Charles Pearcy Mountford (1890-1976) was an Australian anthropologist and photographer. Self-taught, he became famous for his pioneering work on indigenous Australians and his depictions and descriptions of their art.

Charles Pearcy Mountford was born at Hallett, South Australia in 1890. Leaving school at the age of 11, he moved to Adelaide with his family in 1907, where he studied as an electrical mechanic, and in 1912, gained a position as a telephone mechanic at the Adelaide Post Office. His work gave him entry to remote areas of South Australia and the Northern Territory, where he began to meet and observe Aboriginal Australians.

In 1925 he found rock carvings at Panaramitee, north of Peterborough, and with anthropologist Dr. Norman Tindale, wrote and presented a paper on them. This launched his career as an ethnographer - albeit one he could only pursue during periods of leave from his employment.

In 1935 he was appointed Secretary to a Commonwealth Board of Inquiry into the shooting of Aboriginal people near Uluru; the experience igniting a lifetime's fascination with the people and culture of the area.

He worked consistently through the late 1930s and early 1940s, winning acclaim for his published and cinematic works. This led to a cultural tour of the United States in 1944-1945, during which he screened his films and lectured on Aboriginal culture.

His success on the lecture circuit led to the formation of the Australian-American Expedition to Arnhem Land. This 1948 expedition, a joint venture between the Australian government, Smithsonian Institute in Washington, and the American National Geographic Society, was the first of its kind in Australia.

Other significant expeditions followed, including trips to Yuendumu in 1951, Uluru in 1952, the Tiwi Islands in 1954 and Port Hedland in 1963.

Mountford died in 1976, and his ashes were scattered near Uluru.

Works

• The Art of Albert Namatjira (1944)
• Brown Men and Red Sand (1948)
• Australian tree portraits (1956)
• Records of the American-Australian scientific expedition to Arnhem Land: Vol. 1 Art, myth and symbolism (1956)
• The Tiwi: their art, myth and ceremony (1958)
• Ayers Rock, its people, their beliefs and their art (1965) - his M.A. thesis which became a popular paperback
• The Dreamtime (1965), The Dawn of Time (1969), and The First Sunrise (1971) - in collaboration with artist Ainslie Roberts
• Winbaraku : and the myth of Jarapiri (1967)
• Australian Aboriginal portraits (1967)
• The Aborigines and their country (1969)
• Nomads of the Australian Desert (1976) - withdrawn after sale for cultural reasons related to its depictions of sacred sites

External links

• Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Bright Sparcs Biographical entry
• Mountford-Sheard Collection of the State Library of South Australia
• State Library of South Australia: SA Memory page