With respect to the first point, I consider that an intimate knowledge of

the peculiar habits, laws, and traditions, by which this people are

governed, is absolutely necessary, before any just opinion can be formed

as to how far the means hitherto pursued, have been suitable, or adapted

to counteract the influence of custom and the force of prejudice. Until

this knowledge is attained, we have no right to brand them as either

irreclaimable, or unteachable. My own impression, after long experience,

and an attentive consideration of the subject, is, that in the present

anomalous state of our relations with the Aborigines, our measures are

neither comprehensive enough for, nor is our system sufficiently adapted

to, the singular circumstances they are in, to enable us successfully to

contend with the difficulties and impediments in the way of their rising

in the scale of civilization.

Upon the second point it is also necessary to make many inquiries before

we arrive at our conclusions; and I have no doubt, if this be done with

calmness, and without prejudice, it will be generally found that there

are many extenuating circumstances which may be brought to modify our

judgment. I am anxious, if possible, to place a few of these before the

public, in the hope, that by lessening in some degree the unfavourable

opinion heretofore entertained of the Aborigines, they may be considered

for the future as more deserving our sympathy and benevolence.

Without assuming for the native a freedom from vice, or in any way

attempting to palliate the many brutalising habits that pollute his

character, I would still contend that, if stained with the excesses of

unrestrained passions, he is still sometimes sensible to the better

emotions of humanity. Many of the worst traits in his character are the

result of necessity, or the force of custom--the better ones are

implanted in him as a part of his nature. With capabilities for

receiving, and an aptness for acquiring instruction, I believe he has

also the capacity for appreciating the rational enjoyments of life.

Even in his present low and debased condition, and viewed under every

disadvantages, I do not imagine that his vices would usually be found

greater, or his passions more malignant than those of a very large

proportion of men ordinarily denominated civilised. On the contrary, I

believe were Europeans placed under the same circumstances, equally

wronged, and equally shut out from redress, they would not exhibit half

the moderation or forbearance that these poor untutored children of

impulse have invariably shewn.

It is true that occasionally many crimes have been committed by them, and

robberies and murders have too often occurred; but who can tell what were

the provocations which led to, what the feelings which impelled such

deeds? Neither have they been the only or the first aggressors, nor has

their race escaped unscathed in the contest. Could blood answer blood,

perhaps for every drop of European's shed by natives, a torrent of their,

by European hands, would crimson the earth.

[Note 40: "The whites were generally the aggressors. He had been informed

that a petition had been presented to the Governor, containing a list of

nineteen murders committed by the blacks. He could, if it were necessary,

make out a list of five hundred blacks who had been slaughtered by the

whites, and that within a short time."--Extract from speech of Mr.

Threlkeld to the Auxiliary Aborigines' Protection Society in New South

Wales. Abstract of a "Return of the number of homicides committed

respectively by blacks and whites, within the limits of the northwestern

district (of Port Phillip), since its first occupation by settlers--"

"Total number of white people killed by Aborigines 8

"Total number of Aborigines killed by white people 43."

This is only in one district, and only embraces such cases as came to the

knowledge of Mr. Protector Parker. For particulars vide Papers on

Aborigines of Australian Colonies, printed for the House of Commons,

August 1844, p. 318.]

Let us now inquire a little, upon whose side right and justice are

arrayed in palliation (if any such there can be) of deeds of violence or

aggression on the part of either.

It is an undeniable fact, that wherever European colonies have been

established in Australia, the native races in that neighbourhood are

rapidly decreasing, and already in some of the elder settlements, have

totally disappeared. It is equally indisputable that the presence of the

white man has been the sole agent in producing so lamentable an effect;

that the evil is still going on, increased in a ratio proportioned to the

number of new settlements formed, or the rapidity with which the settlers

overrun new districts. The natural, the inevitable, but the no less

melancholy result must be, that in the course of a few years more, if

nothing be done to check it, the whole of the aboriginal tribes of

Australia will be swept away from the face of the earth. A people who, by

their numbers, have spread around the whole of this immense continent,

and have probably penetrated into and occupied its inmost recesses, will

become quite extinct, their name forgotten, their very existence but a

record of history.

It is a popular, but an unfair and unwarranted assumption, that these

consequences are the result of the natural course of events; that they

are ordained by Providence, unavoidable, and not to be impeded. Let us at

least ascertain how far they are chargeable upon ourselves.

Without entering upon the abstract question concerning the right of one

race of people to wrest from another their possessions, simply because

they happen to be more powerful than the original inhabitants, or because

they imagine that they can, by their superior skill or acquirements,

enable the soil to support a denser population, I think it will be

conceded by every candid and right-thinking mind, that no one can justly

take that which is not his own, without giving some equivalent in return,

or deprive a people of their ordinary means of support, and not provide

them with any other instead. Yet such is exactly the position we are in

with regard to the inhabitants of Australia.

[Note 41: "The invasion of those ancient rights (of the natives) by

survey and land appropriations of any kind, is justifiable only on the

ground, that we should at the same time reserve for the natives an AMPLE

SUFFICIENCY for THEIR PRESENT and future use and comfort, under the new

style of things into which they are thrown; a state in which we hope they

will be led to live in greater comfort, on a small space, than

they enjoyed before it occurred, on their extensive original

possessions."--Reply of His Excellency Colonel Gawler, to the gentlemen

who objected to sections of land being appropriated for the natives,

before the public were allowed to select.]

Without laying claim to this country by right of conquest, without

pleading even the mockery of cession, or the cheatery of sale, we have

unhesitatingly entered upon, occupied, and disposed of its lands,

spreading forth a new population over its surface, and driving before us

the original inhabitants.

To sanction this aggression, we have not, in the abstract, the slightest

shadow of either right or justice--we have not even the extenuation of

endeavouring to compensate those we have injured, or the merit of

attempting to mitigate the sufferings our presence inflicts.

It is often argued, that we merely have taken what the natives did not

require, or were making no use of; that we have no wish to interfere with

them if they do not interfere with us, but rather that we are disposed to

treat them with kindness and conciliation, if they are willing to be

friends with us. What, however, are the actual facts of the case; and

what is the position of a tribe of natives, when their country is first

taken possession of by Europeans.

It is true that they do not cultivate the ground; but have they,

therefore, no interest in its productions? Does it not supply grass for

the sustenance of the wild animals upon which in a great measure they are

dependent for their subsistence?--does it not afford roots and vegetables

to appease their hunger?--water to satisfy their thirst, and wood to make

their fire?--or are these necessaries left to them by the white man when

he comes to take possession of their soil? Alas, it is not so! all are in

turn taken away from the original possessors. The game of the wilds that

the European does not destroy for his amusement are driven away by his

flocks and herds. [Note 42 at end of para.] The waters are occupied and

enclosed, and access to them in frequently forbidden. The fields are

fenced in, and the natives are no longerat liberty to dig up roots--the

white man claims the timber, and the very firewood itself is occasion

ally denied to them. Do they pass by the habitation of the intruder, they

are probably chased away or bitten by his dogs, and for this they can

get no redress. [Note 43 at end of para.] Have they dogs of their own,

they are unhesitatingly shot or worried because they are an annoyance to

the domestic animals of the Europeans. Daily and hourly do their wrongs

multiply upon them. The more numerous the white population becomes, and

the more advanced the stage of civilization to which the settlement

progresses, the greater are the hardships that fall to their lot and the

more completely are they cut off from the privileges of their birthright.

All that they have is in succession taken away from them--their

amusements, their enjoyments, their possessions, their freedom--and all

that they receive in return is obloquy, and contempt, and degradation,

and oppression. [Note 44 appears after note 43, below]

[Note 42: "But directly an European settles down in the country, his

constant residence in one spot soon sends the animals away from it, and

although he may in no other way interfere with the natives, the mere

circumstance of his residing there, does the man on whose land he settles

the injury of depriving him of his ordinary means of subsistence."--GREY'S

TRAVELS, vol. ii. p. 298.

"The great question was, were we to give them no equivalent for that which

we had taken from them? Had we deprived them of nothing? Was it

nothing that they were driven from the lands where their fathers

lived, where they were born and which were endeared to them by

associations equally strong with the associations of more civilsed

people? He believed that their affections were as warm as the Europeans."

"Perhaps he obtained his subsistence by fishing, and occupied a slip of

land on the banks of a river or the margin of a lake. Was he to be turned

off as soon as the land was required, without any consideration

whatever?" "Had any proper attempt been made for their civilization? They

had not yet had fair play--they had been courted by the missionaries with

the Bible on the one hand, and had at the sametime been driven away and

destroyed by the stock-keepers on the other. He thought that they might

be reclaimed if the proper course was adopted."--EXTRACTS FROM THE SPEECH

OF SYDNEY STEPHEN, ESQ., AT A MEETING ON BEHALF OF THE ABORIGINES IN

SYDNEY, OCTOBER 19, 1838.

I have myself repeatedly seen the natives driven off private lands in the

vicinity of Adelaide, and their huts burned, even in cold wet weather.

The records of the Police Office will shew that they have been driven off

the Park lands, or those belonging to Government, or at least that they

have been brought up and punished for cutting wood from the trees there.

What are they to do, when there is not a stick or a tree within miles of

Adelaide that they can legally take?]

[Note 43: I have known repeated instances of natives in Adelaide

being bitten severely by savage dogs rushing out at them from the

yards of their owners, as they were peaceably passing along the street. On

the other hand I have known a native imprisoned for throwing his waddy at,

and injuring a pig, which was eating a melon he had laid down for a moment

in the street, and when the pig ought not to have been in the street at

all. In February 1842, a dog belonging to a native was shot by order of

Mr. Gouger, the then Colonial Secretary, and the owner as soon as he

became aware of the circumstance, speared his wife for not taking better

care of it, although she could not possibly have helped the occurrence. If

natives then revenge so severely such apparently trivial offences among

themselves, can we wonder that they should sometimes retaliate upon us

for more aggravated ones.]

[Note 44: The following are extracts from an address to a jury, when

trying some aboriginal natives, by Judge Willis. They at least shew some

of the BLESSINGS the Aborigines experience from being made British

subjects, and placed under British laws:--"I have, on a recent occasion,

stated my opinion, which I still entertain, that the proprietor of a run,

or, in other words, one who holds a lease or license from the Crown to

depasture certain Crown lands, may take all lawful means to prevent either

natives or others from entering or remaining upon it." "The aboriginals of

Van Diemen's Land were strictly commanded, by Governor Arthur's

proclamation of the 15th of April 1828 (a proclamation of which His

Majesty King George the Fourth, through the Right honourable the then

Secretary of State, by a dispatch of the 2nd of February, 1829, under the

circumstances, signified his approval,) "to retire and depart from, and

for no reason, and no pretence, save as therein provided, (viz.

travelling annually to the sea coast in quest of shellfish, under certain

regulations,) to re-enter the settled districts of Van Diemen's Land, or

any portions of land cultivated and occupied by any person whomsoever,

under the authority of Her Majesty's Government, on pain of forcible

expulsion therefrom, and such consequences as might be necessarily

attendant on it, and all magistrates and other persons by them authorized

and deputed, were required to conform themselves to the directions and

instructions of this proclamation, in effecting the retirement and

expulsion of the Aborigines from the settled districts of that

territory."]

What are they to do under such circumstances, or how support a life so

bereft of its wonted supplies? Can we wonder that they should still

remain the same low abject and degraded creatures that they are,

loitering about the white man's house, and cringing, and pandering to the

lowest menial for that food they can no longer procure for themselves? or

that wandering in misery through a country, now no longer their own,

their lives should be curtailed by want, exposure, or disease? If, on the

other hand, upon the first appearance of Europeans, the natives become

alarmed, and retire from their presence, they must give up all the haunts

they had been accustomed to frequent, and must either live in a starving

condition, in the back country, ill supplied with game, and often wanting

water, or they must trespass upon the territory of another tribe, in a

district perhaps little calculated to support an additional population,

even should they be fortunate enough to escape being forced into one

belonging to an enemy.

Under any circumstances, however, they have but little respite from

inconvenience and want. The white man rapidly spreads himself over the

country, and without the power of retiring any further, they are

overtaken, and beset by all the evils from which they had previously

fled.

Such are some of the blessings held out to the savage by civilization,

and they are only some of them. The picture is neither fanciful nor

overdrawn; there is no trait in it that I have not personally witnessed,

or that might not have been enlarged upon; and there are often other

circumstances of greater injury and aggression, which, if dwelt upon,

would have cast a still darker shade upon the prospects and condition of

the native.

Enough has, however, perhaps been said to indicate the degree of injury

our presence unavoidably inflicts. I would hope, also, to point out the

justice, as well as the expediency of appropriating a considerable

portion of the money obtained, by the sales of land, towards alleviating

the miseries our occupation of their country has occasioned to the

original owners.

[Note 44a: "That it appears to memorialists that the original occupants of

the soil have an irresistible claim on the Government of this country for

support, inasmuch as the presence of the colonists abridges their means

of subsistence, whilst it furnishes to the public treasury a large

revenue in the shape of fees for licences and assessments on stock,

together with the very large sums paid for land seized by the Crown, and

alienated to private individuals.

"That it appears to memorialists that the interests at once of the

natives and the colonists would be most effectually promoted by the

government reserving suitable portions of land within the territorial

limits of the respective tribes, with the view of weaning them

from their erratic habits, forming thereon depots for supplying

them with provisions and clothing, under the charge of individuals

of exemplary moral character, taking at the same time an interest

in their welfare, and who would endeavour to instruct them in agricultural

and other useful arts."--Extract from Memorial of the Settlers of

the County of Grant, in the district of Port Phillip, to His Excellency

Sir G. Gipps, in 1840.]

Surely if we acknowledge the first principles of justice, or if we admit

the slightest claims of humanity on behalf of these debased, but harshly

treated people, we are bound, in honour and in equity, to afford them

that subsistence which we have deprived them of the power of providing

for themselves.

It may, perhaps, be replied, and at first it might seem, with some

appearance of speciousness, that all is done that can be done for them,

that each of the Colonial Governments annually devotes a portion of its

revenue to the improvement, instruction, and maintenance of the natives.

So far this is very praiseworthy, but does it in any degree compensate

for the evil inflicted?

The money usually voted by the councils of Government, towards defraying

expenses incurred on behalf of the Aborigines of Australia, is but a very

small per centage upon the sums that have been received for the sales of

lands, and is principally expended in defraying the salaries of

protectors, in supporting schools, providing food or clothing for one or

two head stations, and perhaps supplying a few blankets once in the year

to some of the outstations. Little is expended in the daily provisioning

of the natives generally, and especially in the more distant country

districts least populated by Europeans, but most densely occupied by

natives, and where the very thinness of the European inhabitants

precludes the Aborigines from resorting to the same sources to supply

their wants, that are open to them in a town, or more thickly inhabited

district. Such are those afforded by the charity of individuals, by the

rewards received for performing trifling services of work, by the

obtaining vast quantities of offal, or of broken victuals, which are

always abundant in a country where animal food is used in excess, and

where the heat of the climate daily renders much of it unfit for

consumption in the family, and by others of a similar nature.

Such resources, however humiliating and pernicious they are in their

effects, are not open to the tribes living in a district almost

exclusively occupied by the sheep or cattle of the settler, and where the

very numbers of the stock only more completely drive away the original

game upon which the native had been accustomed to subsist, and hold out a

greater temptation to him to supply his wants from the superabundance

which he sees around him, belonging to those by whom he has been

dispossessed. The following appropriate remarks are an extract from

Report of Aborigines' Protection Society, of March, 1841, (published in

the South Australian Register, 4th December, 1841.)

"Under that system it is obvious to every coloured man, even the least

intelligent, that the extending settlements of the Europeans involve a

sentence of banishment, and eventual extermination, upon his tribe and

race. Major Mitchell, in his travels, refers to this apprehension on the

part of the Aborigines--"White man come, Kangaroo go away"--from which as

an inevitable consequence follows--"black man famished away." If, then,

this appears a necessary result of the unjust, barbarous, unchristian

mode of colonization pursued in New Holland, over-looking the other

incidental, and more pointedly aggravating provocations, to the coloured

man, associated with that system, how natural, in his case, is an enmity

which occasionally visits some of the usurping race with death! We call

the offence in him MURDER; but let the occasion be only examined, and we

must discover that, in so designating it, we are imposing geographical,

or national restrictions, upon the virtue of patriotism; or that in the

mani-festations of that principle, we make no allowances for the

influence on its features of the relative degradation or elevation of

those among whom it is met.

"Our present colonization system renders the native and the colonizing

races from necessity belligerents; and there can be no real peace, no

real amity, no mutual security, so long as that system is not substituted

by one reconciling the interest of both races. Colonists will fall before

the spears and the waddies of incensed Aborigines, and they in return

will be made the victims of 'summary justice.'

"In cases of executive difficulty, the force of popular prejudice will be

apt to be too strong for the best intentioned Governor to withstand it;

Europeans will have sustained injury; the strict forms of legal justice

may be found of difficult application to a race outcast or degraded,

although ORIGINALLY in a condition fitted to appreciate them, to benefit

by them, and reflect their benefits upon others; impatient at this

difficulty, the delay it may occasion, and the shelter from ultimate

punishment, the temptation will ever be strong to revert to summary

methods of proceeding; and thus, as in a circle, injustice will be found

to flow reciprocal injury, and from injury injustice again, in another

form. The source of all these evils, and of all this injustice, is the

unreserved appropriation of native lands, and the denial, in the first

instance of colonization, of equal civil rights. To the removal of those

evils, so far as they can be removed in the older settlements, to their

prevention in new colonies, the friends of the Aborigines are invoked to

direct their energy; to be pacified with the attainment of nothing less;

for nothing less will really suffice."

Can it be deemed surprising that a rude, uncivilized being, driven from

his home, deprived of all his ordinary means of subsistence [Note 45 at

end of para.], and pressed perhaps by a hostile tribe from behind, should

occasionally be guilty of aggressions or injuries towards his oppressors?

The wonder rather is, not that these things do sometimes occur, but that

they occur so rarely.

[Note 45: "If you can still be generous to the conquered, relieve the

hunger which drives us in despair to slaughter your flocks and the men who

guard them. Our fields and forests, which once furnished us with abundance

of vegetable and animal food, now yield us no more; they and their produce

are yours; you prosper on our native soil, and we are famishing."

--STRZELECKI'S N. S. WALES, p. 356.]

In addition to the many other inconsistencies in our conduct towards the

Aborigines, not the least extraordinary is that of placing them, on the

plea of protection, under the influence of our laws, and of making them

British subjects. Strange anomaly, which by the former makes amenable to

penalties they are ignorant of, for crimes which they do not consider as

such, or which they may even have been driven to commit by our own

injustice; and by the latter but mocks them with an empty sound, since

the very laws under which we profess to place them, by their nature and

construction are inoperative in affording redress to the injured.

[Note 46: "To subject savage tribes to the penalties of laws with which

they are unacquainted, for offences which they, very possibly, regard as

acts of justifiable retaliation for invaded rights, is a proceeding

indefensible, except under circumstances of urgent and extreme

necessity."--Fourth Report of the Colonization Commissioners, presented to

the House of Commons, 29th July, 1840.

"The late act, declaring them naturalized as British subjects, has only

rendered them legally amenable to the English criminal law, and added one

more anomaly to all the other enactments affecting them. This

naturalization excludes them from sitting on a jury, or appearing as

witnesses, and entails a most confused form of judicial proceedings; all

which, taken together, has made of the Aborigines of Australia a

nondescript caste, who, to use their own phraseology, are 'neither black

nor white.'"--Strzelecki's N. S. Wales.]

If, in addition to the many evils and disadvantages the natives must

necessarily be subject to from our presence, we take still further into

account the wrongs they are exposed to from the ill feeling towards them

which has sometimes existed among the settlers, or their servants, on the

outskirts of the country; the annoyances they are harassed by, even where

this feeling does not exist, in being driven away from their usual haunts

and pursuits (and this is a practice often adopted by the remote grazier

as a mere matter of policy to avoid trouble or the risk of a collision);

we shall find upon the whole that they have often just causes of offence,

and that there are many circumstances connected with their crimes which,

from the peculiar position they are placed in, may well require from us

some mitigation of the punishment that would be exacted from Europeans

for the same misdeeds.

Captain Grey has already remarked the strong prejudice and recklessness

of human life which frequently exist on the part of the settlers with

regard to the natives. Nor has this feeling been confined to Western

Australia alone. In all the colonies, that I have been in, I have myself

observed that a harsh and unjust tone has occasionally been adopted in

speaking of the Aborigines; and that where a feeling of prejudice does

not exist against them, there is too often a great indifference

manifested as to their fate. I do not wish it to be understood that such

is always the case; on the contrary, I know that the better, and right

thinking part of the community, in all the colonies, not only disavow

such feelings, but are most anxious, as far as lies in their power, to

promote the interests and welfare of the natives. Still, there are always

some, in every settlement, whose passions, prejudices, interests, or

fears, obliterate their sense of right and wrong, and by whom these poor

wanderers of the woods are looked upon as intruders in their own country,

or as vermin that infest the land, and whose blood may be shed with as

little compunction as that of the wild animals they are compared to.

By those who have heard the dreadful accounts current in Western

Australia, and New South Wales, of the slaughter formerly committed by

military parties, or by the servants [Note 47 at end of para.] of the

settlers upon the Aborigines, in which it is stated that men, women, and

children have been surprised, surrounded and shot down indiscriminately,

at their camps at night; or who have heard such deeds, or other similar

ones, justified or boasted of, it will readily be believed to what an

extent the feeling I have alluded to has occasionally been carried, and

to what excesses it has led. [Note 48 appears after Note 47, below]

[Note 47: The following extract from a reply of his Honour the

Superintendent of Port Phillip to the representation made to his Honour

by the settlers and inhabitants of the district of Port Fairy, in

March 1842, shews that these frightful atrocities against the natives

had not even then ceased.

"That the presence of a protector in your district, and other means of

prevention hitherto employed, have not succeeded better than they have

done in repressing aggression or retaliation, and have failed to establish

a good understanding between the natives and the European settlers,

is greatly to be deplored.

"As far as the local government has power, every practicable extension

of these arrangements shall be made without delay; but, gentlemen,

however harsh, a plain truth must be told, the destruction of

European property, and even the occasional sacrifice of European

life, by the hands of the savage tribes, among whom you live, if

unprovoked and unrevenged, may justly claim sympathy and pity; but the

feeling of abhorrence which one act of savage retaliation or cruelty on

your part will rouse, must weaken, if not altogether obliterate every

other, in the minds of most men; and I regret to state, that I have

before me a statement presented in a form which I dare not discredit,

shewing that such acts are perpetrated among you.

"It reveals a nightly attack upon a small number of natives, by a

party of the white inhabitants of your district, and the murder of

no fewer than three defenceless aboriginal women and a child, in

their sleeping place; and this at the very time your memorial was

in the act of signature, and in the immediate vicinity of the station

of two of the parties who have signed it. Will not the commission of

such crimes call down the wrath of God, and do more to check the

prosperity of your district, and to ruin your prospects, than all

the difficulties and losses under which you labour?" Mr. Sievewright's

letter gives an account of this infamous transaction.

"WESTERN ABORIGINAL ESTABLISHMENT,

THOLOR, 26TH FEBRUARY, 1842.

"Sir,--I have the honour to report that on the afternoon

of the 24th instant, two aboriginal natives, named Pwe-bin-gan-nai,

Calangamite, returned to this encampment, which they had left with their

families on the 22nd, and reported 'that late on the previous evening,

while they with their wives, two other females, and two children, were

asleep at a tea-tree scrub, called One-one-derang, a party of eight white

people on horseback surrounded them, dismounted, and fired upon them with

pistols; that three women and a child had been thus killed, and the other

female so severely wounded as to be unable to stand or be removed by

them;' they had saved themselves and the child, named 'Uni bicqui-ang,'

by flight, who was brought to this place upon their shoulders.

"At daybreak yesterday I proceeded to the spot indicated, and there found

the dead bodies of three women, and a male child about three years of age;

and also found a fourth woman dangerously wounded by gunshot wounds, and

severely scorched on the limbs by the discharge of fire-arms.

"Having proceeded to the station of the Messrs. Osbrey and Smith, distant

about 700 yards from where the bodies were found, and requested the

presence of those gentlemen as witnesses, I proceeded to view the bodies,

upon which were found the wounds as set forth in the accompanying report.

"All knowledge of this barbarous transaction is denied by the proprietors,

overseer, and servants at the home station, so near to which the bodies

were found, nor have I as yet obtained any information which may lead to

the discovery of the perpetrators of these murders.

"I have, etc.

(Signed) "C. W. SIEVEWRIGHT."

James Croke, Esq.,

Crown Prosecutor,"

etc. etc. etc.

Description of Gun-shot Wounds upon the bodies of three Aboriginal Women

and One Male Child found dead, and an Aboriginal Woman found wounded in a

tea-tree scrub, near the Station of Messrs. Osbrey and Smith, Portland

District, upon the 25th of February, 1842, by Assistant-Protector

Sievewright.

"No. 1. Recognised by the assistant-protector as

'Wooi-goning,' wife of an Aboriginal native 'Pui-bui-gannei;' one gun-shot

wound through the chest (a ball), and right thigh broken by a gun-shot

wound (a ball).

"No. 2. Child (male); one gun-shot wound through the chest (a bullet),

left thigh lacerated by some animal.

"No. 3. Woman big with child; one gun-shot wound through the chest

(a bullet), left side scorched.

"No. 4. Woman; gun-shot wound through abdomen (a bullet), by right hip;

gun-shot wound, left arm broken, (a bullet.)

"No. 5. Woman wounded; gun-shot wound in back (a ball), gun-shot through

right hand (a ball).

"(Signed)

"C. W. SIEVEWRIGHT."]

[Note 48: The belief on the part of the Home authorities that such deeds

did occur, and their opinion, so many years ago, regarding them, may be

gathered from the following extract from a despatch from Lord Glenelg to

Governor Sir James Stirling, dated 23rd of July, 1835. "I perceive, with

deep concern, that collisions still exist between the colonists and the

natives.

"It is impossible, however, to regard such conflicts without

regret and anxiety, when we recollect how fatal, in too many instances,

our colonial settlements have proved to the natives of the places where

they have been formed.

"It will be your duty to impress upon the settlers that it is the

determination of the Government to visit any act of injustice or

violence on the natives, with the utmost severity, and that in no

case will those convicted of them, remain unpunished. Nor will it

be sufficient simply to punish the guilty, but ample compensation must be

made to the injured party, for the wrong received. You will make it

imperative upon the officers of police never to allow any injustice or

insult in regard to the natives to pass by unnoticed, as being of too

trifling a character; and they should be charged to report to you, with

punctuality, every instance of aggression or misconduct. Every neglect of

this point of duty you will mark with the highest displeasure."

Such were the benevolent views entertained by the Government in England

towards the Aborigines ten years ago, and it might be readily proved from

many despatches of subsequent Secretaries of State to the different

Governors, that such have been their feelings since, and yet how little

has been done in ten years to give a practical effect to their good

intentions towards the natives.]

Were other evidence necessary to substantiate this point, it would be

only requisite to refer to the tone in which the natives are so often

spoken of by the Colonial newspapers, to the fact that a large number of

colonists in New South Wales, including many wealthy landed proprietors

and magistrates, petitioned the Local Government on behalf of a party of

convicts, found guilty on the clearest testimony of having committed one

of the most wholesale, cold-blooded, and atrocious butcheries of the

Aborigines ever recorded [Note 49 at end of para.], and to the acts of the

Colonial Governments themselves, who have found it necessary, sometimes,

to prohibit fire-arms at out-stations, and have been compelled to take

away the assigned servants, or withdraw the depasturing licences of

individuals, because they have been guilty of aggression upon the

Aborigines.

[Note 49: Seven men were hanged for this offence, on the 18th of December,

1838. In the Sydney Monitor, published on the 24th or next issue after the

occurrence, is the following paragraph:--

"The following conversation between two gentlemen took place in the

military barrack square, on Tuesday, just after the execution of the seven

murderers of the native blacks, and while General O'Connell was reviewing

the troops of the garrison.

"COUNTRY GENTLEMAN.--So I find they have hanged these men.

"TOWN GENTLEMAN. --They have."

"COUNTRY GENTLEMAN.--Ah! hem, we are going on a safer game now.

"TOWN GENTLEMAN. --Safer game! how do you mean?"

"COUNTRY GENTLEMAN.--Why, we are poisoning the blacks; which is much

better, and serve them right too!"

"We vouch for the truth of this conversation, and for the very words;

and will prove our statement, if public justice should, in our

opinion require it."

The following letter from His Honour the Superintendent of Port Philip

shews, that even in 1843, suspicions were entertained in the colony,

that this most horrible and inhuman cruelty towards the Aborigines had

lately been practised there.

"Melbourne, 17th March, 1843.

"SIR,--I have the honour to report, for his Excellency's information,

that in the month of December last, I received a letter from the Chief

Protector, enclosing a communication received from Dr. Wotton, the

gentleman in charge of the Aboriginal station at Mount Rouse, stating that

a rumour had reached him that a considerable number of Aborigines had

been poisoned at the station of Dr. Kilgour, near Port Fairy.

"I delayed communicating this circumstance at the time, as I expected

the Chief Protector and his assistants would find it practicable to

bring the crime home to the parties accused of having perpetrated it;

but I regret to state, that every attempt to discover the guilty

parties has hitherto proved ineffectual, and that although there

may be strong grounds of suspicion that such a deed had been perpetrated,

and that certain known parties in this district were the perpetrators,

yet it seems nearly impossible to obtain any legal proof to bear on

either one point or the other.

"I beg leave to enclose copies of two communications which I have received

from Mr. Robinson on the subject.

"I have, etc.

"(Signed)

"C. J. LATROBE."

"The Honourable the Colonial Secretary,

etc. etc. etc."

Rumours of another similar occurrence existed in the settlements

north of Sydney, about the same time. To the inquiries made on the

subject, by the Government, the following letters refer.

"Moreton Bay, Zion's Hill, 14th January 1843.

"Sir,--In reply to your inquiry respecting the grounds on which I made

mention in my journal, kept during a visit to the Bunga Bunga country,

of a considerable number of blacks having been poisoned in the

northern part of this district, I beg leave to state, that having

returned from Sydney in the month of March 1842, I learnt, first,

by my coadjutor, the Rev. Mr. Epper, that such a rumour was spreading,

of which I have good reason to believe also his Excellency the Governor

was informed during his stay at Moreton Bay. I learnt, secondly,

by the lay missionaries, Messrs. Nique and Rode, who returned

from an excursion to "Umpie-boang" in the first week of April, that

natives of different tribes, who were collecting from the north for a

fight, had related the same thing to them as a fact. Messrs. Nique and

Rode have made this statement also in their diary, which is laid before

our committee in Sydney. I learnt, thirdly, by the runaway Davis, when

collecting words and phrases of the northern dialect from him, previous

to my expedition to the Bunga Bunga country, that there was not the least

doubt but such a deed had been done, and moreover that the relatives of

the poisoned blacks, being in great fury, were going to revenge

themselves. Davis considered it, therefore, exceedingly dangerous for us

to proceed to the north, mentioning at the same time, that two white men

had already been killed by blacks in consequence of poisoning. I

ascertained likewise from him the number, 50 or 60.

"When inquiring of him whether he had not reported this fact to

yourself, he replied, that both he, himself, and Bracewell, the

other runaway, whom Mr. Petrie had brought back from the Wide Bay,

had done so, and that you had stated it fully in your report to his

Excellency the Governor, respecting himself and Bracewell.

"4. The natives who had carried our provisions up to Mr. Archer's station,

made the same statement to us, as a reason why they would not accompany

us any farther to the Bunga Bunga country.

"When writing down, therefore, my journal, I considered it unnecessary to

make a full statement of all that had come to my knowledge since the month

of March, concerning that most horrid event, or even to relate it as

something new, as it was not only known several months since to the

respective authorities, but also as almost every one at Moreton Bay

supposed that an investigation would take place without delay.

"I have, etc.

"(signed)

"WILLIAM SCHMIDT,

"Missionary."

"S. Simpson, Esq.,

"Commissioner of Crown Lands,

"Eagle Farm."

"WOOGAROO, MORETON BAY, 6TH MAY, 1843.

"Sir,--I have the honour to report, for the information of his Excellency,

that during my excursion to the Bunga country, I have taken every

opportunity of instituting an inquiry as to the truth of the alleged

poisoning of some Aborigines at a sheep station in the north of this

district. A report of the kind certainly exists among the two tribes I

fell in with, namely, the Dallambarah and Coccombraral tribes, but as

neither of them were present at the time, they could give me no

circumstantial information whatever on the subject. The Giggabarah

tribe, the one said to have suffered, I was unable to meet with.

Upon inquiry at the stations to the north, I could learn nothing

further than that they had been using arsenic very extensively for

the cure of the scab, in which operation sheep are occasionally

destroyed by some of the fluid getting down their throats; and as the

men employed frequently neglect to bury the carcases, it is very possible

that the Aborigines may have devoured them, particularly the entrails,

which they are very fond of, and that hence some accident of the kind

alluded to may have occurred without their knowledge.

"I have, etc.

"(signed) S. SIMPSON,

"Commissioner of Crown Lands."

"The Honourable E. D. Thomson,

"Colonial Secretary."

For the sake of humanity I would hope that such unheard of atrocities

cannot really have existed. That the bare suspicion even of such crimes

should have originated and gained currency in more than one district

of Australia, is of itself a fearful indication of the feeling

among the lowest classes in the colonies, and of the harrowing

deeds to which that might lead.

Extract from South Australian Register, 10th of July, 1841, after the

return of Major O'Halloran and a party of sixty-eight individuals, sent

up the Murray to try and rescue property stolen by blacks. "In the mean

time we cannot but think that the DISAPPOINTMENT SO GENERALLY

EXPRESSED, because Major O'Halloran has returned 'WITHOUT FIRING A SHOT,'

is somewhat unreasonable, seeing that in his presence the natives DID

NOTHING TO WARRANT AN EXTREME MEASURE, and that there were no means of

identifying either the robbers of Mr. Inman, or the murderers of Mr.

Langhorne's servants. It is quite clear that a legally authorised English

force could not be permitted to fire indiscriminately upon the natives AS

SOME PERSONS THINK they ought to have done, or to fire at all, save when

attacked, or under circumstances in which any white subject of the Queen

might be shot at. We KNOW that many overland parties HAVE NOT HESITATED

TO FIRE AT THE NATIVES WHEREVER THEY APPEARED; and it is possible that

the tribes now hostilely disposed may have received some provocation."

The following extract from a letter addressed by the Chief Protector of

the Port Phillip district, Mr. Robinson, to his Honour the Superintendent

at Melbourne, shews that officer's opinion of the feeling of the lower

class of the settlers' servants, with regard to the Aborigines in

Australia Felix.

"Anterior to my last expedition I had seen a large portion of this

province; I have now seen nearly the entire, and, in addition, have made

myself thoroughly acquainted with the character of its inhabitants.

"The settlers are, for the most part, a highly respectable body of men,

many, to my knowledge, deeply commiserating the condition of the natives;

a few have been engaged in the work of their amelioration; these,

however, are but isolated instances; the majority are averse to having

the natives, and drive them from their runs.

"Nothing could afford me greater pleasure than to see a reciprocity of

interest established between the settler and aborigine, and it would

delight me to see the settlers engaged in the great work of their

amelioration; and though on the part of the settlers, a large majority

would readily engage, I nevertheless feel persuaded that, until a better

class of peasantry be introduced, and a code of judicature suited to the

condition of the natives, its practicability, as a general principle, is

unattainable.

"In the course of my wanderings through the distant interior, I found it

necessary, in order to arrive at a correct judgment, to observe the

relative character of both classes, i. e. the European and the Aborigine.

The difficulty on the part of the Aborigine by proper management can be

overcome; but the difficulty on the part of the depraved white man is of

far different character, and such as to require that either their place

should be supplied by a more honest and industrious peasantry, or that a

more suitable code of judicature be established, to restrain their

nefarious proceedings with reference to the aboriginal natives.

"I found, on my last expedition, that a large majority of the white

servants employed at the stock stations in the distant interior were, for

the most part, men of depraved character; and it was with deep regret

that I observed that they were all armed; and in the estimation of some

of these characters, with whom I conversed, I found that the life of a

native was considered to be of no more value than that of a wild dog. The

settlers complained generally of the bad character of their men. The

saying is common among them, 'That the men and not we are the masters.'

The kind of treatment evinced towards the aboriginal natives in remote

parts of the interior by this class of persons, may be easily imagined;

but as I shall have occasion more fully to advert to this topic in the

report I am about to transmit to the Government, I shall defer for the

present offering further observations.

"The bad character of the white servants is a reason assigned by many

settlers for keeping the natives from their stations. At a few

establishments, viz. Norman M'Leod's, Baillie's, Campbell's, Lenton's,

and Urquhart's, an amicable and friendly relation has been maintained for

several years; the Aborigines are employed and found useful. I visited

these stations; and the proprietors assured me the natives had never done

them any injury; the natives also spoke in high terms of these parties.

There are other settlers also who have rendered assistance in improving

the condition of the natives, and to whom I shall advert in my next

report.

"Whether the proprietors of these establishments devote more attention,

or whether their white servants are of less nefarious character than

others, I am not prepared to say; but the facts I have stated are

incontrovertible, and are sufficient to shew the reclaimability of the

natives, when proper persons are engaged, and suitable means had recourse

to. I cannot but accede to the proposition, namely, that of holding out

inducements to all who engage in the amelioration of the aboriginal

natives. Those who have had experience, who have been tried and found

useful, ought to have such inducements held out to them as would ensure a

continuance of their appointments, the more especially as it has always

been found difficult to obtain suitable persons for this hazardous and

peculiar service."

The following extract from another letter, also addressed to his Honour

the Superintendent, shews the opinions and feelings of the writer, a

Magistrate of the Colony, and a Commissioner of Crown Lands, in the

Geelong district.

"In offering my candid opinion, I submissively beg leave to state, that

for the last three years, on all occasions, I have been a friend to the

natives; but from my general knowledge of their habits of idleness,

extreme cunning, vice, and villany, that it is out of the power of all

exertion that can be bestowed on them to do good by them; and I further

beg leave to state, that I can plainly see the general conduct of the

native growing worse, and, if possible, more useless, and daily more

daring. One and all appear to consider that no punishment awaits them.

This idea has latterly been instilled into their minds with, I should

think, considerable pains, and also that the white men should be punished

for the least offence.

"In reply to the latter part of your letter, I beg leave to bring to your

notice that, at considerable risk, two years ago, I apprehended a native

for the murder of one of Mr. Learmonth's men, near Bunengang. He was

committed to Sydney gaol, and at the expiration of a year he was returned

to Melbourne to be liberated, and is now at large. In the case of Mr.

Thomson's, that I apprehended two, and both identified by the men who so

fortunately escaped. It is a difficult thing to apprehend natives, and

with great risk of life on both sides. On the Grange, and many parts of

the country, it would be impossible to take them; AND IN MY OPINION, the

only plan to bring them to a fit and proper state is to insist on the

gentlemen in the country to protect their property, AND TO DEAL WITH SUCH

USELESS SAVAGES ON THE SPOT."

Captain Grey bears testimony to similar feelings and occurrences in

Western Australia. In speaking of capturing some natives, he says, vol.

2. p. 351. "It was necessary that I should proceed with great caution, in

order not to alarm the guilty parties when they saw us approaching, in

which case, I should have had no chance of apprehending them, and I did

not intend to adopt the popular system of shooting them when they ran

away." And again, at page 356, he says, "It was better that I, an

impartial person, should see that they were properly punished for theft,

than that the Europeans should fire indiscriminately upon them, as had

lately been done, in another quarter."

Even in South Australia, where the Colonists have generally been more

concentrated, and where it might naturally be supposed there would be

less likelihood of offenders of this kind escaping detection and

punishment, there are not wanting instances of unnecessary and

unprovoked, and sometimes of wanton injury upon the natives. In almost

all cases of this description, it is quite impracticable from the

inadmissibility of native evidence, or from some other circumstances, to

bring home conviction to the guilty. [Note 50 at end of para.] On the

other hand, where natives commit offences against Europeans, if they can

be caught, the punishment is certain and severe. Already since the

establishment of South Australia as a colony, six natives have been tried

and hung, for crimes against Europeans, and many others have been shot or

wounded, by the police and military in their attempts to capture or

prevent their escape. No European has, however, yet paid the penalties of

the law, for aggressions upon the Aborigines, though many have deserved

to do so. The difficulty consists in legally bringing home the offence,

or in refuting the absurd stories that are generally made up in

justification of it.

[Note 50: Vide Chapter 9, of Notes on the Aborigines.]

A single instance or two will be sufficient, in illustration of the

impunity which generally attends these acts of violence. On the 25th

January, 1843, the sheep at a station of Mr. Hughes, upon the Hutt river,

had been scattered during the night, and some of them were missing. It

was concluded the natives had been there, and taken them, as the tracks

of naked feet were said to have been found near the folds. Upon these

grounds two of Mr. Hughes' men, and one belonging to Mr. Jacobs, another

settler in the neighbourhood, took arms, and went out to search for the

natives. About a mile from the station they met with one native and his

wife, whom they asked to accompany them back to the station, promising

bread and flour for so doing. They consented to go, but were then

escorted AS PRISONERS, the two men of Mr. Hughes' guarding the male

native, and Mr. Jacobs' servant (a person named Gregory) the female.

Naturally alarmed at the predicament they were in, the man ran off,

pursued by his two guards, but escaped. The woman took another direction,

pursued by Gregory, who recaptured her, and she was said to have then

seized Gregory's gun, and to have struck at him several blows with a

heavy stick, upon which, being afraid that he would be overcome, HE SHOT

HER. Mr. Hughes, the owner of the lost sheep, came up a few moments after

the woman was shot, and heard Gregory's story concerning it, but no marks

of his receiving any blows were shewn. On the 23rd of March, he was tried

for the offence of manslaughter; there did not appear the slightest

extenuating circumstances beyond his own story, and his master giving him

a good character, and yet the jury, without retiring, returned a verdict

of Not Guilty!

At the very next sittings of the Supreme Court Criminal Sessions, another

and somewhat analogous case appeared. The following remarks were made by

His Honour Judge Cooper, to the Grand Jury respecting it: "There was also

a case of manslaughter to be tried, and he called their attention to

this, because it did not appear in the Calendar. The person charged was

named Skelton, and as appeared from the depositions, was in custody of

some sheep, when an alarm of the rushing of the sheep being given, he

looked and saw something climbing over the fence, and subsequently

something crawling along the ground, upon which he fired off his piece,

and hit the object, which upon examination turned out to be a native. The

night was dark, and the native was brought into the hut, where he died

the next day. He could not help observing, that cases of this kind were

much more frequent than was creditable to the reputation of the Colony.

Last Sessions a man was tried and acquitted of the charge of killing a

native woman. That verdict was a very merciful one, but not so merciful,

he trusted, as to countenance the idea that the lives of the natives are

held too cheaply. The only observation that he would make upon this case

was, that it was ONE OF GREAT SUSPICION."

[Note 51: I believe this case was not brought to trial.]

Other cases have occurred in which some of the circumstances have come

under my own notice, and when Europeans have committed wanton aggressions

on the Aborigines, and have then made up a plausible story to account for

what had taken place, but where, from obvious circumstances, it was quite

impossible to disprove or rebut their tale, however improbable it might

be. In the Port Phillip District in 1841, Mr. Chief Protector thus writes

to the local Government.

"Already appalling collisions have happened between the white and

aboriginal inhabitants, and, although instances, it is possible, have

transpired when natives have been the aggressors, yet it will be found

that the largest majority originated with the Europeans. The lives of

aboriginal natives known to have been destroyed are many, and if the

testimony of natives be admissible, the amount would be great indeed; but

even in cases where the Aborigines are said to be the aggressors, who can

tell what latent provocation existed for perpetrating it? Of the numerous

cases that could be cited, the following from a recent journal of an

assistant protector, Mr. Parker, of the Lodden, will suffice to shew the

insurmountable difficulty, I may add the impossibility, of bringing the

guilty parties to justice, for in nine cases, I may say, out of ten,

where natives are concerned, the only evidence that can be adduced is

that of the Aborigines.

"This evidence is not admissible. Indeed the want of a code, suited to

the Aborigines, is now so strongly felt, and of such vital importance to

the welfare and existence of the natives, that I earnestly trust that

this important subject may be brought under the early consideration and

notice of Her Majesty's Government.

"The following is the extract from Mr. Parker's journal referred to: 'On

the 8th of March 1841, I proceeded to the Pyrenees to investigate the

circumstances connected with the slaughter of several Aborigines, by a

Mr. Frances. On the 9th and 10th I fell in with different parties of

natives. From the last of these I obtained some distressing statements,

as to the slaughter of the blacks; they gave me the names of seven

individuals shot by Mr. Frances within the last six months. I found,

however, no legal evidence attainable. The only persons present in the

last and most serious affair with the Aborigines, which took place in

December of last year, were Frances, a person named Downes, and a

stock-keeper in Melbourne. No other admissible evidence of the death of

these poor people can be obtained than what Frances's written statement

conveys. In that he reports that he and the person before named WENT OUT

IN CONSEQUENCE OF SEEING THE BUSH ON FIRE, AND FELL IN SUDDENLY WITH SOME

NATIVES, ON WHOM THEY FIRED AND KILLED FOUR. The natives say six were

slain, and their information on that point is more to be depended on.

Owing to the legal disabilities of the Aborigines, this case must be

added with many others which have passed without judicial notice. I

cannot, however, but wish that squatting licenses were withheld from

persons who manifest such an utter disregard of human life as Mr.

Frances, even on his own shewing, has done.'

"And in this latter sentiment, under existing circumstances, I most

cordially agree. In Frances' case, the PERPETRATOR ADMITS his having SHOT

FOUR ABORIGINES, and for aught that is shewn to the contrary, it was AN

UNPROVOKED AGGRESSION. The natives, whose testimony Mr. Parker states,

can be relied upon, affirm that six were slain, and these within the

brief period of six months.

"In my last expedition I visited the country of the 'Barconedeets,' the

tribe attacked by Frances; of these I found a few sojourning with the

'Portbullucs,' a people inhabiting the country near Mount Zero, the

northernmost point of the Grampians. These persons complained greatly of

the treatment they had received, and confirmed the statement made to the

sub-protector by the other natives. The following are a few of the

collisions, from authentic documents brought under the notice of this

department, that have happened between settlers and Aborigines, and are

respectfully submitted for the information of the Government.

"CASES.--CHARLES WEDGE AND OTHERS.--Five natives killed and others

wounded at the Grampians.

"AYLWARD AND OTHERS.--Several natives killed and others wounded at the

Grampians. In this case Aylward deposed, 'that there must have been a

great many wounded and several killed, as he saw blood upon the grass,

and in the tea-tree two or three dead bodies.'

"MESSRS. WHYTE'S FIRST COLLISION.--William Whyte deposed that 30 natives

were present, and they were all killed but two, and one of these it is

reported died an hour after of his wounds.

"DARLOT.--One native shot. Two natives shot near Portland Bay by the

servants of the Messrs. Henty.

"HUTTON AND MOUNTED POLICE.--The written report of this case states,

'that the party overtook the aborigines at the junction of the

'Campaspee;' they fired, and it is stated, that to the best of the belief

of the party, five or six were killed.' In the opinion of the

sub-protector a greater number were slain.

"MESSRS. WINTER AND OTHERS.--On this occasion five natives were killed.

"One black shot by Frances.

"MUNROE AND POLICE.--Two blacks shot and others wounded.

"The following from Lloyd's deposition:--'We fired on them; I have no

doubt some were killed; there were between forty and fifty natives.'

"BY PERSONS UNKNOWN.--A native of the Coligan tribe killed by white

persons.

"MESSRS. WEDGE AND OTHERS.--Three natives killed and others wounded.

"Names of Taylor and Lloyd are mentioned as having shot a black at Lake

Colac.

"WHYTE'S SECOND COLLISION.--ALLAN'S CASE.--Two natives shot.

"Taylor was overseer of a sheep station in the Western district, and was

notorious for killing natives. No legal evidence could be obtained

against this nefarious individual. The last transaction in which he was

concerned, was of so atrocious a nature, that he thought fit to abscond,

and he has not been heard of since. No legal evidence was attainable in

this latter case. There is no doubt the charges preferred were true, for

in the course of my inquiries on my late expedition, I found a tribe, a

section of the Jarcoorts, totally extinct, and it was affirmed by the

natives that Taylor had destroyed them. The tribes are rapidly

diminishing. The 'Coligans,' once a numerous and powerful people,

inhabiting the fertile region of Lake 'Colac,' are now reduced, all ages

and sexes, under forty, and these are still on the decay. The Jarcoorts,

inhabiting the country to the west of the great lake 'Carangermite,' once

a very numerous and powerful people, are now reduced to under sixty. But

time would fail, and I fear it would be deemed too prolix, were I to

attempt to particularise in ever so small a degree, the previous state,

condition, and declension of the original inhabitants of so extensive a

province."

Upon the same subject, His Honour the Superintendent of Port Phillip thus

writes:--

"On this subject, I beg leave to remark that great impediments evidently

do interpose themselves in the way of instituting proper judicial inquiry

into the causes and consequences of the frequent acts of collision

between the settlers and the aboriginal natives, and into the conduct of

the settlers on such occasions. I am quite ready to lament with the

Protectors, that numerous as the cases have unfortunately been in which

the lives of the Aborigines have been taken in this district, IN NO

SINGLE INSTANCE HAS THE SETTLER BEEN BROUGHT BEFORE THE PROPER TRIBUNAL."

Many similar instances might be adduced to shew the little chance there

is of evidence enough being procurable, even to cause the aggressor to be

put upon his trial, still less to produce his conviction.

Independently of the instances of wanton outrage, which sometimes are

perpetrated on the outskirts of the settled districts by the lowest and

most abandoned of our countrymen, there are occasions also, when equal

injuries are inflicted unintentionally, from inexperience or

indiscretion, on the part of those whose duty it is to protect rather

than destroy, when the innocent have been punished instead of the

guilty [Note 52 at end of para.], and thus the very efforts made to

preserve peace and good order, have inadvertently become the means of

subverting them.

[Note 52: Upon collisions of this character, Lord John Russell remarks in

his despatch, 21st December, 1839, to Sir G. Gipps: "In the case now

before me the object of capturing offenders was entirely lost sight of,

and shots were fired at men who were apparently only guilty of jumping

into the water to escape from an armed pursuit. I am, however, happy to

acknowledge that you appear to have made every practicable exertion for

the prevention of similar calamities in future, and I approve the

measures adopted by you for that purpose. You cannot overrate the

solicitude of Her Majesty's Government on the subject of the Aborigines

of New Holland. It is impossible to contemplate the condition and the

prospects of that unfortunate race without the deepest commiseration. I

am well aware of the many difficulties which oppose themselves to the

effectual protection of these people, and especially of those which must

originate from the exasperation of the settlers, on account of

aggressions on their property, which are not the less irritating, because

they are nothing else than the natural results of the pernicious examples

held out to the Aborigines, and of the many wrongs of which they have

been the victims. Still it is impossible that the Government should

forget that the original aggression was our own; and that we have never

yet performed the sacred duty of making any systematic or considerable

attempt to impart to the former occupiers of New South Wales, the

blessings of Christianity, or the knowledge of the arts and advantages of

civilized life."]

Several very lamentable instances of this kind, have occurred in Port

Lincoln. The following is one among others. Soon after the murder of

Messrs. Biddle and Brown, a party of soldiers was sent over to try and

capture the aggressors. In one of their attempts a native guide was

procured from the Eastern tribe, who promised to conduct them to where

the murderers were. The party consisting of the military and their

officer, the police, a settler, and the missionary, in all twelve or

fourteen persons, set off towards Coffin's Bay, following as they

supposed upon the track of the murders. Upon reaching the coast some

natives were seen fishing in the water, and the party was at once spread

out in a kind of semicircle, among the scrub, to close upon and capture

them; the officer, missionary, and guide, being stationed near the

centre. As the party advanced nearer, the guide saw that he was mistaken

in the group before him, and that they were not the guilty parties, but

friends. The officer called out not to fire, but unfortunately from the

distance the men were at, and the scrubby nature of the country, he was

not heard or attended to. A shot was fired, one of the natives sprung up

convulsively in the water, walked on shore and fell down, exclaiming

whilst dying, "me Kopler, me good man," and such indeed it proved. He was

one of a friendly tribe, and a particular protege of the missionary's,

having taken the name of Kopler from his German servant who was so

called.

The other natives at once came forward to their dying friend, scornfully

motioning away his murderers, fearless alike of the foes around them, and

regardless of their ill-timed attempts to explain the fatal mistake. Will

it be credited, that at such a scene as this the soldiers were indulging

in coarse remarks, or brutal jests, upon the melancholy catastrophe; and

comparing the last convulsive spring of the dying man to a salmon leaping

in the water. Yet this I was assured was the case by the Government

Resident at Port Lincoln, from when I received this account.

Another melancholy and unfortunate case of the same nature occurred at

Port Lincoln, on the 11th of April, 1844, where a native was shot by a

policeman, for attempting to escape from custody, when taken in charge on

suspicion of being implicated in robbing a stranded vessel. An

investigation was made into this case by the Commissioner of Police, when

it was stated in the depositions, that attempts at rescue were made by

the other natives. Upon these grounds, I believe, it was considered that

the policeman was justified in what he did.

The following extract relating to this subject, is from a letter

addressed to a gentleman in Adelaide, by the Rev. C. Schurmann, one of

the German Missionaries, who has for some years past been stationed among

the Port Lincoln natives, and is intimately acquainted with their

language.

[Note 53: Without adopting the tone of this letter, and which in some

respects I cannot approve of, I believe the writer to be deeply interested

in the welfare of the Aborigines, and strongly impressed with a conviction

of the evils and injuries to which they are subject from our anomalous

position with regard to them. I have quoted it, therefore, not for the

purpose of casting imputations on the Government, but to shew how

powerless they are, and how frequently, under the existing system in

force with respect to the Aborigines, those very measures which were

conceived and entered upon with the best intentions, produce in their

result the most unmitigated evils.]

"You will probably recollect, that some time ago (I think it was in the

month of May) the Adelaide newspapers contained a short notice of a Port

Lincoln native having been shot by the police in self-defence, and a

letter in the 'Observer,' mentioned another as being shot by Mr.----, but

as the charitable correspondent added, 'Unfortunately only in the arm,

instead of through the body.' From these statements one would infer that

the parties concerned in these transactions were without blame, being

perfectly justified--the one to protect his life, and the other his

property. However, since my return to Port Lincoln, I have learned that

both tales run very differently when told according to truth. I address

myself, therefore, to you, with the true facts of the transactions, as I

have learned them, partly from the settlers themselves, partly from the

natives. My motive for so doing is to case my own mind, and to gratify

the interest which I know you take in the Aborigines of this country.

"The man shot by the police was named Padlalta, and was of so mild and

inoffensive a disposition, that he was generally noticed by the settlers

on that very account, several of whom I have heard say since, it was a

pity that some other native had not been hit in his stead. The same man

was captured last year by Major O'llalloran's party, but was set at

liberty as soon as I came up and testified his innocence, for which the

poor fellow kissed my hand near a dozen times.

"The day before he met his death he was as usual in the town, doing

little jobs for the inhabitants, to get bread or other food. On the

evening when he was killed, he had encamped with about half a dozen other

natives on the northern side of Happy Valley, a short mile from the town.

The police who were sent by the Government Resident to see what number of

natives were at the camp state, that while searching the man's wallet, he

seized hold of one gun, and when the other policeman came up to wrest it

from him, he the native grasped the other gun too. In the scuffle that

ensued, one of the guns went off, when the other natives who had fled

returned and presented their spears. They then shot the native who held

the gun.

"Now this statement is a very strange one, when it is considered that the

native was a very spare and weak man, so that either of the police ought

to have been able to keep him at arm's length; but to say that he seized

both their guns is beyond all credibility. The natives were sitting down

when the police arrived. How they could therefore find a wallet upon the

murdered man, I cannot conceive; since the natives never have their

wallets slung, except when moving; and it certainly is not probable, that

the man, in spite of the fright he is admitted to have been in, should

have thought of taking up his wallet.

"The wallet is said to have contained some sovereigns, taken from the

cutter Kate, which was wrecked some time previous to this affair, about

forty miles up the coast, and to have been one of those marked by the

police, at a native camp near the wreck from which the natives had been

scared away, leaving all their things behind. But if the murdered native

had taken the sovereigns, why were they not then in his wallet, or why

was the wallet not examined the day before when he was in town?

[Note 54 at end of para.] I think that there is little doubt that the

police found no wallet at all upon the native, and that they coined away

one of those found at the camp upon him, with a view to incriminate him."

[Note 54: There cannot be a greater act of injustice towards the natives

than that of applying the English law to them with respect to stolen

property. Any one who knows any thing of their habits, and the custom

prevalent amongst them, of giving any European clothing, or other articles

they may acquire, from one to another, must be fully aware how little the

fact of their being found in possession of stolen property is just

evidence against them. Articles such as I have mentioned, often pass, in a

very short time, through the hands of three or four individuals, and

perhaps even through as many tribes.]

"Another native, Charley, who was present when the said affair took

place, tells me, that the police sneaked upon, and fired at them, while

sitting round the fire; [Note 55 at end of para.] that he jumped up, and

endeavoured to make himself known, as a friendly native, by saying,

"Yarri (that is the name the natives have given to one of the police),

Yarri, I Charley, I Charley,"--but that the effect produced had been the

pointing of a gun at him, when of course he ran away. That any of the

natives returned, and poised their spears, he firmly denies; but accounts

for the murder, by supposing that the dead man made resistance, and

offered to spear his assailants. He moreover says, that Padlalta would not

have died in consequence of the first shot, but that the police fired

repeatedly, which agrees with the settlers, who say they heard three

shots. When the bloody deed had been committed (a ball had passed right

through his body), the cruel perpetrators ran home, leaving the murdered

man helpless."

[Note 55: There must, I think, be some mistake here in the phrascology.

I cannot think any of the police would fire upon a small party of friendly

natives whilst unresisting. The probability is, that they surrounded the

natives to make prisoners, and fired upon being resisted. This must

generally occur if the police have positive orders to make captures.

Natives, not very much in contact with Europeans, will almost always

resist an attempt to make prisoners of them, or will try to escape. Very

many have, at various times, met their death under such circumstances;

and too often it has occurred, that the innocent have been the suffering

parties. This shews the absurdity of applying European customs and laws

to a people situated as the Australian natives are. It shews, too, the

necessity of altering our present system and policy towards them, to one

that will exercise sufficient influence over them to induce them to give

up offenders themselves. I believe such a system may be devised.--Vide

Chapter IX.]

"Some time after, a party of three settlers went to the spot, one of whom

he recognized, and claimed his acquaintance, and perhaps assistance, by

mentioning the party's Christian name; but, alas! no good Samaritan was

found amongst these three; they all passed by on the other side, without

alleviating his pain, moistening his parched lips, warming his shivering

limbs, or aiding him in any way whatever. There he lay a whole cold and

long winter night, without a fire to warm him, or a soul to talk to him.

Next morning he was found still alive, but died on the way into town,

where he was buried in the jail yard, like a condemned felon.

"What awful and melancholy reflections crowd upon one's mind in thinking

on this transaction. But what conclusians must a poor people, whom a

Christian and civilized nation calls savages, arrive at, with such facts

before them.

"The other native, wounded by Mr.--in the arm, was doubtless of the party

who attacked the flock; but it must have been some hours after that he

was shot, for the shepherd had to come home with the flock to inform him

of the occurrence, and then search and pursuit had to be made, during

which he was overtaken. He is a stupid idiotic sort of man, so that the

natives have not deemed him worthy of receiving the honours of their

ceremonies, and still call him a boy, or youth, although he is an oldish

man.

"On another occasion, when an uninhabited hut, with some wheat in it, had

been broken into by some unknown natives, a party went in search of the

offenders. It was night when they came on a camp, on the opposite side of

the lake to where the hut stands; the natives, acting upon the first

impulse, and warned by frequent examples, ran away, when two of the party

snapped their pieces, but providentially both guns missed fire. The

natives, however, soon took confidence, and returned, when it was found

that two of the most orderly and useful men would have been shot if the

guns had gone off. The party took upon themselves to make one of them

prisoner, but of course did not venture to bring him before the

magistrate.

"These facts incontestably prove, that, notwithstanding the Aborigines

are called British subjects, and in spite of the so-called protection

system, there is no shadow of protection for them, while they are

debarred from the first and most important of all liberties, namely, that

of being heard in a Court of civil Justice.

"Several instances have occurred during my residence in this district, in

which natives have been arraigned before the administrators of the law,

although I was morally convinced of their innocence; in other cases, they

have sought redress through me, for wanton attacks on their person and

lives, without being listened to.

"Only a few weeks ago a native was very nearly being taken up, on the

charge of having thrown a spear at Mr. Smith's shepherd, without,

however, any felonious intent, the distance being too great. This

circumstance saved the man, or else he would, no doubt, have been tried

and found guilty on the shepherd's evidence, who would not allow that he

could be mistaken in the individual, although the accused native came

boldly into town and court (a circumstance that has never before occurred

since I have known these natives), although he was an intimate friend of

the shepherd and his wife; and although all the other natives could prove

where he had been at the time of the attack on the flock, and state who

were the guilty parties.

"For those who have had an opportunity of observing the Aborigines in

their original state, it is not very difficult to distinguish the guilty

from the innocent, for they are a simple-minded race, little skilled in

the arts of dissimulation.

"It is bad enough that a great part of the colonists are inimical to the

natives; it is worse that the law, as it stands at present, does not

extend its protection to them; but it is too bad when the press lends its

influence to their destruction. Such, however, is undoubtedly the case.

When Messrs. Biddle and Brown were murdered, the newspapers entertained

their readers week after week with the details of the bloody massacre,

heaping a profusion of vile epithets upon the perpetrators. But of the

slaughter by the soldiers, (who killed no less than four innocent

natives, while they captured not one guilty party), among the tribes who

had had nothing to do with the murders--of the treachery of attacking in

the darkness of the night, a tribe who had the day before been hunting

kangaroo with their informers, when one of the former guides to the

magistrates' pursuing party was killed amongst others; of the wanton

outrage on the mutilated body of one of the victims;--of these things the

press was as silent as the grave."

Without attempting to enlarge more fully upon the subjects entered upon

in the preceding pages, I trust that I have sufficiently shewn that the

character of the Australian natives has been greatly misrepresented and

maligned, that they are not naturally more irreclaimably vicious,

revengeful, or treacherous than other nations, but on the contrary, that

their position with regard to Europeans, places them under so many

disadvantages, subjects them to so many injuries, irritates them with so

many annoyances, and tempts them with so many provocations, that it is a

matter of surprise, not that they sometimes are guilty of crime, but that

they commit it so rarely.

If I have in the least degree succeeded in establishing that such is the

case, it must be evident that it is incumbent upon us not only to make

allowances when pronouncing an opinion on the character or the crimes of

the Aborigines; but what is of far greater and more vital importance, as

far as they are concerned, to endeavour to revise and improve such parts

of our system and policy towards them as are defective, and by better

adapting these to the peculiar circumstances of this people, at once

place them upon juster and more equal terms, and thus excite a reasonable

hope that some eventual amelioration may be produced, both in their moral

and physical condition.

[Note 56: "We say distinctly and deliberately that nothing comparatively

has yet been done--that the natives have hitherto acquired nothing of

European civilization, but European vices and diseases, and that the

speedy extinction of the whole race is inevitable, save by the

introduction of means for their civilization on a scale much more

comprehensive and effectual than any yet adopted."--Leading Article in

South Australian Register, 1st August, 1840.]

I shall now proceed to give an account of the appearance, habits, mode of

life, means of subsistance, social relations, government, ceremonies,

superstitions, numbers, languages, etc. etc. of the natives of Australia,

so as to afford some insight into the character and circumstances of this

peculiar race, to exhibit the means hitherto adopted for, and the

progress made in attempting, their civilization, and to shew the effects

produced upon them by a contact with Europeans.

Chapter II.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE--DRESS--CHARACTER--HABITS OF LIFE--MEETINGS OF

TRIBES--WARS--DANCES--SONGS.

The Aborigines of Australia, with whom Europeans have come in contact,

present a striking similarity to each other in physical appearance and

structure; and also in their general character, habits, and pursuits. Any

difference that is found to exist is only the consequence of local

circumstances or influences, and such as might naturally be expected to

be met with among a people spread over such an immense extent of country.

Compared with other aboriginal races, scattered over the face of the

globe, the New Hollander appears to stand alone.

The male is well built and muscular, averaging from five to six feet in

height, with proportionate upper and lower extremities. The anterior

lobes of the brain are fairly developed, so as to give a facial angle,

far from being one of the most acute to be found amongst the black races.

The eyes are sunk, the nose is flattened, and the mouth wide. The lips

are rather thick, and the teeth generally very perfect and beautiful,

though the dental arrangement is sometimes singular, as no difference

exists in many between the incisor and canine teeth. The neck is short,

and sometimes thick, and the heel resembles that of Europeans. The ankles

and wrists are frequently small, as are also the hands and feet. The

latter are well formed and expanded, but the calves of the legs are

generally deficient. Some of the natives in the upper districts of the

Murray, are, however, well formed in this respect. In a few instances,

natives attain to a considerable corpulency. The men have fine broad and

deep chests, indicating great bodily strength, and are remarkably erect

and upright in their carriage, with much natural grace and dignity of

demeanour. The eye is generally large, black, and expressive, with the

eye-lashes long.

When met with for the first time in his native wilds there is frequently

a fearless intrepidity of manner, an ingenuous openness of look, and a

propriety of behaviour about the aboriginal inhabitant of Australia,

which makes his appearance peculiarly prepossessing.

In the female the average height is about five feet, or perhaps a little

under. The anterior part of the brain is more limited than in the male;

the apex of the head is carried further back; the facial angle is more

acute; and the extremities are more attenuated. The latter circumstance

may probably be accounted for from the fact, that the females have to

endure, from a very early age, a great degree of hardship, privation, and

ill-treatment. Like most other savages the Australian looks upon his wife

as a slave. To her belongs the duty of collecting and preparing the daily

food, of making the camp or hut for the night, of gathering and bringing

in firewood, and of procuring water. She must also attend to the

children; and in travelling carry all the moveable property and

frequently the weapons of her husband. In wet weather she attends to all

the outside work, whilst her lord and master is snugly seated at the

fire. If there is a scarcity of food she has to endure the pangs of

hunger, often, perhaps, in addition to ill-treatment or abuse. No wonder,

then, that the females, and especially the younger ones, (for it is then

they are exposed to the greatest hardships,) are not so fully or so

roundly developed in person as the men. Yet under all these disadvantages

this deficiency does not always exist. Occasionally, though rarely, I

have met with females in the bloom of youth, whose well-proportioned

limbs and symmetry of figure might have formed a model for the sculptor's

chisel. In personal appearance the females are, except in early youth,

very far inferior to the men. When young, however, they are not

uninteresting. The jet-black eyes, shaded by their long, dark lashes, and

the delicate and scarcely-formed features of incipient womanhood give a

soft and pleasing expression to a countenance that might often be called

good-looking--occasionally even pretty.

The colour of the skin, both in the male and female, is generally black,

or very darkly tinged. The hair is either straight or curly, but never

approaching to the woolliness of the negro. It is usually worn short by

both sexes, and is variously ornamented at different periods of life.

Sometimes it is smeared with red ochre and grease; at other times adorned

with tufts of feathers, the tail of the native dog, kangaroo teeth, and

bandages or nets of different kinds.

[Note 57: The same fondness for red paint, ornaments of skins, tufts of

feathers, etc., is noticed by Catlin as prevalent among the American

Indians, and by Dieffenbach as existing among the New Zealanders.]

When the head of the native is washed clean, and purified from the odour

of the filthy pigment with which it is bedaubed, the crop of hair is very

abundant, and the appearance of it beautiful, being a silken, glossy, and

curly black. Great pains are, however, used to destroy or mar this

striking ornament of nature.

Without the slightest pride of appearance, so far as neatness or

cleanliness is concerned, the natives are yet very vain of their own rude

decorations, which are all worn for EFFECT. A few feathers or teeth, a

belt or band, a necklace made of the hollow stem of some plant, with a

few coarse daubs of red or white paint, and a smearing of grease,

complete the toilette of the boudoir or the ball-room. Like the scenery

of a panorama, they are then seen to most advantage at a distance; for if

approached too closely, they forcibly remind us of the truth of the

expression of the poet, that "nature unadorned is adorned the most."

The body dress is simple; consisting of the skins of the opossum, the

kangaroo, or the wallabie, when they can be procured. A single garment

only is used, made in the form of an oblong cloak, or coverlet; by the

skins being stretched out and dried in the sun, and then sewn together

with the sinews of the emu, etc. The size of the cloak varies according to

the industry of the maker, or the season of the year. The largest sized

ones are about six feet square, but the natives frequently content

themselves with one not half this size, and in many cases are without it

altogether. The cloak is worn with the fur side outwards, and is thrown

over the back and left shoulder, and pinned on in front with a little

wooden peg; the open part is opposite the right side, so as to leave the

right arm and shoulder quite unconfined, in the male; the female throws

it over the back and left shoulder, and brings it round under the right

arm-pit, and when tied in front by a string passing round the cloak and

the back, a pouch is formed behind, in which the child is always

carried. [Note 58 at end of para.] In either if the skin be a handsome

one, the dress is very pretty and becoming.

[Note 58: A similar custom prevails among the women of the American

Indians.--CATLIN. vol. ii. p. 132.]

On the sea coast, where the country is barren, and the skins of animals

cannot readily be procured, sea-weed or rushes are manufactured into

garments, with considerable ingenuity. In all cases the garments worn by

day constitute the only covering at night, as the luxury of variety in

dress is not known to, or appreciated by, the Aborigines.

No covering is worn upon the head, although they are continually exposed

to the rays of an almost tropical sun. In extreme seasons of heat, and

'when they are travelling, they sometimes gather a few green bunches or

wet weeds and place upon their heads; but this does not frequently occur.

The character of the Australian natives is frank, open, and confiding. In

a short intercourse they are easily made friends, and when such terms are

once established, they associate with strangers with a freedom and

fearlessness, that would give little countenance to the impression so

generally entertained of their treachery. On many occasions where I have

met these wanderers in the wild, far removed from the abodes of

civilization, and when I have been accompanied only by a single native

boy, I have been received by them in the kindest and most friendly

manner, had presents made to me of fish, kangaroo, or fruit, had them

accompany me for miles to point out where water was to be procured, and

been assisted by them in getting at it, if from the nature of the soil

and my own inexperience. I had any difficulty in doing so myself.

I have ever found them of a lively, cheerful disposition [Note 59 at end

of para.], patiently putting up with inconveniences and privations, and

never losing that natural good temper which so strongly characterizes

them. On the occasion of my second visit from Moorunde, to the Rufus

natives in 1841, when I had so far overcome the ill-feelings and dread,

engendered by the transactions in that quarter, in 1840, as to induce

a large body of them to accompany me back to the station, they had to

walk a distance of 150 miles, making daily the same stages that the

horses did, and unprovided with any food but what they could procure

along the road as they passed, and this from the rapidity with which

they had to travel, and the distance they had to go in a day, was

necessarily limited in quantity, and very far from sufficient to

appease even the cravings of hunger, yet tired, foot-sore, and hungry

as they were, and in company with strangers, whose countrymen had slain

them in scores, but a few months before, they were always merry at

their camps at nights, and kept singing, laughing, and joking, to a

late hour.

[Note 59: Such appears usually to be the characteristic of Nature's

children, than whom no race appears more thoroughly to enjoy life.--Vide

character of the American Indians, by Catlin, vol. 1. p. 84.]

On falling in with them in larger numbers, when I have been travelling in

the interior with my party, I have still found the same disposition to

meet me on terms of amity and kindness. Nor can a more interesting sight

well be imagined, than that of a hundred or two hundred natives advancing

in line to meet you, unarmed, shouting and waving green boughs in both

hands, men, women, and children, the old and the young, all joining in

expressing their good feelings and pacific intentions. On such occasions

I have been often astonished at the facility with which large bodies,

have by a little kindness and forbearance been managed, and kept from

being troublesome or annoying, by a party of only six or seven Europeans.

I have occasionally had upwards of 150 natives sitting in a long line,

where I placed them, and as orderly and obedient almost as a file of

soldiers.

At other times, when riding with only a native boy over the plains of the

interior, I have seen the blue smoke of the native fires, curling up

through the distant line of trees, which marked some yet unvisited

watercourse, and upon making towards it, have come suddenly upon a party

encamped in the hollow, beneath the banks upon which I stood. Here I have

remained, observing them for a few moments, unseen and unthought of. A

single call would arouse their attention, and as they looked up, would

draw from them a wild exclamation of dismay, accompanied by a look of

indescribable horror and affright, at beholding the strange, and to them

incomprehensible beings who stood before them. Weapons would hastily be

seized, baggage gathered up, and the party so lately buried in repose and

security, would at once be ready either to fight or to evacuate their

camps, as circumstances might seem to render most expedient. A few

friendly gestures and a peaceable demeanour would however soon dissipate

their terror, and in a few moments their weapons would be thrown aside,

and both invaders and invaded be upon intimate and confiding terms.

I have always found the natives ready to barter their nets, weapons, or

other implements, for European articles, and sometimes they will give

them unsolicited, and without any equivalent; amongst themselves they

constantly do this.

In their intercourse with each other, natives of different tribes are

exceedingly punctilious and polite, the most endearing epithets are

passed between those who never met before; almost every thing that is

said is prefaced by the appellation of father, son, brother, mother,

sister, or some other similar term, corresponding to that degree of

relationship which would have been most in accordance with their relative

ages and circumstances. In many instances, too, these titles are even

accompanied by the still more insinuating addition of "dear," to say

nothing of the hugs and embraces which they mutually give and receive.

The natives are very fond of the children they rear, and often play with,

and fondle them; but husbands rarely shew much affection for their wives.

After a long absence, I have seen natives, upon their return, go to their

camp, exhibiting the most stoical indifference, never take the least

notice of their wives, but sit down, and act, and look, as if they had

never been out of the encampment; in fact, if any thing, they are more

taciturn and reserved than usual, and some little time elapses before

they enter into conversation with freedom, or in their ordinary manner.

[Note 60: For the existence of similar customs amongst the American

Indians, vide Catlin, vol. i. p. 56.]

Upon meeting children after a long absence, I have seen parents "fall

upon their necks, and weep" bitterly. It is a mistaken idea, as well as

an unjust one, that supposes the natives to be without sensibility of

feeling. It may often be repressed from pride or policy, but it will

sometimes break forth uncontrolled, and reveal, that the best and genuine

feelings of the heart are participated in by savage in common with

civilized man. The following is an instance in point:--A fine intelligent

young boy, was, by his father's consent, living with me at the Murray for

many weeks; but upon the old man's going into Adelaide, he took his son

away to accompany him. Whilst there, the boy died, and for nearly a year

I never saw any thing more of the father, although he occasionally had

been within a few miles of my neighbourhood. One day, however, I was out

shooting about three miles from home, and accidentally fell in with him.

Upon seeing me he immediately burst into tears, and was unable to speak.

It was the first time he had met me since his son's death, and my

presence forcibly reminded him of his loss. The same circumstance

occurred when he accompanied me to the house, where every thing he saw

recalled the memory of his child.

Innate propriety of behaviour is also frequently exhibited by the

Aborigines in their natural state, in the modest unassuming manner in

which they take their positions to observe what is going on, and in a

total absence of any thing that is rude or offensive. It is true that the

reverse of this is also often to be met with; but I think it will usually

be found that it is among natives who have before been in contact with

Europeans, or where familiarities have been used with them first, or an

injudicious system of treatment has been adopted towards them.

DELICACY of feeling is not often laid to the charge of the Aborigines,

and yet I was witness to a singular instance of it at King George's

Sound. I was looking one evening at the natives dancing, and who were, as

they always are on these occasions, in a state of complete nudity. In the

midst of the performance, one of the natives standing by a spectator,

mentioned that a white woman was passing up the road; and although this

was some little distance away, and the night was tolerably dark, they all

with one accord crossed over to the bushes where their cloaks were, put

them on, and resumed their amusement.

It has been said, and is generally believed, that the natives are not

courageous. There could not be a greater mistake, at least as far as they

are themselves concerned, nor do I hold it to be any proof that they are

cowards, because they dread or give way before Europeans and their

fire-arms. So unequal a match is no criterion of bravery, and yet even

thus, among natives, who were labouring under the feelings, naturally

produced by seeing a race they were unacquainted with, and weapons that

dealt death as if by magic, I have seen many instances of an open manly

intrepidity of manner and bearing, and a proud unquailing glance of eye,

which instinctively stamped upon my mind the conviction that the

individuals before me were very brave men.

In travelling about from one place to another, I have always made it a

point, if possible, to be accompanied by one or more natives, and I have

often found great advantage from it. Attached to an exploring party they

are frequently invaluable, as their perceptive powers are very great, and

enable them both to see and hear anything at a much greater distance than

a European. In tracking stray animals, and keeping on indistinct paths,

they display a degree of perseverance and skill that is really wonderful.

They are useful also in cutting bark canoes to cross a river, should such

impede the progress of the party, and in diving for anything that may be

lost in the water, etc. etc. The Aborigines generally, and almost always

those living near large bodies of water, are admirable swimmers and

divers, and are almost as much at home in the water as on dry land. I

have known them even saw a small log or root at the bottom of a deep

river. In a locality, however, which is badly watered, it sometimes

happens that they cannot swim. At Meerkap, in Western Australia, while

crossing with some friends, from the Sound to Swan River, we met with

some who were in this predicament, and who seemed a good deal astonished

at our venturing into the small ponds at that place. I have been told

that the natives at the Sound could not swim before that settlement was

occupied by Europeans--this seems hardly probable, however, upon the

sea-coast; at all events, be this as it may, they all swim now.

In habit they are truly nomadic, seldom remaining many weeks in one

locality, and frequently not many days. The number travelling together

depends, in a great measure, upon the period of the year, and the

description of food that may be in season. If there is any particular

variety more abundant than another, or procurable only in certain

localities, the whole tribe generally congregate to partake of it. Should

this not be the case, then they are probably scattered over their

district in detached groups, or separate families.

At certain seasons of the year, usually in the spring or summer, when

food is most abundant, several tribes meet together in each other's

territory for the purpose of festivity or war, or to barter and exchange

such food, clothing, implements, weapons, or other commodities as they

respectively possess; or to assist in the initiatory ceremonies by which

young persons enter into the different grades of distinction amongst

them. The manner and formalities of meeting depend upon the cause for

which they assemble. If the tribes have been long apart, many deaths may

have occurred in the interim; and as the natives do not often admit that

the young or the strong can die from natural causes, they ascribe the

event to the agency of sorcery, employed by individuals of neighbouring

tribes. This must of course be expiated in some way when they meet, but

the satisfaction required is regulated by the desire of the injured tribe

to preserve amicable relations with the other, or the reverse.

The following is an account of a meeting which I witnessed, between the

natives of Moorunde (comprising portions of several of the neighbouring

tribes) and the Nar-wij-jerook, or Lake Bonney tribe, accompanied also by

many of their friends. This meeting had been pre-arranged, as meetings of

large bodies of natives never take place accidentally, for even when a

distant tribe approaches the territory of another unexpectedly,

messengers are always sent on in advance, to give the necessary warning.

The object of the meeting in question was to perform the initiatory

ceremonies upon a number of young men belonging to both of the tribes. In

the Murray district, when one tribe desires another to come from a

distance to perform these ceremonies, young men are sent off with

messages of invitation, carrying with them as their credentials, long

narrow news, made of string manufactured from the rush. These nets are

left with the tribe they are sent to, and brought back again when the

invitation is responded to.

Notice having been given on the previous evening to the Moorunde natives

of the approach of the Nar-wij-jerook tribe, they assembled at an early

hour after sunrise, in as clear and open a place as they could find. Here

they sat down in a long row to await the coming of their friends. The men

were painted, and carried their weapons, as if for war. The women and

children were in detached groups, a little behind them, or on one side,

whilst the young men, on whom the ceremonies were to be performed, sat

shivering with cold and apprehension in a row to the rear of the men,

perfectly naked, smeared over from head to foot with grease and

red-ochre, and without weapons. The Nar-wij-jerook tribe was now seen

approaching. The men were in a body, armed and painted, and the women and

children accompanying them a little on one side. They occasionally

halted, and entered into consultation, and then, slackening their pace,

gradually advanced until within a hundred yards of the Moorunde tribe.

Here the men came to a full stop, whilst several of the women singled out

from the rest, and marched into the space between the two parties, having

their heads coated over with lime, and raising a loud and melancholy

wail, until they came to a spot about equi-distant from both, when they

threw down their cloaks with violence, and the bags which they carried on

their backs, and which contained all their worldly effects. The bags were

then opened, and pieces of glass and shells taken out, with which they

lacerated their thighs, backs, and breasts, in a most frightful manner,

whilst the blood kept pouring out of the wounds in streams; and in this

plight, continuing their wild and piercing lamentations, they moved up

towards the Moorunde tribe, who sat silently and immoveably in the place

at first occupied. One of the women then went up to a strange native, who

was on a visit to the Moorunde tribe and who stood neutral in the affair

of the meeting, and by violent language and frantic gesticulations

endeavoured to incite him to revenge the death of some relation or

friend. But he could not be induced to lift his spear against the people

amongst whom he was sojourning. After some time had been spent in

mourning, the women took up their bundles again, and retiring, placed

themselves in the rear of their own party. An elderly man then advanced,

and after a short colloquy with the seated tribe, went back, and beckoned

his own people to come forward, which they did slowly and in good order,

exhibiting in front three uplifted spears, to which were attached the

little nets left with them by the envoys of the opposite tribe, and which

were the emblems of the duty they had come to perform, after the ordinary

expiations had been accomplished.

In advancing, the Nar-wij-jerooks again commenced the death wail, and one

of the men, who had probably sustained the greatest loss since the tribes

had last met, occasionally in alternations of anger and sorrow addressed

his own people. When near the Moorunde tribe a few words were addressed

to them, and they at once rose simultaneously, with a suppressed shout.

The opposite party then raised their spears, and closing upon the line of

the other tribe, speared about fifteen or sixteen of them in the left

arm, a little below the shoulder. This is the generally understood order

of revenge; for the persons who were to receive the wounds, as soon as

they saw the weapons of their assailants poised, at once put out the left

foot, to steady themselves, and presented the left shoulder for the blow,

frequently uttering the word "Leipa" (spear), as the others appeared to

hesitate.

Whilst this was going on, the influential men of each tribe were

violently talking to each other, and apparently accusing one another of

being accessory to the death of some of their people. Disclaimers passed

on each side, and the blame was imputed to other and more distant tribes.

The manes of the dead having been appeased, the honour of each party was

left unsullied, and the Nar-wij-jerooks retired about a hundred yards,

and sat down, ready to enter upon the ceremonies of the day, which will

be described in another place. [Note 61: Chapter V.]