Emu Egg by Bill Poland

Like many Shark Bay people, Bill Poland was a man of both the sea and land. As a boy he worked on one of his dad’s five sail-powered pearling luggers. In the book Yammatji, published in 1992, he is quoted as saying: “The old people could handle boats through any weather - big 15 footers, and take the old missus and their dog, like they was going on a picnic.” Later, he took to work on pastoral stations. He also tried his hand at mining and served in the army in World War II. The jack-of-all trades was also a talented artist, as evidenced by this emu egg which he carved with his pocket knife in the 1960s.