Chapter 63

I went to the Museum on Tuesday morning. The Pilbara box was gone as were the anthropologists. There's a photo of an Arabana camp in Paterson's book. It was taken in 1891. There are 11 folks in the picture. In the 2006 Australian census there were only 12 Arabana speakers enumerated. A century of progress!

Henry arrived and saved me from introspective depression. He'd spoken to someone at the Bishop Museum and was quite ebullient.

"He was quite interested," Henry said. "He asked whether I could get the Australian Navy's data. He pointed out that the Bishop has the world's largest collection of stuff from Polynesia."

"Slow down. Take a deep breath. I gather that the Bishop Museum is officially interested."

"Well, sort of. He wants me to email a list of what's in the boxes. Then he'll talk to my advisor and let me know whether it's thesis material."

"Fine. Now I've got another proposal. I'm going to make an appointment for us with my dad. We're going to see whether he can get historical data from the Navy. And we're going ... sorry, You're going to request exclusivity on the contents for, say, two years."

"I get the exclusivity. But why would your father get me the Navy data?"

"Oh. You don't know. Dad's a Lieutenant in the Navy. Wait! He may now be a Lieutenant Commander. Something went on a few years ago."

Henry just looked at me. "Are you kidding? I thought your dad was a professor of entomology and now Director here."

"Well, yes. But he's done several other things, too. He was with the CSIRO and worked with the Navy on illegal aliens and he received a Public Service Medal. And he was shot by some illegals up north." I laughed. "Ask Sarah when you've got time."

"Shot?"

"Left arm. He's still got a scar, though it's nearly 20 years ago. I got on the telly because of it. So did my mum."

"It sounds very impressive."

"Maybe. But he should be able to have leverage with the Navy. Anyway, let's open box number one."

We moved "S. Marianas" to the table. I let Henry slit the tape and open the flaps. Right on top was a small booklet, Archaeology of the Marianas Islands by Laura Maud Thompson. "Bernice P. Bishop Museum Bulletin 100, 1932."

"Wow!" said Henry. "Wow! This is a rarity. I've never seen a copy, only a PDF. The Museum had it reprinted about 40 years ago, but you don't see copies of those, either."

"Well, we might unpack more; or we might wait till you're looked at the – uh – Bulletin and talked to my dad."

"Good idea. Pigafetta called the islanders thieves."

"Who?"

"Antonio Pigafetta. Magellan's historian. I've a copy of his account of the trip around the world. He was one of the few who survived."

And the captain-general wished to approach the largest of these three islands to replenish his provisions. But it was not possible, for the people of those islands entered the ships and robbed us so that we could not protect ourselves from them. And when we wished to strike and take in the sails so as to land, they stole very quickly the small boat called a skiff which was fastened to the poop of the captain's ship. At which he, being very angry, went ashore with forty armed men. And burning some forty or fifty houses with several boats and killing seven men of the said island, they recovered their skiff. – Pigafetta, transl. Lord Stanley of Alderley, Hakluyt Society ed. pp. 68-70

"Well, let's go sit and have coffee while you skim the book. I'll phone and see whether dad's available."

"OK." I could see that Henry was nearly gone into it already.

I was told ten minutes, if I came right away, as someone else had left early. When I got to dad's he asked why I was in a rush.

"Henry's got an OK from his advisor in Hawaii to look at the material in the three RAN boxes with an eye towards his dissertation. The Bishop Museum is interested, too. So, I thought you might give him a few years' exclusivity on the materials, get an exhibit out of them and then 'lend' the exhibit to the Bishop." I ran out of breath.