German Lutheran Missionary who co-wrote 'Legends of the Dieri and Kindred Tribes of Central Australia' with Howitt and published 'Some Native Legends from Central Australia' with Mary E. B. Howitt. Siebert learnt Dieri language to preach to those living at the Bethesda mission. He interviewed Aboriginal men and women, under guidance from Howitt, and collected a range of items including baskets, spears and seed specimens. A number of these are at the Museum Weltkulturen in Frankfurt, Germany. Siebert, among other German missionaries, was chastised for his ethnographic interest. It was felt this distracted him from matters such as conversion of Aboriginal people to the Christian faith.
Otto Siebert
http://spencerandgillen.net/people/4fac697f023fd704f475b499
See also: Chris Nobbs, 'Talking into the Wind: Collectors on the Cooper Creek, 1890-1910' in Nicolas Peterson, Lindy Allen and Louise Hamby, The Makers and Making of Indigenous Australian Museum Collections, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2008, pp. 206-234.
See also: Chris Nobbs, 'Talking into the Wind: Collectors on the Cooper Creek, 1890-1910' in Nicolas Peterson, Lindy Allen and Louise Hamby, The Makers and Making of Indigenous Australian Museum Collections, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2008, pp. 206-234.
Found in Transcriptions
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Siebert to Howitt 19/July/1897Pages 2Registration Number XM303Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet, two pages. Text is in English. Condition: fragile; sheet almost completely torn along fold. -
BeliefsPages 9Registration Number XM593Author Howitt, Mr Alfred WilliamPhysical Description Notes, incomplete, handwritten, undated. 25 foolscap sheets, 25 pages, some with slips of paper attached. Text 'struck through' with vertical pencilled lines. Condition: some pages with tattered edges.
Also found in
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Siebert to Howitt 26/10/1898Registration Number hw0348Author —Physical Description — -
Reuther to Howitt 30/01/1904Registration Number XM293Author —Physical Description Draft letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet, one page. (Unrelated typed text on the reverse.) Condition: light foxing. -
Siebert to Howitt 1/June/1898Registration Number XM302Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet, four pages. Text in German. Condition: good. -
Siebert to Howitt 13/10/1897Registration Number XM304Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet, three pages. Condition: good. -
Siebert to Howitt 06/07/1898Registration Number XM309Author —Physical Description Letter and diagram, handwritten in ink. Two sheets, three pages. Text is in German. Page one annotated in blue pencil '23' (top right); page three annotated '24'. Condition: good -
Letter from Siebert 6/07/1898Registration Number XM310Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet; two pages. Text is in German. Condition: tattered along right edge. -
Siebert to Howitt 27/Jul/1898Registration Number XM311Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. Two sheets, eight pages. Text is in German, English and Aboriginal. Condition: good. -
Spencer to Howitt 8 February 1900Registration Number XM380Author —Physical Description Letter, handwritten in ink. One sheet, three pages. Condition: paper loss bottom corner of sheet; slight yellowing and marking. -
On some Native Trading CentresRegistration Number XM695Author Howitt, Mr Alfred WilliamPhysical Description Typed and undated. With handwritten annotations and corrections throughout. Condition: foxing; some sheets with edge damage.