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TJURINGA EMU PRODUCTSEmu Eggs & Aboriginal ArtEmu Eggs: A pair of emu breeders can lay up to 15 eggs in their first year and 20 plus in subsequent years. However this varies from season to season and a budgeted figure of around 8-10 eggs per year is a safer target. As a food, emu egg is a culinary delight being the equivalent of 10 to 12 standard 50 gram poultry eggs and lighter in consistency. Delicious for use in quiches, omelettes and sponge cakes. (Imagine how many people you could feed with just 1 egg!). If refrigerated, eggs stay fresh for up to one year, which means that continuity of supply can be maintained, even though emus only lay in the winter months. (As emu eggs are more valuable converted to chickens, availability of eggs for food is strictly limited. They are only obtainable from farmers wanting to impress guests with exotic foods that are not obtainable at restaurants and other food outlets.) The egg shell itself contains up to seven different shades of colour, ranging from white to deep emerald green, therefore making it ideal for carving. The shell has a smooth surface perfect for painting or sculpture in decorative art work.
At Tjuringa Emu Products, we are especially conscious of maintaining the involvement of Australian aboriginal people with the emu industry. Consequently we are honoured to have Maurice Mickelo from Wondai in Queensland as the person who carves our emu eggs. Maurice was born at the Cherbourg Community near Murgon in 1965 and has since spent the last 37 years working and living in many places in Queensland. Over the years he has: · worked in a boomerang factory painting aboriginal designs · started Bralbin Arts with 3 other artists from Cherbourg; · had an aboriginal art exhibition at Noosa as well as being involved with the Brisbane EXPO in 1988; · taught aboriginal art. However it was in 1981 when he discovered his greatest talent when he started working at the Cherbourg Emu Farm. It was here, whilst watching one of the older workers on the farm carving emu eggs with a pocket knife, that he taught himself to carve emu eggs. You can see from the examples of Maurices' work included at this site and on the shop pages that Maurice creates carving with amazing detail, which is so lifelike that you can almost feel his images looking at you. Please visit the shop to see what eggs are currently available or place an order for an egg to be carved. For people interested in learning how to carve Maurice can also be contracted to teach. |
