Mary Jane’s Emus

Introduction

The National Trust Australia (Tasmania) holds three 19th century Tasmanian scrapbooks from the Clarendon collection In one of the scrapbooks, amongst an array of poems, personal writings, pressed plants and illustrations, is a sketch of a group of four Emus.

From the information available it appears that the scrapbook’s owner, Mary Jane Cathcart (nee Welsh), lived between c.1819 –1894 and spent most of her life in Tasmania. Within her lifetime it is likely that Mary Jane would have been aware of and perhaps even seen the now extinct Tasmanian Emu. In her later years she would have almost certainly seen captive Emus from mainland Australia in local zoos, parks or on private estates.

During Mary’s childhood fragmented populations of Tasmanian Emus, their numbers severely reduced by the expanding Colony, could still be found in the Tasmanian bush. As Mary entered her teenage years Emus were becoming increasingly rare in the wild. When Mary began to run out of pages to fill in her scrapbook the Tasmanian Emu had run out of time and was all but gone. By the time the Mary Jane Cathcart was in her 40s and her only daughter was grown and married, the Tasmanian Emu had disappeared from its wild haunts forever.

Images of Tasmanian Emus are extremely rare. Given the time period that the scrapbook was in use (c.1833 - c.1841) and its Tasmanian provenance, the question has to be asked - could the sketch it contains be of Dromaius novaehollandiae tasmaniensis, the extinct Tasmanian Emu?

Australian Coat of Arms 1908	Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). Illustration by John Gould

The Emu

The Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) is a large flightless bird native to Australia. Along with the kangaroo, the Emu is a unique and iconic part of Australia’s fauna and culture. Together with the Red Kangaroo (Macropus rufus), the Emu proudly supports the Australian Coat of Arms. Apparently, these animals were chosen because it was believed that that neither could walk backwards and were therefore symbolic of the Nation’s progress and determination to move forward. Unfortunately, progress usually comes at a price and it is ironic that in Tasmania the Emu became one of the first victims of the new colony’s steadfast and inevitable march forward.

Tasmania’s Emus

Two forms of Emu were found in Tasmania at the time of European settlement; the Tasmanian Emu and the King Island Emu. Both Emus had become isolated from their Australian mainland counterparts by rising sea levels around 13,000 years ago.

King Island Emu The King Island Emu (Dromaius ater) was found only on King Island in Bass Strait. It was hunted by sealers for its meat and eggs and was extinct by 1805. It is thought to have been a separate species to the Australian mainland Emu, being significantly smaller and darker. It is sometimes referred to as the Dwarf Emu.
	King Island Emu (Dromaius ater). Illustration by John Gerrard Keulemans
Tasmanian Emu The Tasmanian Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae tasmaniensis) is thought to have been a subspecies of the Australian mainland Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). Anecdotal accounts suggest that it may have been slightly smaller and darker than the Australian mainland Emu (but larger than the King Island Emu). However, many scientists are not convinced that it was significantly different from the Australian mainland form. The Tasmanian Emu was hunted for its meat, eggs and for sport in the early years of European settlement. By the 1830s it had become rare and was last recorded in the wild between 1845 and 1865. Some captive birds lingered on until about 1873. Emus from mainland Australia were brought to Tasmania from 1845 onwards where they were kept in zoos, parks and on private properties.	Tasmanian Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis). llustration by John Gerrard Keulemans

Unfortunately, due to the speed of its extermination, very few specimens were collected for scientific study. As a result, hardly any physical evidence of the Tasmanian Emu remains. There are only two whole birds (preserved as study skins in the British Museum), some skeletal remains, a few eggs and a mummified foot (held in the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston).

Mummified foot of Tasmanian Emu collected by R.C. Gunn prior to 1856. Image Courtesy Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery,

There are no photographs of Tasmanian Emus. Illustrations of Emus in Tasmanian landscapes exist but are very rare. A painting in the National Library of Australia shows Emus in the grounds of Highfield (Edward Curr’s residence at Circular Head, Stanley) c. 1835. Given the date it is quite probable that they are Tasmanian Emus, although they are so small and simplified they can only just be identified as Emus.

Illustrations that date between c.1845 and c.1873 are problematic as both Tasmanian and Australian mainland Emus were present in Tasmania (in zoos and on private properties) at that time. There are many difficulties in attempting to identify animals from illustrations. All artwork is influenced by both the artist’s and the viewer’s knowledge, imagination and individual interpretation. This 19th century illustration is from a book. At first sight it looks like two Thylacines chasing an Emu (presumably a Tasmanian Emu). The book’s author, however, has interpreted the Thylacines as Dingos in the caption. If this is true then the Emu cannot be Tasmanian. Ultimately, only the artist knows what he or she was trying to portray.

19th century illustration, artist and date unknown. (author’s collection)

The Scrapbook

The scrapbook (Trust Registration number CL19930099) in which the Emu sketch appears is one of three held by the National Trust of Australia (Tasmania). An inscription on the first page indicates that the scrapbook was given to Mary Jane Welsh by Mr. T. Reibey. The scrapbook can be dated from c.1833 to just after 1841 from an early entry by R. Reibey in 1833 and from a later entry toward the end of the book dated 1841 . This is assuming the pages are in chronological order, which they appear to be. Mary would have been about 14 at the time she received the scrapbook. She went on to marry George Cathcart of Invermay and in 1839 they had a daughter, Louisa Kate, who appears to have been the owner of the other two scrapbooks. Louisa Kate married Thomas Chalmers Archer of Woolmers Estate in 1862. Mary Jane Cathcart died in 1894 at Launceston at the age about 76, which puts her date of birth at around 1819. The newspaper article at the time describes her as ‘one of Launceston’s oldest residents’.

Flyleaf of scrapbook (Trust Registration number CL19930099)

Scrapbook page containing entry by R. Reibey in 1833	Scrapbook page containing entry dated 1841

The Sketch

The sketch, in pencil, is found towards the end of the scrapbook and depicts a group of four adult Emus. It appears to have been drawn directly onto the original scrapbook page and has not been pasted in. The artist is unknown, it may have been Mary Jane, or a friend, acquaintance or other family member may have done it. There is no discernable signature. Assuming the pages are in chronological order it was probably sketched shortly after 1841.

The Emus are standing near the edge of some water (perhaps a dam) in the foreground. There is some roughly sketched vegetation at the water’s edge but it is too non-specific to identify. Behind the birds, in the background, are the vague outlines of some mountains. There is nothing in the landscape that identifies it as uniquely Tasmanian.

The group of Emus is suggestive of a captive situation that might be found in a park or zoo, as Emus are generally solitary birds except during breeding. However, they can form groups under certain situations such as drinking at watering places.

The birds are quite animated and natural in their attitude suggesting they were sketched from life. Wild Tasmanian Emus would have been rare by this time and it is very unlikely that the artist would have happened across a group of wild Emus while having the scrapbook on hand. Australian mainland Emus had only just been introduced around this time, if at all. If these are captive birds in Tasmania c.1841 they are more likely to be Tasmanian Emus than mainland Emus.

There is not enough detail in the birds to draw any conclusions about their identity, except perhaps the observation that the legs seem slightly short for Australian mainland Emus. Interestingly, this feature is more consistent with the King Island Emu but that species was extinct by 1805.

There is also an unusual feature on the Emu closest to the water in the foreground. It has what look like a pair of wattles on its throat. Emus do not have wattles. It is difficult to know what to make of this except to say that it is a good example of why illustrations are unreliable tools for scientific identification. All forms of art are subject to the interpretation of both the artist and the viewer.

Tasmanian Emus?

Detail from the sketch

If the dating of the scrapbook and sketch is correct, then it is possible these could be Tasmanian Emus. Assuming that wild Tasmanian Emus were rare during the scrapbook’s time frame, they would most probably be captive birds. They are unlikely to be introduced mainland Australian Emus as these were supposedly not brought to Tasmania until after 1845. However, this is assuming that the illustration was done from life. There is a very real possibility that the sketch could have been copied from a book or other publication available at the time. In this case it would be more likely that they represent Australian mainland birds, perhaps copied from a newspaper article or illustrated publication. It is also possible that Mary Jane visited the Australian mainland at some stage and they were drawn there. Equally, they may have been copied from a drawing done by a family member, friend or acquaintance who had visited or come from one of the mainland colonies.

There is nothing in the sketch itself that identifies the birds as Tasmanian Emus. Very little is known about what Tasmanian Emus looked like and it is possible that they were not very different in appearance from mainland Emus. The scarcity of information about the Tasmanian Emu, combined with the problems inherent in identifying animals from illustrations, makes it difficult to draw any firm conclusions about the identity of the birds in the sketch. The origin of Mary Jane’s sketch will probably remain as much a mystery as the Tasmanian Emu itself.

Items like the scrapbook and its contents can give insights into the lives of early settlers like Mary Jane. Even so, it is unlikely that we will ever know if this small sketch is a representation of the extinct Tasmanian Emu. The scrapbook and the sketch do tell us something very important, something that we already know. Mary Jane, her scrapbook, and her Emus are a poignant reminder of how rapid extinction can be on Islands that have evolved in relative isolation from outside influences. The Tasmanian Emu, having survived in isolation in Tasmania for at least 10,000 yrs, disappeared over the relatively short span of a single human generation within the lifetime of Mary Jane Cathcart (nee Welsh). Mary Jane’s descendants and her own history survived. The Tasmanian Emu’s did not.

The last page in the scrapbook

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1. National Trust of Australia (Tasmania), (2011) 'Three Scrapbooks from the Clarendon Collection', [online] available:
http://www.nationaltrusttas.org.au/scrapbooks/pages/introduction.htm [accessed 19 June 2011]

2. Gould, J.,(1840-1848) 'Dromaius novaehollandiae' The Birds of Australia, Gould,J., London. Volume VI page 4 [online] available:
http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.aus-f4773-6-s7-v

3. Keulemans,J.G.,1842-1912

4. Keulemans,J.G., (c.1910) 'Tasmanian Emu' , The Birds of Australia , (1910-1928) Mathews, G.M., Witherby London.

5. (c. 1856) Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, 'Preserved Emu Foot' Zoology Collection, specimen 2002:2.0001

6. (c.1835) 'Highfield, Circular Head, Stanley, Tasmania, residence for Edward Curr, first manager of the Van Diemen's Land Company', oil on canvas, 25.3 x 30.5 cm, National Library of Australia [online] available:  
http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an2274198 [accessed 19 June 2011]

7. (1862) 'Marriages' The Mercury Hobart, Tas. 23 January 1862 [online] available: National Library of Australia (Trove)
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/8803784?searchTerm=louisa%20cathcart&searchLimits= [accessed 19 June 2011]

8. (1895) 'Sudden Death' Launceston Examiner, Tas. 23 August 1895 [online] available: National Library of Australia (Trove)
 http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/39615245/2953987?zoomLevel=3 [accessed 19 June 2011]

Dove,H.S. (1926) 'How Tasmania Lost The Emu' The Emu, Official Organ of the Royal Autraliasian Ornithologists' Union, Volume XXIII, p. 221 & Volume XXIV, p.300 [ online] available: The Nevin Family Collections http://tasmanianphotographer.blogspot.com/2009/09/ornithological-disaster-thomas-nevin.html [accessed 19 June 2011]

(2011) 'Dromaius novaehollandiae diemenensis' [online] available: Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Canberra
http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=64437 [accessed 19 June 2011]

(2011) 'Tasmanian Emu & King Island Emu' images [online] available: Wikiepedia commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tasmanian_Emu.jpg [accessed 19 June 2011]
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KingIslandEmu-Keulemans.jpg [accessed 19 June 2011]

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Kathryn Medlock, Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery and Mark Davis, National Trust of Australia (Tasmania)

The author may be contacted via the Trust.