ABSTRACT
Western Arnhem Land is home to arguably the world's longest continuing artistic tradition dating back over 20,000 years. A major shift took place, however, in the early 1900s with the growing Balanda (non-Aboriginal) interest in acquiring examples of the region's art. As a result, to begin to understand Injalak's community, we must understand the role of art in western Arnhem Lander's lives during the last 100 years. In this chapter, I focus on the early history of art trading in Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) beginning with the earliest bark painting collections and finishing with the start of the Oenpelli mission in 1925.
