Ochre and Rust takes nine Aboriginal and colonial artefacts from their museum shelves, and positions them at the centre of these gripping, poignant tales set in the heart of Australia’s frontier zone.

As the exchange of ethnographic objects drew Europeans into an appreciation of Aboriginal culture, new commodities brought Aboriginal people across frontiers into settlements and towns. But while spears and shields accrued value as they passed from Aboriginal hands, European commodities, desired at the moment of contract, soon powdered or turned to rust.

Museum objects have never completely shed their role as historical witnesses. Philip Jones positions them at the centre of these gripping, poignant tales of encounter. His Ochre and Rust transports the reader into the heart of Australia's frontier zone.

Philip Jones is a curator and historian, based at the South Australian Museum.