Bindibu expedition

The Bindibu expedition was a series of three field trips mounted by anthropologist Donald Thomson to meet with and learn from Pintupi Indigenous Australians between 1957 and 1965.

Thomson travelled to the Great Sandy Desert and Gibson Desert – the Western Desert – one of the most inhospitable parts of the country, to meet with these people still living as they had done for many thousands of years.

The Pintupi (Bindibu) were the last Aboriginal group to make contact with Europeans over the period 1956 to 1984. Many Pintupi people still remember this experience. For many, Thomson was the first white man they had ever seen.

In this research he concentrated on the Aborigines' hunting and gathering practices. He provided a collection of Pintupi material including photographs, notes and films, which now form part of invaluable museum collections.

Just before he left the people, they gave him an invaluable lesson on desert water, including an important "map" to assist its location. White people had long been puzzled as to how Aborigines could possibly find water in this harsh environment. Many desert explorers had captured Aborigines and used force and brutality to gain this vital knowledge – see for example, the history of the . Thomson writes:

As well as writing in scholarly, anthropological journals, Thomson often filed articles back to many mainstream publications, such as The Australian Women's Weekly, about his findings in the Outback with the world's oldest surviving culture. He was often criticised for this for being low-brow. However, he defended his actions, realising the appeal and fascination of the ordinary Australian with the first Australians and their apparently simple, yet necessarily sophisticated, survival skills

Thomson said of the Bindibu:

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