An experimental message-stick making workshop was held at the Armidale Aborginal Cultural Centre & Keeping Place on 16 February 2026. This was a successful collaboration between the Australian Message Stick Project, the Cultural Centre, Taragara Research, Local Land Services, and the cultural centre itself.
Facilitators were Warren Kelly (Local Land Services), Bob Blair (Armidale Cultural Centre & Keeping Place), Mark Moore (University of New England) and Piers Kelly (Australian Museum and University of New England)
At the request of Taragara Research, participation was limited to local Aboriginal men. Those who joined the workshop learned how the communication system worked in practice and how message sticks are made. They also contributed their own experiences and skills to better understand the traditional process of carving and inscribing. A very rough guide to this process can be found here.
Local Land Services provided samples of local timbers, while Mark Moore brought mulga from Lightning Ridge. One of the aims of the workshop was to try to reconstruct traditional techniques through experimental processes including the use of stone and steel tools as well as rough leaves for sanding.
Some of the observations:
- message sticks can take a very long time to make!
- stone tools are very effective at splitting mulga in a clean way. The wider the diameter of the sample, the easier it is to create two clean splits for a thin message stick.
- Mulga heartwood creates an impressive colour contrast (this aesthetic has been exploited by Muruwari message-stick makers). The heartwood itself is easier to engrave than the outer wood.
- it’s better to create a smaller blank, rather than a larger blank
- the engraving (or ‘inscription’) process is tricky with both stone and steel tools. It’s easy to generate excess strokes that miss the mark.
- smooth basalt is more effective at closing the grain and creating a polish than rough leaves
- coming up with a ‘message’ can leader a kind of ‘writer’s block’. A good prompt is to depict a journey, since this is a very common theme on message sticks, especially the self-referential journey of the messenger themselves
The original flyer is below:
