Ursula Hope McConnel (1888–1957) was a

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

anthropologist and

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

best remembered for her work with, and the records she made of, the Wik Mungkan people of

Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...

. First trained at

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

London, then supervised by Professor Alfred Radcliffe-Brown in the Department of Anthropology,

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, McConnel was one of the first women to be trained in anthropology and then go out to observe

Aboriginal Australians 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 Isl ...

in remote areas, systematically documenting, recording, and describing their culture, mythology, beliefs, and way of life.Perusco, Anne O'Gorman "McConnel, Ursula Hope (1888–1957)"
Accessed 8 June 2009

Early life

Born on a grazing property called "Cressbrook" (near Toogoolawah, Queensland), Ursula McConnel was the eighth child (fifth daughter) of grazier James Henry McConnel and his wife, Mary Elizabeth McConnel (née Kent). Raised on the Cressbrook property in what has been described as an "austere" and "repressed" family environment, she was:Rothwell, Nicolas (2009
"Enigma Variations"
Article in the Australian, 15 August 2009. Accessed 17 August 2009 :"Striking in looks, brilliant in intellectual gifts, she passed through Brisbane High School for Girls and

New England Girls' School , motto_translation = Whatsoever you do, do it heartily , location = 13-83 Uralla Road, Armidale, New South Wales 2350 , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales , pushpin_image ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...

, garlanded with prizes, before taking first-class honours in philosophy at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

Ursula McConnell has been described as a brave, free-thinking, open questing woman with sometimes strong emotions, growing up at a time when the first wave of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

n Australia was coming of age: " .. a perfect test case for the various ideas of self-creation .." who also, during troubled times studying, came under the shaping influence of her brother-in-law and psychologist

Elton Mayo George Elton Mayo (26 December 1880 – 7 September 1949) was an Australian born psychologist, industrial researcher, and organizational theorist.Cullen, David O'Donald. ''A new way of statecraft: The career of Elton Mayo and the development ...

, husband of her sister Dorothea McConnel: :"She was a student of herself ndbelieved the human mind could not only be probed and subjected to intensive study through its social context but that its individual workings could be analysed and known in depth" She was once engaged, never married, and being financially secure in her investments in wool bonds, devoted her life to her anthropological research endeavours in Western Cape York Peninsula, driven by a strong sense of duty and justice to the people with whom she had worked.

Education

At New England Girls' School she received prizes in singing and languages. From ages 17 to 19 she attended courses in history, politics, literature, and music at King's College London. By the age of 20 she completed and attained a first-class honours in philosophy and psychology at the University of Queensland. At the age of 35 she commenced a doctorate in anthropology at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, but, lonely, stressed, and ill she returned to Australia in 1927 without completing her doctorate. On her return, under Professor Alfred Radcliffe-Brown (University of Sydney) she started doing ethnographic research amongst the Wik Mungkan people, Cape York Peninsula.

Career

Between 1927 and 1934 McConnel undertook five field trips into the Cape, and published numerous articles plus a book (entitled ''Myths of the Munkan'') mostly about the Wik Mungkan people, and the Aboriginal Australians of Cape York generally. During this period she was also awarded a

Rockefeller fellowship The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Ca ...

(1931–33) to study under

Edward Sapir Edward Sapir (; January 26, 1884 – February 4, 1939) was an American Jewish anthropologist-linguist, who is widely considered to be one of the most important figures in the development of the discipline of linguistics in the United States. Sap ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, in the United States of America. Her series of articles in ''Walkabout'' magazine in 1936 promoted her research, and her concern over the treatment by government and missions of aboriginal people, to the general public. She attempted to obtain a doctorate in anthropology from University College, London, by submitting her publications, but, in the end, never obtained that doctorate, though still laying a significant foundation for present day anthropological research amongst the Aboriginal peoples of the region.

Bibliography

* (1926) ''Social organization of tribes of

'' Oceania—1939, 1940; v.10, no.1, no.4; 4 72, 34��455 * (2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 May 1928) ''Wikmunkan people of Gulf of Carpentaria'': Series of nine articles telling of experiences on an anthropological expedition up the Archer River, Gulf of Carpentaria; * (1930) ''The Rainbow-serpent in North Queensland'': Report of yero amongst Koka-Yalunyu tribe in Daintree and Bloomfield River region * (1931) ''A moon legend from the

Bloomfield River The Bloomfield River is a river located in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia, noted for its Bloomfield River cod fish species, found only in the river. Course and features The river rises in the Great Dividing Range below Zi ...

, North Queensland'': A creation myth with explanatory analysis originally part of initiation ceremony * (1933) ''The Symbol in legend'': Comparative study of variations from a common type of culture; Examples from Wik-Munkan, Koko- Yulunyu, Koko-Yimidir kinship system and terms * (1927–1928, & 1934) ''Material culture and ceremonies at North-West Cape York'': 120 photographs taken during Ursula McConnel's field research. * (1935) ''Legends and ritual'': paper read before A.N.Z.A.A.S., Melb, * (1935) ''Junior marriage systems : comparative survey'': Survey of Cape York Peninsula * (1936) ''Totemic hero-cults in Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland'': totemic culture of Wikmunkan and neighbouring tribes * (1936) ''Cape York Peninsula: the Civilised Foreground'', Walkabout, June 1936, 16–19 * (1936) ''Cape York Peninsula: The Primitive Playgound'', Walkabout, July 1936, 10–15 * (1936) ''Cape York Peninsula: Development and Control'', Walkabout, August 1936, 36–40 * (1937) ''Mourning ritual among the tribes of Cape York Peninsula'': * (1937) ''Illustration of the myth of Shiveri and Nyunggu'': Brief outline of story of two hero cults plus diagram of story places * (1945) ''The Wik-munkan tribe of Cape York Peninsula'' Oceania—1930, 1930, 1934; v.1, no.1, no.2, v.4, no.3; 7��104, 81��205, 10��367 * (1945) ''Wikmunkan phonetics'': Survey of phonetics from recordings made in 1934 to obtain cultural information. Oceania—1945; v.15, no.4; 53��375 * (1953) ''Native arts and industries on the Archer, Kendall, and Holroyd rivers, Cape York Peninsula, North Queensland'' Records of the South Australian Museum Vol. 11, no.1 (1953) * (1957) ''Myths of the Mungkan'' Melbourne. Melbourne University Press: Explanatory matter relates myths and stories to way of life and psychology of Wik-Munggan in Archer, Holroyd, and Edward river area

Newspaper articles

* "Girl Anthropologist: Cape York studies"Sydney Morning Herald (17 April 1929) "Girl Anthropologist: Cape York studies"
/ref>
Courier Mail (11 September 1933) "Studies Among Natives -Miss Ursula McConnel's Work"
Accessed 30 April 2010
Courier Mail (30 September 1933) "Social Life Study: Miss Ursula McConnell's Address"
Accessed 30 April 2010
Courier Mail (22 December 1933) "In Town and Out: Miss Ursula McConnel a noted anthropologist .. is one of a small group of Australian anthropologists who are doing hard field work among the natives
Accessed 30 April 2010
Sydney Morning Herald (8 March 1934) "Science: Adventures in Anthropology by Ursula McConnell
Accessed 30 April 2010

References

External links

Accessed 8 June 2009

Accessed 8 June 2009 * ttp://www.arts.usyd.edu.au/departs/museum/uploads/sutton.pdf Invitation to McLeay Museum, Sydney, Lecture and Exhibition on Australia's First Generation of AnthropologistsAccessed 8 June 2009
South Australian Museum Media Release (2006) "Major new collection of anthropological material donated to SA Museum"
Accessed 8 June 2009

Accessed 17 August 2009 * ttp://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1117696?searchTerm=Ursula McConnel Article in the ''Courier Mail'' (11 September 1933) "Studies Among Natives -Miss Ursula McConnel's Work"Accessed 8 June 2009
McConnel Article in the ''Courier Mail'' (11 January 1934) "Study Tribes in the Wild – Task for the Trained"
Accessed 8 June 2009 * {{DEFAULTSORT:McConnel, Ursula 1888 births 1957 deaths Australian anthropologists Australian women anthropologists Alumni of King's College London 19th-century Australian women 20th-century Australian women 20th-century anthropologists Australian women photographers