Dr Charles Chewings was renowned for his work as a cameleer, explorer, land agent and pastoralist. He obtained a PhD in geology from Heidelberg University and carried out geological surveying work throughout Australia. An avid explorer of the outback, Chewings prepared a report based on his experiences travelling through Central Australia (1909). The report gives an account of Central Australian Aboriginal customs, diet, relationship to land and Europeans, marriage and kinship relationships, and 'defining characteristics' (1). It is typical of its time, portraying Aboriginal people, in general, as a 'primitive' race who 'have no love for Europeans and were it not for his rifle they would wipe out every one who goes among them' (15). Despite this assessment, the Australian Dictionary of Biography maintains that Chewings was popular among Aboriginal people. Upon his retirement he prepared an Aranda dictionary based on words collected by other students and himself. The dictionary is now housed in the University of Adelaide along with Carl Strehlow's 'Aranda-und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien' (1915). He is fondly remembered by Doris Blackwood who met Chewings in the early part of the century. Blackwood recalls a 'colourful personality and we always enjoyed seeing him’ (Blackwood in Blackwood and Lockwood, 158)
Reference: Doris Blackwell and Douglas Lockwood, 'Alice on the Line', Rigby Ltd, Sydney 1965, Charles Chewings, ‘About the Blacks: Natives of Central Australia', "The Register", pp 1-16, 1909
