Catfish crucifix

Craft
Curios and crucifixes

Carved from the skeleton of a large catfish, this crucifix reflects the deep Christianity of many of the Aboriginal people from the Forrest River and other missions of the Kimberley. The Catfish was placed on the top of meat ant beds for the ants to remove the flesh. Twelve spikes at the top represented the twelve apostles. Inside the sculpture are two bone marbles that rattle. They represent the story of the soldiers who gambled to see who would obtain Christ’s robe after his crucifixion. From the 1950s, these crucifixes were made and sold as curios to tourists and sailors as their ships arrived at the Wyndham wharf.

Available at:

Wyndham History and Museum Collection

Not forgotten – the story of Wyndham

Sitting at the confluence of five rivers on the Cambridge Gulf, lies the old town of Wyndham, the most northerly port of Western Australia. After the great cattle treks by Nat Buchanan and the Duracks...

Address:

1 MacPhee Street
Wyndham WA 6740
Australia

Open Hours

25 April to 30 Sept 7 days 10am - 2pm; or by collecting the key from the Police Station across the road

More from the Wyndham History and Museum Collection

Meat Worker gladiators?

Chainmail gloves were all that protected the meat workers from the threat of the extremely sharp knives, used when butchering cattle. Their annual cattle head count is marked on a wooden ‘Tally board’...

Look out for Bismark

As you enter the Museum, one of the first faces you see is ‘Bismarck’, a croc that was (almost) as big as his namesake ship. A timely reminder, to locals and visitors alike, of the ever-present...

While you're in the area

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Five Rivers Lookout
Attraction
Five Rivers Lookout
See where five mighty Kimberley Rivers meet and flow into the ocean at...
Hugo Austla Drive, Wyndham, WA 6740
Marlgu Billabong
Attraction
Marlgu Billabong
Bird watchers will delight in the abundance of wild bird species to be...
Parry Creek Kununarra Road, Wyndham, WA 6740
Crocodile Statue
Attraction
Crocodile Statue
If you like ‘big’ town entry statements, you will love the giant Crocodile...
via Koolinda Street, Wyndham, WA 6740
Three Mile Valley
Attraction
Three Mile Valley
Three Mile Valley sits at the bottom of the Bastion Range which can be...
via Hugo Austla Drive, Wyndham, WA 6740