Kurangara in Queensland?: A Critique of Duncan‐Kemp's Account

Abstract

A particular historical travelling religious complex in northern Western Australia, usually known as Kurangara, has been the subject of anthropological attention since the late 1930s. Overlooked in all the literature is a similar account assigned to 1912–1918, in the distant Channel Country of southwest Queensland. This is in Alice Duncan‐Kemp's last book, published in 1968. My examination shows that a good deal of Duncan‐Kemp's account repeated parts of a 1954 popular magazine about Kurangara in the Pilbara. In other respects Duncan‐Kemp may have drawn on her own childhood experiences, but in the absence of corroboration her account has to be considered unreliable.

How They Fought. Indigenous Tactics and Weaponry of Australia's Frontier Wars. By RayKerkhove. Tingalpa, AU: Boolarong Press. 2023. Pp: x + 420. Price: A$39.99

“…As the imitation of animal calls in a military context can hardly be considered convincing evidence of totemism (31), the case rests entirely on the late testimony of Alice Dunkan-Kemp. However, her reliability has recently been vigorously contested, particularly with regard to the Kooroongoora, a movement that emerged in Queensland at the end of the 19th century (Nash 2023). Further investigation is therefore required, especially since it is claimed that this movement constituted 'the largest organized rebellion Australia has ever witnessed' (54), and it is unclear how this 'religious millenarianism' (57) was expressed in military action.…”