Neddy Noora, Shoalhaven, 1834 breastplate

Around 1834 the artist Charles Rodius sketched an Aboriginal person of the Shoalhaven tribe by the name of Neddy Nora. He was wearing a breastplate. A lithograph of the original sketch was subsequently published. An item in the The Shoalhaven Telegraph of 8 July 1925 refers to the breastplate:

OPEN COLUMN.

(To the Editor).

Sir, — It may be of interest to your readers that I am in possession of two brass plates, one oblong, the other crescent shaped, bearing the following inscriptions: Upon the oblong plate is inscribed 'Broughton, native constable, Shoalhaven,' and dated 1822. To it is attached a chain. It was discovered at Worrigee in the ashes or calcined clay of a burnt stump. One can imagine that the constable was slaughtered by an enemy, and this symbol of authority thrown into the hollow of a tree before he fled. The crescent plate, with its chain, was discovered in the bed of the Broughton Mill Creek, near my residence, after a heavy flood which evidently washed away the gravel. It bears the legend 'Neddy Noora, 1834.' It is possible the present site of Nowra may have originally been known to the aboriginals as Noora, which is equally if not more euphonius than its present modern name.

Yours, etc., JOHN STEWART, Berry, July 6th, 1925.

Reference to the Neddy Noora breastplate was published in The South Coast Register, Berry, on 20 February 1936:

"NOORA"—NOT NOWRA 

Referring to the relics in the possession of Messrs. E. and N. Stewart, we inadvertently quoted one of the bronze decorations as bearing the word "Neddy Nowa." It should have read "Neddy Noora." This tablet might give our Nowra friends some food for thought, in that it might have some significance so far as their town is concerned. Perhaps Nowra was known as "Noora" in the early days.

Some history related to the Neddy Noora breastplate and copy of the print in the Shoalhaven Historical Society collection is contained in the following story from The Canberra Times, 28 August 1988:

Neddy's plate

The Shoalhaven Historical Society's museum, which occupies the old police station at the corner of Kinghorn and Plunkett Streets, Nowra, has a wealth of memorabilia from the district's past. An item of particular interest, with links going back to the exploration of the district by John Oxley in 1819, is a breastplate worn by Neddy Noora, one of the Aborigines accompanying the expedition. According to the society's treasurer, Miss Kay Harrison, the breastplates were a type of medal indicating the wearer's authority. The breastplate bears the inscription "Neddy Noora, Shoal Haven, 1834." To add interest to the exhibit is a lithograph obtained by Miss Harrison of Neddy Noora wearing the plate. The lithograph was by the German-born artist Charles Rodius, published in 1834. The museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays and public holidays from 1pm to 4pm and school holidays 11am-3pm, Monday to Friday.

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Other local breastplates

The Shoalhaven News and South Coast District Advertiser, 9 October 1926:

OLD SHOALHAVEN RELIC.

Recently Mr. Lindon Biddulph, a

native of Shoalhaven, forwarded to

the Mitchell Library an aboriginal

breast-plate presented to Nemmit,

chief of the Sutton Forest tribe, in

1825. The plate is said to be of an

earlier date than any other in the

Mitchell Library.

The plate was found in 1876 (50

years ago), by a member of the Bid-

dulph family, at the blacks camping

ground, Sandy Point, on 'Eree' Estate,

Shoalhaven River, 14 miles

upstream from Nowra. 'Eree' was

purchased from Mr. Hyam, of Nowra,

by the Biddulph brothers (Lindon

and Tregenna), and in 1855 they went

to live there. Nemmit and his fol-

lowers from the adjacent high coun-

try made Sandy Point, on the river,

their camping ground, generally about

harvest time, in order to assist in

harvesting and pick up anything they

could could lay their hands on —

square bottle rum being the main

thing, with plug tobacco and old

clothes next in demand.

 

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References

Neddy's plate, The Canberra Times, 28 August 1988.

Rodius, Charles, Neddy Nora Shoalhaven, lithograph, ink and white on paper, 1834.

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Acknowledgement

I would like to thank Lynne Allen, President of the Shoalhaven Historical Society, for her assistance in the compilation of this article.

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Last updated: 30 September 2025

Michael Organ, Australia