Transition to the South Australia Museum
Bob Edwards’ early encounters with Aboriginal stone tools and cultural sites helped shape a lifelong commitment to understanding, recording and protecting Australia’s ancient heritage. Guided by mentors such as Harold Cooper and Charles Mountford, he developed both his archaeological knowledge and his distinctive skill as a photographer in the field. From the vineyards near the Sturt River to the engraving sites of Panaramitee, Arnhem Land and Central Australia, Bob’s work combined curiosity, endurance and deep respect — using research and photography not only to document Aboriginal cultural traditions, but to advocate for their preservation for future generations.
"By the time I took up the lease on 'Orange Grove' I was already well acquainted wih many aspects of Aboriginal traditional life. In the course of cultivating a vineyard on higher ground near the River (Sturt) I chanced upon a number of large tools made from pieces of Quartzite.
These had been given the type name 'Kartan' by Harold M. Cooper an Honorary at the South Australian Musuem specialising in stone tools. He was one of my mentors who generously passed on his lifetime of experience in this field.
We worked closely together as colleagues on my later appointment to the position of Curator of Anthropology at the South Australian Museum in 1965. Mr Cooper also spent many years researching the life and explorations of Captain Matthew Flinders who played such a key role in South Australian history. "
From: the biographical notes of Robert Edwards
"...it was Mountford who taught him to photograph rock art: how to avoid all angles, so as not to skew the dimensions of a painting or engraving, and to patiently observe how light and shadows interact with the rock face before taking a photograph.
Edwards bought his first camera at the age of thirteen in Rundle Street for 10 shillings and six pence, using all his pocket money. The Kodak was the first of hundreds he would collect over his lifetime, most of which followed him into the field. He joined the camera club at Thebarton Boys Technical High School and even built his own darkroom in the family home...It is hard to find an early archaeological text in Australia that does not feature his photography."
"In 1965, before taking up the job as curator of the South Australian Museum, Bob Edwards embarked on six months of fieldwork across Arnhem Land and Central Australia with the assistance of John Mulvaney. It was 'a great long 8,000 mile journey' that illuminated the challenges and delights of working across cultures.
These 'adventures' into remote country, often with little water and limited petrol. And always with few funds, were marked by euphoria and hardship, Edwards was appalled by the negative attitudes towards Aboriginal people in the towns, and he lamented the damage that was being casually - and sometimes deliberatley - inflicted on their cultural sites...
He used the photographs from these expeditions to raise public awareness of the vandalism and to make detailed legislative recommendations for the preservation of 'Aboriginal monuments, antiquities and sites'.
To help educate the Australian public about Aboriginal society and rock art, he allowed his diary from a similar expedition to be published by the Australian in April 1970 as a six-part feature on 'The Rock Engravers'.
His advocacy was anchored in the belief that 'while the Aborigines are the rightful owners of this heritage, all Australians are the beneficiaries of this unique cultural tradition."
From: Griffiths, B. Deeptime Dreaming. Black Inc, 2018
A selection of published papers and field trips in the years leading up to becoming Curator of Anthropology at the South Australia Museum:
Edwards R, 1954: St Mary's-on-the-Sturt.
Reprinted from proceedings o the Royal Geographical Society South Australian Branch.
Edwards R and Mountford CP. , 1962: Aboriginal Rock Engravings of Extinct Creatures in South Australia.
Man, Vol. 62, Art. 174, pp. 97-99. London.
Edwards R, 1963: Preliminary Survey of the Aboriginal Reniform Slate Scrapers of South Australia.
Records South Australian Museum, Vol 14, No 3 pp 515-524. Adelaide.
Edwards R, 1964: Rock Engravings and Stone Implements of Pitcairn Station, North-eastern South Australia.
Records South Australian Museum, Vol 14, No 4, pp 643-662. Adelaide.
Field Trips:
1962 (November): Field excursion to Pitcairn and Outalpa Stations.
1963: Fromm's Landing with John Mulvaney.
1965 (May to October): Photographic Survey of Aboriginal Art, Western Arnhem Land and Central Australia.
Edwards R, 1964: A Former Aboriginal Camp-site on the Sturt River at Marion, South Australia.
Records South Australian Museum, Vol 14, No 3 pp 515-524. Adelaide.
Edwards R and Mountford CP, 1964: Rock Engravings in the Red Gorge Deception Creek, Northern South Australia.
Anthropos, Bol 59, pp 849-859, St Augustin.