Earnest Mawle's Paper is a key reference for the contextualisation of "Hobart Necklaces" and the commercial enterprises linked to their production and marketing 1875 to circa 1960s.By eMailing shellnecklaces@7250.net readers may access the PDFdocument version of the paper below. Click here to go to the Tasmanian Shell Necklace Research Network's BLOG.
NB: 'maireener' is the palawa kani language (Tasmanian Aboriginal language) name for the shells and more recently for 'shell necklaces' also. That is, 'maireeners/shell necklaces' made by Tasmanian Aboriginal maireener makers using a range of shells including the rainbow kelp shells as an important aspect of their material cultural production – and rainbow kelp shells are the shells also used in 'Hobart Necklaces,' and seemingly, almost exclusively.
Click here to go to a link that catalogues the shells contemporary Tasmanian Aboriginal 'maireener makers' (shell necklace makers) are licenced under Tasmanian fisheries laws to collect in pursuit of their cultural practice.
The ambiguity here is a function of Tasmania's colonial histories, the complexities embedded in them and the material culture linked to those histories – Aboriginal and colonial. In respect to this aspect of 'Tasmaniana' the narratives are rich and they continue to unfold with the publication of ongoing cross contextual research in various fields.
Please click on the images below to enlarge them
