Aboriginal breastplate

Aboriginal breastplates (also called king plates or Aboriginal gorgets) were a form of regalia used in pre-Federation Australia by white colonial authorities to recognise those they perceived to be local Aboriginal leaders. The breastplates were usually metallic crescent-shaped plaques worn around the neck.

These plates were modified gorgets and they were initially modified copies of those worn by infantry officers in Australia until 1832. They soon became larger and were soon at least twice the size of those given to the military.

Aboriginal people did not traditionally have kings or chiefs. They lived in small clan groups with several elders—certain older men and women—who consulted with each other on decisions for the group. By appointing kings of tribes, and granting them king plates, colonial authorities went against the more collegiate grain of traditional Aboriginal culture.