In 1932-33, Yolugu people living in the Caledon Bay area of north-east Arnhem Land were involved in the killing of five Japanese fishermen and three Europeans. A punitive expedition was proposed to 'teach the Aborigines a lesson'. In response, Donald Thomson, a Melbourne-born anthropologist, offered to investigate the causes of the conflict. After seven months investigation, he persuaded the Federal Government to free the three men convicted of the killings and returned with them to their own country, subsequently spending fifteen months documenting the culture of the region. Whilst in Arnhem Land, Thomson, a superb and enthusiastic photographer, made the most comprehensive photographic record of any fully functioning, self-supporting Aboriginal society that we will ever have.