‘This engraving depicts a traditional method of dugong hunting in the western Torres Strait islands.

At the bottom of the image, three hunters in their canoe (Gul) are looking for the animal. The man on the left is an experienced hunter and shows the youngsters what to do. A lucky charm floats beside the canoe to attract the sea animals when they approach. The dugongs are far away, invisible, but the men can see the dust they leave behind in the water. These tracks are only visible when there is a strong current (kulis), represented here by the pale blue areas, inlaid with patterns of pearls and tortoiseshell. ‘Dennis Nona