Matthew Newton (Australia):

Moonbird Boy


“In the 1970s, Indigenous Tasmanian poet Errol West wrote the poem Moon Birds of Big Dog Island:

Like dust blown across the plain are the people of the Moon Bird.
And yet there is no one to teach me the songs
That bring the Moon bird, the fish
Or any other thing that makes me what I am.

Mutton birds, also known as moonbirds, have been harvested by the Tasmanian Aboriginal people for hundreds of years. It is a time for the Aboriginal community to come together and connect with country. This series shows young Shay Maynard ‘birding’ on Big Dog Island in Bass Straight, Tasmania.”

Matthew Newton is an independent photographer based in Hobart, Tasmania who works with both moving and still images. He has shot documentaries that have been broadcast nationally, and regularly photographs for editorial and news publications throughout Australia. He has been selected as a finalist for numerous awards and prizes including the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize in 2010 and 2011, the Head On Portrait Prize in 2008, 2010 and 2011, and the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 2010. He won the City of Davenport Art Award in 2010.

Images © Matthew Newton.