Increase understanding of Aboriginal rock art & cultural heritage
"From the early stages of his career Bob Edwards was dedicated to increasing Australian people's understandings of Aboriginal rock art and cultural heritage. Several of his books, including Australian Aboriginal Art (Edwards 1978), were squarely aimed at school children and a public audience.
In a section on Aborigines and the future in Australian Aborigines, Edwards was direct in expressing his views on the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people:
"For many years the settlers thought very little of the Aborigines and their culture. They did not realise how skilful the Aborigines were in being able to live off the land, as they had for many thousands of years. The settlers took the land from the Aborigines and did nothing for them in return...It is hoped that this book will create an interest in Aboriginal life which will lead many readers to find out more for themselves."
From: Claire Smith FAHA. "Dr Robert 'Bob' Edwards AO FAHA, 1930–2023." Australian Academy of the Humanities, 2023.
Author:
Edwards, R. and Guerin, B., 1969: Aboriginal Bark Paintings. 32 p. Rigby, Adelaide.
Edwards, R. and Guerin, B., 1970: Arnhem Land in Colour. 31 p. Rigby, Adelaide.
Edwards, R., 1972: Aboriginal Bark Canoes of the Murray Valley. 80 p. Rigby, for the South Australian Museum, Adelaide.
Edwards, R., 1964: The Kaurna People of the Adelaide Plains. South Australian Museum, Adelaide.
Edwards, R. (ed.), 1973: Australian Aboriginal Culture. 47 p. Australian National Commission for UNESCO, Canberra.
Edwards, R. (ed.), 1978: Aboriginal Art in Australia. 72 p. Ure Smith, Sydney.
Edwards, R., 1979: Australian Aboriginal Art. 202 p. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra.
Edwards, R. (ed.), 1975: The Preservation of Australia's Aboriginal Heritage. 237 p. Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra.
Film maker:
Edwards, R., 1968: Aboriginal Arnhem Land (Film). South Australian Museum and Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 45 min., Sd., B&W, Adelaide.
Edwards, R., 1968: Aboriginal Canoe Trees of the Murray (Film). South Australian Museum and Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 15 min., Sd., B&W, Adelaide.
Edwards, R., 1968: The Prehistoric Rock Art of the Cleland Hills (Film). South Australian Museum and Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 16 min., Sd., B&W, Adelaide.
Edwards, R., 1969: Ancient Rock Art of the Tasmanian Aborigines (Film). 20 min., Sd., Colour 16mm, Canberra.
Edwards, R., 1969: The Flint Miners of the Nullarbor (Film). South Australian Museum and Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, 28 min., Sd., B&W, Adelaide.
Edwards, R., 1970: Excavations at Kow Swamp, Victoria (Film). 45 min., Sd., Colour 16mm, Canberra.
Heartfelt Tributes
"Bob has always been a key player about breaking the silence about Indigenous culture, either through his own work, which has been prodigious, or through the support, encouragement and mentoring of a whole generation of students of Indigenous history, anthropology and the arts. There is no-one who is more respected by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike."
"That is exactly the kind of person that Bob has been always...collaborating with people and using the resources at his disposal to help other people in their projects. I would like to thank Bob enormously because my life would have been completely different if it hadn't been for him..."