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| Anthropological Society of New South Wales | |
|---|---|
| Name | Anthropological Society of New South Wales |
| Formation | 1928 |
| Type | Learned society |
| Headquarters | Sydney |
| Region served | New South Wales |
| Leader title | President |
Anthropological Society of New South Wales is an Australian learned society founded in Sydney in 1928 to promote research and public understanding of human cultures and Aboriginal Australian heritage. The Society has interacted with institutions such as the Australian Museum, University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, National Museum of Australia and cultural bodies including the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, shaping regional discourse through meetings, collections, and publications. Throughout its existence the Society engaged with scholars associated with British Museum, University College London, Cambridge University, Harvard University, Stanford University and local organizations like the Royal Society of New South Wales and Linnean Society of New South Wales.
The Society emerged in the late 1920s amid international conversations involving figures linked to Franz Boas, Bronisław Malinowski, A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, Ernest Beaglehole and institutions such as London School of Economics, University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. Early conferences featured speakers from Australian National University, University of Adelaide, University of Queensland, and visiting scholars from University of Chicago, Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley. The Society held symposiums paralleling events like the British Association for the Advancement of Science meetings and collaborated on fieldwork patterned after expeditions associated with the Tropical Research Station and museums like the National Gallery of Victoria. During World War II and the postwar period the Society navigated policy debates involving the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Department of External Affairs and international exchanges with the Smithsonian Institution and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.
The Society set objectives comparable to those of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland and the American Anthropological Association, including documentation of Aboriginal Australians, material culture studies aligned with collections practices at the British Museum and public lectures modeled after programs at the Royal Institution. Activities included lecture series, field trips to sites linked to Lake Mungo, Kakadu National Park, Blue Mountains National Park and collaborative projects with the Australian War Memorial and state archives such as the State Library of New South Wales. It organized workshops influenced by methodologies from the Ethnological Society of London and archival partnerships resembling those of the Harriman Institute and the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
Membership mirrored structures of the Royal Society, with roles such as President, Secretary and Treasurer and committees similar to those at the Australian Academy of Science and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons governance models. Membership drew academics from University of Tasmania, Macquarie University, Griffith University, museum professionals from the Powerhouse Museum and practitioners connected to community organizations like the Aboriginal Legal Service and the National Aboriginal Conference. The Society maintained affiliations and reciprocal arrangements with bodies such as the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain, Sociological Association of Australia and New Zealand and international partners including UNESCO and the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences.
The Society produced journals and bulletins analogous to those published by the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, American Ethnologist and the Oceania journal, disseminating research on topics related to Torres Strait Islanders, Yolŋu, Arrernte, Kulin, Wiradjuri and other Indigenous groups. Its newsletters and proceedings reflected editorial practices seen at the Australian Historical Studies and the Journal of Pacific History, while maintaining networks with editors at Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and the University of Hawaiʻi Press. The Society also hosted seminars and public lectures in venues such as Australian Museum auditoriums and partnered with media outlets including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for outreach.
Curatorial and research activities paralleled those at the British Museum, Museo Nacional de Antropología, Field Museum, and Australian institutions like the Museum Victoria and the Queensland Museum. Collections included material culture, photographic archives, sound recordings and field notes associated with expeditions to areas such as Central Australia, Torres Strait, Cape York Peninsula and the Great Barrier Reef. The Society contributed to conservation dialogues involving the Heritage Council of New South Wales, the National Trust of Australia (NSW) and collaborated with archaeological programs connected to Flinders University and Monash University.
Leaders and members included academics and collectors whose networks linked to figures like Norman Tindale, Daisy Bates, W. H. Carruthers and scholars associated with D. J. Mulvaney, A. P. Elkin, William Ramsay Smith and connections to the Australian Anthropological Society and Royal Anthropological Institute. Visiting lecturers and affiliates included researchers connected to Claude Lévi-Strauss, Marcel Mauss, Margaret Mead, Zora Neale Hurston, Ruth Benedict, Erving Goffman, Mary Douglas, Leslie White, Sidney Mintz and regional specialists such as George William Stanner. Institutional relationships extended to curators and directors from Australian Museum, National Museum of Australia and international museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Society influenced museology, field methodologies and public heritage policies alongside institutions like the Australian Heritage Commission, Aboriginal Heritage Office and academic departments at the University of New South Wales and Australian National University. Its legacy appears in collections accessioned at the National Library of Australia and collaborative projects with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, shaping debates comparable to reforms influenced by the Garrett Report era and national dialogues engaging Native Title Act 1993-era scholarship. The Society's meetings and publications helped link Australian scholarship to international currents represented by the International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, British Association for the Advancement of Science and research networks grounded in the archives of the British Museum, Smithsonian Institution and regional museums.
Category:Anthropology organizations Category:Learned societies of Australia