Berndt Fieldnotes

The Berndt Fieldnotes are held by the Berndt Museum. After 30 years under embargo, the Museum is pleased to be working with Indigenous and descendant communities to access materials containing cultural knowledge.

The Berndt Museum is an Indigenous-led museum, embedded within the University’s Indigenous Portfolio. We follow a community-focused model of custodianship and seek to engage with communities around the cultural care of their heritage and materials. We are active in the repatriation of belongings, objects, works of art and cultural knowledge. The University’s Research Integrity Policy follows the AIATSIS Code of Ethics, recognising Indigenous people’s rights to access, maintain and control, and benefit from their Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property. 

The anthropologists Ronald and Catherine Berndt conducted field work in Australia and Papua New Guinea from approximately 1939 to 1985. Ancestors and Elders shared their information with the Berndts who wrote it down in their fieldnotes. The fieldnotes contain cultural information and, in some cases, sacred knowledge for many communities shared with the anthropologists. The fieldnotes also contain information by non-Indigenous people such as pastoralists and station workers, missionaries and government agencies as well as the Berndt’s observations during their travels.

Catherine Berndt endowed the fieldnotes to The University of Western Australia in her will in 1994, placing them under a 30-year embargo until 13 May 2024. This lack of access has caused significant pain to many Indigenous peoples and communities, and it is important that communities are now able to regain access to their cultural knowledge. We are currently undertaking a community-led process for culturally determined access.

The information on this page is also available as a PDF:

Berndt Fieldnotes – Information Sheet [PDF File, 174KB]

The Museum is undertaking a community-first access approach to the fieldnotes. We are working directly with descendant communities and their representatives for communities to manage their material and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property and to determine what wider access is culturally appropriate.

We acknowledge that most communities have never had access to this important collection of cultural material and that many of the people featured in the fieldnotes have now passed away. The fieldnotes contain cultural knowledge from many different communities. Please contact us to discuss a process for accessing the materials and determining ongoing use.

Many notes speak to specific community trips. Some contain information about multiple locations and/or language groups. For instance, some locations, such as the army camps in the Northern Territory were used by for people from many different groups. When possible, pages will be separated for access, but where information from multiple groups is mixed, consultation with all relevant communities is required.

During their fieldwork Ronald Berndt worked primarily with men and Catherine Berndt with women. They often wrote down sensitive cultural information that may be gender restricted. We recognise that the fieldnotes need to undergo review and clearance by cultural authorities and advisors which will be determined by each community.

While we prioritise community access in the first instance, we understand that communities may wish to use external researchers or advisors to access the fieldnotes on their behalf. We also welcome requests from research projects that are community endorsed, in which researchers have established strong, ongoing connections with community. In most instances, communities should be given the first opportunity to view the contents of the fieldnotes to determine whether it is appropriate for external researchers to view them.

Given their age and delicate condition, the original notes cannot be handled directly. However, they have been digitised and for information about places, communities, language groups, personal names, and topic (such as song, language, ceremony), indexes are available upon request. Printed copies are also available. 

A small percentage of the fieldnotes have not been digitised or indexed. We will be working in collaboration with relevant communities on their digitisation.

Legibility and transcription 

The fieldnotes are written in cursive script, in the handwriting of both Ronald and Catherine Berndt, often using linguistic and shorthand annotations. The notes also contain other interpretive challenges, for instance inconsistent spelling.

The fieldnotes require an ongoing collaborative process for interpretation and transcription. We can assist communities with interpretation and transcription as required.

Digitally

Digitised versions of the fieldnotes are available. Digital access will be provided through secure channels and on the condition the material will not be distributed outside of the approved parties. 

In-person

The Museum holds vast cultural material, works of art and archival collections. These may be of great interest to communities and may relate directly to the fieldnotes contents.

We welcome in-person visits to access the fieldnotes and other cultural material. Please note, visits must be booked in advance to ensure we have adequate staff to assist. We recommended getting in touch about your visit at least 6–8 weeks in advance. 

Download the PDF version if you wish to submit an access request via post or email.

Fieldnotes – Access Request Form [PDF File, 200 KB]

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M255A
35 Stirling Highway
Perth, Western Australia
6009