Company, Wollongong, November 2025. Public announcement of upcoming performances.
* 14 December - Michael Organ, Arawarra Timeline notes and communications regarding the Jacob Mara play, manuscript, 5 pages. Forwarded on to Morris and Smith in support of the Arawarra play / performance piece.
* 11 December - Michael Organ, Arawarra, Chief of Shoalhaven c.1760 - c.1825, blogger.com, 11 December 2025. A summary biography based on the scant information available to date.
2026
* January - February: Discussion held between St Andrews, Shoalhaven Working Together Alliance (SWTA), Gerry Moore and Michael Organ regarding ongoing research assistance in Australia as part of the international Arawarra Research Project.
* 16 March - Marlene Longbottom, Jarrah Longbottom-Wymarra and Michael Organ, From Cullunghutti to Edinburgh: The infrastructure of colonial extraction and the grammar of explanation, February 2026. Article submitted to the Humanities and Social Sciences Communications on 16 March 2026. Under review.
* Monday, 24 March 2026 - Online meeting between Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council representatives Gerry Moore, Delia Lowe and Albert Wellington, and members of the St. Andrews University, Scotland, Arawarra Project research team. St. Andrews is notified at that meeting that all communication with Longbottom and Organ, and other parties, is to cease. No discussions were ever held with Longbottom and Organ prior to this decision, or reasons given for the decision, despite the Jerrinja LALC and the general Shoalhaven Indigenous community being aware of the project since 2019.
* 24 March - Michael Organ attends a rehearsal performance of the Arawarra play. He also participates in a video taped interview with Jacob Mara discussion the background to the play and its genesis.
* Tuesday, 25 March - email from Tony Crook to Professor Longbottom, cc'd to Michael Organ, regarding implementation of a confidentiality regime by Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council members over all future work associated with the Arawarra Research Project and excluding Professor Longbottom and Michael Organ from continued open collaboration with St Andrews University staff in that work.
* 26 - 28 March - Jacob Mara and Lincoln Smith, Arawarra [Performance / play], Merrigong Theatre Company, Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Wollongong, 26 - 28 March 2026. Sold-out performances of the Arawarra play by Jacob Mara. Filming also took place as part of a planned documentary.
* 6 April - the present writer is officially informed that, as of 24 March 2026: .... any and all requests for research information would be dealt with by consensus of Elders and Cultural Authorities of Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council .... and that protocols going forward respect that research is community led or endorsed .... and that issues of confidentiality are considered given the sensitivity.
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5. Termination
As a result of the late-stage intervention by members of the Jerrinja Local Aboriginal Land Council on 24 March 2026, as briefly referred to above, the international Arawarra Research Project was in all practicality terminated by that action. Articles critically commenting on the history of the process and ultimate demise of the project will be forthcoming, addressing issues such as openness, accountability, and cross-cultural respect within collaborative research endeavours.
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6. References
Allam, Lorina, Alexander Berry: holes in the story of a NSW pioneer conceal a dark past of Indigenous exploitation, The Guardian, 9 July 2022. Includes extensive interview with Associate Professor Marlene Longbottom.
Bennett, Michael, For a Labourer Worthy of His Hire: Aboriginal Economic Responses to Colonisation in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, 1770-1900, PhD thesis, University of Canberra, 2003.
-----, A long time working: Aboriginal labour on the Coolangatta Estate, 1822-1901, in Greg Patmore, John Shields and Nikola Balnave (eds.), The Past is Before Us – The Ninth National Labour History Conference, University of Sydney, 30 June – 2 July, 2005, 19-27.
Berry, Alexander, Recollections of the Aborigines by Alexander Berry [May] 1838, Supreme Court
Papers, Cod 294, Part B, 557-608, Archives Office of New South Wales. Reproduced in Organ (1989, 228-240).
-----, Reminiscences of Alexander Berry, Angas & Robertson, Sydney, 1912, 194p.
Botsman, Peter, Australian Frankenstein: Alexander Berry, Mary Shelley and Arawarra, The Author, 30 March 2025.
Longbottom, Marlene and Michael Organ, Alexander Berry, grave robbing and the Frankenstein connection, blogger.com, 5 February 2022.
-----, Frankenstein Australis & clandestine dismemberment - a terror incognita, [journal article submitted to Australian Historical Studies], 7 June 2024. Unpublished.
Longbottom, Marlene, Jarrah Longbottom-Wymarra and Michael Organ, From Cullunghutti to Edinburgh: The infrastructure of colonial extraction and the grammar of explanation, February 2026. Submitted to Humanities and Social Sciences Communications on 26 March 2026. Under review.
Mara, Jacob and Lincoln Smith,Arawarra [Performance / play], 2026 Program, Merrigong Theatre Company, Wollongong, November 2025.
Organ, Michael, A Documentary History of the Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1850; including a Chronological Bibliography 1770-1990, Aboriginal Education Centre, University of Wollongong, 1989, 630p.
-----, Illawarra and South Coast Aborigines 1770-1900, Report to the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, 1993, 348p.
-----, Arawarra, Chief of Shoalhaven c.1760 - c.1825, blogger.com, 11 December 2025.
Organ, Michael, Marlene Longbottom and Tony Crook, From death to death ..... Arawarra, Alexander Berry and Mary Shelley's connected timeline, blogger.com, 23 October 2024.
Saunders, Jennifer, Small histories: a road trip reveals local museums stuck in a rut, The Conversation, 18 October 2019.
Thompson, Stuart, Alexander Berry statue wipes away Aboriginal history says Academic Dr Marlene Longbottom, South Coast Register, 14 September 2023.
Turnbull, Paul, Alexander Berry: ‘Laird of the Shoalhaven and phrenologist’, in ‘Rare work among the professors’: the capture of indigenous skulls within phrenological knowledge in early colonial Australia, in Barbara Creed and Jeannette Hoorn (editors), Body Trade: Captivity, Cannibalism and Colonialism in the Pacific, Pluto Press, 2001, 7-14.
-----, Colonial Phrenology in the 1820s: The Cranial Collections of Alexander Berry, in Science, Museums and Collecting the Indigenous Dead in Colonial Australia, Palgrave Studies in Pacific History, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017, 163-169.
Wikipedia, Alexander Berry, Wikipedia, accessed 20 August 2019.
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Shoalhaven & South Coast: Aborigines / Indigenous / First Nations archive | Amootoo | Arawarra 1760-1825 | Aunty Julie Freeman art | Berry's Frankenstein & Arawarra | Blanket lists | Broger | Broughton | Bundle | Byamunga's (Devil's) Hands | Cornelius O'Brien & Kangaroo Valley | Cullunghutti - Sacred Mountain | Death ... Arawarra, Berry & Shelley | Finding Arawarra Research Project | God | Gooloo Creek, Conjola | Indigenous words | Kangaroo Valley | Jerribaley Cemetery | Mary Reiby & Berry | Mickey of Ulladulla | Minamurra River massacre 1818 | Moruya monster | Mount Gigenbullen | Neddy Noora breastplate | Timelong | Towwaa 1810 | Ulladulla Mission | Yams |
Last updated; 7 July 2026
Michael Organ, Australia
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