Emma,_Queen_of_La_Perouse_(Emma_Timbery),_Aboriginal_shellworker_-_portrait,_1895_-_unknown_photographer_(25574682996)

Emma Timbery (c.1842 - 26 November 1916) was a

Mulgoa Mulgoa is a village, located in the local government area of the City of Penrith, in the region of western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mulgoa is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district. Mu ...

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

shellworker and matriarch. She was also known as the "Queen of the Illawarra", "Queen of La Perouse" or "Granny Timbery." Her shellwork became part of a family tradition that continues to the present day. Timbery was also a Christian convert and active in the

Christian Endeavor Society The Young People's Society of Christian Endeavor was founded in Portland, Maine, in 1881 by Francis Edward Clark, as an interdenominational Christian youth society encouraging them to "work together to know God in Jesus Christ". Operating internat ...

in La Perouse. Timbery also acted as a cultural informant about her language, Dharawal.

Biography

Timbery was born on the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...

at Liverpool, New South Wales. She spoke Dharawal and was originally known by her stepfather's last name, Lond or Lownds. At the age of ten, she was taken to live with Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hill in Surry Hills, New South Wales. There, she began attending Sunday School regularly. She married George Timbery, an Aboriginal fisherman, in 1864 in

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

. She and George had 11 children together. The couple had moved to La Perouse by 1882 where Timbery was able to make extra money creating shell baskets. Timbery's shellwork was displayed on a regular basis and sold annually in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

at the Royal Easter Show. Timbery's work is part of the "early phase" of La Perouse shellwork. In 1910, her shellwork was displayed in London. Timbery was revered in the community, known as "Queen of La Perouse" or "Granny Timbery." Timbery was also a skilled fisher, and on at least two occasions, in 1876 and in the early 1900s, a boat was provided for the community to enable them to catch their own fish. The boat provided in 1876 was named the "Queen Emma", in honour of Timbery. Timbery was also an

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

on her own culture, working with the

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

R.H. Mathews, who was studying the Dharawal language and culture. Maria Nugent writes that Timbery's "information has been essential for the preservation and revival of the Dharawal language." Timbery, who had become a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

convert in the early 1890s, was also involved with Christian

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

at the La Perouse Aboriginal settlement and also with the

. Timbery was elected as vice president of the Christian Endeavor Society branch in La Perouse. Timbery was close to missionary, Retta Dixon and the two women worked together. It was believed by the community that

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

had left lands to Timbery, but the paperwork had been destroyed in a fire. Timbery died in La Perouse on 26 November 1916 and was buried in

Botany Cemetery Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, Eastern Suburbs Crematorium and Botany General Cemetery (aka Botany Cemetery), is a cemetery and crematorium on Bunnerong Road in Matraville, New South Wales, in the eastern suburbs district of Sydney, Australia. ...

. She left behind a long family legacy of arts with her grandson, Joseph Timbery, noted as a boomerang maker and women in her family continuing to do shellwork. Her great-granddaughter, Esme Russell, has won awards for her shellwork.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timbery, Emma 1842 births 1916 deaths Indigenous Australian artists Artists from New South Wales 19th-century Australian women artists 19th-century Australian artists 20th-century Australian women artists 20th-century Australian artists Burials at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park Shell artists Australian Christians Converts to Christianity from pagan religions