ABSTRACT
The terminology for First Nations material culture changes from ‘curios’ to ‘artefact’ to ‘fine arts’, with a great deal of overlap but generally mirroring the changing policy approaches and reception of those items among the general public. The protector’s duties also included satisfying a large number of requests for artefacts such as boomerangs. The change of name and the treatment of cultural artefacts as commodities – with all the headaches of commercialization such as customer feedback and complaints, dealing with broken items, stock stakes and end of year reports – say much about how Queensland was addressing concepts of culture. Curio production and interest in Aboriginal culture was building in Queensland. The Exhibition display was a success and the possibilities of a new industry in Queensland was becoming more widely recognized. Queensland Native Creations went about the business of gathering stock from around Queensland to meet the needs of the City of Brisbane’s tourist industry.
