King Plate
King plates were a form of regalia used in pre-Federation Australia by white colonial authorities to recognise local Aboriginal leaders. The plates were metallic crescent-shaped plaques worn around the neck by important Aborigines.
Aboriginal people did not traditionally have kings or chiefs. They lived in small clan groups with several elders – certain older men and perhaps women – who consulted with each other on decisions for the group. By appointing kings of tribes, and granting them king plates, the white colonial powers went against the more collegiate grain of traditional Aboriginal culture.
Read more about King Plate: Brief History, Aboriginal King Plate Holders
Famous quotes containing the words king and/or plate:
“Not Solomon, for all his wit,
Nor Samson, though he were so strong,
No king nor person ever yet
Could ‘scape, but death laid him along:”
—Robert Southwell (1561?–1595)
“Say “Yessum” to the ladies, an’ “Yessur” to the men,
And when they’s company, don’t pass yer plate for pie again;
But, thinkin’ of the things yer’d like to see upon that tree,
Jes ‘fore Christmas be as good as yer kin be!”
—Eugene Field (1850–1895)