Catherine Berndt

Who was Catherine Berndt?

Catherine Helen Berndt, née Webb, born in Auckland, was an Australian anthropologist. She published valuable monographs on Aboriginal Australia, including Changing ceremonies in Northern Australia.

With her husband Ronald Berndt, she collected lots of art works in Australia and Asia. The collection is conserved in the Berndt Museum of Anthropology, founded by the couple in 1976. As a couple, they published several monographs including The Aboriginal Australians: The First Pioneers and Arnhem Land: Its history and its people.