1. Cape York Peninsula (Qld SC54, SD54, SD55)
2. Cave paintings
3. Culture
4. Family
5. Kuku Yalanji / Gugu Yalandji people (Y78) (Qld SD55-13)
6. Lardil people (G38) (Qld SE54-01)
7. Stories and motifs
8. Storytelling

Winner of the 1979 Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year, The Quinkins is one of several remarkable picture books by collaborators, artist Dick Roughsey, from the Lardil language group on Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland, and Percy Trezise, that were some of the first to introduce Aboriginal culture to Australian children.

Set in Cape York country, the story tells of the Yalanji people and their striking open cave paintings documenting and honouring their ancestral beings, sacred animals and the Quinkins, the spirit people of the land, consisting of two groups, the Imjim, small fat-bellied bad fellows who stole children, and the tall, treelike Timara, humorous and whimsical tricksters. One afternoon, Moonbi and his sister, Leealin, go in search of their father after hearing his voice, not suspecting that they are being lured out into the bush by an Imjim. Also standing in the shadows, however, is the towering Timara, watching on and determined to save the children from their fate. Sweeping across double-page spreads, richly coloured detailed oil paintings reveal stunning vistas of country, as the children pass giant ant nests, confront snakes and hunt tortoises in a waterlily covered lagoon, always under the menacing gaze of the Imjim’s red glowing eyes. The children narrowly escape, as a fierce battle takes place between the Imjim and Timara, returning safely home to eat roast emu and yams and promising never to wander alone again.

1. The Quinkins, Weston Woods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8mppm2CjwY
2. National Films and Sound Archives, Storymakers Percy Trezise and Dick Roughsey https://www.nfsa.gov.au/search?query=the+quinkins&client=nfsa_govcms&proxystylesheet=nfsa_govcms&site=default_collection&filter=0&getfields=*
3. ABC TV, Australian Story, Percy Trezise: One man’s passion for Quinkan Rock Art helps preserve Aboriginal cultural history, transcript https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-31/quinkan-rock-art-percy-trezise/5255960
4. The Sunshine collective, The Quinkins, themes to discuss with your child http://sunshinecollective.com.au/2018/09/25/quinkins-percy-trezise-dick-roughsey/
5. Goobalathanldin Dick Roughsey Stories of This Land, Exhibition Brochure 30 March – 18 August 2019, Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art and Cairns Art Gallery https://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/178026/8577_Dick_Roughsey_Brochure_Singles_VFINAL.pdf