Bipotaim: Stories from the Torres Strait featured in The Studio, Level 1, State Library of Queensland was on display from 13 February - 3 June 2010. The following is an excerpt from this exhibition.
This powerful photographic exhibition offers a rich insight into the oral history of the Torres Strait people. Presented by the State Library, this touring exhibition from Gab Titui Cultural Centre [new window] features striking black and white portraits paired with personal accounts of the days before and after the 1967 Referendum.
Gab Titui Cultural Centre is the Torres Strait's first keeping place for historical artefacts and contemporary Indigenous art and focuses on the maintenance, revitalisation and preservation of Torres Strait culture and the development and promotion of local Indigenous art.
Bipotaim came about as part of Gab Titui's cultural maintenance program and in 2007 photographer David Callow was commissioned to visit four communities in the Torres Strait. Stories were shared by 75 community members captured through photographic portraits and interviews. The exhibition showcases these stories through 22 life-size black and white portraits, paired with quotations and accompanied by a short film.
The exhibition title Bipotaim is Torres Strait Creole and means 'Before Time'. The word Bioptaim is often used to refer to times of past.
"Community members from Masig, Saibai, St Pauls on Moa Island and Thursday Island share their stories of 'Bipotaim' (before time), particularly their experiences leading to and after the historic 1967 Referendum.
The Referendum was a pivotal point in Australia's democratic history. It resulted with the nation's Indigenous people being recognised as citizens of Australia, providing Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginals the right to vote and enjoy the same privileges experienced by their non-Indigenous counterparts.
Forty years on, this collection of photographs and personal accounts provides a first hand record of the emotions, hardships, triumphs and changes experienced by our communities, together with their recollections of the past, their achievements today and aspirations for the future."
John Toshie Kris, Chairperson, Torres Strait Regional Authority
- View a selection of images from the exhibition.
- Interview with Bipotaim photographer – David Callow
- Listen to interviews with exhibition participant Constance Saveka and State Library's Tom Mosby [new window]
State Library of Queensland collections
The exhibition Bipotaim: Stories from the Torres Strait was supplemented with two displays drawn from the significant Margaret Lawrie Collection and the Lambert McBride Collection.
Margaret Lawrie Collection
The John Oxley Library at the State Library of Queensland holds the Margaret Lawrie Collection of Torres Strait Islander material. The bulk of the collection consists of field notes and journals, original research, correspondence, photographic and sound recordings and illustrations, which informed the seminal publications by Margaret Lawrie on the Torres Strait - Myths and legends of the Torres Strait and Tales from Torres Strait.
Margaret Lawrie’s research trips to the Torres Strait between 1964 and 1973 coincided with the campaign for change to the Australian Constitution which culminated in the historic 1967 referendum that finally granted equality to Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders. The selection of Margaret Lawrie photographs is a snapshot of the Torres Strait landscape in contrast with the political reality of that era.
A selection of these images are displayed in the entrance to the exhibition Bipotaim: Stories from the Torres Strait in The Studio, Level 1 of the State Library of Queensland's South Bank building, 13 February - 3 June 2010.
More about the Margaret Lawrie Collection.
Lambert McBride Collection
The State Library of Queensland holds the Lambert McBride collection of papers relating to the 1967 Referendum campaign assembled by Lambert (Stan) McBride, a Bandjalung man from New South Wales and President of the Queensland Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (QCAATSI), and his wife May, who was the Publicity Officer at QCAATSI. The collection includes papers relating to the referendum campaign such as newsletters, correspondence, statements, stickers and badges.
The collection also includes the red suitcase that Lambert used during the campaign to carry his papers. The suitcase is currently on loan to the National Museum of Australia for the travelling exhibition From Little Things Big Things Grow [new window] which traces the fight for Indigenous civil rights in Australia from 1920 to 1970.
A selection of these images and ephemera are displayed in the Reference Display area, Level 2 of the State Library of Queensland's South Bank building, 1 March - 3 June 2010.
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Last updated: 16th January 2012
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