Recording Kastom brings readers into the heart of colonial Torres Strait and New Guinea through the journals of zoologist and anthropologist Alfred Haddon, who visited the islands in 1888 and 1898.

Haddon’s published reports of these trips were hugely influential on the fledgling discipline of anthropology, but his private diaries and sketches have never been published in full. The diaries record in vivid detail Haddon’s observations and relationships, and his close collaboration with Islander communities to record a huge body of cultural knowledge. This knowledge remains of vital importance to Islander communities, and to scholars in a range of disciplines.

This edition assembles a rich array of photographs and drawings. An introductory essay provides historical and cultural context, and a preface by community members explains the significance of the journals to Islander communities today.