'Country gave them nothing' - eHive

ABORIGINAL diggers from World War I through to Vietnam will feature in an exhibition at Parramatta City Library from November 5 through to 30.

Titled Too Dark for The Light Horse, the collection of documents and photographs includes the story of the strategic French to w n o f V i l l e r s - Bretonneux where, among

I the graves of almost 11,000 Australians, there

I are 13 Aborigines.Australia’s original in-

jhabitants were at first |barred from military ser

vice, but when World War I broke out, a significant number tried to enlist and some succeeded. At least one Aborigine was in Brisbane’s famous 9th Battalion which was the first unit to land at Gallipoli.

The battle of Pozieres in July 1916 saw Australia suffer 23,000 casualties and when Billy Hughes’ Government failed to win the conscription issue, standards for voluntary enlistment were relaxed and there were 18 Aborigines in one reinforcement unit for the 11th Light Horse.

“While 13 dead Aboriginal soldiers may not seem many out of nearly 11,000 Australians who died at

Aboriginal Corporal Charles Mene and his mates (top left) enjoying a break In the Ebisu Camp can

teen in Tokyo

Corp Mene (right) receives a military medal for bravery in

action in Korea P r i v a t e W a l l i e Johnson, (left) 47 Battalion AIF, killed

in action in 1917

'Country gave them nothing'

Villers-Bretonneux, it must be remembered at the time. Aborigines in Australia were denied the vote, the invalid and old age pension and the Commonwealth’s Maternity Allowance,” said author David Huggonson, who is compiling the exhibit.

“The Aboriginal population in 1911 was only about 80,000, so an enlistment of more than 400 men was a significant per capita effort for a country which at the time denied Aboriginal people basic human rights,” he said.

— C H R IS FX Y N N

S '

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f H b o H i G \ n ^

Majorie Woodrow with Sydney Cunningham at the launch of her book One ofthe Lost Generation

Clan set to gather for big reunionPARRAMATTA author Marjorie Woodrow is finalising what promises to be one of the nation’s biggest reunions and certainly one of the most emotional.

It’s a gathering for the Aboriginal Ybuwgn people of the Wonboora clan to be held at the Nanima reserve on the outskirts of Wellington in central NSW from September 27 to 29.

Invitations went out last month in a typically Aboriginal way. Letters were sent to just 21 land councils in surrounding towns and then spread by word of mouth.

The RAAF in Dubbo is lending marquee tents, tables and chairs and lighting for the event. Wellington Shire Council will have the reserve and its surrounds in pristine condition and Wellington Police Sgt Neil Scarr said Aboriginal liaison officers would be on hand to smooth any organisational bumps.

Mrs Woodrow said Nanima, on the banks of the Macquarie River, was the oldest reserve in NSW.

“We thought of the reunion in March,” she said.“These get-togethers are pretty common for Aborigines.

The clans would meet every now and then to sort out any problems.”

Mrs Woodrow said the reserve would be “dry” for the weekend. “It’s a ‘families’ reunion, so there’s plenty of food and drink, but no grog,” she said.

Organisers are still trying to get everybody’s favorite. Slim Dusty to appear, while the double award-winning Aboriginal dance troupe, Bah-Ta-Bah is set to perform.

There’s also talk of a song and dance talent quest.Reserve chairman Neville Barwick said everyone was

welcome to attend. Those who were planning to stay overnight should bring sleeping gear.

Money raised on the weekend goes to the reserve.Nanima is on (068) 45 3390. •

Book shows native linksPARRAMATTA’S early dealings with its native people are in the book The Parramatta Native Institution and the Black Town launched in Parramatta on September 12.

Co-written by Blacktown historians Jack Brook and Jim Kohen, the 290-page book describes how well-meaning, but bumbling, authorities annexed the Aborigines’ land and then sought to “civilise” them.

There was a native school in Parramatta as early as 1814 and the city of Blacktown gained its name because the area’s native people were herded into another institution there.

“If the lessons had been learned by the teachers rather than by the pupils, perhaps the outcome would have been different — there was a failure to recognise an Aboriginal culture existed,” the authors say.

Mr Kohen said the book-writing project started 11 years ago.

“Libraries can be marvellous places for delving for information, but when you hear of Aboriginal descendants who have a working knowledge of 500-600 of their family— it’s a goldmine,” he said.

The authors will be at Parramatta author Marjorie Woodrow’s Wonboora clan reunion at Nanima Reserve in Wellington this weekend (Septeniber 28-29).

p IS

PARRAMAHA CITY COUNCIL

LIBRARY SERVICES DIVISION

LOCAL HISTORY SERVICE - Vertical File Collection

SUBJECT: ^eoAz<s>x / oBS

SOURCE: Ady/e.p- i

DATE:

PAGE NO:

CLASS. NO:

We’ve nothing to fear from Mabo

AS controversy continues to rage, often verging on hysteria, over the High Court M abo ruling, Parramatta solicitor David

Bdnnerman looked at its application here

David Bannerman . . . early land grants would extinguish any native title

PEO PL E in the Parram atta area have noth ing to fear from the controversial M abo ruling by the High C ourt, so lic itor David B annerm an says.“ T he ruling m eans native title can 'only exist where there have been no land grants inconsistent w ith it," he said.

Early land grants in the P arram atta area to John M acarthur, D arcy W entw orth, Jam es Ruse and o thers w ould extinguish any native title to land subject o f the grants.

T he Parram atta-based so lic itor o f the Suprem e C ourt believed a m ajority of A ustralians w ould agree w ith the High C ourt ruling once they understood the decision.

T he ruling applied only to the island o f M er (originally M urray) which was not C row n land under the Q ueensland C row n Lands Act.

M r Bannerm an said it was significant the judges did not decree native title to two acres on the island which w ere leased, in 1880, to the London M issionary Society for a church and store. G ran ting o f th a t lease had extinguished native title to those tw o acres.“ In a sim ilar way, granting land to the pioneers o f P arram atta extinguished title to tha t land; native title only exists so long as there has been no action such as a grrant o r som e legislation inconsistent w ith it,” M r B annerm an said.He believed M abo was only a precedent w here a situa tion sim ilar to the island o f .Mer existed.“ I can th ink o f no land on the m ainland w here the situa tion was sim ilar to the island o f M er," he said. “There is no basis for claim s against land in the P arram atta area o r city ' CBDs which could be based on the M abo decision ."

Place of Eels:vbor ie ina l Parram atta in Au^i;ra iian Hi_->tor\

Michael Rynn

^ ’ HE Australian Bicentenary of 1988 was in many ways an

L orgy o f self-congratulation puffed up by the false confidence of that decade’s economic boom. Two of the most enduring and contrasting images o f Australia Day 1988 are the sails of the ships o f the First Fleet re-enactment wafting into Sydney Harbour bearing gigantic Coca-Cola logos and the exuberant Aboriginal march through the streets o f the city. The day finished off the one dimensional stereotypes of the sturdy Afrikaner-like pioneer and the bakky-chewing ‘Native’, but found Australia in a ferment o f new ideas as the Cold War approached its tumultuous climax. Since 1988 a new sense of confidence in the emerging Australian identity has encouraged a more complex and critical view o f the past.

The political modishness and postmodernism o f recent years have undoubtedly been carried to excess in some quarters, including parts of the field o f Australian history. But, as three American academics Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt and Margaret Jacob argue in a recent book Telling the Truth about History, W.W. Norton and Co., 1994, a new consensus is emerging which recognises that the old certainties of conventional history were flawed, but challenges the extreme view that derides attempts to find objective meaning in the historical record as futile and looks back to the past with a hostile, judgemental eye and with little sympathy for the traditions of Western hu

manism. By using new perspectives which recognise the diversity of the past in ways which the writers of other eras did not, it is possible to continue the process o f discover}^ in the same humanist tradition. This process began in the Australian context well over a century ago with James Bonwick and, despite a few stops and starts, is still going on. Historians are reinterpreting the documents Bonwick used and locating others that he overlooked. As Thucydides would tell you, a century is not a long time; at the beginning of the age of informafion technology Australian history presents a field as rich and diverse as the natural world must have seemed to the botanists of the eighteenth century.

One of the most significantelements o f this re-examination of identity has been the question of the place of Aboriginal people and their heritage in the broaderculture. The Mabo decision has drawn attention to a painful realisation that indigenous Australia was subjugated by an expanding European empire using militaiy force. A collective amnesia which resembles the silly attempts of pre-war Australia to disown its convict beginnings is breaking down in a similar way.

Condescension and outright racism aside, one o f the main problems of pre- 1988 history has been Aboriginal invisibility. Time after time local histories produced in the twentieth century completely ignored the Aboriginal dimension through ignorancc or distaste;

many more trivialised a complex story with a few 1 ines about hapless or treacherous blacks and depicted rock art as a kitsch curiosity. Local history in Parramatta and the westem suburbs of Sydney has not been free of these tendencies; in addition, the area has suffered from being ignored as a backwater, far from the centres of power in Macquarie Street and the city.

The rise o f the Parramatta Central Business District, a more heritage-oriented municipal council, the formation of an Aboriginal Darug Land Council and the westward shift of Sydney’s population centre have contributed to a new view o f the history o f Parramatta and its hinterland which, in the half century after 1788, rivalled Sydney in importance and hosted the second viceregal residence. The spotlight was turned on Parramatta’s remarkable Aboriginal heritage by two recent books: The Parramatta Native Institution and the Black Town by Jack Brook and James Kohen (1991) and r/it? Darug and their Neighbours by James Kohen (1993) which have drawn attention to the presence in Sydney of descendants of its Aboriginal clans. Moving on from the more limited scope of these books it is possible to probe further into the Aboriginal man from Botany Bay whose lengthy evidence to a select committee of the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1845 has survived.

Any history o f the Aboriginal experience o f early colonial New South Wales is necessarily dominated by

HISTORY December 1995

jcnnclong. Only lasi year previously unknown Treasury documents came to light (PRO T l/731-3) which gave a detailed view o f the first Australian Aborigines to visit England. Benne- long and Yemmcrrawannie. who were presented to King George III in May 1793. Expense accounts lodged by Governors Phillip and Hunter reveal that the two Aboriginal men stayed at a fashionable West End address in Mount Street. Grosvenor Square, played shuttlecock, swam, went boating, attended the trial o f Warren Hastings in Westminster Hall and the theatres of Drury Lane and Covent Garden. A lso chronicled is Yemmerrawannie’s declining health in the Surrey village of Eltham, where he died in 1794.

A close look at early Abo- riginal-European contact history brings new evidence of the locations o f a series of contacts and conflicts, including the first fatal spearing of convicts in the vicinity o f Rushcutters Bay and Iron Cove in May 1788. In the same month GovemorPhillip stumbled on a large Aboriginal gathering which can be identified as taking place at Long Bay. A close examination o f the documentation o f Phillip’s first exploration of Parramatta’s western hintedand in April 1788 reveals that the orthodox view that he went only as far as Prospect Hill or a little beyond is deeply Hawed. His party is much more likely to have traversed Toongabbie. Seven H ills and B lack tow n to clim b Bungarribce Hill, Doonside and reaching Eastern Creek and Rooty Hill.

One of ihc most distinctive features of pre-1788 .Aboriginal Sydney was the cultural divide between the inland paiendra 'tomahawk people' who hunted game and used their stone accs to cut climbing marks on trees and ihe katungal 'sea people’ who were oriented towards the seafood produce of the saltwater harbour, estuaries and ocean beaches. The katungal people of

the harbour and Botany Bay called themselves Eora (which meant ‘people of this place’ or ‘people here’). The w esternm ost Eora clan was the Burramatlagal, of Parramatta-'the place where the eels sit down’ which marked the border between the cultures of the harbour and the inland. West of Parramatta were the Cannemegal clan of Prospect and the Warrawarry of Eastern Creek; to the south were the warlike Bidjigal, who inhabited thick bushland around Prospect Creek, Salt Pan Creek and north of the Georges River.

the banks of Duck River, at a place they called ‘Watergoro’ which may be a corruption of the Sydney language terms Wadi-ora‘wood place’o r‘wooden club place’ - possibly the campsite at Camellia described in Thomas Fowlie’s ‘History of Granville’ (Mitchell Library). a remarkable unpublished gem o f 1918 which describes the shell middens o f Parramatta River, Duck River and Clay Cliff Creek left from meals over thousands of years. Numerous descendants of the Sydney clans live on. many of them descended from Darug

An A ttack by S ’a tives, P o rt J ackson P a in ter c l 7SS. N a tu ra l H istory M useum L ondon

The Burramattagal and neighbouring clans survived the occupation and settlement of their territories, the frontier wars which followed, and maintained their cohesion into the 1830s when documentation of the issue of blankets at the annual 'Native Feast' at Parramatta allows a partial reconstruction of the old clan structure and the identification of such key figures as Burung, Bidgee Bidgee and Baluderri as members of the Wallumattagal clan. Three previously unknown Parramatta returns for the years 1836, 1839 and 18-10 have recently been found. They indicate that the pre-1788 Wangal and Wallumattagal clans remained in the 1830s as the Concord and Kissing Point ‘tr ib es’ and remnants o f the Burramattagal clan survived as an ■Aboriginal group who camped along

of the Hawkesbury district and the western suburbs.

Parramatta’s beautiful, park-like landscape had been created by Aboriginal firing practices over thousands o f years. To the Europeans it seemed like a garden of Eden whose fertile soil saved the colony from starvation after the establishment o f a farming settlement there in November 1788 within what is now Parramatta Park. It was also the focus of a savage frontier conflict which began with an Aboriginal attack on the first emancipist farmers of Prospect in 1791 and spread to Toongabbie soon afterwards. The streets of Parramatta were the setting for the ‘high noon’ confrontation between Pemul- wuy’s rebel Bidjigal clan and the New South Wales Corps in 1797. The struggle in the Sydney region .set a pattern


/v-hich was followed across the continent: initial friendly contact, mistreatment and atrocities committed by whites, sporadic Aboriginal guerrilla attacks, gubernatorial efforts to achieve reconciliation and failed legal investigations. Watkin Tench’s literary approach to his story o f the First Fleet was imbued with the humanist perspective of an enlightened ‘Man of Feeling’ of the eighteenth century. His quotations from Melon's Paradise Lost reflect his view of the colony as a ‘nether Eden’ from which the Aboriginal Adam and Eve had been expelled.

Henry R ey n o ld s has demonstrated how conventional history often downplayed the extent o f Aboriginal resistance and the process o f negotiation with the European conqueror which produced such an unfair settlement for the Aboriginal side, even in comparison with other settler societies like America, New Zealand and Canada. Again the pattern begins in the Sydney region. In 1805 Parramatta was the site o f two Aboriginal-European con- Founding of the ferences ‘with a view o f ThomasGosse opening the way to reconciliation’ with the Reverend Samuel Marsden and Governor King for which a group of .Aboriginal women acted as intermediaries. Under Macquarie an attempt was made to assimilate Aboriginal children at the Parramatta Native Institution which eventually failed as it became drawn into the Governor’s political struggle with the flogging parson. The school's establishment in 1814 was accompanied by an annual conference and feast at Parramatta which established a tradition that survived into the twentieth century o f annual distribution of blankets. A lthough som ewhat tokenistic, the government-sponsored feasts implied a recognition of clan structure and were viewed openly by Macquarie as a kind o f compensation for land loss. They were accompanied

by Aboriginal ceremonies and corroborees which helped maintain tradition and a sense of continuity with a past which had been shaken by invasion, disease and hardship. In Uie case of Parramatta such meetings may have actually predated European settlement.

The pro-Aboriginal attitudes of a small educated minority which included George Caley. George Shelley. Roger Oldfield, William Walker and Archbishop John Bede Polding reflect the existence of a body of egalitarian, anti- racist feeling in the colony which, at its

seiilem enl o f P ort Jackson j i Bolany B ay in iWh' Soitlh \Vales. 1799 R ex S a n K ivell co llection , S a tio n a l L ibrary o f A ustra lia . C anberra

fringes, approached a recognition of the modem concept o f ‘native title’. On the grimmer side of the story appears the death of Arabonoo in the 1789 smallpox epidemic and Baluderri’s dramatic confrontation with Phillip at Parramatta in 1791. .At the end of their short lives both men were buried in Phillip's garden at Government House, the site of today’s Museum of Sydney.The grimness also appears in atrocities committed by brutalised frontier settlers whose attitudes verged on support for genocide. The sometimes tragic consequences of assimilation are rc- tlected in the littie-known story of Moowattin, a Darug youth who went to England with Caley in 1810. met Sir Joseph Banks and frequented a Chelsea coffee house as 'a black beau', smoking a pipe, speaking g(X)d Engli.sh and

joking with curious Londoners. On returning to Australia he was tom be- tv>.cen a desire to return to Aboriginal life and a position as a wage earning -.tockman. He raped a white girl near Parramatta and was hanged the day Macquarie declared an end to his Aboriginal frontier war o f 1816.

The popular image o f the Aboriginal warriors who challenged the first arrival o f the white men in Sydney Harbour is one o f wild, gesticulating savages. A more realistic image in the context o f what is still empirical history

would use the more detailed descriptions o f the men Phillip saw: their/la/ra-like song and dance on the cliffs and headlands around Bondi, Maroubra and Coogee, the powerful symbolism and artistry of theirbody paint, the appearance o f the ghost-like painted face of the wom an who stood watching Phillip from arock in Sydney Harbour. An enhanced sense o f place which draws on Aboriginal concepts can only benefit the new sense o f Australian identity, culture and lore: a recognition of the ancient

human associations which sometimes appear in the names of places which have long been covered by successive layers o f farmland or suburbia, like

I Dawes's names of localities traversed on the walk from Parramatta to Prospect in 1790... Parramatta, Wau-maille, Malgray-matta, Era-worong. Carra- matta, Boolbane-matta, Carro-Wotong, Mar-rong. |

SourccsMichael Flynn. 'Place of eels: Parramatta and :he .-Xboriginal clans of ihe Sydney region, !'88-1845', research report for Parramatta Ciiy Council. 1995. William Dawes, Aboriginal Grammar and Word Lists. School and iJricnial and African Studies. London ; MS-i 1645a-h. microfilm copy in Mitchell L'ibrarv j; .Aboriginal Blanket Rctum.s, Par- r-imaita 1834-43. AONSW Col. Sec. 4/ n6ooB.3. 4/2302.1. 4/1133.3, 4/2433.1. 4/

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10 HISTORY December 1995

PARRAMATTA CITY COUNCILLIBRARY SERVICES DIVISION


SOURCE: ParramattaAdvatiser-CIIYNORiH

^ATE: 1 8 J 1997

PAGE NO:

Council apologises for past wrongs

• From page 1 “ like the 1838 Waterloo Creek massacre o f 200 Aborigines” .

“ The history books were full o f bias . . . We never saw or heard o f the atrocities that were committed by the white man,” Mr Worthington said.

“ People will argue very conveniently that it was the culture o f the day.

“ Well, I think we should bow our heads in shame that things like this happened.”

Councillor Maureen Walsh said Parramatta must recognise its place in the history o f annihilation of indigenous Australians.

I think England has to apologise for sending the convicts here.The Queen should apologise, not us. ^

B u t C o u n c i l l o r Lorraine Weame said the issue was “ not a concern of local government” and Mr Russo’s motion was “ i l l - c o n c e iv e d and rushed” .

Councillor Tony Issa said an apology implied the people o f Parramatta

were “ responsible for something we haven’t done” .

“ I don’t think the people o f Parramatta gave us a direction to do that on their behalf,” he said.

Mr Issa believed an apology would create division, instead o f reconciliation, between black and white Australians.

“ An apology will destroy our relationship with them [Aborigines],” he

said. “ It will prove to them we have done the wrong thing by them.

“ I believe w e’ve built a good relationship with them and they are part of our community.”

Australia’s colonial history was “ a fact o f life” for which he would not apologise.

“ I think England has to apologise for sending the convicts here,” Mr Issa said.

“ The Queen should apologise, not us.”

The Advertiser called ■ the Deerubin Local Abor-1 iginal Land Council (for- 1 merly the Darug Land' Council) but was told it would respond only to written requests for comment.

Requests must be considered by the full council, which meets monthly — after the A dvertiser’s deadline.

P A R R A M A TTA C IT Y C O U N C IL LIB R A R Y S E R V IC E S D IV IS IO N


SUBJECT:

SOURCE: Fairfax Sun-PAraWHSAHA PAGE NO: 7

DATE:1 1 J l 139?

Native Title shocicBy ANTHONY O’BRIENNATIVE Title on Crown Land may not have been extinguished according to a leading Aboriginal historian.

Historian Jim Kohen, who holds a PhD in Aboriginal Prehistory and has written several books on the Darug Aboriginal people said the Darugs may never have relinquished their connection to the land - giving credence to a Native Title application lodged late last month.

The application, lodged by Colin Gale and Ian Watson on behalf of Darug descendents, covers Crown Land in three quarters o f metropolitan Sydney, including Parramatta Park, Lake Parramatta Reserve and land around Toongabbee Creek.

The claim is yet to be placed on the Native Tribunal's administrative register, but a solicitor

■ A NATIVE Title claim which takes in parts of Parramatta has gained credence as a local historian reveals there were strong links with the city.________

acting from the claimants, Eddie Neumann, said it only had to pass procedural checks before being accepted.

Mr Kohen said the first incidents involving Aboriginal children being taken from their families also occurred in Parramatta, after the Parramatta Native Institution to educate Aboriginal children was set up in around 1815.

“The first case of the stolen children, if you like,” Mr Kohen said.



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SOURCE: FjSlter Sim-PARRAMATTA PAGE NO:

DATE:1 9 N 37

The signs of all of the timesPARRAMATTA Council’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Committee has recommended that council erect signs at the entrance to the city telling people the land was previously occupied by clans made up of Darug Aboriginal people.

Deputy Lord Mayor Phil Russo, who chairs the committee, said the recommendation will now go to a full meeting of council.

It comes on top of a policy adopted by Parramatta Council earlier in the year, which apologised to Darug people for any past injustices inflicted on them over the past 200 years.

Cr Russo said both initiatives would go a long way to achieving a lasting reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians around the Parramatta region.

But the Western Sydney Residents for Reconciliation (WSRR) will try and take that message further at a public meeting about native title at 7.30 tonight at Parramatta Town Hall.

WSRR chairperson Pauline Bennett said the group emerged out of the

■ RESIDENTS of Western Sydney, and Parramatta Council, w ill con tinue the push for bridge the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people.________

National Council for Reconciliation in an attempt to bring the message of reconciliation to the people in Parramatta.

Ms Bennett said it was just as important to convey the message of reconciliation at a local level as it was at a national or global level.

She said the group was made up of people from all walks of life, including university students, retired people, the clergy, professional people and mums and dads.

"The message of reconciliation is a very important one for the people of Western Sydney because of its pre-Eu- ropean history of Darug ownership in the area,” Ms Bennett said.

“We find the facts and the legal framework of the current laws on Native Title have not been presented clearly and fairly.”.

SUBJECT:



PAGE NO:SOURCE: Fairfax Sim-PARRAMAJTA

DATE:1 8 J 139?

Apology splits councilBy RACHEL DERHAMPARRAMATTA Council will apologise unconditionally to Australia’s Aborigines in a controversial decision which split the chamber last week.

Councillor Bob Dwyer, in a move that shocked and outraged his independent colleagues, crossed the floor to vote with Labor councillors and see the motion passed 7-6.

Labor Councillor Phil Russo moved the motion which also called for a report on signs that could be erected in the city to recognising the original ownership of the Parramatta area by the Darug people.

Lord Mayor John Books voted against the motion, expressing concern about the possible legal ramifications.

“I would have preferred to get legal advice before making the decision. I’m not uncomfortable with the apology but the term ‘unconditionally apologise’ rings [alarm] bells with me. We should have found out our legal position," Cr Books said.

“C ouncil’s apology may strengthen a native title claim in the future. There’s already a claim in for crown land like Lake Parramatta.

Cr Books said he was “happy” to have signs recognising that the Darug people lived in Parramatta as long as40,000 years ago.

“But the term ‘ownership’ is a worry. They

■ CR Phil Russo stands outside Old Government House, one of the sites of Aboriginal activity In the early days of white settlement.

■ PARRAMATTA C ouncirs decision to unconditionally apologise to Aboriginals has sparked controversy both in and out of the channber and could strengthen Native Claims, including one lodged last month for Crown land in the city._____________________

didn’t own the land, they moved around. It was their home but they didn’t claim to own the land.”

Cr Russo spoke passionately for the motion, saying it was the “right time” to recognise and apologise for the grave injustices to Aborigines.

In the first vote, Cr Dwyer did not raise his hand, making his a negative vote. When the Labor councillors called for a division, Cr Dwyer was forced to choose and he voted for the apology.

Independent Cr Roger Gregory claimed there had been “a set up”. “We

decided beforehand to let Phil (Russo) talk. We wouldn't say anything and then we’d just knock it back. Bob (Dwyer) had told us he’d vote against the motion - yet on the night he voted for it. I’m disappointed and outraged that my colleagues and I were gagged by the actions of Cr Dwyer.”

Cr Dwyer said the independents were being cynical. “As an independent . . . I prefer to listen to debate on the day and make a decision.”

Eddie Neumann, solicitor for the Darug claimants, said that from a legal

point of view “talk is cheap.

“But this is a start. An apology is an admission and we welcome it.”

Mr Neumann lodged a native title claim late last month for crown land including Lake Parramatta and Parramatta Park. Colin Gale, a Darug descendant and one of the people leading the claim, said Parramatta was a good place to start.

“This is where the native institution was; where they took our children away - the first case of the stolen children.”

He declined to comment on whether the apology would have any bearing on the Darug claim, which includes crown land covering three quarters of metropolitan Sydney.

P A R R A M A T T A C IT Y C O U N C IL L IB R A R Y S E R V IC E S D IV IS IO N


S O U R C E : raifamaBaAfl\«fUsef-UIYIiORTH

1 8 JUN 1997

P A G E NO: ( i-

It’s not unique for us to be doing this. [But] it won’t be done by the highest level of government which can’t find the strength of will, character or commitment. «

PARRAMATTA City Council will unconditionally apologise for the way previous governments and generations o f white Austra ians have treated indigenous people.Council will also place signs throughout the City acknowledging that Parramatta originally belonged to the Darug people.

Councillor Phil Russo _______________________moved for the apology last week after returning from the National Convention for Reconciliation, held last month in Melbourne.

He described the convention as “ a most moving and emotional experience” which had stirred great feelings of sorrow.

“ It’s time to say we have committed errors in the past and there has been grievous injustice done,” Mr Russo said.

“ It’s an ongoing comm itm ent o f w alk ing together towards reconciliation.”

Parramatta was the second settlement of Australia, where contacts with Aboriginal people were prolonged, and council was

by SARA BYERS

a leader in Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander celebrations each July.

Newcastle, Manly and Ipswich councils already have resolved to apologise to native Australians.

“ It’s not unique for us to be doing this,” Mr Russo said.

“ [But] it won’t be done by the highest level of government, which can’t find the strength of will, character or commitment.”

C o u n c i l lo r C h ris Worthington, who has worked for three years in outback Australia, reminded council o f events • To page 2

Spanning the millenia — members of the Gamilaroi Dance Group walk “on stage” . PHOTO: Dave Hill

Darug Link walking tallerTHE DARUG Link got together on Saturday and a lot o f people in Sydney’s west are walking taller today.

It was supposed to be a meeting of the descendants of yesterday’s “trash" — a convict man and a native woman — but Aboriginal family ties being as close as they are. all members of the Darug tribe were invited.

There were all sorts, of emotions as people pored over family trees and met new family members at the tranquil Nurragingy Reserve in Doonside.

Historian Jack Brook helped tribal matriach Mrs June Workman organise the reunion.

“Some people are still keeping their Aboriginal ancestry quiet — it’s amazing." he said.

About two thirds of the Darug people were wiped out by smallpox and other diseases within a vear of the

after reunionwhites coming, he said.

“The remaining ones scattered and a lot of people today still don’t know of their ancestry.

“1 had three people come up to me today and tell the same ston' ■.. they’d been told by their family their color was due to Islander. Spanish and Indian blood . . . anything but Aboriginal.

"The stigma's still there for some reason." he said.

The day was disorganised and delightfully Aboriginal.

The Gamilaroi Dance Group was running about an hour late and nobody could say where they were and when they’d be back.

All the kids, dancers and others wanted to be face- painted and this took some time. too.

Small boys in football jumbers played in the ponds

and in the bush and everyone got stuck into the impromptu soccer games and cricket matches.

June Workman said she’d met a few more of the clan, but had been too busy cooking to socialise too much.

“We’re having another barbecue (in the same place) in a few months." she said.

For the record. Robert Lock came to Australia on the Grenada in 1821.

Aged 21. he was a carpenter from Norfolk when he was sentenced to seven years (his crime was unspecified). He had no previous record.

He married Maria, daughter pf Yarramundi. in 1824 and they produced John. William. Mary. Charles. Eliza. Clara. James and Martha, who in turn had a total of 60 children.

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< ( 5 .j 7

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Stolen lives

Author Ruby Langford Ginibi. . . 'Aborigines are the most marginalised and oppressed people in this country' Photo: Darren Edwards

THE dregs o f an oppressed society invaded Australia and brought the oppression here, according to indigenous author Ruby Langford Ginibi.

She was speaking at a Stolen Land, Stolen Children presentation at Granville library last week.

“ In almost 210 years the m entality hasn’t changed,” she said.

“ Aborigines are the most marginalised and oppressed people in this country.

“ We still have white men ninning our race for us as if we don’t have a brain to think with.”

Stolen children Bruce Clayton-Brown and Nada Shareef also spoke. Both spent time in Christian homes.

“ I was taken away and no reason was given,” Mr Clayton-Brown said.

“ In the homes I was bashed and I was raped.”

Mr Clayton-Brown spent years as an alcoholic and in mental institutions until Link-Up, an organisation which brings stolen children and their families together, re

united him with his family. He now works for the organisation.

“ When 1 first met my father I went through 101 emotions,” he said.

“ I was scared he would find out I was raped, 1 was bashed, and he would think I was weak.

“ But Link-Up gave me an identity, a link with my culture — self-esteem.”

Ms Shareef was taken from her family while her mother was at a funeral.

She was two years old.“ There is an old pep

percorn tree just near here where we would meet up and cry and say our mothers don’t love us, our fathers don’t love us, our families don’t love us,” she said.

“ They censored our letters in the home.

“ This was their way of keeping us from our families and not letting us know they cared — so some o f us believed them.”

Ms Shareef, a nurse with the Redfem Aboriginal medical service, finds it hard to show love.

“ Love was belted out o f us,” she said.

“ It was a leather belt and we where hit by the buckle end.”

It was time for the Government to apologise for the stolen generation.

“ We would like the Government to admit that these things did go on and stop lying to the people of Australia,” she said.



SUBJECT:

SOURCE:

DATE:

Fairfax Sun - PARRAMATTA

u 3

Symbols to help bridge the gapMore than 15,000 hands were placed on the bank of Parramatta River at the weekend in support of reconciliation.

The colourful array of hands were planted, each hand bearing the name of those who have called for reconciliation and native title.

The 15,000 hands are just a portion of the120,000 hands owned by Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTAR) travelling around the country visiting town centres.

Tom and Helen Quinn (pictured) of Parramatta braved the rain to plant their hands in support of reconciliation.

The event was oi^anised by Reconciliation for Western Sydney.

Early conflicts with Aborigines

WITHIN the Baulkham Hills Shire and surrounding countryside are found many well-preserved rock carvings and cave paintings as evidence of the Aboriginal culture which prevailed in this district before the coming of European settlement.

Implements such as stone the occupation of their for-axe heads and grinding stones have occasionally been found.

Some of the rock carvings are very old. Others, depicting such objects as sailing vessels, indicate that Aborigines were still living in this district, under organised tribal conditions, less than 200 years ago.

At the tone of the original white settlement at Sydney Cove in 1788 contact between the Aborigines and the newcomers was friendly.

In November, 1788, a second settlement was formed at Rose Hill (later Parramatta).

Within a few years setUers were being placed on farms within the neighborhood of Parramatta, a circumstance which raised the problem of the co-existence of the Aborigines and the setUers.

The native people lived by hunting and had always been free to roam about the land at will, where it was essential to the white man’s survival that he should setUe on and cultivate an established area of land.

A stage of hostility between the two races soon arose. Parties of Aborigines frequently raided the set- itler’S farms and homes, forcibly taking food and clothing.

There can be no doubt that

mer hunting g^unds motivated the Aborigines in their actions against those they considered as intruders.

Moreover, their custom of communal sharing probably suggested to them the logical solution that they should have their share of the settlers’ produce.

In one incident in March, 1797, a party of about 100 Aborigines plundered the northern farms outside Parramatta, killing a man and woman and making off with clothing and supplies.

The neighboring settlers armed themselves and pursued the natives whom they overtook.

Realising that the setUers were armed, the Aborigines fled.

Eventually confrontation occured with the result that five Aborigines were killed by musket fire and several wounded.

One of th e ir m ost p r o m in e n t l e a d e r s , Pemulwy, whom the setUers regarded as a “riotous and troublesome savage” was severely wounded.

The then Governor was 'disturbed that the lives oi so many of the Aborigines had been taken, but hoped the incident would act as a deterrent against more raids.

The sincerity of the

authoriUes in their desire for a peaceful soluUon to the problem became evident in February, 1805, when a white man was sentenced to the jail gang for “wantonly striking a native.”

In May of the same year, as reported in the Sydney Gazette, setUers from northern farms and Baulkham Hills combined to search for A b o r ig in e s in th e neighborhood of Pennant Hills.

One man was captui'ed and persuaded to guide the settlers to the north rocks, where property, stolen from two stockmen who had been killed at Prospect, was found.

During the search, the setUers came across a small number of Aborigines, one of whom, addressing them in good English, defianUy declared he would continue to raid the farms.

But there was no way in which the Aborigines’ way of life could survive. Their primitive weapons were no match for those possessed by the settlers.

Another great problem was the lack of meaningful communication.

While some Aborigines learned to speak English, there is no evidence that any European settlers became familiar with the Aboriginal language. ____

Setting up a native school

ALMOST from the earliest days of settlement the Aboriginal people and their culture suffered from the impact of European society.

But in 1810 William Shelley of Parramatta, one of the missionaries who had fled from Tahiti in 1798, decided to do something about the neglect of the Aboriginals.

He devised a scheme wherby adult natives who wished to become setUers were each to be given 10 acres (4ha) of land wiUi a hut and farming implements and instruction in farming methods. They would also be suppUed from the Government stores until Uiey could fend for themselves. The area set aside for these small farms became known as Black Town.

His other plan was that the children should be taught in a special school in Parramatta. Pupils were to remain at the Native Institution, as it was called, until Uiey reached Uie ages of 16 for boys and 14 for girls.

He was appointed Uie first superintendent and principal instructor at the school but on the day of opening, January 18, 1815, only three children were available for enrolment.

The school continued in Parramatta until 1823, when it was moved, first to Blacktown and later to Liverpool where it lingered on for several years.

H ST

UIN the Baulkliarn Shire and surround- ountryside are to be d many w ell-pre-

ed rock carvings and ? p a in tin gs as ovi- e of the Aboriginal u'e wliich prevailed in district before the ing of European ement.ip lem en ts such as e ax e h ead s and ding s to n e s have sionally been found. >e also serve to re- 1 us that the Aborigiii- eople once roam ed

parts.me of the rock carv- are very old. Otliers

cting such objects as ng vessels which were mon on the llawkes- V R iver during the ' days of settlement :ate that Aborigines e still living in tliis net, under organised il conditions, less than ^ears ago.'day, apparently, none le Aboriginal peoj)le se ancestors travel!i,d hunted through tlie for many centin ies,

lin.uch of the kiiowk'dge heir way of lifi> has I lost.t the lim e of the inal white .setileuuMit

W ish m k i.ii, NEIL

at Sydney Cove in 1/6^, co n ta c t b etw een the Aborigines and the newcomers was friendly and effoils were made to encourage this relationsliip.

In November, 1788 a second se tt le m e n t w as formed at Rose Hill (later Parramatta).

Within a few years sett lers were being placed o farms within the neigh bourhuod of Parramatta, a c ircu m stan ce which raised in a m ore acute form the problem of the co-exi.slence of th”? Aborigines and the settlers.

'I'lu! native people lived by hunting ami had always been 'I'ce t) r o i .’i nbout the kiiiii at will eas it v/as cs.st?n':.)l! *nlem an’s . / V. . .

should you-<j on .1 cui. vale ail (>stah, '.irea Oikir.a.

A stag! I iioytiUly bi' Iween tlit- two raoe.s sooi.

arose. Paiv.e;i oi . lo n - gincs frequently i. OqA the se ttlers’ farm. "I hom es, forcibly tr., food aii

At t , an.inenibi ' ll)en-families were ki;

There ca i be no doubt that the occupation of■ heir form er hunting grounds m otivated the Aborigines in their actions ag a in st those they regarded as intnidfirs.

Moreovp' . .

• im ii/ .d i s h a r i n g p r o b a b l y s u g g e s t e d to them tlie lot'U’ al solution that l i ieyslic liavethf'ir s h a r e ot .sc’ tU'i iMi'-’ijce

one 'n■i- ”h, lVil7. a I'lirly ui' ;.i '.OOAliiMj;. Ill' (!(oui. . a i ill.

aiul \V‘ viiig off wil ’

..i .'Ulj-.j-.lil' _

C c

The lunng settler ed ih em selves am ued .he natives, who ioy overtook.

I iiing that the settle rs w ere arm ed the Aborigines fled, leaving behind a quantity of coi n and articles which they had taken from settlers’ properties.

Kventually confrontation occured v/ith the result that five Aborigines

’ere killed by musket fire and several wounded.

One of their most prominent leaders, Pemuiwy, whom the .settlers regarded as ;; “riolous and In )Ie; !-iiie sava'.'e” was .SI' (el; ..ojndeil.

e tlien ( .M'nior was d rbeu th: .. j hv es of

ary of ..li 'H'n tai a, biii hai;v.i t i l . iu'ini'id ut v/ouliiact a s a d f ' t 'T ie n t aj',ain:st

f e raids.’ f o r t u n a t e l y , t l ie

■ 'tween the two r;:ces coih., ' allh^iuj'h in .som-i areas a . ifa c c e p la l i l e co-e:.:, wa;; e s t a b iy ie d .

'I'fie sincerity of !!io au- till)'i'ic.s in their di' iire for a ■j!"aceful sol: ; m to l ‘i ■ ( lOblem l)ocai ; ev id ; U in ! >' nary, 180 i, v'hen a white li! ) v a s sentenced

*he >al i 'u g for at • t ci i '5 :■

,. . .ve” .In M of ' line

""Dr, p i, the Ine- ’ tte, ;eltlers

’ arnis and ,*am u.. ombiiied

arciifor Aboriginet.;■ neighborhood of Pen- int 1II1I.S.One man was captured

and persuaded to guide the settlers to the north rocks, w here property, stolen from two stockmen who had been killed at Prospect, was found.

During the search the settlers cam e across a sm all number of Aborigines, one of whom, add ressin g them in good E n glish , d efia n tly declared that he would continue to raid the farms.

But there was no way in which the Aborigines’ way of life could su m ve.Their primitive weapons

were no match for those possessed by the white

Another great problem w as the lack of m ean in gfu l com m u n ication.

While some Aborigines learned to speak English there is no evidence that any European settlers becam e fam iliar with the Aboriginal language.

In tim e, tlie se ttlers sp read over tlie countryside, occupying more and more of the age- old A boriginal hunting groundo.

In 18M the (’nloiiial Si'r- retary wrute that: “ 11 is i';xcelkMicy, llie Governor, having long viewed v<ilh sen tin u :n ts ofc o m m ise ia lio u the w retc iied r.tate of Ihe aborigiiu's c>f this countl y and haviu;; i\;v(:lvi'd in his mind the nioi)! luoniising a. ' 'uo'u’ible nu ans of iiaielioiating Ihtir condition has now re:;olvcd to adopt suci; :’u‘asures as aj)pear to ..di best calcu la ted to e f f e c t that > bioct and to inipvfive the

ies of this innoc;’r , ujulnie and unoffeiiding

I ace” .An invit; .on is extend

ed to a ! .ocal residents '• ho ii.ay h ave any

lowledge of Aborigines ' Aboriginal culture in j Hills District to com

municate with the writer (W. I). N eil, telephone ?:! 1892).

Winter 2000 Vol. 7 No. 3

NSWeritage

Office

i'-~Z

■%*j:, . ^

T-iilJ i.:

Aboriginal Heritage

Brewarrlna Fishtraps ListedThe Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for the Heritage Act,Dr Andrew Refshauge, recently announced that the Brewarrina fishtraps in Western NSW are to be listed on the State Heritage Register.

Dr Refshauge said the move was part of an overall strategy to make the State Heritage Register better reflect what the whole of society values as heritage.

“I see it as a priority to add Aboriginal places to the State Heritage Register. In particular I will be working with the Aboriginal community to encourage more nominations of sites of Aboriginal significance.”

"Listing Aboriginal places such as the Brewarrina fishtraps increases our understanding of indigenous heritage.It is an opportunity to recognise the cultural heritage of the first Australians.”

The fishtraps are built on a rock bar in the Barwon River,

a major tributary of the Darling River in Western NSW. The stone fishtraps already existed long before European settlers came upon the site in the early 1850s.

One traditional Aboriginal account has the fishtraps being built by Baiame and his two sons Booma-ooma-nowi and Ghinda-inda-mui during drought times when the Ngemba people faced famine as Gurrungga (the water hole at Brewarrina) dried up.

The traditional owners are the Ngemba people, but other tribal groups, such as the Murrawari, have a strong association with the site.Stories associated with the fishtraps are found across Western NSW and they are depicted in stories and artwork as far afield as Cobar and Byrock. The traps are of great spiritual importance to the Aboriginal people who built them and use them.

Today the fishtraps are greatly valued by the modern Aboriginal community as a highly visible symbol of

Brewarrina Fishtraps. Photograph by Vince Scarcella.

traditional lifestyle and ownership. The local Aboriginal community is and will continue to be actively involved in the management of this site.

Manager of the Brewarrina Cultural Museum at Brewarrina, Ms Donna Jeffries, said that listing on the State Heritage Register was recognition of the significance

of the fishtraps for the whole of the State.

"This is particularly important in this case, as the fishtraps were a traditional meeting place of significance for many Aboriginal communities.We look forward to a partnership with the Heritage Council that will ensure the fishtrap site is continued to be seen as a link to our past.”

Discover the Aboriginal Heritage of H ornsby ShireA new Aboriginal Heritage Education Kit has been produced by Hornsby Shire Council. The first of its kind in NSW, the kit will provide developers, property owners and residents with clear explanations of how Aboriginal heritage is protected and managed in the Hornsby Shire.

Hornsby Shire Council was the first local government authority in NSW to integrate the management and protection of Aboriginal sites and relics into its legislation and planning processes.

Council quickly saw the need for brochures to explain this legislation to the general public and to promote the Aboriginal heritage of the area.

Aboriginal Heritage Consultant, David Watts, was engaged to work on the brochures. The NSW Heritage Office provided a dollar-for-dollar grant to a total value of $10,000.

The kit includes:• the Aboriginal history of

Hornsby Shire;• the European history of

Hornsby Shire;• the legislation that protects

Aboriginal heritage at both

state and local levels;• guidelines for developers of

properties that may contain Aboriginal sites or relics;

• information for residents who own land that may contain Aboriginal sites or relics;

• instructions on how to record an Aboriginal site.

In addition, there are brochures on a range of related topics including walking tours to Aboriginal engravings and guides to Aboriginal sites and their features.

The Hornsby Shire Aboriginal Heritage Education Kit is available free of charge from Hornsby Shire Council.

Aboriginal serviceman John Corderoy (above) as a 21 -year-old in the Torres Strait Islands and

(right) with Parramatta alderman Phil Gordon

ABORIGINES in Australian armed forces is the theme o f a photographic display in Parramatta City Library this month.

The pictures were gathered for a book by David Huggonson — Too Dark for the Light Horse.

Parramatta Lord Mayor Alan Hyam opened the display last Tuesday in company with council aldermen, Mr Huggonson and Mrs Dorothy Saunders, wife of Reg Saunders, who died earlier this year, the first Aborigine commissioned as an officer in the Australian Army.

“I hope this exhibition helps continue the good relations between whites and Aborigines in the Parramatta area,” Alderman Hyam said.

“Aborigines contributed more than 400 men in World War I despite the restrictions on their enlistment then, more than 3000 in World War II and a considerable number in Korea and Vietnam,” he said.

Mr Huggonson said Parramatta was an appropriate place for the exhibition because the city’s logo features an Aboriginal warrior.

He said his book, which will be released next year, came about from a comment made by former Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke Petersen on Aborigine land rights demonstrations in Brisbane in 1987. Sir Joh had reckoned if it wasn’t for Americans fighting the Battle of the Coral Sea, we would all have Japanese names.

“My father served in North Africa and New Guinea in World War II and any Digger will tell you it was the Australians who did the bulk of the land fighting against the Japanese in late-1941 to mid-1942,” he said.

“So Joh set the whole thing [the book] going, because the more I looked, the more I saw how many Aborigines were involved in our armed forces — they were even in the Boer War,” he said.

Mr Huggonson said it was hard to say how many A b o r ig in es w ent to Vietnam, because armed forces records don’t identify servicemen by race.

But he said he could write a separate book on Aborigines in that conflict.

“Those wore interesting days in the mid-late 60s,” he said.

“There were .Aboriginal

Highlight o f heroic featscivil rights demonstrations, the Vietnam War, the constitutional referendum in 1967 which gave Aborigines full rights, and then there was the tent embassey in Canberra and Labor’s election in 1972,” he said.

“1968 also saw the equal pay case for Aborigines in Wave Hill.

“I could have written a story on Aborigin'^s in World War I, like the name of my book suggests, but it

would have ended on such a pessimistic note,” he said.

He said enlisting Aborigines were attracted by adventure, the chance for

the same treatment and conditions as whites, an opportunity to prove their worth and (like a lot of whites) the pay.

“Six shillings a day was an immense amount of money to Aborigines in those days,” he said.

“But for those who returned, the treatment of Aborigines in those days was even harder to take,” Mr Huggonson said.

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P A R R A M A T T A C IT Y C O U N C IL L IB R A R Y S E R V IC E S D IV IS IO N


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SOURCE: MvetKaer- CITYNOflTH

DATE:

PAGE NO:

Nuns’ garden honours the Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy

A gesture of reconciliation

by BELINDA UVIS

SISTERS o f Mercy at Parramatta have dedicated their garden to the memory o f local Aboriginal warrior Pemulwuy at a reconciliation ceremony.

S i s t e r M a r g a r e t Hinchey said there were many monuments to Australians who had fought in overseas conflicts but few to remember those who had died defending their own land, people and food sources.

“ Pemulwuy was an extraordinary warrior who resisted the British for more than 14 years in the areas around Parramatta, C a s t l e H i l l a n d Toongabbie,” she said.

Members o f the Darug people. Aboriginal community elders, representatives o f Parramatta Reconciliation Group and Federal member Laurie Ferguson were among

those to attend the Boundary St ceremony.

Community elder and renow ned storyteller Wesley Marne began the proceedings with a smoking ceremony before tellin g the h is to ry o f Pemulwuy and the difficulty the British had capturing him.

Pemulwuy was beheaded in 1802 and his remains sent to Britain where they still remain.

“ His spirit will not be at rest until his remains are returned and buried in this country,” Mr Marne said.

Father Paul Hanna of Mt Druitt’s Holy Family community said it must not be forgotten that Australia had the privilege of having the oldest continuing culture on earth still kept alive through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Sister Margaret said

their house had also been given the Aboriginal nam e W ian gaberon g w hich in the Darug language means Sisters’ Place.

Aboriginal artists and dancers were also involved in the celebration and the house given a traditional Christian blessing as well as an Aboriginal smoking. Blundah Buna dancers at the Sisters of Mercy reconciliation ceremony

f 7

PARRAMATTA CITY COUNCIL



SUBJECT: A e o / ? r 6 x / ^ E s

SOURCE: PAGE NO:-5

DATE: a 4 - 6 • 9 3 CLASS. NO:

Native titleTHE NSW Aboriginal Land Council based in Parramatta is surprised by the recent native title claims under the Mabo ruling. It says it has no input into developing or lodging any of the claims.

Whitlam to honor Tugagal natives

by CHRIS FLYNNFORMER Prime Minister Gough Whitlam will unveil a plaque in Toongabbie on Saturday to commemorate the Aboriginal occupation o f the area.

The ceremony will be pan of Toongabbie's bicentenary celebrations which mark the establishment of a convict farm where Oakes Rd is now, in 1791.

The Toongabbie area was mhabitated by the Tugagal clan.

Tuga means thick wood and Toongabbie was named by Governor Phillip, who noted “this is the name by which the natives distinguish the spot”.

Bicentenary committee secretary Elaine Evans said Blacktown author Jack Brock would display a selection of photographs, maps and records relating to the Aboriginal occupation, at the festival.

Mr Brook co-authored (with Macquarie University lecturer Dr Jim Kohen) the recently released book — The Parramatta Native Institution and the Black Town. A ' Histor>'.

He wrote how the Aborigines who escaped the introduced diseases which decimated the coastal plain clans, were then hunted down on Governor Macquarie’s orders for killing the white man s animals.

Those who resisted were to be shot or hung and their bodies left hanging in trees as a warning to others.

“It is imponant we acknowledge the Tugagal clan lived here for generations before the white invasion and it (the invasion) had a devastating elTect on them.” said Ms Evans. Our remembering the tragedy white settlement brought to the Aboriginal occupants is a significant part of the 200 years of history we will be commemorating on Saturday,” she said.

Toongabbie is white .Australia’s third settlement (after Sydney and Parramatta) and like Parramatta, its potential for crop production was crucial to the survival of the infant colony.

Mr Whitlam will unveil the plaque at the Oakes Rd Reserve, at 11.45am.

• More Toongabbie stories on page 12

An Aborignai wom an and child from an early engraving. She is Ballendella, after whom a

street in Toongabbie is named

■i?|

i f i i j f j

f - 1 .

Equality ‘a myth’EQUALITY in Australia is a hollow myth despite 25 years of Aboriginal citizenship, court magistrate Pat O ’Shane has told a Parramatta ecture audience.

Government statistics blatantly highlighted the lack of social justice for Aborigines, she said.

She is angry govemnftnts did hot have the will to instigate real change, despite the 1967 referendum which gave Aborigines voting rights, legally making them citizens in their own land.

Ms O’Shane, the country’s first Aboriginal barrister and female Aboriginal magistrate and first woman to head NSW ’s Aboriginal Affairs ministry, was speaking when opening the University of Western Sydney’s 1992 lecture series at its Westmead campus last Wednesday.

“ Twenty five years ago I felt optimistic. Like many others I felt we were on the road at last.” a passionate

By CHRIS HUTCHINGSMs O’Shane told the Mercury after the lecture.

“ But 25 years and SIO million later there is no real improvement in the lot o f indigenous people.

‘ ‘Instead morbidity rates are 19 times higher for Aborigines than for non-Aborigines, youth mortality rates are four times higher for Aborigines than for non-Aborigines, and there are four aborigines out of work for every one non-Aborigine unemployed.

“ The $10 million the government has put into the Reconciliation Council could have been put into housing, health, education and employment and made an immense difference.

“ Governments don’t do it because they don’t have the will to do it.

“ It’s in their interest to have a sector of the community in that situation.”

She said the country’s leaders and highflyers were more concerned with “ the privatisation of wealth and the socialisation of debt,” than egalitarianism.

Entrepreneurs stoked up massive debts then expected the taxpayer to bail them out.

More grass-roots action groups, like the Aboriginal Forum in Queensland, were needed to stop governments hijacking the human rights campaign, she said.

She would like to take an active ro e when they develop in NSW.

) C - H a A/^ / T “ / t S S

Delivering the cultural goods at Granville South . . . the Bangarra AboriginalDance Group ^

A matter of cultureA BRIDGE of cultural and racial harmony was made at Granville South High School last week which now stretches across the State.

About 30 high school students from Moree in northwest NSW visited the school as part o f an exchange between cultural melting pots.

While Granville South has a high proportion of students from migrant backgrounds, Moree Tech

nology and Couralllie High Schools has a large Aboriginal population.

All three schools are involved in pilot anti-racism projects which are hoped to be used as a blueprint in promoting racial harmony in schools across the country.

The visitors enjoyed a harbor cruise and school dance and the week culminated in the celebration of a peace and international co

operation day on Friday. A concert on the day featured the Bangarra Aboriginal Dance Group plus contributions from Granville South students.

A boriginal student Donald Craigie, 15, believed the trip to Sydney and the projects were all part of everyone “getting on” for the better.

Moree’sKylieJarratt, 16, said there was a controversial history of race re

lations in her town but the project was improving things dramatically.

“If we keep working at understanding each other, I think we will all be a lot better off for it,” she said.

G r a n v ille S o u th ’s Anthony Saleh, 16, said there had been racial disputes at the school in the past but the project was helping break down the barriers to mutual understanding.

Mini..... ...........ti""Miiniiiiiiiii||||||||||||||iiLand council landlord

to top money firms

By CHRIS HUTCHINGS

THE NSW Aboriginal Land Council has become landlord in Parramatta to two of Australia’s big financial companies.

It has moved its State HQ from Liverpool to 33 Argyle St, Parramatta, and become landlord to giant insurance company the AMP Society and chartered accountancy firm Ernst & Young in the process.

An official flag-raising and opening dance cere- inony next Monday will coincide with 10 years of land rights.

The Land Council occupies 2 1/2 floors of the nine- storey, $9.75 million building and rents out the rest.

Sppkeman Denis Maher said: “ We needed to expand and were advised this area was good for property investment.

“ To have companies like AMP and Ernst & Young, two large financial firms, as tenants in a building owned by the Aborigmal Land Council

DENIS Mahernetwork in NSW is quite a turnaround.

“ Our main function is to get land back and establish things like housing.

“ We buy the land, setup housing and rent it out.

“ We also set up enterprises — motels, restaurants, large developments — to help people organise and become self-suffi- cient.

“ And we pay rates like everybody else.

Ernst & Young retains naming rights for the inod- ern building, completed only last year, but the Aboriginal flag will also soon adorn the structure.

o




SUBJECT: A e o A x . & T ^ E . s

SOURCE: e. ^

DATE: /•-»•«? 3

PAGE NO: f

CLASS. NO:

1,1 \RN iiu- (ii(imTi(l<M». jo in i l l ;i l i ' i id it io n iil (h iiu 'c and hisU* kiiii}>a- n x i. c-nui. h tH la lo a tx i real bosh l i ic k c r in :i i-(.'U'l>riition ol' N a liona l M m riy in a l and lo rrc s

S Jra il Is land iT W c fk in P a rr iin ia ita M a ll next wfvk.

ITu i t ‘ 1) als(» l)c ja / / and vim n!r> and uestcrn on locM ia '. and ITuirs- da>,.Jol> S.

l lu - \ho riu«na ldann- »n»u|i«s. (;a m ila - n i i A rt and Dancc < ;ro n p . fill* K iid ja r ifs Datu'c ( 'ro n p and Bah* ta - l(a h . a te suri- to }>c( iiu (lien c i‘.H 4in t l i i ' i r feet.

P jirra m a fla l.<>rd M a \o r .I<*hn Haines. M jfh iiuMnl»rrv ol' Ihc \b - ori^^inal c o in in n n ilv . » i l l raise Ih r M M iri^ iiiid , l o in s S h a ll Islander :ind \n s l ia l i : in llaus at [Ikon on M o iidax.

• l l n l I) \|;iM >r M la ii V/ f \ s:iid i i ia ii \

rc s id c iiK h :id eoiii- |)laiiH-d of the (o iin e il I1> hi(^ (he \ l)o i i^ i i ia l lla}^ ol la te hut had heeii satis- Tied M ilh e \|i la n :ilio iis ll ia t i l recognises the V ear of Irid iuenoiis i ’eo-

i |)l<’ and N ationa l .\horii> - h ia l Week, u .- tv \n <jini(;«; iroupc . . . in Iho rnali for AuoriijinnI V^ook




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- Sharing dreams ot better days -

Flags fly in a mark of respectRAISING the Aboriginal and Torres Strail Islander flags in P arram atta Mall on M onday m ark ed th e beg in n in g o f N a tio n a l A b o r ig in a l an d Torres Strait Islander Week.

A boriginal Land Councillor R o b ert Lester, w elcom ed by Parram atta Lord M ayor John Haines, said true reconciliation could only begin when mutual respect and tolerance had been achieved.

“This country will lead the world in the future when we have come to term s with o ur past,” he said.

“ We can work together to build a strong future for o u r children; but the future is in o ur hands if we. o f this generation, sow the seeds.

“This can and should be our future dream ing,” M r Lester said.

He called for “ sensible discussion” o f the controverial Mabo ruling instead o f “ over-reaction” .

Mr Lester, who is also chairm an

o f the Aboriginal Culture and Heritage Com m ittee, said Parram atta was in the land o f the D aruk people. .

Many ancestors o f the original tribes who cam e to Parram atta still lived in the area and were actively involved in Aboriginal organisations across the region.

Four students from high schools in (he Parram atta area, Renae B a r lo w ( M a c a r lh u r G i r ls ) , Victoria Hodges (D undas Marist Bros), Scott Moseley (Parram atta M arist Bros) and D am ien C ronin (Granville Patrician Bros), spoke on what Aboriginal culture m eant to them .

F e s t iv i t i e s w ill c o n t in u e throughout the week with an Aboriginal feast on Friday including kangaroo and emu m eat delicacies.

• This was the first tim e the Torres Strait flag had flown from Parram atta Tow n Hall.

Experience ancient culture

A m em ber o f the Ba-ta-Bah Aboriginal Dance Troupe will perform in Church St Am phitheatre on Friday

b y N A N WEBBERA T IM E W A R P 10 enjoy — A ustra lia in th e drcam tim e w Ith A borig inal story telling , dancing, art and trad itio n al bush tu c k e r— will tak e place in P a rra m a tta M all th is week.P a rra m a tta Council is providing the free non-stop en te rta inm en t from 10am to 3pm on Friday to ce lebra te N a tiona l Al>original Day.T h e program includes story telling

and didgeridoo and g u itar (1 0am and 1 la in ); didgeridoo play ing (I0 .3 0 am and 11.30am ); K udjaries D ance G roup (noon); B ah-ta-B ah D ancc T roupe (1 2 3 0 p m ) and G am ilaro i A rts and D ance G roup (1pm ).

I'he public is invited to help pain t a m ural a t th e S tree t U v e l A rt G allery , see them selves w ith painted faces A boriginal sty le o r watch studen ts from O L M C , P arram atta H igh and A rth u r P h illip H igh

Schools com plete a m ural with A boriginal p a in te r D anny Eastw ood.B ush T u ck er Supply ofTcrs trad itio n al A borig inal food, including kangaroo and em u m eat and native herbs and fruit.T h ere will a lso be disp lays from the N S W A boriginal L and C ouncil, Regional N a tiona l A borig inal and Is lan d er D ay O bservance C om m ittee and A borig inal C atho lic M in istry .




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THE pouring rain outside could not dampen the spirits of Peta Lonsdale (left). 20. and Tanya Ellis. 22. of ttie Pemol Kudjanes dance group as Aborigine and Torres Stait Islander Week was celebrated in Parramatta's

crowded Town Hall last Friday. Children had their faces painted, mums and daughters learnt Aboriginal dances and others learnt to play the didgeridoo during a fun-packed day. Other delights included bush tucker treats

such as rosella flowers, wattle seeds and native peppermint. Aboriginal music stick maker Greg Simms said the day was a success and a great way for Aborigines to share their culture with non-Aborigines.




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Back by popular request is the class teaching mural painting

J

Music, dance anc the didgeridoo

NEXT Friday, July 15, the Church Street Mall will come alive to the sound of didgeridoos, clapsticks, story telling and ancient tribal dancing as City Council presents an exciting program to celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Observance Day.

The planned program is bigger and better than last year’s very successful event and will include Aboriginal wood carving. Street Level Art Gallery and local high schools completing an Aboriginal mural. Also included are painting river rocks, emu egg carving, painting didgeridoos and clapsticks and many other displays and activities.

There will be live music in the amphitheatre including last year’s hugely popular Auriel Andrew who plays guitar. The events are free and will run from 10am-2pm.



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Community services plan launchPARRAMATTA Council will, tommorrow, publicly Councillor Chris Worthington, representing Lordlaunch its Community Services Plan relating to Mavor, John Haines, OAM.Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Representativ^es o f the Daruk and Gandangara Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander WeekAboriginal Land Councils, the Damk Link A ssoc- Lj^den Room at the Gazebo, ation and the Gol Go! Abonginal Group have beeninvited to the public release of the document by Attendance is by invitation only.

c




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Aboriginal dance displayPARRAMATTA’S Church Street Mall will be alive with Aboriginal art and culture on Friday to celebrate National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Observance Day.

Parramatta Council will present an exciting program in the mall between 10am and 2pm.

There will be a street level art gallery where passers-by can help paint an Aboriginal mural and dancing will abound with performances by the Worrilga Dance Group, the Murri Dancers, Bah Ta Bah and the Rydalmere East Primary School Aboriginal

Dance Treaty. The celebrations will include demonstrations of wood and emu egg carving and special displays by the NSW Aboriginal Land Council and the Regional National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee.

The day’s highlight will be the completion of an Aboriginal mural by three local high schools under the guidance of special guest 1992 Aboriginal Artist of the Year Danny Eastwood.

The day’s events are free and will also include bush tucker tasting.

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Records suggest burial of KoorisBy CHRIS HUTCHINGS

A g ro u p try ing to save A u s tra lia 's o ldest C atholic cc in c tcry believes 19th

cen tu ry A b orig ines m ay be buried in the P arram atta graveyard .

T he F riends o f S t P a trick 's C em ete ry h ave found records which ind ica te tw o A borig ines are buned so m ew h ere in the grounds.

Jack y Jack y d ied at the Parram atta Facto ry aged s ix . H e w as buried in the

cem etery on 2 0 N o v em b er 1842.Black Peter w as b u ried on 12

N ovem ber 1864 a fte r d y in g in Parram atta Jail.

The Friends group is w ritin g to the D aruk Land C ouncil at M ount D ruitt asking for its h e lp in try in g to find out exactly w here in the g rav ey ard the tw o are bu ried and to su p p o rt the fight to save the c em etery in its en tirety .

Parram atta C ouncil and the RT A w ish to take som e fand a long both its

C hurch S t and W est Pennant H ills Rd b oundaries for road w idening .

B rian P n idam es said: “ W e w ant to find o ut for su re w hether o r not these peop le w ere A borig inal.

**We th ink they p robab ly w ere.“Jack y Jacky w as a co m m o n nam e

used fo r A borig ines and it w ould seem likely that sonnrooe callcd Black P eter w as A b o rig in e too.

"W e d o n ’t know w here these peop le are buried.

“ W e know th ere w ere people buried aro u n d the p erim eter o f the cem etery but the graves there are no longer marked.**

H istorian M ichael F lynn, w ho has been involved In uncovering the in»e history o f the D airy C o llag e in P a n a m a lta Park, sa id it wa.s likely the peop le w ere A borig inal.

“T here s lots o f A borig ines buried In St John s C em etery , includ ing ihe son o f B ennelong w h o d ied in

Parram atta in 1823.

“ Jacky Jacky is probab ly an A borigine.

“ It shou ld not take too m uch research to d ig out w h o he was.

“ He could have been an A boriginal ch ild o f one o f the w om en in the factory.

“ Black P e ter cou ld have b een ' A boriginal but that cou ld a lso apply to som eone w ho is A frican o r Indian.

Page seeks Koori sayMore Aboriginal people

need to become involved in local government, said

State Local Government Minister Ernie Page at the recent Local Government Aboriginal Network quarterly meeting in Parramatta.

Parramatta City Council welcomed the chance to host the two-day forum of people from

government and non-government organisations.

The council recently set up its own Aborigine and Torres Strait Islander advisory committee.

Mr Page said the forum was a good way of helping to “break down the barriers that discriminate.

“But”, he said, “Aboriginal people, too, need to be more aware

of the part they can play.“They must become more

involved in local government. They must communicate wisely with council, they must talk about their needs and aspirations.

“In turn, councils must start listening to and acting on the expressed needs of the indigenous people in their communities.



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S O U R C E : FalrtaxSun-PARRAMAnA P A G E NO:

DATE:, - 9 J \ i 9 9 7

Native impact lightA NATIVE Title claim over most of Sydney will have little effect on Holroyd if the Native Tide Tribunal grants it

Holroyd Council general manager Dennis Trezise said the council had only a s m a l l number of properties vested with the Crown that may be affected by the claim.

The claim was lodged on May 12 by Darug Aboriginal representatives, covering all Crown land in the greater metropolitan Sydney, affecting 35 local government areas.

TTie ^plication has been undergoing

an assessment process by the tribunal and an agreement will be negotiated with the applicants if accepted.

But in a report to council, Mr Trezise said land identification would take a long time and council also had the opportunity to apply as an interested party to the application.

He said the only properties that could be affected in the Holroyd area were Ted Burge Sports Ground, Mays Hill Reserve, part of tfie Holroyd Sports Ground and a small reserve behind Kurrajong Road.



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Heated debate on flagFLYING the Aboriginal flag during NAIDOC week “ is one of the most divisive ideals we have created” .

Independent Auburn Councillor Terry Keeghan made the comment during debate on whether Auburn Council, for the first time, should fly the Aboriginal flag during this week’s annual National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) week.

“As I’ve said before, there’s one flag — it’s the Australian flag,” Mr Keeghan said. “To suggest we fly another flag is not in keeping with the racial relationships we have today.

“There are many different groups from other nationalities in Auburn. If we were to support these people flying their flag on their particular day, a lot of other people would be incensed. A lot of people are incensed at the Aborigines flying their flag.”

Liberal Councillor Emile Chantiri agreed, saying a decision to fly the Aboriginal flag would set an unwelcome precedent.

But despite the objections, the Aboriginal flag is flying at Auburn Council this week after councillors voted 8-3 in favour of the proposal.

Residents Action Group Councillors Judy Jones and Erica Hockley said a lot of people would be offended if council did not fly the flag.

“Aboriginal people are the first people of this country,” Ms Hockley said. “ Flying their flag is not a sign of disrespect for the Australian flag, it’s a sign of respect for the Aboriginal community.”

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A timely apology

The Reverend Ray Minniecon. . . Parramatta's apology to indigenous people was 'a step in the right direction'

by ALICE ATKINS“ IN the hearts and minds of people there is ignorance of the process of [reconciliation] and an apathy about it,” the Reverend Ray Minniecon said.

But Parramatta Council had taken a “ step in the right direction” by apologising unconditionally for the way previous governments and generations of white Australians had treated indigenous people, he said.

The director of World Vision’s Aboriginal Unit made the comments at a National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) flag raising ceremony in Parramatta last Friday.

“ We may have a long way to go people, but it is these little things which make this process able to succeed,” he said.

State Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Andrew Refshauge said NAIDOC Week was a chance “ to focus upon the rich cultural heritage of our indigenous people and . . . exchange knowledge” .

“At no time has this been more important than the present,” he said,

“Two weeks ago I was privileged to attend the first Black Parliament held in State Parliament - a moving event that is a potent symbol of how far we have come in the reconciliation process.

“Of course, we still have a great deal further to go.”

The Aboriginal flag was raised as part of day long celebrations which included traditional dance performances, didgeridoo playing and painting workshops.



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Aborigines to join Australia Day hereAN ABORIGINAL “Survival Day” celebration could become a part of Australia Day in Parramatta next year.

Parramatta Council has compiled the results of a survey conducted during NAIDOC Week (National Aboriginal and Islander Day of Commemoration), asking people whether they believe the council’s Australia Day celebrations should be made up of both indigenous and other events.

Parramatta Council’s Multicultural Social planner Eco Chung said although survey results were still coming in, the initial response had shown support for an Australia Day comprised of both

indigenous and European activities.She said the council’s Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Advisory Committee had asked that the survey be compiled.

“A copy of that questionnaire has been forwarded to council’s various policy and community committees for their input.

“We expect those results back by the end of the month.”

Ms Chung said the special “Survival Day” activities would be held at Parramatta Park, but she stressed the concept had not yet received the backing of the council.



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OutbackinspirespainterWESTMEAD artist Carmel Nicholson (right) has been given a grant by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board to boost indigenous art in the community.

Laurie Ferguson, Federal Member for Reid, congratulated the Aboriginal artist on her $5700 grant which will be used to buy equipment and to travel.

“It is a refreshing change to see the grant awarded to a deserving individual rather than going to an established Sydney CBD-based arts organisation,” Mr Ferguson said.

Ms Nicholson has had several exhibitions.

The 64-year-old’s works include scenes from her travels, traditional Aboriginal art and what she calls “imaginary art”.

Her father was a king of the Puntamurra tribe in outback Queensland and her mother a princess.

When Carmel was seven, her parents sent her to Brisbane under the care of a group of nuns where she attended school.

After the school closed down she lived in Brisbane for many years until she moved to Sydney at the age of 60 to live with her sister.

It was then that Ms Nicholson took up the art of traditional Aboriginal painting.

Surprisingly she knew very little about the art and is self-taught from books.

“I read and looked through the books, learning the symbols, what the circles mean,” she said.

“You have to be careful though because each tribe has

different symbols and meanings, so I also paint a lot of ordinary images.”

At present, she has 20 paintings on display in her home depicting the beautiful colours of the outback, sunsets and birds.

People are welcome to view them on the weekends if they phone ahead on 9635 6315.

PARRAWATTA CITY COUNCILLIBRARY SERVICES DIVISION


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boriginal council looks to the futureBy PETER JONESLAST Wednesday was the official end of Government funding for the Parramatta based NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC).

However the occasion was marked as much by celebration as it was by commemoration of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act of 1983 which granted NSW Aboriginal people the right to make land claims on certain Crown lands.

NSWALC spokesperson Trudy Glasgow said the council used the commemoration to launch its own blueprint for the future.

Beyond the Sunset recognises this time as the biggest challenge the council has faced since the Act commenced in 1983,” she said.

The sunset of the document’s title relates to the sunset clause in the Act

'hich set a 15-year limit to Government funding for the council.

The NSWALC was set up as a non-Govemment statutory corporation under the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs.

For 15 years the NSWALC received Government assistance in the form of an annual grant representing 7.5 per cent of land tax collected in NSW.I 5 W .

Fifty per cent of the grant each year

was placed in an investment fund while the rest of the money was used to fund the council’s statewide network.

The invested funds will now be used to run the state office, branches and 117 local Aboriginal land councils.

Ms Glasgow said the future of the council is in maintaining its current focus on education and job programs for Aboriginal people while encouraging and providing opportunities for business growth.

‘The council is proud of where it has come from and what has been accomplished in the past 15 years,” she said.

“The goals set by the council for the Aboriginal people of NSW reflect in many ways the road the council itself has travelled and continues to move along. In the beginning the council had to educate itself, it’s a very educated workforce now.”

The NSWALC has instigated or supported business and training projects across the state firom art galleys to farms and garbage collection services.

“In the future we want to ensure that not only does the council survive to help Aboriginal people in this state, we want it to prosper,” Ms Glasgow said.

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NSW Aboriginal Land Council president, Councillor Ossie Cruse at the launch of the Beyond the unset document.

"Marks from the past show signs of an ancient meeting place

Tribal site maintains its liistoryTHE last remaining scar trees in the Sydney City district are living oh the Royal Australian N avy’s N e w in g to n s ite at Homebush Bay, an archaeologist has claimed.

Emma Lee said long before Homebush Bay became the home o f next year’s Sydney Olympics it was a meeting place for inland and coastal Abor-

by LUISA COGNO

ig in a l tr ib esp eo p le . Tribesmen would have cut the scars into the scribbly gum eucalyptus trees to act as markers, or signposts, more than 150 years ago.

N e s t le d in th ic k bushland at the RAN site, five scar trees have been

found but Ms Lee said more could be housed at the site. “ Inland tribes from the mountains would have travelled down the hills to meet at Homebush Bay,” she said.

They would have carried stones to be traded with the coastal tribes for fish.

Ms Lee’s pet project has been compiling an Aboriginal history o f the Homebush Bay Olympic site.

The consultant, who also co-runs Darwala-Lia Archaeological Services, worked with the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council and col-

Archaeologist Emma Lee with the scribbly baric gum which bears an Aboriginal maricer scar Photo: JOHN APPLEYARD

lected the oral histories o f Aboriginal elders to prepare the report.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service will acquire the land when it is vacated by the RAN in December.

Olympic Co-ordination A uthority A boriginal strategy manager Maijorie Anderson said staging n ext y ea r ’s S ydn ey Olympics at Homebush Bay would bring the area to its original land use.

“ The traditional use of the land at Homebush Bay

was a meeting place,” he said. “ Homebush Bay will become a meeting place for global tribes during the Olympics next year.”

Ms Lee estimates the scars were cut in autumn in the early morning when the sap was running th r o u g h th e t r e e s . Hatchets would have been wedged into the trees before a 15cm to 20cm piece was cut from the tree in a vertical direction.

Ms Anderson said Aboriginal artefacts were

found at other Olympics sites including an Aboriginal campsite at the Horsley Park equestrian centre.

Small artefacts and an axe head were also found near Olympic shooting range at Cecil Park.

“ These sites are a part o f our history,” she said.

“ It’s important that these sites are mapped out and talked so the use o f the land is knovra by all people.”

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Aboriginal flag will flyPARRAMATTA Council will fly the Aboriginal flag after council voted on Monday, April 12 to endorse the recommendation by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander committee.

There had been a suggestion by Councillor Roger Gregory that symbols from the Aboriginal flag and the council one could be merged.

Mr Gregory moved for

by SHARON PAINTIN

the Parramatta Council crest to be included on the Aboriginal Flag, or, as an alternative, a flag using the Aboriginal colours could be used as the new council flag.

He said other flags flying above the council, Australian, State and council were all flags of

government while the Aboriginal flag was not.

“ The flags that fly above the Lord Mayor’s chair should be those representing the three arms of government in Australia,” Mr Gregory said.

“ They are the flag of our city, the flag o f our State and the flag o f our country.

“ We are going to have

a flag hanging there which should not be because it does not represent all o f the people o f Parramatta, it only represents a small per cent.”

Council knocked back the idea saying the cost o f redesigning new council flags would be great. Councillor David Borger applauded the move to fly the Aboriginal flag.

Evonne Cawley. . . celebrating the discovery of her Aboriginal heritage Photo: ANN MORAN

i have never been happier’

DESPITE the rain, they came in everything from suits to high heels to play tennis at Westmead Hospital last Thursday.

Standing at one end o f the mock “ Wimbledon” outside the hospital’s staff canteen (strawberries and cream a specialty), Evonne Cawley’s charm, grace and exquisite skills were proving as magnetic as ever.

“ I didn’t realise there were so many tennis players about,” the 47-year-old said o f the crowd that queued up to have a hit with her. “ They all tired me out.”

While tennis made her famous and still brings her great joy, Cawley told the hospital’s inaugural National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Week lecture series that it was returning to Australia and getting to know her Aboriginal culture which had made her truly happy for the first time in her life.

During an hour-long talk, she recalled the happy childhood she had in Barellan in country NSW. But whenever a flash car came down the road there was a fear the “ welfare man” had come to take her away.

Her father cut her first tennis racquet from an apple crate and

by DANIEL LEWIS

when she showed promise and was whisked away to Sydney at the age of 11, the whole town chipped in to buy her clothes and equipment.

She won Wimbledon twice, married a mad Manchester United fan and moved to America where she became a proud mother to Morgan and Kelly.

Only once in her tennis career did she encounter a racist taunt, and the opposition player who called her “ nigger” was banned.

Cawley said her lifestyle meant she met queens, presidents, princes and movie stars, “ but I always thought there was something missing and that was finding out about m yself’.

The death o f her mother in 1991 convinced her to return to Australia.

Then she went on a “ timeless” outback camping trip with Aboriginal elders.

“ The experience was something that I had been yearning for and I can honestly say that I have never been happier because I know who I am now,” Cawley said.

Everything that she was proud of— her happy disposition and deter

mination to triumph — she had learned from her mother or her grandparents. “ And that’s what this NAIDOC Week is all about: it’s respect for your elders and it’s something that’s really got me through my career.”

Cawley added that it was obvious the elders o f some professional tennis players were not doing their job. The behaviour o f some players made her “ cringe” .

Through her youth development work with Tennis Australia and the Aboriginal Sports Program, Cawley said she always emphasised that sport should be fiin, not fiill o f tantrums.

Other speakers at the Westmead lectures included television journalist Stan Grant and his father Stan Grant Snr, Neita Scott and Mick Dodson, who addressed the issue of the stolen generation.

This Sunday Holroyd Council will celebrate with an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Day of Celebration at Central Gardens, Merrylands, from 10am to 2pm.

There will be didgeridoo playing, dancing, art awards, a flag raising ceremony, emu egg and wood carving, river rock and mural painting, stalls and entertainment.


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Join the roll for ATSIC electionTHE Aboriginal and

Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) is urging local Aborigines to enrol for the upcoming ATSIC elections.

The elections will be held on October 9, with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) accepting enro lm en ts up to September 24.

Enrolment forms for people aged over 18 are available at post offices, the AEC or by phoning 13 23 26.

ATSIC elections are held every three years and October’s will be the fourth.

There are 35 regional councils throughout Australia and Parramatta is part of the Sydney Regional Council.

Each regional council has between eight and12 members, depending on its population, and regional councillors in turn help choose the 17 com

missioners who make up the ATSIC board.

Regional councils decide how ATSIC funds should be spent, help draw up and carry out plans to improve the lives of indiginous Australians, let commissioners know what people in their region want and generally represent local people.

There are 12 positions on the Sydney Regional Council, which has been divided up into wards for the first time to help distinct communities gain representation.

The Campbelltown ward will return three members, Coogee one. La Perouse one, Penrith six and Wollongong one.

The Parramatta area lies w i t h i n t h eC a m p b e l l t o w n , Penrith and Coogee wards.

Nominations for candidates close today.



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SOURCE: Fairfax Sun-PARRAMAHA PAGE NO: ~J

DATE: J G 9

Have your say about healing of our nationMEMBERS of the public are invited to attend a meeting to discuss a draft Aboriginal reconciliation document in Parramatta next week.

Part of a nationwide consultation process, the meeting has been organised by local group Reconciliation For Western Sydney, who hope to see a large crowd put their recommendations forward.

The Draft Document for Reconciliation is a working document developed by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation.

The document set out strategies for the Federal Government to adopt and implement throughout all their policies.

However the content is still open for discussion, which is why the series of meeting are being held around Australia.

All comments will be forwarded to the Council for Aboriginal

Reconciliation and compiled into the final document for reconciliation, to be presented to the Federal Government in May next year.

The document aims to formally recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first Australians, guide future relations and to set out commitment and actions to make reconciliation a reality.

Jeff Jackson, the secretary of Reconciliation For Western Sydney, said he hoped the public will give some serious thought to the reconciliation process.

“It is not just an Aboriginal issue, now it is more so for white Australians to sit down and deal with the issues, work through their problems and deal with their own guilt,” Mr Jackson said.

“We have to think about what we want, a document that we can put up on the wall and think we are all happy with, or do we really

want to acknowledge history and give indigenous people the respect they deserve?

“The document we should have will make many people feel uncomfortable.”

A meeting held last month in Parramatta was pooriy attended. Mr Jackson said that was a sign of the times in suburban Australia.

He said unless people are faced with the problem on a daily basis, little thought was given to it.

He hopes Parramatta will better represented at the next and final meeting for the area.

The meeting will be held at the Leigh Memorial Uniting Church Hall, 119 Macquarie Street Parramatta on Saturday, October 23.

It will include a special children’s program to highlight some of the more basic reconciliation issues to young people.

PARRAMATTA CrTY COUNCILl ib r a r y s e r v ic e s d iv is io n

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SO U R C E ;P3rram a AiJvertiser - CITY NORTH

DATE: 13 0 9

ATSIC regional electionsABORIGINAL and Torres Strait Islander people will go to the polls this weekend to elect their regional councils.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) elections are held every three years and this is the fourth.

The 35 regional councils in turn choose the 17 commissioners who make up the ATSIC board.

Sydney Regional Council has 12 positions.

Most o f the Parramatta area lies within Penrith Ward, which will return six o f the council’s 12 members.

There are eight nominated candidates for Penrith Ward, with Rosa Haroa the only Parramatta-based candidate.

The Advertiser made repeated

attempts to interview Ms Haroa about her candidacy and the issues affecting Aborigines in Parramatta and the Sydney region generally, but was unsuccessful.

All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people registered on the electoral role are entitled to vote.

For more information phone the ATSIC Sydney regional office on 9211 3555.



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S O U R C E : Parramatta A ^ r t is e r - C n Y NORTH

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Forced out of areaby LUISA COGNO

VOTERS from Parramatta and Holroyd will travel out o f the area to cast their votes in the NSW Aboriginal Land Council election on Saturday, December 11.

There are no polling

booths in Parramatta although the State h e a d q u a r te r s are based here.

Parramatta and Holroyd fall under the Western Metropolitan Region, which has 1314 registered voters.

There are seven polling booths in the region.

to cast votesThe nearest p o llin g

booths are at Bidwill Uniting Church and E m erton P rim ary School to the west, an d L i v e r p o o l ’ s G andangara L ocal A b o r ig in a l L an d Council.

Polling booths are also at John Warby Public School, Airds, Minto and Tahmoor public schools and Penrith High School.

A spokeswoman from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council said there had never been a polling booth in Parramatta possibly because there were not enough voters.

However, the number o f voters was not available from the coimcil.

She said this would be the third land council election and there was a “ window o f opportunity” for a Parramatta polling booth in the fiiture.

Six candidates are competing for the right to represent the region on the State’s land council for the next three years.

The candidates are Paul Newman o f Picnic Point, Pat Lock o f St A n d r e w s, R ob ert Lester, Emu Plains, B u s b y ’ s D e n i s e W illia m s, H oxton Park’s Theresa Ellis and Barry Gunther, o f Busby.

Returning officer for the r e g io n is R o c c o Leonello.

Across the State, 82 candidates are contesting the election in 13 regional seats.

The council’s executive d i r e c t o r N o r m a Ingram said the elec

tion was an important occasion.

She urged Aboriginal people to give carefiil thought to who they wanted to elect.

“ The new council body will be responsible for an organisation now valued at over half a b illio n dollars in assets and in vestments,” she said.

Aboriginal Affairs Min- i s t e r A n d r e w Refshauge said the elected councillors would have a challenging task ahead.

“ The coming three-year term promises to be one o f unparalleled development and opportunity,” he said.

“ I look forward to working with the new council to advance the interests and aspirations o f Aboriginal people in N SW .”

FAR5RAMATTA CrTt' CCUNC:L LIERARY SSRV!C£3 C M SIC N

LCCAL HISTCRY S£iRV!C2 - Verticai F ie Coilectian

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3 C U R C 2 : T h e r a r r s m a t t a A a v e r r i s e r

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AboriginalinitiativesA LONG-term strategy aimed at tackling unemployment, poverty and housing problems in the Aboriginal community was launched in Parramatta last Friday.

The Beyond The Sunset policy statement, unveiled by the NSW A boriginal Land C ouncil (NSWALC), is a far-reaching blueprint for the development of Aboriginal communities over the next decade.

NSWALC chairman Ossie Cruse said the aim of the policy is to “ liberate and empower” Aboriginal people in NSW through economic and social independence.

To achieve this goal, the council will set up a credit union and a mortgage fund for Aboriginal people, establish an Aboriginal Sporting Council Network and also d evelop various b u sin ess enterprises such as supermarkets.

NSW Aboriginal Land G>uncil dancers. Inseh Ossie Cruse

transport and tourism projects.“ We have im plem ented

programs which we hope will lift our people to an area of pride and dignity,” Mr Cruse said.

“The NSW Aboriginal community is severely disadvantaged in comparison with the community at large.”

Mr Cruse said less than 11 per cent of Aboriginal people in NSW attend tertiary institutions, 40 per cent leave school before the age of 15 and unemployment in some areas is as high as 60 per cent.

He said the policy would go a long way in addressing these problems.

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Land rights champion

Trudy Glasgow is overseeing public reloHons at the Parramatta-based NSW Aboriginal Land Council

Support for Aborigines

by SHARON PAINTINWIK, Native Title and a bevy o f Aboriginal issues are the speciality o f Trudy Glasgow.

Ms Glasgow was recently appointed as public relations officer for the Parramatta-based NSW Aboriginal Land Council.

As such she is responsible for co-ordinating activities between 117 local and 13 regional land councils.

Promoting and developing Aboriginal communities is also part o f her role.

The council is based in Parramatta because of the area’s central location to many clients.

Parramatta was also quite significant in terms of Aboriginal history, Ms Glasgow said.

Despite having no cultural ties to the Aboriginal community Ms Glasgow brings a wealth of insight to her new post.

She previously worked as an Aboriginal affairs reporter.

The iVagga Daily Advertiser and Daily Liberal, Dubbo, are two papers in which she has written about Aborigines and the issues affecting their communities.

“ When I arrived at Dubbo 1 was good friends with a local Aboriginal leader,” Ms Glasgow said.

“ They said we would love to have a journalist who we could contact.”

She took on the challenge and fought to have the reporting o f Aboriginal issues turn around — with positive stories starting to come through.

“ It’s a time o f change and it’s very exciting for me to be part of that change for an organisation that is really one of the peak bodies in NSW,” she said.

“ I have a lot o f respect for the way Aboriginal people are aware of their heritage and aware of their family past.”

Despite this Ms Glasgow grew up in a small country town which had no indigenous members. It was only when she went to boarding school, at 12, that she met people from the Aboriginal community.

“ From that time on I just believed it was crucial that they get the same respect and treatment as other people who were not Aboriginal,” she said.

The NSW Aboriginal Land Council can be contacted on 9689 4444.

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PAGE NO: 7SOURCE: FjjrtaxSun-PARRAMATTA

DATE; - 1 A. 38

Tertiary hope for land council staff

S / ' ! { # ‘ 4

■ NSW Aboriginal Land Council executive director Aden Ridgeway talks through the finer points of the new in-house traineeshipg on offer at the land council with Mauire Maher.

employment potential too.“This program has proven an

excellent stepping stone for Aboriginal people wanting to get their diploma in community management,” Mr Herft said.

“These skills can now be put back into the communities and help encourage the self-sufficiency process across the State.”

NSWALC executive director Aden Ridgeway, who met the nine trainees last week, launched a special training award for them.

By ANTHONY O’BRIENABORIGINAL people in Western Sydney will be able to further their career goals with the help of the Parramatta-based NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC).

Having finished the Community Planning Program, members of the local Aboriginal Land Council staff are now looking to undertake formal tertiary qualifications for the first time in their lives.

And the participants have not only indicated a desire to continue

their training but also to share their new-found skills with other Land Council staff members.

NSWALC training spokesman Lorensz Herft said the program’s success had exceeded all expectations.

Mr Herft said the program helped ensure that Aboriginal staff working in Aboriginal organisations would be better able to assist and encourage other Aboriginal people to undertake more formal qualifications and boost their

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Call to heal black painBy ANTHONY O’BEIEN THEY SAT in the aisles, against the walls and flowed out into the Church Street Mall, as people came together at Parramatta Town Hall last week to show their support for reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

More than 600 people turned up at the Town Hall last Wednesday night to hear the truths and dispel the myths about native title and the Howard Government’s Wik legislation.

NSW Aboriginal Land Council director Aden Ridgeway spoke to the

■ THE people of Parramatta showed they had the will to seek a lasting reconciliation between black and white Australians at a meeting in Parramatta last week.___________

gathering, saying the High Court’s native title and Wik decision was a very small victory for A borig in a l p eo p le , despite being portrayed as a big win.

“We ask nothing more than for our pain over the past 200 years to be healed. This should not be a threat to the rest of the nation,” Mr Ridgeway said.

“Wik is about co-existence. If there’s a conflict between an Aboriginal

person’s rights on a parcel of land and a cow that grazes there, then it is the cow that has more right, not an Aboriginal person.

“It is farcical to say, as the Prime Minister has, that the pendulum has swung to far.

“If a double dissolution is called over Wik, then I can think of nothing more divisive and destructive for this country.”

The meeting, organised by the Western Sydney

Residents for Reconciliation, was attended by l^ople from all walks of life and included leading Aboriginal academ ic Marcia Langton, Freda Whitlam (sister to former PM Gough Whitlam) and Parramatta councillors Maureen Walsh, Robyn Whelan, David Borger and Deputy Lord Mayor Phil Russo.

Cr Russo said the meeting was an overwhelming success for the people of Parramatta.

“We showed here tonight that the people of Parramatta do have a social conscience,” Cr Russo said.



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DATE:Pananate Advertiser - CITY NORTH

1 S N 3?

Signs of old timesSIGNS drawing attention to Parramatta’s Aboriginal heritage will be erected around the city.The move was endorsed by the works and services committee of Parramatta Council last Monday.The signs will reflect the different clans which inhabited the area and the land’s original link to the Darug people.There is a chance the move may be referred to the full meeting of Parramatta Council next week which would see the matter redebated.

M

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Women's stories told in art

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by SHARON PAINTINARTIST Cheryl Moodai Robinson, of Wentworth- ville, and her second cousin Pamela Croft are preparing for the art exhibition of a lifetime.

The two women only began to know each other about a year ago yet their lives have worn similar paths.

Both indigenous artists, Croft and Robinson are putting together an exhibition at the Casula Powerhouse from July 2 to 6.

No More Secrets will explore many of the issues which have confronted the women in their lives — including the secrecy which has surrounded their indigenous background and family ties.

Croft, a member of the stolen generation, grew up with a white family from the age of six.

Both women say their aboriginality is a “closed secret” with older members of their family.

“ It’s a closed secret because of the shame and politics that has been put to being an Aborigina descendant,” Croft said.

The exhibition will explore the two paths each woman’s life has taken and deal with issues surrounding Aboriginal Australians.

It features a range of natural materials including

shells, seed pods and bird wings and claws gathered from road kills.

Many of the items will be put in bird cages — representing a loss of freedom and natural environment.

“ We talk about Aboriginal people being icons,” Robinson said.

However, the work will appeal to many who have faced a separation in their family.

“ It’s not just for Aboriginal people or to make non-Aboriginal people aware of issues,” Robinson said.

“ White fellas will be able to walk in there and say 'I have empathy with this because something like this happened in my family too’.”

The women are working out of the old Kings School site in Parramatta.

They believe they are the only artists to be working out of a studio in Parramatta.

Their exhibition has received funding from the Australia Council and Queensland Arts Office.

Artists Pamela Croft and Cheryl Moodai RobinsonPhoto: John Appleyard


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Aboriginal focusTHE Deputy Premier, Minister for

Health and Aboriginal Affairs, Dr Andrew Refshauge, will participate in the annual National Aboriginal a n d I s l a n d e r D a y s o f Commemoration to be held in the Church St Mall between 10am and 2pm on Friday and Saturday, July 10- 11 .

Dr Refshauge will join Lord Mayor John Haines in a flag-raising

ceremony in front of the Town Hall at 11.30am on the Friday.

On both days throughout the mall stalls will offer art, crafts, ornamental goods and clothing for sale.

Free face painting for children will feature the special designs and colours used in Aboriginal art by Anita Langton.

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A b 0 ( ^ | C r l / ^ £ S

SOURCE: The Fairfax Sun . (O ’ ^

DATE: I

■ DARUG Aboriginal elder Colin Gale (pictured near the Parramatta River), will be delivering one of four Parramatta Foundation Week Lectures at the Parramatta Heritage Centre later this month. The great-great-great-grandson

of Maria Locke, the first Aboriginal woman married in St John’s Anglian Church Parramatta, said he was pleased to take part in ttie celebration. Mr Gale said he would be speaking about the history of the Parramatta

Photo; DAVID MARIUZ

area handed down by his ancestors from pre-European settlement times, but also about his people’s early experiences with white people. The lecture series is free but bookings on 9683 6922 are recommended.

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Fa ifax Sun - P A f iR A IW H A .. PAGE NO: 2S

Plight of Aboriginal youngstersTHE Parramatta Heritage Centre will host a moving National Archives exhibition titled Between Two Worlds over the next four months.

The photographic exhibition follows the story of a number of young Aboriginal children who in the early part of this century were taken from their parents by the government and placed in homes for half-castes.

Between Two Worlds looks at two of the Northern Territory institutions - Bungalow in Alice Springs and Kahlin Home in Darwin.

It shows what happened to the children and traces their journey fi-om one place to another, and one culture to another.

Imedla Dover, the exhibition curator at the Heritage Centre, said the tone of the exhibition was captured in an accompanying anonymous quote: “Made to think

white, act white, look white.”

“For 50 years since 1912, Commonwealth Government policy dictated the removal of Aboriginal children of part descent from their families and placement of them in government or mission institutions,” Ms Dover said.

“The intention of the law makers and administrators was that removing children from circumstances that offended white notions of family care gave children a chance of success in the dominant society, especially if they lost their sense of Aboriginality.”

The exhibition is a graphic look at the conditions of the institutions and vulnerability of the Aboriginal children and their forced change of culture.

The exhibition will continue at the Parramatta Heritage Centre until April 11.

I THIS image of a nameless child Is reflective of the mood of ie photographic exhibition Between Two Worlds.

A f e O R l G l N i e S

Club requests disputed land

GLENORIE Pony Club has tfirown another spark into the fire burning over Aboriginal claims to land In the district.

It has called on Baulkham Hills Council to allow the club use Crown Land adjacent to Dilkera Reserve for trail rides and cross country courses.

Councillors will decide at tonight’s meeting, Tuesday, whether to ask the State lands office to designate the area as a public reserve for use by the pony club.

But the land in question is one of several plots currently under investigation by the Crown Lands Department, and could be given to the Mt Druitt Aboriginal Land Council instead.

The land council lodged claims last month to several plots of land under the land rights legislation passed by the Federal Government last year.

But that was before it changed its name to the Dharug Land Council.

The Dharug Land Council has since claimed it knows nothing about the applications but would be seeMng to work with the community and not against it.

Affected land includes a portion in Halcrows Rd,Nelson; land in Neich Rd,Glenorie; one portion of land adjoining Crown Land off SchwebeLs Lane, Glenorie; land in Haffey and Raym Rds, Kenthurst, and land in Heath Rd, Kellyville.

Council’s shire engineer,Mr John Barker, said council had spent a lot of money preparing the site now used by the pony club.

“The club has also made use of adjoining bushland areas and organises trail rides for members,” he said.

“It would be desirable for the area of Crown Land adjacent to the existing site to be retained in public oip-,

fertlfip ahd be's^raMabla for use by the’pony chib.” ' " ' *

H .'o .T

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Land claims may not be justified

Aborigines could be claiming land in the Hills which they cannot justify, soys Cr Les Shore who is concerned that Crown land might be given to minority groups.

His fears follow last year's claim by the Mt Druitt Local Aboriginal Land Council to 10 areas of land within the shire.

The matter was raised again at last w eek’s meeting of Bauikham Hills Shire Council when three recomm endations from the Planning and Development Committee were considered.

The Committee proposed writing to Land Council representative, Mr Saunders, asking when, he could attend a Cornmittee meeting; advising the Minister for Lands that the Committee is trying to hold discussions with Mr Saunders; and asking the Lands Department for more time to consider the claim and

lodge any objections to it.Council was told that

Mr Saunders had failed to attend a Com mittee meeting having agreed to do so and has not been in touch with the Committee since.

According to Cr Shore the Lands Council "has lost the art of black tracking to Council" even to put its case.

He believes the Aborigines want the land only to sell it or lease it for possible mineral exploitation and that having got a foothold with their claims, will repeat their demands to gain bigger land holdings.

a G 5

They were on ‘walkabout’

“They were probably on walkabout” are the words a Baulkham Hills Shire Councillor used as the reason for Aborigines not turning up to talk land claims with the planning committee.

Aborigines claim land

Cr Les Shore made the comment after council’s planning committee invited a representative from Durak Aboriginal Lands Council to justify land claims it has lodged for property at Kenthurst and Kellyville.

The representative didn’t turn up for the meeting and councillors said the lands council has given no reason for this.

“It’s discourteous... They were probably on walkabout,” Cr Shore said.

“They make a claim for land yet the black tracker would have to help them find their way to Baulkham Hills,” he said.

Cr John Griffiths told the shire president: “They said they didn’t want the land... They are willing to lease it back to us for a ‘nominal’ fee.”

Cr Larry Bolitho said the discussion was an exercise highlighting a case of racial prejudice in this

council. He said it would have been better to have just accepted the planner’s report that the information be noted.

The Mercury rang Durak Lands Council regional representative Mr Gil Saunders who said he couldn’t make it to meet with council because he was attending another community meeting.

“I’m just as busy with work as council is at the moment,” Mr Saunders said.

“The thing I’d like council and the community to be aware of is that the only reason the land has been claimed is the fact of the oral history pertaining to it.

“Most of the Aboriginal culture has been lost and destroyed over the last

200 years... And our history is taught by mouth.

“I feel its not only our history, its the Australian and European history which we’re talking about.”

The lands council chose the particular parcels of land because of their historical significance to both the Aborigines and other Australians.

“We identified the land through tracing back legends and going to descendants of the local tribe,” Mr Saunders said.

“The future of the land will be decided by the members of the lands council and will be to the benefit of the community.

“We’re trying to prove that we can work alongside the Europeans,” Mr Saunders said.

R fe » o (M G ,i H

f

Two cultures met in old Parramatta

BEFORE the arrival of Europeans the Parramatta area offered its Aboriginal inhabitants the best of two worlds, according to biological scientist, Mr Jim Kohen, of Macquarie University.

Mr Kohen has researchedthe history of Aboriginals on the Cumberland Plain and written several articles on the topic.

He said pre-European Parramatta was the meeting place of the cultures of the plains and the coast.

His book, Aborigines in the West: Prehistory to Present, will soon be released by Nepean College of Advanced Education.

The first Australian settlement started more than 40,000 years ago.

“Aborigines were definitely living in the Sydney area20,000 years ago and there is one possible dating of stone tools in the Nepean area of about 30,000 years ago,” Mr Kohen said.

“There could be older datings along the coastline.

“The problem with proving that, however, is that the coastline then was about 16 km further east.”

Mr Kohen said that when the first Aborigines arrived, the Cumberland Plain was completely different to the present.

“Take the Nepean River area for example,” he said.

“The noodplain was virtually under w ater. The gravels found between Crane-

by GIL INGS

brook and the escarpment, b etw een P en rith and Castlereagh, were laid down in large lakes between 30,000 and 15,000 years ago.

“It was also much colder then.”

Mr Kohen said that early Aborigines shared the Cumberland Plain with gjant marsupials like the Diprotodon, a grazing animal the size of a rhinoceros, and the Pro- coptodon, a three-metre high, kangaroo-like animal.

He said that just as the climate and animals suitable for hunting changed over the years, so did Aboriginal technology. □

“Stone tools appeared to continue with very little modification until about 4000 years ago,” Mr Kohen said.

“Several major changes then occurred in the toolkits and there was shift towards smaller tools.”

Mr Kohen said thin flakes of stone were probably used for spearpoints and barbs.

B eca u se m any w ere blunted along the back, they are termed backed blades.

He said backed blades were used until 1000 years ago

JIM Kohen with Aboriginal singing sticks.

when their use decreased.“ The Aborigines then

started to use materials at hand without modification,” Mr Kohen said.

“This indicates that at least on this side of the mountains, kangaroo hunting became less important.”

Mr Kohen said Aborigines between the coast and the Nepean River had two very distinct cultures.

“On the coast the basis of the economy was fishing and shellfish gathering,” he said.

“They even barbed their spears with oyster shell.

“ F u rth er in land the economy was based on possums, eels, insects and plant foods.”

Mr Kohen said that Parramatta was the dividing line between the two cultures and

ABORIGINAL HISTORYIN NEW LIGHT

the corresponding difference in dialects.

“Known by the inhabitants as Burramedigal, it was a jumping off place, basically esturine, but with resources from both cultures,” he said.

“It also marked a change in vegetation.

“To the west was open forest with more small animals and tuberous plant foods such as yams, plus some wallabies.

“The animals were both hunted and trapped.”

Mr Kohen said the open forest discovered by the first European settlers was not natural but the result of fire management by the Aboriginals to bum out the low scrub.□ □

He said that the Aborigines never introduced animal husbandry because there were no a n im a ls su ita b le in Australia.

“Sheep and cows provide milk and are easily herded,”

- Mr Kohen said.“Kangaroos do not provide

m ilk and are not ea sily herded.

“ The early inhabitants didn’t bother to grow crops either as they could get enough from the land.”

Mr Kohen said early theories on the number of Aborigines living in and around Sydney were currently under revision.

Reports from early ex

plorers indicated the land was only sparsely populated.

Mr Kohen said smallpox caused the depopulation of the a rea ev en b efo re E u rop ean s m et the Aborigines.

“The smallpox epidemic which swept through the Aboriginal population killed literally thousands of people between 1789 and 1790,” he said.

“ One band, the Cadigal, was reduced from 50 to 60 people in 1788 to only three in 1791.

“Although the proportion who died may not have been so great in the plains lands, it is probable that more than half died within the first three years of European settlement.”

Mr Kohen said early settlers considered Aborigines to be very primitive because they didn’t even use the bow.

“They had the woomera, a spear thrower which increased the distance and accuracy of the spear,” he said.

“At 100 metres range they could hit a 15cm wide target.”

Mr Kohen said all Aus- traUans were indebted to the Aboriginal inhabitants for the words adopted by English.

“Words like koala, dingo, wallaby, woomera, boomerang and nulla nulla are all Dharug in origin,” he said.

p”(-o vw Fc flo.

T J i j i y 'g ir

History uncovered atCentre siteDKVELOPLKS have some-

limes paid scant attention to the possible historical importance of sites being excavated lor new buildings.

Biic ihe Federal Government ;ias com m issioned an archaeoioa:- :i:al iiivesugaciou oi the site at Parram atta of the new 20-storev Commonwealth Centre, due lor com pletion in 1937, to make sure •.!ie area’s historical rem ains are recorded before being re-buried,

A team or seven archaeologists cngaeed by the Federal Housing and Construction Department has been carefully scraping and sitting ;is way through a metre of soil, looking for the remains of old Jiouses and other buildings on th.e site.

T he $26,000 study ha. '.inearthed the foundations of a sub- .;tr.:iUai liom e which. ,<iood •.lierclate last century. _________ .

It has also shown the old route George St, leading to Parra

m atta Park.Mr Phil McHugh, of the

D epartm ent of Housing and Construction. said the purpose of the archaeological survey was to find evidence of previous buildings and to record the inform ation for future historical study.

■'The .site has been occupied since the earliest days of se ttle m ent at Parram atta,” he said.

‘•There were some rather poor houses there up to the 1820s. w hich were replaced later by more substantial home.s, an'd a brewery also stood on the site last ccntury.

"The site also had a hotel called the Park G ate, built, I think, in 1911 before M eggitts linseed oil

and desicccated coconut factory took over the whole area.

"Most older Parramatta residents would remember the Meg- gitts buildings."

The archaeologists began working on the site in mid-June and will finish their survey on Friday.

A spokesman said the Department of Housing and Construction was keen to preserve our history.

•'Where there is the possibility of finding important historical evidence on one of our sites, it is our practice to conduct an archaeological survey before any work starts," the spokesman said.

Mr M cHugh said inform ation obtained on the digging will be made available to the NSW H eritage Trust, the Mitchell Library and ocher historical group.s.

Archr.eologist Mr Ted Higginboth.Dm cn the building si

ZD7>OX

o-0

A t the book lounching last week in Parramatta, were (le ft to right) from the NSW Department of Education, Mrs Helen Kinsella, the author, M r Jim Kohen, the M inister fo r Aboriginal A ffa irs, M r Clive Holding and Senior Lecturer a t the Nepean College o f Advanced Education, M r Jim Power.

Booklet on local Aborigines

The second booklet in a series on western Sydney and its history was launched in Parramatta last week, hy the Minister tor Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Clyde Holding, as part of the Western Sydney Project.

The booklet, ‘Aborigines in the West: Prehistory to Present’ was funded by the Western Sydney Project, an initiate of the Premier’s De-

[Yl 1

partment and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, and is available at bookstores throughout Sydney.

The series aims to cover all areas of Western Sydney, from Parramatta to the Blue Mountains, and hopes to increase people’s awareness of their own heritage.

An earlier volume, by Bronwyn Power, describes Penrith’s development from 1788 to 1900.

Two more volumes are

planned, including one on Parramatta and another on the Castle Hill Rebellion.

The author of ‘Aborigines in the West’, Mr Jim Kohen, said that the book aimes to correct a few misconceptions.

He claimed it was commonly believed that the Sydney Aborigines died out 150 years ago, which he said was not true.

Mr Kohen met a woman from Sydney who could trace her family back through documented oral history to the 18th century.

He also said that is was

Continued on P.7

p 5"

imporatnt to look behind the official reports to find a systematic attack on Aborigines, followed by retaliation, and not the other way around.

“ It is imporant that children living in this area learn about the Aborigines who lived here before them,” he said.

A spokesman for the Western Metropolitan Region Land Council, Mr

Steve Lawlor, said he was glad to see that a white man could play a role in an Aboriginal history that was not well known.

Mr Holding said he did not think there was “a nation on earth with such a distorted perception of their oWn country, and this has social and political implications’.”

He said there has been little concern with the his

tory of Australia that proceeds “white conquest” and that this grave distortion was reflected in attitudes towards Aborigines today.

“Aboriginal people have proved they are not going to go away. It is important that booklets like this one are read and undertood in order to build more bridges and reduce tensions in today’s Australia,” he said.

Mission was the c h i l d r e n ' s

new utopiaby JENNY SYDENHAM

MARKLLA Mission, at Kellyville, started as one m an’s dream to help underprivileged and n eg lec ted Aborigines.

Mr Keith I.angford-Sinith was a missionary in Arnhem l .nnd in 1928.

Wtu^ti hp left th(>re, he de t'ideri he \v;intcd to help Abnri ginal children and bought the lan d a t K e l lv v i l l e b e f o r e World War I I , '

After .seeing m ore than .tOO r h i l d r e n pa.ss t h r o u g h i t s d o o r s , t h e o n ly fu ll t i m e w o rk e r left a t th e m iss ion to d a y is Mr.'; N o r m a W a r wick.

Mrs Warwick has worked with the mission for 35 years.

" I c am e here in I!)50 to help out for a month, and I 'm .still he re ," ,\1rs Warwick said.

Since then, the Aboriginal children have left the home at Kellyville and now live in co llages at Marrickville,

Mr l .angford-Smith’s wid ow, C.wen, still lives at the Mi.s.sion, which ca r r ie s oul all admini.st ration,

M r L an g fo rd -S m ith flew the first plane - the Sky Pilot - into Arnhem Land in 1931,

T he Sky Pilot is now the nam e of the m agazine published by Marella.

“ M r l . a n g f o r d - S m i t h b ough t 30 a c r e s (12ha) out here before World War II and the first children moved here about 1953,'■ Mrs Warwick said,

"Som e children only .stayed for a few weeks, but .some s ta y e d for y e a r s . One girl c a m e h e re a g e d six w eeks and left when .she was 20.

“ The children inainly cam e f r o m c o u n t r y a r e a s , a n d orig ina lly thought the ci ty w as tUopia,”

MRS Norma Warwick . . . Aunty Norma to 300 children from Marella Mission.

Mrs Warwick .said the main problem faced by the children w as malutri t ion and e a r and no.se problems,

“ W h i l e s o m e p e o p l e c la im ed we w ere doing the w rong th ing by not le t t ing them integrate , we felt they needed to be with people of their own kind," Mrs W arw ick said

"W e also em ployed .some Atjoriginal [X 'o p le to help out here.

I t ’s six years since the children have moved to the cot tages a t Marrickville, but the mission still needs $3000 everv

two months to send for their upkeep,

" I t m eans we only have to work 24 hours a day, not 26 hours ,” Mrs W'arwick .said.

"But the best a.spect of the job is the children They used to call Mr and Mrs l.angford- S m i th D ad a n d M um a n d (m e) Aunty Norma,

“ I ’ve now got about 300 nieces and nephews,

" T h e y b r e a k yo u r h e a r t sometime.s, but it s all worth it when they com e back and tell you how much they en j o y e d l i v i n g a t M a r e l l a Mission "

i

..V - "J

S i J

34f H ^ O M G l N d ^

Pioneers and their Better Halves

In 1813, it is recorded that 700 tons o f sandalw ood w as brought into Port Jackson for export to England and China, w h ere it w as used in furniture m aking. It is a fine-grained tropical w ood , rem arkable for its fragrance.

C on vinced that a trading ship w as essen tia l if the m ission w a s to prosper and w ith plans to re-open the Tongan M ission , th ey sailed for London in the Albion in N ovem ber, 1808, but W illiam could not con vin ce the directors that h e | w a s right, ev en though he had the help of the Reverend |; Sam uel M arsden, w h o w as then in England. |

H e returned to Sydney in 1810, and opened a b usin ess in ! York Street. In August, 1812, he w as granted 400 acres a t | Cabram atta and a tow n lease at C ockle Bay, but early in f 1813, he c losed his b usin ess and returned to the sea. H e | sailed from Sydney in M ay as m aster o f the Q ueen) Charlotte, the ship chartered for King Pom are II (Tahiti). In* the T uam otus Islands the ship w as seized by Raiatean p ea rl| divers, three m en w ere m urdered and W illiam (for the seco n d tim e) narrow ly escaped w ith h is life. H e w as only a llo w ed to live so as to navigate the sh ip back to Tahiti. H e | recovered the ship at Tahiti and returned to Sydney i n | February 1814, w ith a large cargo o f sh ells and "as large a | quantity o f pearls as had ever yet b een procured by a singleji vesse l" .

O ne w onders, M illy, h ow a young m an w h o had no officia l training as a sailor could b ecom e m aster or navigatorl of a sh ip such as the Q ueen Charlotte and others; but w henj it is rem em bered that W illiam had w orked for tw elve years or so w ith P olynesians and had adm ired their ancient skills, and m ethods of navigating w ithout instrum ents, it is easie^ to understand. H e had lived close to them and understood their language, he had sailed w ith them on m any occasions'] learning to read the signs o f the e lem en ts.

ftU K C H E R

P »ono ftr3H .C

Chapter 4

Ojn<* t> 4 ; t+ a r(of |r\

Native Institution — Death of William — Crossing theo

Blue Mountains

"That brings us to tw o q uestions w h ich I w onder if I can ask y ou ” said M illy. "W hy w ould W illiam bring back a large quantity o f shells w ith him?"

"Well, you rem em ber w e talked about the early buildings in the co lony, h ow the builders had b een forced to use m ud and clay for bonding as no lim estone had been discovered? Fortunately, by 1793 the colon ists had hit on the idea of burning sh ells for lim e. This could be used for mortar. It is understood that the h ouse w h ich John M acarthur built about that tim e w as on e o f the first to u se lim e m ortar for cernenting. Thus it has w ithstood the test of tim e and w ith various alterations is the oldest structure still standing in Australia".

"That's very interesting", com m ented M illy. "N ow can you explain w h y rum w as used for barter?"

'Yes. T he ch ief reason w as the shortage o f m on ey in the colony, and the fact that rum had been used as a reward •or good service for years. For instance, con victs w h o helped iii sm all w ays w ith the sailing o f a ship — such as heaving in the anchor, etc. — w ere g iven extra issu es of rum. Under the Rum Corps the idea w as exploited .

In the early days m o n ey w as a lw ays a problem . The first “ eet landed w ith scarcely a p enny to its nam e. Com prised a soldiers and convicts, no-one thought it w ou ld need

The 'Pow ers that be' in England had grand ideas of

35

o r

36 Pioneers and their Better HalvesN a tive In s titu tio n 37

living o ff the land and bartering w ith the natives and b ecom in g self-supporting.

So at that tim e the on ly co in s circulating w ere what the co m p a n y had brought w ith th em . T his w ou ld have com prised English coinage, p lus som e D utch ducats and Spanish dollars (known as p ieces of eight, or eight reals), a few Portuguese Johannes, som e Bengal rupees and Indian m ohurs. T his variety could be explained by the fact that the soldiers and m arines had been stationed in various parts of the w orld such as India. Som e of this coinage w as used to pay for sh ipm ents of im ports and quickly left the country. V isiting traders of course, preferred co in s to prom issory notes (of a som ew hat dub ious validity) as the alternative, but internal purchases w ere m ostly settled on a barter basis, u sually w ith rum.

W hen King, the n ew G overnor w as appointed in 1800, he k new all about the shortage of m oney, as he had sailed w ith the First Fleet, and also had been Lieutenant Governor at N orfolk Island. C onsequently , he took the precaution of ordering a sh ipm ent of British coins, and a vessel duly arrived w'ith several tonnes of n ew copper pennies and later supp lies of half-pennies and farthings. T hen King had the problem of ensuring that th ese coins stayed in the colony. He tried various sch em es but his efforts w ere largely in vain. The ou tflow of coins and the shortages continued w h ile the rum trade flourished. M oreover, in spile of G overnor King's efforts, the p ow er of the officers of the Rum Corps w as not destroyed , and settlers and convicts still dem anded rum.

King tried to encourage them to drink beer instead for he felt it w as less harm ful. He set up a G overnm ent brewery at Parramatta, and sold beer at ls .4 d . per gallon. At that tim e, rum w as bought at 6s. to 15s. a gallon, according to quality. T he settlers how ever, preferred the officers' rum to the G overn or’s beer, and th ey still used it as m oney. The result w as that huge profits could still be m ade by trading in rum, and m any of the officers w ere w illing to run the risk. Like H unter before him . G overnor King had failed to destroy the rum trade.

Before leaving the subject o f m on ey and its absence in the co lon y, M illy, I'm sure Elizabeth could have told us a little about som e of the earliest paper m oney. It was the first official currency, issued originally by the Commissariat or G overnm ent stores as receipts. T hey w ere plain forms w h ich instructed the C om m issary G eneral to pay the bearer

person nam ed, a sum in exchange for grain, m eat and other goods delivered to His M ajesty's stores. T hese receipts passed freely as m oney from person to person and were supposed to be presented every quarter for paym ent.

The o ± e r official early note w as issued by the M ilitary authorities for the use of the Corps. T hese w ere called Paymasters' Bills. Also, to overcom e the d ifficu lty of the r shortage, m erchants, publicans and others issued tw o

■s of paper m oney, firstly Prom issory N otes. T hese w ere tten on printed form s or on any old p iece of paper

handy. To qualify as a Prom issory N ote, the value had to be hand-written and of course signed personally. There were also C urrency N otes w ith printed or engraved values, often in d enom inations as low as th reepence or sixpence.

Any of these old notes or coins w hich are found today are very valuable, if in good condition. I w ish I could unearth- :ne of them ".

Yes, Gran. I heard Dad say the other day that the 1799 r iu y , for ex a m p le , w h ich cam e from the n ew steam pow ered m int near Birm ingham in England in the same year that Elizabeth and her fam ily arrived in Australia, is today w orth $300 in good condition, but on ly $1 if worn. The m uch larger 2d coin, know n then as a 'Cartwheel', is w orth about $200 in good condition".

"Now, M illy, I have answ ered your questions at som e ler.'jth so w e had better return our thoughts to W illiam and E .ibeth, w h o have resettled in Parramatta, in a hom e vv ;ch W illiam had built around 1800. It w as constructed of locally m ade bricks of an oyster shell mortar. He called his hom e 'H anleyville' after the village of H anley G reen where he w as born, on M ay 29, 1774. A lthough a m em ber of a fam ily a sso c ia ted w ith the local p o tter ies in Staffordshire, he had been apprenticed to a cabinet m aker in Leek as soon as he w as o d enough. H ere, at the age of 20 ‘ e joined the Congregational Church and as w e have se volunteered as an artisan to the London M issionary So^.iety.

The allotm ent on w h ich the house stood is described in Parramatta — T he Cradle City of Australia' as W illiam

ohelley's lease — on the south side and east end of Back Row. Bearing in front east 6>/4° south, 128ft. to the line of Quaker's Row. It is interesting to note, M illy, that after governor M acquarie's tim e of office, Back Row b ecam e k n cvn as M acquarie Street, and Q uaker's Row b ecam e Ch -ch Street".

g g g g o a g g g g

38 Pioneers and th e ir Better Halves

, ‘w m m ’:oi

I l U I U i i t l k U l " '

William Shelley's House. Hanleyville lSOO-1. P a rra m a ttc . (Oyster Shell Mortar. I

"I presum e that Q uaker's Row w as w here most of the m issionaries had settled", suggested M iily.

"Yes, W illiam and Elizabeth w ould have had m any m issionary friends in the area. Apart from the Rowlanc H assall fam ily, it is know n that the Reverend W .P. Crooi had a lease there and John-Eyres School H ouse w as on th north-w'est corner of Church and M acquarie Streets.

M ost of these m en had belonged to the Church of England but preferred the chapel serv ices of the N on-conform ist groups. Very often they w en t to church in the m orning and to chapel in the evening, and as there w'ere no church buildings available for these chapel services, they w ere often held in the hom es of Rowland H assall or W illiam Shelley.

As Elizabeth and W illiam had spent a good m any year in Tahiti and then carried on trading in the Pacific Oceai until they left for England, they had periodically been away from N ew South W ales until recent y, and fortunately had m issed most of the trauma and squabbling going on b etw een the Rum Corp and the various G overnors. They w ere fortunate to settle dow n again in Parramatta in 1810, about the sam e tim e as the n ew Governor, Lachlan M acquarie, took up h is d u ties. M acquarie cam e a;'. Com m ander-in-Chief of the 73rd H ighlanders, the regimen w h ich replaced the Rum Corps.

N a tive In s titu t io n 39

C om ing as he did after the Rum R ebellion , he found the w hole co lony fettered by a w idespread d esp on d en cy and cynicism . 'Everym an for h im self and the devil take the hindm ost' w as the general feeling.

M acquarie found that a lack of coh esion , a com plete lack of civ ic pride, and an appalling ab sen ce of com m unal enterprise, w as ham pering any reform . To recognise the nucleus of a nation in the co lon y at that tim e called for a great deal of im agination and to enact the beginning of a change required genius. Fortunately, the n ew G overnor had both, and a significant sense of responsib ility to apply them .

E veryw here the G overnor found con fu sion , he w’as pleased to be able to exercise his ta lents for reorganisation. It w as his p olicy to have con victs assigned to the m ost suitable em ploym ent, so the transport sh ips on arrival w ere inspected and the prisoners m ustered in the presence of the captain and surgeon and in terv iew ed about their previous trades or professions. Thus it w as that Mr T. H enshall, transported for coin ing, becam e the co lon y 's first M aster of the M int and w as charged by M acquarie w ith the job of converting a cargo of Spanish dollars into A ustralia's first currency. M acquarie regularised the reven u e and stopped the private n otes circulating, replacing them w ith the 'Holey Dollar'."

"H oley or H oly?” asked M illy."They w ere called H oley D ollars b ecau se they had a hole

in the m iddle. Let m e explain — G overnor M acquarie bought 40 ,000 Spanish dollars from India in 1812. H e had two co in s m ade from each of th ese . T he doughnut-shaped outer part (the H oley Dollar) w'as counter-stam ped five snillings, and the p iece stam ped out o f the m iddle, called the dum p', w a s wforth fifteen p en ce.

Lfnfortunately, M illy, like m ost others in the co lony, W illiam and Elizabeth had no know 'ledge of how' valuable these co in s w ou ld becom e and con seq u en tly although many becam e hoarded, m ost w ere w ith d raw n to Britain in the 1820s and 1830s and w ere m elted d ow n . Som e h ave remained in Australia destined to b ecom e collectors' item s. Probably no other coin has appreciated from one pound to at least $200 ,000 in one generation, as just reported. You can see several H oley D ollars d isp layed at the M int in Canberra, M illy, w h en ev er you get a ch an ce to go there.

All the tim e, the w ork and organisation o f the G overnor was m aking life easier for the co lon ists. H e overhauled the Police Force and tidied up the C ivil Service w ith regular

40 Pioneers and their Better Halves N a tive In s t it i i t io r 41

hours. A n ew Superintendent of C onvicts w as appointee., the energetic Isaac N icols, an ex-convict, w h o w as also the Post-M aster of the colony.

It w as M acquarie w h o set up the first post office. N icols w as assistant to the N aval O fficer, and brought the letters ashore, but they w ere distributed in a neighbourly w ay. The R ose Hill Packet carried them at 2d. each upstream to Parram atta. C on stab les going into the bush w ou l \ obligingly take them w ith them . N ow N ico ls opened a po t office in G eorge Street — he advertised letters in th i 'Gazette'.

The Sydney 'Gazette' had had a struggling ex istence since 1803. It w as not at first an official new'spaper, but it was subject to G overnm ent censorship . M acquarie set it on its feet by giving the Editor, G eorge H ow e, a salary (another ex-convict w h o proved his worth).

As a point of interest, M illy, a young convict by the nam j of G eorge H ow e, w h o survived the trip on the Roy. I A dm ira l in 1801 w as given perm ission to print the fir. t new spaper in Australia 'The Sydney G azette and N ew South W ales A dvertiser’. M acquarie w as also a road builder, he w id en ed the streets of Sydney and nam ed them . (Governor Phillips' early plans for w id e streets had been ignored by Grose). He repaired the Parramatta Road. It was an earth road, dressed w ith crushed stone, but like all the w orks he w as organising, the road m aking w as ver .’ exp en sive even though he had the use of free labou . C onsequently, he set up a toll gate, pedestrians could ) through free, a horsem an paid 3d., and there w ere various charges for v e h ic le s w h ich w ere b eco m in g popular. M acquarie and his entourage w ere the first to travel on it. Later veh icles going through w ere asked to pick up rubble from the brickw orks and drop it in holes in the road.

From an obelisk in M acquarie Place, roads radiated 20 m iles to W indsor, then Liverpool, also a cross-road fr o n Liverpool to Parramatta, w ith its eight bridges, then know i as the 'Dog-trap' road. To the south, he ran a road to Appi.i and the C ow pastures, also a road replacing the track to W atson's Bay — the old South Head Road (buih by public subscription and the 73rd R egim ent, w h ich having few duties w as glad of a httle extra m oney).

His principal tasks, he had been told in England, w ere 'To im prove the m orals of the colon ists, to encourage marriage, to provide for education , to prohibit the use of spirituous Uquors and to increase the agriculture and stock .

VVith these instructions in m ind he set about building churches and schools, and he insisted that all con victs go to church. He encouraged m arriage by pardoning convict wom en if they could find respectab le husbands. He paid special attention to the assigning of w o m en , so that their morals w ould be safe-guarded.

He b elieved that churches brought p eop le together and encouraged com m unal en terprise and civ ic pride. He encouraged relaxation, and on the King's birthday, he opened G overnm ent H ouse to the public so that its festive decorations could be seen and enjoyed by all. H e created Hyde Park as an outdoor social centre for Sydney, and encouraged horse-racing and cricket m atches.

On C hristm as D ay, 1810, St P h ilip 's C hurch w as consecrated and the colony took grateful stock of w hat their new G overnor had done for them in the short tim e he had been w ith them . In one year, he had restored the colony's m orale, and th e p o p u la ce reacted favou rab ly to h is enthusiasm . T hey recognised his good w ill, his fairness and his honesty. They approved his effec tive com bination of vice-regal pom p and the com m on touch. Form er m issionary Rowland H assall, one of the m ost respected m en in N ew

i 8 5 1 r ;

^ Philip's Church, Sydney, about 18^6, painted by Sophia Campbell

42 Pioneers and their Better Halvesr

N ative Institution 43

L

South W ales, spoke for the great m ajority w h en he wrote: 'I do not k now w hether the co lony could have had a better m an for G overnor'.

I am sure that W illiam and Elizabeth w ould have agreed w ith him — they w ere the caring type. As m issionaries they had sym pathy for the underdog, and w ere trained to try to u plift the m orale and general w e ll-b e in g o f the underprivileged.

It w as about that tim e that W illiam and Elizabeth com m en ced w ork am ongst the A borigines. W illiam could not be idle for long and as he w as not able to re-open the Tongan M ission, he turned his thoughts towards helping the native ch ildren about the settlem ent.

O ne of their D u ff friends, Sam uel Clode, w h o was engaged as an assistant to Surgeon John Harris, w as the first in Australia to attem pt, in his free tim e, to educate the aborigines, but unfortunately he w as the victim of a sensational m urder on July 2, 1799, just before W illiam arrived from Tonga".

"W as he m urdered by the aborigines he w as trying to help?” asked M illy.

"No, strangely enough he w as m urdered by a man from his hom e tow n in Ireland — they had actually been at school together. Sam uel had lent him m on ey and tried to help him and his w ife, but w h en he called one evening at their cottage on Brickfield Hill to collect the m oney, they m urdered him brutally — for the sake of thirty pounds. Mr and Mrs Jones and another ex-convict by the nam e of Elbery w ere tried and hanged. The w ife 's body w as sent to be d issected (to the m orgue, I hope, for student training). A pparently Jones w as su spected of other murders.

Sam uel C lode's body w as interred in the old burial ground in G eorge Street.

N o w W illiam and Elizabeth w ere prepared to try again w ith the natives. T hey attem pted to learn the language and took som e children into their ow n fam ily. They found them teachable. W illiam found that they had a peculiar aptness to learn the English language and th ey pronounced it with m uch propriety. He had been trying to learn the native language, but found it very difficult, and very different from any he k n ew in the South Seas. W illiam then addressed G overnor M acquarie on the practicability of civilizing them . H e w as invited to draw up plans and in Decem ber 1814 w a s a p p o in ted S u p er in ten d en t and Principal Instructor of the N ative Institution o f Parramatta, the first

oi Its kind in the co lon y . G overnor M acquarie w as very interested. H ow ever, on ly a year after establishing the school, W illiam died suddenly, on July 6, 1815. H e w as only 41 years o f age.

As you can im agine, poor Elizabeth w as devastated. Here she w as, left a w id o w at the age of 33 years, w ith their six children to bring up and educate. Apart from those born in

■::i, three m ore w ere born in Australia. Lucy in 1808, V in 1810 and G eorge in 1812. G eorge, w h o w ill play a

!..! ,e part in our story, w as on ly three years old w h en his father died.

Things w ere very d ifferent in those days, M illy— there was no ch ild a llo w a n c e , no w id o w 's p en sio n , no superannuation, no sick n ess benefit etc. In fact, if a fam ily did not have a httle m on ey saved in the kitty, they w ere ciMiipletely d ep en dent on their fam ily for support.

’'zabeth w ou ld get som e com fort from the com plim ents to her late husband by the respected citizens of the

c lOny w h en W illiam w as buried in the n ew cem etery of St. John's in M arsden Street, Parramatta. All paid tribute to his high moral qualities and they respected his intelligent and com preh en sive m ind.

Elizabeth w as fortunate that w h en W illiam died she had her aged m other and father living near Parramatta, and her two younger brothers and sisters w ere all happily married a: ■ i'ving in the area. (Mrs Bean died in 1839).

:■ ow n eldest daughter, thirteen years old, w as a help the younger children. Also, as w e have pointed out

before, Elizabeth w as strong and healthy and m ust have had great stam ina. She not on ly m anaged the hom e and kept open house for chapel m eetings and visiting preachers, but she continued w ith the w ork her husband had started at the N ative Institution — w ith the help of tw o daughters and a m ale teacher for the boys. The great test cam e in 1819

-n 20 children from the N ative Institution com peted 3t 100 European children at the school exam inations

at i-'arramatta. It w as a black girl of 14 years w ith b etw een 3 and 4 years in the N ative School w h o bore aw ay the ch ief prize; and other prizes w ere designated to ch ildren of m erit.

C om m issioner Bigge, w h o w as sent out to Australia to report on the adm inistration of the co lon y in 1819, spoke encouragingly of the N ative Institution in his report:

An accoun t w as su b m itted to m e o f the num ber, n am es and ' ^nments of ch ild ren that have b een rece ived into the

wtution sin ce its estab lish m en t. It appears that 37 b oys and

44 Pioneers and th e ir Better Ha lves

i

27 girls h ave b een received and of them six have absconded, tw o d ied , and on e taken avvray by h is father to reside upon som e land g iven them . The rest of the ch ildren have been taught to read and w rite and g iven a k n ow led ge of the scriptures. The b oys h ave som e k n ow led ge of m anual work, agriculture and m echan ic arts, and the girls have b een taught the com m on sorts of n eed lew ork and d om estic d uties. Em ploym ent has been found for som e of these ch ildren."

Few m em bers of the European population took an interest in the w ork being done by Elizabeth Shelley at thi. N ative Institution. H ow ever, her efforts w ere appreciated by som e. To quote from a letter in the press of the day:

"M uch praise is due to Mrs S helley for the great attention she has paid to the fem ale part of th is little com pany. N othing but see in g can prove a proper sou rce o f b eliev in g how m uch has b een effec tive ."

His concluding appeal to ladies and gentlem en to visit th Institution regularly, and so popularise it, fell on deaf ears

Elizabeth, helped by one of her daughters, carried on foi eight years after W illiam 's death. After her retirem ent in 1823, the Institution w a s m oved to B lacktown, w here it 'lingered on for m any years'. W ith the departure of G overnor M acquarie the decline o f the N ative Institution began, and subsequent treatm ent of the aborigines wavered b etw een that o f friendly hand-outs on the part of the w ell in ten tio n ed am ong the settlers, and quite v io len m altreatm ent from others. The co lon ists m issed a gooc opportunity to try to create a peaceful and sensible relationship w ith the aboriginal p eop le.

G overnors in turn sh ow ed som e interest in the natives of Australia. G overnor Phillip had taken B enelong to England w ith him w'ith the idea of earning to understand them , but none had sh ow n a greater interest than M acquarie. As one m eans of appreciation and greater understanding, he established the practice of holding an Annual Feast for then in the m arket place in Parramatta. T he first w as held ir 1816, w'hen 179 m en, w om en and children assem bled and w ere entertained w ith dinner and punch at the expense of the governm ent. The G overnor graced the dinner w ith his presence.

In 1818, natives from far and w id e, num bering 130 cam e to Parramatta for the annual d inner. The aborigines w ere served w ith roast beef, potatoes and bread, w ashed down w ith punch . After dinner the G overnor presented gorgeti to C ogie, ch ie f of the G eorge's River tribe, and W owong

N a tive In s titu tio n 45

c h ie f of the Botany tribe, and the Order of M erit to Tendall of the Cow' Pastures tribe and Pulpin of the H aw kesbury tribe.

At the annual gathering in 1819, nearly 300 aborigines were present, includ ing som e m em bers of tribes w h o had travel ed from beyond the Blue M ountains. T hese peop le could be d istingu ished from the coastal natives by their decorations of w h ite feathers and w ild anim als' teeth. Som e tribes from the north and south had travelled as m any as 100 m iles.

The governor conferred som e badges of ch iefta insh ip and merit on those he thought m ore deserving . The children of the N ative Institution w ere introduced and gave d isp lays of their reading, w riting and draw ing. The children's draw ings delighted the elder natives, w h o burst into loud laughter, leapt upw ards and w ild ly gesticu lated . T he party w^as regaled w ith roast beef, plum pudding and a fair am ount of punch. It is said that the blacks gave three cheers for the Governor before they m oved off to their ancient hunting grounds.

G overnors Darling and Bourke continued the practice established by M acquarie and as late as 1832 som e 200 natives sat d ow n to boiled b eef and plum pudding. Each female then received a blanket and each m an a serge suit. It is recorded that; the blacks w ere h ighly delighted w’ith the entertainm ent and the affable m anner in w hich the Governor received them , and th ey pronounced him a 'Murry budgerie'.

At the feast in 1826, the natives staged a corroboree. An old resident of Parramatta, rem iniscing m any years later, said that th ey used to hold their corroborees on land at the north-w estern corner of M acquarie and M arsden Streets.

It v.'as a sad fact that the aborigines w ere not able to stand up to the illn esses brought in from the Old W orld. The com m on cold, m easles, m um ps and ch icken pox had all played havoc w ith their health , but the first visitation of mfluenza w as disastrous. Printed in the 'Old Sydney Gazette' in 1834 w e read: 'The com plaint w as general, many inhabitants w ere consigned to the grave in a few days, from the v io len ce and fury of the attack, and som e have to this day the rem ains of the v isitation . Great num bers of the poor aborigines fell v ictim to the n ovel and severe distem per'".

"H ow do you react. Gran, to that report I read in this w eek's paper, of a remark m ade by a city aborigine to the

46 Pioneers and th e ir B e tter Ha lves

effect that the m issionaries w ere the worst offenders : \ breaking dow n the natives' cu lture?” asked M illy.

"Yes, M illy, that is probably partly right, but they felt it w as better to try and educate them to fit into our inevitable society than allow them to be shot or poisoned, as so often happened w h en they b ecam e a nuisance. At least the m issionaries tried to protect them from all evils, even their ow n kind.

It seem s to m e that the m odern aboriginal people have ' d learn the lessons of history, as w e all do. There are few pui 3 races in the w orld. M ost have been conquered at various tim es by invaders from other m ore adventurous and more capable nations. Even in our ow n tim e, G erm any, Italy and Russia, etc., have over-run less pow erful nations and would have gone further had they not been stopped in great world w ars".

"Gran, w h y do you say 'inevitable'?""W ell it is very hard to stop the m arch of tim e and unle: 3

the aborigines lock th em se lves up in a corner of Austrah i w h ere they can't interm arry, they are sure to m ate witn w h ite or other coloured people. It is an historically know n fact that the aboriginal race does not 'throw back' and the peop le get w hiter in each generation in w hich thev marry peop le less coloured.

W hen Elizabeth retired from the N ative Institution in 1823, she w as forty-five years old and w as then able to sit back a little and w atch her fam ily grow up and take the ' place in the d evelop m en t of the co lony.

Great changes w ere occurring, but she had been too busy to fo llow them closely . She and W illiam w ere very excited to hear, before his death, that an exploring party had at last found a w ay to cross the Blue M ountains w hich , for over tw en ty years, had created a barrier and confined the settlem ent to a narrow coastal strip about forty m iles deep. Although others had tried before, the first to succeed wer-^ a party of adventurers led by L ieutenant Lawson, an office w ith su rvey in g ex p er ien ce . W ith h im w ere Gregor Blaxland, one of the rebel farm ers w h o had helped to overthrow Bligh, and W ilham Charles W entw orth, farmer and son of surgeon D 'Arcy W entw orth".

"Yes, I know that story", said M illy. "W e learned about it at school — it w as a great feat. That little party w ith four servants, four pack horses and four fierce dogs for gam e hunting, took three w eek s to travel on ly about 50 m iles ove" rugged hills to the far edge of the tableland. H ere they w er

N a tiv e In s titu t io n 47

faced w ith an aw fu l precip ice, a lm ost perpendicular, dropping hundreds of feet. W e w ere told that their horses were exhausted and the m en alm ost starving. Their shoes were cut to p ieces and their cloth ing in rags; but th ey led their horses d ow n the steep cliffs hoping to find w ater and were over-joyed to find both w ater and grass in p len ty !”

"Yes, M illy, you are quite right, and on their return the explorers reported to G overnor M acquarie w h o later that year sent out surveyor G eorge E vans to m ark the route. His jubilant reports con firm ed sto r ie s w h ic h had been circulating in the colony for som e tim e — stories w hich William and Elizabeth had heard, but no on e could verify. Like m yths they seem ed to com e from aborigines and escaped convicts. N ow it w as proved true! A ccording to Mr Evans — here w as paradise indeed; a great w^aterway snaking across a verdant plain as far as th e ey e could see!

So, sh ortly after the n e w s rea ch ed M acq u arie , he com m issioned W illiam Cox, a 49-year-old ex-A rm y officer, whom Elizabeth knew as the Principal M agistrate at W indsor, to build a road over the m ou n ta ins. Cox was making a nam e for h im self as a builder o f local roads and public buildings. The C ourthouse and St. M atthew 's Rectory in W indsor designed by G reen w ay and built by Cox still stand.

It is recorded, M illy, that Cox's exp ed ition set out on July17, 1814, w ith thirty m em bers. In the party, m ade up chiefly of convicts, w ere included a doctor, a constab le, a guide and eight soldiers of the Royal V eteran C om pany. Their instructions w ere to build a road over the m ountains two carriage w id th s w id e (approxim ately 4 m etres) w ithin a cleared strip of land hoed out to som e six m etres.

Cox, w h o w as a m aster of logistics, m u st h ave also had a lot of com m on sense. He brought green v eg e ta b les into the m ountains by cart to guard against scurvy, and he checked the sick list every day. H e provided the best too ls he could buy and had a b lacksm ith along to k eep th em in good order. There w as a shoem aker in the party and w h ere possible broken sh oes w ere repaired regularly, o th erw ise replaced. Cox had learned from the exp erien ce of the previous expedition and because of h is considerate treatm ent, the m en respon d ed w ith o u tsta n d in g a ch ie v e m e n t. By N ovem ber 7 about 75 k ilom etres o f the road had been hacked from the rocks.

G overnor M acquarie, in April 1815, w a s the first to travel over the road by coach and h is tiiu m p h a n t procession

48 Pioneers and th e ir B e tte r Halves

finally arrived at the last cam psite. It w as to becom e a tow n w hich he nam ed Bathurst. H e w as full of praise for Cox's construction, saying that it had been executed w ith such skill and stability , reflecting m uch credit on him .

Cox's w orkers w ere all granted their freedom . T hey had done a trem endous job — m any w ere little nuggetty men from the slum s and jails of Britain, their average height probably not m uch m ore than 5 ft. A contrast, M illy, to ti e giant physiq ue of present-day Australians. H istory tells • s that there w ere no deaths or even serious injuries — i.o deserters on the long haul across the everlasting ridges. Cox's handling of them naturally helped, but one can't help being full of adm iration for their toughness, resilience and courage.

Elizabeth could not help feeling sorry that W illiam had not lived to travel the road, but his sons had already ridden over the m ountains and had prom ised to take her w ith th e’ i soon.

Thinking back, Elizabeth w ould alw ays rem em ber thc.t year, for 1815 w a s a m ileston e — it w as the opening o f the Institution (Native), the death of W illiam , the crossing of the m ountains, th e Battle of W aterloo and the end o f the Wars.

This road over the Blue M ountains had opened the gate to a n ew w orld of adventure. People w ere flocking over the ranges, m ainly to find n ew pasture for their sheep.

Elizabeth could see the w h o le outlook changing; tl ; colony w h ich had been an enclosed settlem ent all under the care of a G overnor, w as now spreading in every direction and as restrictions on the entry into the country w ere relaxed in 1819, a different breed of settler was arriving — not so m any convicts or assisted settlers, but m en of som e standing and w ealth .

The end of the N ap oleon ic W ars had released thousands of m en and m an y of th ese dem obilised army and nav ■ personnel w ere flocking to the colon ies. In Australia, the soon began to resent being expected to subm it to the sam e rules as those n eed ed to run a penal settlem ent. The sheep farmer w as the m an w h o could m ake use of the new pastures and he w anted to take the convicts out of the care of the G overnor and into th e far w est.

Elizabeth heard all this argum ent going on by m en w ho objected to the protection and encouragem ent and even friendship being g iven by the G overnor to the emancipist."— em ancipists, like Dr Redfern and the architect Franci s

N a tiv e In s titu iio n 49

G r e e n w a y and m a n y others then pardoned, w h o w ere doing a good job in the c o lo n y . M em bers of the m ilitary and wealthy free settlers, before the abolition of transportation, o b jected to full civ ic and legal rights to em ancip ists, refusing to fraternise w ith them . T hey w ere to b ecom e known as 'E xclusives'. A sp ecia l com m ission er w as sent out in 1819 to report to the H om e G overn m ent on the state of affairs in the c o lo n y and to m ake su ggestion s for its future.

Mr Thom as B igge's report, o f 300 pages, although filled with rumour, prejudice and inaccuracies, caused the H om e Governm ent to m ake several ch an ges w h ich w ere to alter the history of the co lon y and lead to its becom ing self- supporting. The country w'as to be treated m ore as an investm ent, rather than a scrap heap.

Britain, w h o had b een p reoccu p ied w ith the wars, suddenly after W aterloo b eca m e wôrried about the am ount of m oney being spent on the co lon y, esp ecia lly as it w as suspected for som e tim e from the w ea lth of public buildings going up and the increasing prosperity, that untold revenue must be available. It w'as felt the co lon y , instead of need ing subsidies, should be contributing to its ow n costs and to Britain's needs.

So, G overnor M acquarie, E lizabeth's idol, wênt hom e to Scotland under a cloud — his retirem ent caused by the vocal group of E xclusives w h o had n ever ceased to quarrel w ith him. They form ed a c lose associa tion w'ith C om m issioner Bigge, w'ho listened to their hearsay and inform ation not given under oath. N ev erth eless, the change m arked the beginning of a m ore in d ep en d en t spirit in w h ich the settlers dem anded a right to be heard in the m aking of policy and in eventual self-governm ent.

M acquarie's regim ent, th e 73rd H ighlanders, had been recalled earlier. T hey wêre replaced by the 46th Regim ent, which, in turn, w as re lieved by the 48th N ortham ptonshire (Foots) Regim ent in 1817.

The 48th! — ah yes, E lizabeth rem em bered their arrival so w ell, for fate w as to play a hand in her future happiness. Through her church activ ities sh e w a s to m eet a young ''■.C.O. by the nam e o f G eorge W addy and b ecom e a life long friend of h is w ife , Jane.

Almost in a reverie, E lizabeth w a s th ink ing back over the years since her husband died, of her struggle to bring up their children and keep th e N ative Institution function ing as long as she could, h o w sh e tried to take her p lace in

. %

public affairs w ith her old friends w h o had all m ade a contribution to the grow th o f the settlem ent. She could relax now , in the k now ledge that the m em bers of her fam ily vvere grow ing into responsib le citizens, and thinking o f marriage and m oving about the country. She kept open house for all m em bers of her fam ily, w h o w ere in the habit of paying her regular visits" .

50 Pioneers and their Better Halves

Chapter 5

Jane and George Waddy 48th Northamptonshire Regiment Sydney — Van

Diemen's Land

i L

'Quite honestly , M illy, I did not k now very m uch about my m aternal forebears until recently , but I've a lw ays been curious. I did k now that Jane C uthbert w as born in Ireland in 1789 — the grand-daughter of Mrs Ram say, w h ose nv -bar's nam e w as H am ilton . Their English and Scottish

.oears settled in Ireland at the tim e of Jam es the Second.hi 1816, Jane m arried Corporal G eorge W addy, a 'British

Tommy' of the 48th N ortham ptonsh ire R egim ent, during its period o f duty in Ireland. In D ecem b er of that year the regiment w as ordered to Sydney in N ew South W ales, but fortunately for the n ew ly -w ed s, it d idn't sail from Cork until M arch 22, 1817, three com pan ies under Lieutenant- Colonel J. Erskine C.B. on board the M atilda arriving at P' lackson — Sydney on A ugust 3, and the rem ainder one n i . uh later.

W hen G eorge W addy em barked at Cork w ith h is detachm ent, h is young w ife w as there to w ave him farewell, but she had to w ait som e tim e for a passage.

Let us visualise Jane standing on the w harf at Cork, giving her last w ave as the sh ip bearing her husband and his shipmates sailed aw ay — along the in let o f Cork Harbour on the River Lee and out into St G eorge's C hannel. She turned to go hom e, know ing she had to w ait her turn to sai.. Naturally, she felt lon e ly and depressed but not

51

/ r

Author seeks to reunite koorie ‘lost generation’

ABORIGINAL author Marjorie Woodrow is planning a family reunion of her Wanburra tribe, which occupies most of the western half of NSW.

Centres like Wellington, _______________________

! Woodrow . . working to bring her people together

D u b b o , N a rr o m in e , G riffith , C ondobolin, Wagga and Menindi will soon be spreading the word to their families scattered around the State — from the missions on country town outskirts to inner Sydney suburbs.

Mrs Woodrow wrote One of the Lost Generation — about her being taken from her people as a child and spending her early life in institutions including Parramatta Training School.

She said the idea of a fa m ily reu n ion was pron^pted by the success last year of the Darug (western Sydney’s tribe) reunion at the Nurragingy Recreational Area in Doonside.

“My children have never met my family,” she said.

“Condobolin is nice and central. We could have it there and there’d be no accommodation worries, we could just camp.”

by CHRIS FLYNN

She said there might be some initial concern in Condobolin at all these Aborigines suddenly arriving.

“Condobolin won’t know what hit it,” she said. “But my family must be one of the quietest mobs around.”

Mrs Woodrow said the “family” would number about 800 adults plus their children.

She said she would approach Western District Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs boss Sydney (Doc) Cunningham and the people who organised the Darug reunion to advise on genealogy tables.

“It’s more complicated than white family trees because so many of my family were taken from their parents and given other names, but we have strong family ties, we’ll soon find out who’s who,” she said.



SUBJECT: f ^ / K j .

SOURCE; Panamatta Advertiser-CITY NORTH PAGE NO: i f

DATE;1 9 MAR 1997

Have your say in our reconciliationW O U L D you like to help define Aboriginal reconciliation?

Head on down to Parramatta's Riverside Iheatres next Tuesday for a public meeting as a prelude to the Australian Reconciliation Convention.

The meeting is one o f many being held throughout Australia in each capital city and 23 regional centres in the leadup to the convention

Meeting to gauge community viewsdue to be held in M e lbourne in May.

Aboriginal Reconciliation Council chairman Patrick Dodson said reconciliation could not be defined or achieved by the Council alone.

“ W e decided to hold these public meetings because we recognised that most Australians wouldn't be able to attend the convention itse lf." he said. “ [Reconciliation is] a people's movement and

there is now an enormous amount o f goodwill and effort being pul into making it a reality."

The Council hopes the convention's theme renewal o f a nation will eventually be achieved through improving the relationships between Australia’s indigenous people and the wider community.

The public meeting is from 9am to 4pm. More details on I 800 060 266.



SUBJECT:

SOURCE:Fairfax Sun-PARRAM/UTA

2 7 MAY 1997

Kooris lodge a massive claim

PARRAMATTA Park and Lake Parramatta have been included in an “ambit” Native Title Claim covering three quarters of metropolitan Sydney.

The claim has been lodged with the Native Title Tribunal by Colin Gale and Ian Watson on behalf of 2000 Darug Aboriginal people claiming a continued connection with the land.

The land being claimed extends from Botany Bay and Port Jackson to the east, along the Lane Cove River and up to Wisemans Ferry to the north, out to Mount Victoria and Glen- brook to the west and as far south as Appin.

It includes all Crown land. Crown freehold and Crown leases as well as waters, creeks, reserves. National Parks, State Forests and land held by local Aboriginal land councils under NSW Land Rights legislation.

Land held as freehold grants is not included in the claim.

If successful, the ambit claim would see public held land within the Parramatta City Council such as Parramatta Park, Lake Parramatta and the Third Settlement area on the banks of Toongabbee Creek, come under at least partial control o f the Darug people.

The solicitor acting for the claimants, Eddie Neumann. said the claim was lodged on Monday, May 12 but it had not yet been accepted by the Native Tribunal’s administration

register. However, Mr Neumann said the claim had only to pass routine checks before being accepted on the register.

“We anticipate the claim will be accepted at some stage this week after which there will be public notification where all interested wil be consulted,” Mr Neumann said.

“Mediation at the Native Title Tribunal will follow,” he said.

The mediation process would include discussions with Parramatta Council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and other interested parties.

Parramatta Lord Mayor, Councillor John Books said the veracity of the claim would have to be tested.

“Any ambit claim looses some credibility because of its broad nature,” Cr Books said.

“But we would approach the mediation process with an open mind.

“We have an ATSIC committee that meets at council and Cr Russo is presently at the National Conciliation Conference in Melbourne.

“So we take these matters seriously.

“But I would be particularly interested in discussing any management pro- josal for parts of Crown and near Toongabbee

Creek where there is documented Aboriginal history present," he said.

Mr Watson said by lodging the claim he was asserting his Native Title rights on behalf of the Darug people. He said he

hoped to promote Darug Aboriginal culture if the claim was successful, for both native and non-native people.

“Our intention is to promote our culture by establishing cultural centres that would educate and inform people about past and present Darug way of life,” Mr Watson said.

“We are in the process of establishing a centre at Ted Horwood Reserve at Baulkham Hills and we would hope this could be

u.sed as a test case for other centres throughout Sydney.

“Sydney has had its tribal land desecrated for far too long.

“It is the gateway to Australia and I want to see native and and non-native people visiting and living here to see the forests and rivers.

‘Thousands of Darug Aboriginal sites have been destroyed over the past 200 years throughout the Sydney metropolitan area.”


SUBJECT:

SOURCE: PAGE NO;

DATE:. 7 ■ -7


A Naroo Dance Company performer and an AMES student at the WanyaarriiauiKh

Wanyaarri -MIGRANTS and indigenous Australians came together for the launch last week of an English-language teaching kit in Parramatta.

The Wanyaarri kit explores the richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture through videos and storytelling. “ Wanyaarri” comes from the Yindjibamdi language of north-western Australia and means “ hear, listen, understand” .

Launched by the Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Department it will be used in classes run by the Adult Migrant English Service.

Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Minister Philip Ruddock said it was the first time indigenous history would be told through a migrant teaching kit.

It was the department’s contribution to the reconciliation process and would foster a positive relationship between migrants and indigenous Australians, he said.

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.involvem ent Jjx th e AuAtA.aH.an. A/uny,

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a t th e City. Lil>n.cuiy, foAA.cmatta on TueAday, 6 Novembe/i 1990 at 5.30 p.m.

by.the Tit.WoyiAhLpful the Lond l ayo/i

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w i u v r r i i B t i ^ x j n t k

The Darug Link was first formed In 1908 by Aboriginal peopledescended from the Darug tribe,the braditionai owners of Lhe Sydney area:

X J - . X J N j K l / \ X i y i 3 >

** to trace the family history of Darug people:** to collect information and objects relating to Darug culture:** to inform the wider community about the Darug and their history: ** to work in conjunction with other Aboriginal organisations:** to hold an annual reunion for all Darug descendants,their

family and friends:

in order to Increase public awareness and to show tiow the Darug have contributed to the history of Western Sydney before European settlement to the present,The Darug Link coordinates displays of photographs,genealogical, treeg,and cultuial traditions:

Most Darug Link members .can trace their ancestry back to Yarramundl a tribal Elder from the Boorooberongal clan at Richmond.His descendants lived,and still live,in the area now known as Plumpton,and whicti was tlie gite of'the Native institution, the original Black Town.

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Tlfie Turret

The Legend of the Death BirdJack Brook

Stories of the Death Bird are to be found throughout Darug, Dharawal and Gundungurra tribal areas, all within 100km of Sydney. There remains an oral history of a bird or bird spirit, known by various names such as duwan, dthuwangong, or tw a n .''

When Jim Kohen and I were gathering material for our book. The Parramatta Native Institution and the Black Town: A History, we were told by two ladies of Darug descent (Mrs J Workman and Mrs H ’Tangye), about the duwan. Both women trace their lineage back to Yarramundi, "Chief of the Richmond Tribes”, his daughter Maria and his son, Colebee. The ladies knew of the duwan being an evil-omen bird, which appeared before the death of a near relative. Both described in vivid detail how this large, black bird with red eyes and a piercing scream visited them to foretell of an imminent death.

Not only Aboriginal people believe the legend. Many descendants of early Hawkesbury pioneers believe in the association of this particular bird and a warning of death. The residents of the Hawkesbury knew that the legend came from the Aborigines. Rex Stubbs wrote in 1982 of a number of incidents along the river concerning the bird and various deaths. “During the First World War'' [1914-1918], he wrote “time after time, the death bird foretold the death of local boys serving at the front. One woman who lost two sons and three nephews heard the call three days before she received the news of each death. Her nerves were so shattered that she moved from the district."

Another incident happened in 1931 at Mangrove Creek. A new settler heard the call every night for a week. He asked the local residents what it was and they told him. Two days later a letter arrived, informing him of the unexpected death of his brother.^ One must decide, is it coincidence, a legend, or one of the mysteries of the universe?

This legendary messenger of death, the duwan, is reputed to be a whitewinged chough, which according to the Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds, is a “sociable black mud nest builder with a white patch in the wing, obvious in flight. Usually in small flocks numbering 6-10... with red eyes",

■ 12

m e Turret

Its description is similar to a currawong, with the eyes a different colour. It is a common resident in woodland, dry sclerophyll forest and scrubland in southern and eastern Australia.

During the early 1900s, a Blacktown resident, Mr W E Francis, met “a grand old man, then nearly eighty years of age" on the Eastern Creek bridge, on the Great Western Road, some two miles from Doonside railway station. The elderly man, an Aboriginal, was walking to Bathurst from Parramatta. He claimed to be a descendant of the Bungarribee Tribe [clan]. His story was as follows;

In the early days of his grandparents, his grandmother's sister, Wandah, a belle of the tribe about fifteen years old, was claimed as his wife by an old man, the brother of the “ch ie f, or elder. Marriages were settled without any sanction of the bride-to-be in those days, and refusal to become the wife of the man who had received the ch ie fs consent to his claim on the part of the woman meant undergoing a severe tribal ordeal which usually resulted in the death of the transgressor.

Wandah was also sought as a wife by a young warrior o f the tribe, noted for his great feats of strength and endurance while on hunting expeditions, and his secret wooing was acceptable to the girl, who detested the thought of becoming the wife of the older aspirant, whom she loathed.

Bomeree, the young lover, tried to persuade Wandah to run away with him to the distant mountain ranges beyond the Nepean River, but Wandah knew they would never be free from the fear o f death at the hands of the avengers - men of the tribe who would be detailed to track them down for breaking tribal law. The only alternative for Wandah was to refuse the old man as a husband and trust in her ability to survive the tribal ordeal instead.

This meant that Wandah must stand in front of a tree only twelve paces from the old man, who was allowed five spears to throw at her to take away her life. Wandah would only have a small wooden shield on one arm with which to defend herself. Much to the distress of her young lover, she decided to risk this ordeal, for if she survived it would leave her free to marry the young warrior. The tribe assembled near the water-hole on the right hand side of the old hunting track [now the Great Western

13

The Turret

Highway, close to the Eastern Creek bridge, facing east] This water-hole then contained plenty of fish. The tribe had prepared for the wedding feast for several days, hunting and fishing, and although many knew Wandah did not desire to marry the old man, they were all astounded when, on the day of the ceremony, she refused to take part.

The old man was enraged. He had contemplated the fulfilment of his desires for the beautiful young Wandah, and to thus be thwarted at the last minute roused the devils of his late ancestors in him, and he appealed to the chief for the tribal ordeal. The old chief tried to persuade Wandah to accept her destiny of marriage with the old man, but she refused and prepared for the ordeal. Five spears were given to the old man, who was placed in a ring twelve paces from his intended victim, now standing alertly poised in front of a tree with a small shield on her arm.

Fearless, she faced him, her eyes noting his every movement. The first spear just grazed her shoulder, the next three she deftly side-stepped, glancing them off with her shield. The old man's aim was evidently suffering from his excitement and anger. He took more time with the last spear, which failing to ward off, entered the upper part of her left arm.

According to tribal law, Wandah was now free. But as her young lover went to her aid, the old man took up two more spears, plunging the first into the back of her lover and the other straight through the heart of Wandah. Both fell dead as the enraged men of the tribe fell upon the old man, whom they clubbed to death.

Wandah and her lover were buried near the banks of the creek, almost in line with where the old Bungarribee homestead once stood. From time to time, so runs the legend, the spirit of Wandah flies round the scene of her former life in the form of the death bird, which always heralds the approach of death of the descendants of her race, once the proud possessors of the hunting grounds of Bungarribee and Doonside. ’

1. The White-winged Chough in the Dreaming of the Aboriginal People near Sydney. Australian Birds. Vol26, No1. September 1992. pp17. J L Kohen2. Ghosts and Myths o f the Hawkesbury. Rex Stubbs, 1982. pp173. The Legend of the Doonside Death Bird. W E Francis. Cumberland Argus, 20 January 1936.

14

TTie ‘Turret

Reverend William Hawkins: A Postscript

Following the story by Neta MacKinnon in the last issue of The Turret on her ancestor, Reverend William Hawkins and his connection to Rosenallis on Richmond Road, Neta has found further Information, published in the Port Macquarie News following his death in Blacktown in 1917.

“As a neighbour and personal friend of his [Reverend Hawkins] for the past 12 years at Blacktown, in the County of Cumberland. I thought his old friends and parishioners might be glad to hear how their worthy old pastor spent the evening of his days.

“He owned a comfortable brick cottage adjacent to the town [Rosenallis. on the corner of Richmond Road and Kent Street, Blacktown] surrounded by a small orchard and vegetable garden, in which he was to be seen early and late, and although he was over 80 years of age, so well did he keep it with his own hands that visitors remarked it, and he was always pleased to show them over it. Flowers and shrubs were not forgotten in the general scheme and, characteristic of the man, he was always looking out for something new.

“His wife predeceased him some seven or eight years ago, but since then a devoted daughter [Florence] has ministered to his wants. In his later years his sight and hearing became defective, but the intellect seemed as keen as ever; he seemed to have The Bible at his finger-ends and his memory for quotations was wonderful. It was the writer’s privilege to go in of an evening, and listen to his reminiscences over a pipe of tobacco, which he enjoyed to the last. He would also expound his doctrines, in which he really believed. In his later years he took up the unravelling of the inscriptions in the inner passages of the Pyramids of Egypt...

"In conclusion, for the benefit of his many old parishioners, some of whom he married, more of whom he christened, that the worthy old man passed away peacefully and quietly to his "rest from his labours".

George R Jones April 25, 1917

15

T ’f i e T h i r r e t

JaumaCoftHe (Blac^pmm and (District HistoricafSociety, Inc

BLACKTOWN AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Meets on the first Monday of each month, except January (no meeting) and October (on the second Monday) in the Meeting Room of Biacktown West Public School. Enter by

the gate in Lancaster Street

Meetings commence at 7.30pm.

Visitors are always very welcome

Postal address: PO Box 500, Biacktown NSW 2148 Telephone enquiries; 02 9622 8309

www.blacktownhistorv.ora.au

SEPTEMBER 2008 ISSN 1447 0241

PRESERVING YESTERDAY, CAPTURING TODAY, FOR TOMORROW

http://www.blacktownhistorv.ora.au

n U e T u r r e t

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE BLACKTOWN AND DISTRICT

HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC

Vol. 28 No.3 September 2008

Contents

The State: Theatre Magnificent 3The Death Bird of Doonside 12Reverend Hawkins: A Postscript 15St Saviour’s Cathedral, Goulbum 16The Bombing of Darwin 20From the Cumberland Mercury 24Tom McNamara’s Reminiscences 26The Coast Hospital 28BDHS Tour: The Nursing Museum 32BDHS Tour: The Powerhouse Store 34Odd Spots 36

COVER: Bemie's Cake Shop, a Rooty Hill Icon, shortly before It was demolished in 2006/7. The shop was located on the western side of Rooty Hill Road North. Photo: Rita Sleders I BDHS Image Archive 2916

Articles and Illustrations appearing in The Turret remain the copyright o f the author/s. Opinions expressed in published articles are not necessarily those o f the Society.

‘iHe Turret

Bibliography:Curtis, E lizabeth, M .A . and G illian D oyle. W here Honour G uides the P row : a story o f early settlers o f Sydney C ove, N orfolk Island and the M uirum bidgee, Pub. 1988

French, Jeanette M. C lyd esd ale: a sm all history, pub. 1988

Tom pson, Charles Jnr. W ild N otes, from the lyre o f a native m instrel. F acsim ile edition, pub. 1973

Tlie Turret

The Legend of the Death Bird - Part 2

Jack BrookAfter the death o f W andah and her lover B om eree, and the clubbing to death o f their murderer by the young m en o f the tribe, there w as much trouble in the camp betw een their near relations. It eventually cam e to a head and resulted in a general m elee wherein several w ere k illed and m any w ounded. W hen at last the c h ie f m anaged to separate the warring factions he found h im self left w ith on ly h a lf h is tribe, the relatives o f the dead lovers having separated and m oved o f f to the v icin ity o f the H awkesbury River, never again to return to their former tribal com panions.

Bungaroo, the old c h ie f o f the Bungarribee tribe w as greatly upset at the d iv ision o f his people. It had left him w ith greatly dim inished forces to m eet the raids o f neighboring tribes continually trespassing on his tribe’s hunting grounds. M any severe tribal fights resulted from these depredations. The c h ie f w as a m ighty warrior, o f great renow n am ongst the surrounding tribes and noted for his great feats o f strength and bravery in the frequent clashes w ith his neighbours. H is tall muscular figure w ield ing his great club as he charged at the head o f his fighting m en struck terror into the hearts o f his enem ies.

For m any years he had been a terror to the w ou ld -be raiders o f his hunting grounds, the major prize o f w hich w as Prospect Dam, then the hom e o f m any w ater fow l including w ild ducks. This lagoon had for ages been a bone o f contention betw een the Bungarribee tribe and the tribe across the creek w h ose hunting grounds extended out w est to the river, n ow know n as the Nepean. The tw o tribes had for m any years been deadly

The ‘Turret

enem ies and the river tribe w as alw ays on the alert to accom plish the dow nfall o f Bungaroo and his people. O nly the great fighting abilities o f Bungaroo had kept them inside their ow n boundaries.

Bungarribee tribe m em bers had noticed that after the death o f W andah a strange bird had been seen fly ing around the district and at night w hen it w as seen it w as heard to em it pathetic mournful w ailings as o f a child in distress. F ollow ing the visits o f this bird there w as sickness and death am ongst them and it becam e a b e lie f am ongst the tribe that i f any o f their number was sick and they heard the bird’s w ailings that the sick w ould eventually die. The tribe accepted the bird’s presence as a curse upon them for the murder o f W andah and it struck terror into their hearts w henever they heard it.

Several years after the d iv ision o f the Bungarribee tribe the River tribe again raided and this tim e defeated them for control o f the waterw ay and m ade o f f w ith the Bungarribee w om en and children. A ll but tw o o f the Bungarribee warriors, including the old m en and Bungaroo, w ere killed and the surviving wan'iors m ade their w ay to the H awkesbury where they rejoined their former tribesm en. It’s worth m entioning the Death Bird had been seen and heard many tim es during the previous days and the Bungarribee tribe were expecting big trouble from som ew here. Som e things are probably inevitable.

The R iver tribe took the Bungarribee w om en and children and incoiporated them into their ow n numbers. They also took ow nership o f the Prospect L agoon and it remained am ong their hunting grounds until the advance o f the w hite man gradually drove them from the district.

‘The ‘Turret

In this story o f the death o f the great c h ie f Bungaroo and the massacre o f the Bungarribee tribe w e see fu lfillm ent o f the prevailing b e lie f in the superstition regarding the appearance o f the Death Bird. S ince the death o f W andah this b e lie f has foretold death and disaster to descendants o f the famed Bungarribee tribe w ho roamed the district before the com in g o f the w hite man.

The major text from “The Death o f Bungaroo, C hief o f the Bungan ibcc Tribe - Legends o f Doonside continued" Copyright by W E Francis and appearing in the Cumberland Argus February 15 1936. Researclied by Lconie Gendlc.

One of our early Local Churches: Saint Albans

George NicolaidisOne o f the early churches built in the R ooty H ill locality was Saint A lbans, situated on R ooty H ill Road North. The present church building w as built in 1961 and o ffic ia lly opened by His Grace The rev. H ugh G ough, Archbishop o f Sydney on 30"' July 1961. It w as consecrated on Sunday 29"’ A ugust 1971. The new church w as to replace the original, w hich w as built from weatherboard and erected in 1885.

Mr. W alter Lamb, ow ner o f the Plum pton Cannery m ade the generous g ift o f land upon w hich the church stands. W alter Lamb attended land auctions conducted by the Lands Department betw een 1865 - 1870 and w as su ccessfu l in obtaining control o f several portions o f land and becom ing the principal owner o f that area o f R ooty H ill North and Plum pton.

Lamb subdivided his vast estate into sem i-urban allotm ents suitable for orchards and vineyards and as houses began being built his cannery provided em ploym ent to the new residents.

T h e ‘T u r r e t

QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE BLACKTOWN AND DISTRICT

HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC

Vol. 28 No. 4 December 2008

Contents

Charles Tompson Junior and the Origins o f CLYDESDA LE......3

The Legend o f the Death Bird - Part 2 ................................................7

One o f our early Local Churches: Saint Albans................................ 9

Fatal Excursion........................................................................................ 11

Santa Victorious - God Save the Q ueen...........................................13

Doctors from the Past - Dr Edwin Carr............................................ 16

Mrs. Bidwell’s Lending Library......................................................... 16

Blacktown - Changes to the natural and built environments over the last 50 years...............................................................................18

Certified winner receives $1000 - (see our cover photo).............23

Blacktown’s Heritage Houses - What’s Happening?................... 24

OBITUARY. The Late Mr. David Pye..............................................26

Larrikinism Rampant. Girls assailed on the way Home................27

Cover: Jack Brook (left) receives the 2008 Mayoral History Prize from Blacktown Mayor Leo Kelly. Photo: Bianca Clark of Blacktown City Council. See our Page 23 article.

A rtic les a n d llliislia lions appearing in The Turret rem ain the copyrigh t o f the aiithor/s. O pinions expressed in p u b lish e d a rtic les are no t necessarily those o f the Society.

BLACKTOWN AND DISTRICT HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Meets on the first Monday of each month, except January (no meeting) and October (on the second Monday) in the

Meeting Room of Blacktown West Public School. Enter by the gate inn Lancaster Street.

Meetings commence at 7.30pm.

Visitors are always very welcome

Postal address; PO Box 500, Blacktown NSW 2148 Telephone enquiries: 02 9622 8309

www.blacktownhistory.orq.au

JoumaC o f the (BCac^

DECEMBER 200.

P R E S E R V IN G

http://www.blacktownhistory.orq.au

Ken’s hooked on thehistory

WHILE Parramatta people celebrated Australia Day this year in many ways, Ken Webb and his family celebrated another anniversary.

It was the wedding of their ancestors Maria and Robert Lock, in St Johns Church, Parramatta, on January 26,1824.

Like many Australians, Ken has become hooked on genealogy and has found some of his folks go back to New Haven, Connecticut in America, where John Randall, a black, was bom in 1764.

He somehow found himself on the First Fleet ship Alexander as a convict and in Australia he married Mary Butler of Rose Hill.

Francis Randall, bom in 1792, married John Aiken, a Jamaican, in 1810 and William Aiken was bom in 1816.

He married Mary Ann Doyle in 1853 and Suzannah Aiken was bom in 1858.

She married Charles Webb at Parramatta in 1873 and Darcy Webb, bom in 1875, married Eve Agness Lock in 1904.

Darcy Jnr, Ken’s Dad, was bom in 1906.“So my grandmother, Eva Agnes Lock, was the grand

daughter of Maria Lock and to me, Maria’s wedding symbolises the coming together of the Aborigines and the whites,” he said.

Little wonder Ken Webb has fallen victim to the dreaded genealogy bug — fmding himself a direct descendent of Maria Lock, the famed Aboriginal princess from Governor Macquarie’s days — who as a 13-year-old, was the very first person to be admitted to the newly-formed Parramatta Native Institution, then in an area bounded by Macquarie, Marsden and Hunter Sts.

Her marriage to convict Robert Lock was also a first — the first officially-sanctioned marriage between a white and an Aborigine.

Ken Webb wHh some of his research

Maria, daughter of Yarramundi, chief of the Richmond tribes, had stunned white Parramatta by topping the class (20 Aborigines and 100 whites) in her first school exam.

Things became even more bizarre when authorities decided Lock be officially turned over to her, to serve out the rest of his sentence.

Eve Agnes Lock’s two remaining daughters, Aleathea and Ellen Jean, now live in Lithgow and it is one of Ken Webb’s many quests to get them to speak to oral historians.

Another of Eve Lock’s grandchildren, June Workman, also has the genealo^ bug and she is helping local historians Jack Brooks and Jim Kohen, authors of The Parramatta Native Institution and the Black Town, a History on their next book — a history of the Lock family and their descendents.

“We’ve found 1500 direct descendants already and we’re still looking,” he said.

“I go looking for history books and ship’s 1(^ now and there is family popping up everywhere,” he said.

ABORIGINAL SERVICEMEN

In January, 1942, when Australia appeared to be under threat o f Japanese invasion, the army needed to rapidly expand its forces in the North. The sinking o f the HMS Prince o f Wales and the Repulse and the fall o f Hong Kong meant that the situation demanded a re examination o f tiie Army’s attitude to Aboriginal service. At the time, government poUcy barred Non European (including Aborigines) from joining the services. The urgency o f the crises caused the Army to rapidly expand its forces o f Torres Strait Islanders, at Thursday Island, and to raise an Aboriginal unit for the surveillance o f Arnhem Land, permitting the enlistment o f Aboriginals in unprecedented numbers. They manned observation posts, manned heavy artillery posts in the islands o f the Torres Strait, were coast watchers, providing vital information o f shipping between the islands and N ew Guinea.

By the end o f W W l 1 it was estimated that somewhere in the vicinity o f three thousand Aborigines and Torres Strait I s la n d s had enhste4 and also many “de facto” servicemen had served, patrolling and performing other mihtaiy duties without formal recognition, along the North Australian coast. Another group o f up to three thousand supported the Services Defence efifort as civilian laboiu'ers. Despite the scale o f this contribution, Commonwealth and State Governments consistently underestimated the Aboriginal and Torres Sti-ait Islanders contribution to the War effort, but by 1944 at least one in twenty o f these men had aided their country’s defence efforts as servicemen or labourers.

One o f the best known Aboriginal servicemen was Reg Saunders. Typical o f many who joined the 2““* A.I.F., he came from an impoverished family. He left school at fourteen and worked as a mill hand in a timber yard. His mother had died in 1924 and he and his brother Harry were raised by his father.

He enlisted in the army in 1940, and his outstanding leadership qualities, personable nature and sporting skills were quickly recognised, resulting in rapid promotion. Within six weeks he was promoted to Lance Corporal and three months later to Sergeant. By September 1940 his brother Harry had also joined up. Both brothers served with their battalions in North Africa, and Reg in the illfated campaigns in Greece and Crete. Later both men served in New Guinea, where Harry was kUied in action on the Kokoda Trail.

As a platoon Sergeant in New Guinea, Reg at one time had taken charge when his platoon commander was injured. Recognizing his leadership qualities his Commanding Officer nominated him for promotion to commission rank. After graduating from the officer Cadet Training Unit, Sanders rose to officer status and was hailed by newspapers all round the country as the first Aboriginal commissioned officer to serve in the Australian Forces.

Although Reg Saunders served Ihe remainder o f the war as Lieutenant in command o f a platoon o f up to thirty white Australians, on discharge from the army at the end o f the war he drifted through a succession o f poorly paid jobs - foundry worker, tram conductor, tally clerk - none remotely comparable with the responsibility o f commanding men in battie. Like many others, his obvious competence, personal endeavour and new found skills counted little to the civiUan work force.

Another exceptional Aborigine was Leonard Waters, from NiadiguUy, near St George,Queensland. An intelligent man. Waters had been forced to abandon his schooling to assist his father during the Depression. Father and son worked in the pastoral and agricultural sector, and Leonard later as ringbarker seven days a week for 10/- until 1939, when he became a shearer at a sUghtiy better pay. He joined the R.A.A.F. in 1942 and trained as a flight mechanic. In December 1943 he

OFFICE BEARERS FOR 2008

At our Annual General Meeting in November 2007 the following office bearers were elected.

PRESIDENT Jack Elliott

VICE PRESIDENT Monica KeUy

SECRETARY Marion McGuirk

TREASURER Marion McGuirk

ARCHIVIST Marion McGuirk

SOCIAL SECRETARY Joyce Metealfe

PUBLIC OFFICER BiU McGuirk

PATRONS Lord Mayor Paul Barber

Jack Elliott

COMMITTEE Nell Gawthome (Newsletter Editor)

Pauline Clarke

Bill McGuirk (Publications Chair)

Thelma Skinner

Warren Lawson

AUDITOR Ian Elliott

We welcome Warren Lawson to our 2008 Committee and hope you will enjoy working in the Society’s “engine room.”

AUSTRALIA DAY STALL

Every year w e hold a stall at the Rotary’s Club’s celebration at the Third Settlement Park Winston HiUs. Helpers are needed to assist on the stall. I f you are available please ring Marion on 96361905. Donations o f saleable handcrafis are required. This event starts at 7am and finishes by 10.30 to 11.00. A hearty breakfast o f cereal, eggs and bacon, orange juice, tea and coffee and damper with “cocky’s joy”. This is free to all workers who wear their Society name badge, i f not a donation o f $5.00 is to be paid to the Rotary Club. A flag raising ceremony by the Winston Hill Scout troop is held, also entertainment for the children. We would like to see our Society well represented this year. A good morning is had by all.

TOONGABBEE TIMESNewsletter for

Toongabbie & District Historical Society Inc.Est. 1988

Toongabbie NSW; Australia’s oldest mainland settlem entfounded April 1791

Mwwes

FEBRUARY 2 0 0 8

volunteered for air crew. He was selected and underwent training in Victoria. He studied at night to improve his chances, and as a result he excelled in most courses. Out o f three hundred and seventy five students only forty-eight succeeded as pilots. When he received his wings there were only three ahead o f him. With such excellent results he was appointed a fighter pilot, the elite o f the R. A. A.F. After a year o f operational service with ninety-five sorties completed. Waters, by then an experienced combat pilot, was occasionally given command o f flights, which included commissioned officers.

By the wars end Waters had been promoted to Warrant Officer. After his discharge fi-om the R.A.A.F. he planned to start an aerial taxi service in south-west Queensland to capitalize on his flying training, but, lacking financial support, his plan feU through, and he went back to shearing.

Many Aborigines endured lengthy periods as Japanese P.O.W ’s, some dying in captivity as a result o f brutal treatment by their Japanese captors. Some were wounded in action and many returned with psychological scars. Some Aboriginal soldiers like Tim Hughes and Clive Upright won the Military Medal for displaying outstanding courage in battle.

Aboriginal and Islander service men who worked with white soldiers foimd that httle racism existed within the services. Many lasting fiiendships were forged with their white comrades diiring the war years.

Information fi'om The Black Diggers by Robert A. Hall.

and the two-storey, eighty bed Drummond Far West Children’s Home was built. The site was further devdoped and acconiniodation for up to two hundred children provided.

In 1931, with the support o f the Department o f Railways the Scheme established the first mobile baby clinic in rural Australia. Special railway cars were fitted out, and visited remote locations such as Bourke, Brewarrina and Byrock where the clinic sisters weighed and checked the babies and advised their mothers on the care o f their children. Sid Coleman, a resident o f Bourke had a plane which he hired out to the Scheme so a clinic sister could be flown to the more remote centres. In 1933 Nancy Bird, Australia’s first female commercial pilot was recruited to fly nurses to outback locations. Later that year a dental clinic was established and the Drummond Far West Home was officially opened.

Earlier, in 1928 Drummond, after deciding that he could “work better than he could preach,” resigned his ministry so that he and his wife Lucy could be fiilly committed to the work o f the Scheme.

The Scheme continued to expand, and, following a visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and Princess Anne in 1970, it was officially given the title o f Royal in recognition o f its services to country children.

The Royal Far West Children’s Health Scheme continues its work today, after its beginning eightyrtrtn /-> o ifo a t X A a n l i ; i i r t i a r a

E astw ood, N e w South W ales - W ikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eastwood, New South WalesFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

E a stw o o d is a suburb o f Sydney, in the state o f N e w South W ales, Australia. E astw ood is located 17 kilom etres north-w est o f the Sydney central business district in the local governm ent areas o f the City o f Ryde and the C ity o f Parramatta. E astw ood is in the Northern Suburbs region.

O riginally thought to have been inhabited by the W allum edegal A boriginal tribe, w h o lived in the area betw een the Lane C ove and Parramatta R ivers, the area w as first settled by Europeans shortly after the arrival o f the First F leet in 1788, from land grants to m arines and N S W Corps, and w as nam ed "Eastwood" by an early Irish free settler, W illiam Rutledge. Today it is a large urban centre in the north o f Sydney o f over 14,000 people, w ith a large shopping area. Over the past few decades E astw ood has becom e increasingly multicultural and has a large C hinese and Korean com m unity. E astw ood is best know n as the p lace o f w here the Granny Smith A pple w as first grown.

Page 1 o f 5

Coordinates: 33.790362°S 151.081731°E

Contents1 Geography2 H istory3 D evelopm ent4 C om m ercial area5 Transport6 Landmarks7 Forest R eserves8 H ousing9 Churches10 S chools11 Culture and Events12 Population13 R eferences14 External links

GeographyE astw ood is located at the edge o f the H ornsby Plateau w ith the suburbs o f Dundas V alley and D enistone on its southern and western sides as the land fa lls aw ay dow n to the Cumberland Plain. To the north, Eastw ood is bounded by the transport hub o f Epping and to its east M arsfield w hich shares the sam e postcode o f 2122 . The suburb is predom inantly residential w ith the m ain shopping area o f Eastw ood centred betw een R ow e Street and R utledge Street around the railway line.

EastwoodSydney, N e w South W ales

Fountain in Rowe Street mall

Population: 14,428

Postcode: 2122

Coordinates: 33.790362°S 151.081731°

E

Property

Value: AUD $770,000 (2010)

Location: 17 km (11 mi) north-west

o f Sydney CBD

LGA: City o f Parramatta, City of

Ryde

State District: Epping, Ryde

Federal Bennelong

Division:

Suburbs around Eastwood:

Carlingford Epping Marsfield

Denistone

Dundas Valley Eastwood East

Ryde

Ermington Denistone Denistone

West Ryde West

History

The W allum edegal A boriginal tribe lived in the area betw een the Lane C ove River and Parramatta River, w hich w as know n as W alumetta. The area w as

originally h eavily timbered.

http;//en .w ikipedia.org/w iki/E astw ood,_N ew _South_W ales 2 8 /0 9 /2 0 1 0

Ab<:?C

D ace 0 1 bels:A b o r i2 in a . Parram atta in A u s tra l ia n h i> to r \

Michael Flynn

' ' HE Australian Bicentenary o f 1988 was in many ways an

L orgy o f self-congratulation puffed up by the false confidence o f that decade’s economic boom. Two o f the most enduring and contrasting images o f Australia Day 1988 are the sails o f the ships o f the First Fleet re-enactment wafting into Sydney Harbour bearing gigantic Coca-Cola logos and the exuberant Aboriginal march through the streets o f the city. The day finished off the one dimensional stereotypes of the sturdy Afrikaner-like pioneer and the bakky-chewing ‘Native’, but found Australia in a ferment o f new ideas as the Cold War approached its tumultuous climax. Since 1988 a new sense of confidence in the emerging Australian identity has encouraged a more complex and critical view o f the past.

The political modishness and postmodernism o f recent years have undoubtedly been carried to excess in some quarters, including parts of the field o f Australian history. But, as three American academics Joyce Appleby, Lynn Hunt and Margaret Jacob argue in a recent book Telling the Truth about History, W.W. Norton and Co., 1994, a new consensus is emerging which recognises that the old certainties of conventional history were flawed, but challenges the extreme view that derides attempts to find objective meaning in the historical record as futile and looks back to the past with a hostile, judgemental eye and with little sympathy for the traditions of Western hu

manism. By using new perspectives which recognise the diversity o f the past in ways which the writers of other eras did not, it is possible to continue the process of discovery in the same humanist tradition. This process began in the Australian context well over a century ago with James Bonwick and, despite a few stops and starts, is still going on. Historians are reinterpreting the documents Bonwick used and locating others that he overiooked. As Thucydides would tell you, a century is not a long time; at the beginning o f the age o f information technology Australian history presents a field as rich and diverse as the natural world must have seemed to the botanists o f the eighteenth century.

One of the most significantelements of this re-examination of identity has been the question of the place of Aboriginal people and their heritage in the broaderculture. The Mabo decision has drawn attention to a painful realisation that indigenous Australia was subjugated by an expanding European empire using military force. A collective amnesia which resembles the silly attempts of pre-war Australia to disown its convict beginnings is breaking down in a similar way.

Condescension and outright racism aside, one of the main problems of pre- 1988 history has been Aboriginal invisibility. Time after time local histories produced in the twentieth century completely ignored the Aboriginal dimension through ignorancc or distaste;

many more trivialised a complex story with a few lines about hapless or treacherous blacks and depicted rock art as a kitsch curiosity. Local history in Parramatta and the western suburbs of Sydney has not been free of these tendencies; in addition, the area has suffered from being ignored as a backwater, far from the centres o f power in Macquarie Street and the city.

The rise of the Parramatta Central Business District, a more heritage-oriented municipal council, the formation of an Aboriginal Darug Land Council and the westward shift o f Sydney’s population centre have contributed to a new view of the history o f Parramatta and its hinteriand which, in the half century after 1788, rivalled Sydney in importance and hosted the second viceregal residence. The spotlight was turned on Parramatta’s remarkable Aboriginal heritage by two recent books; The Parramatta Native Institution and the Black Town by Jack Brook and James Kohen (1991) and The Darug and their Neighbours by James Kohen (1993) which have drawn attention to the presence in Sydney o f descendants of its Aboriginal clans. M ovingon from the more limited scope o f these books it is possible to probe further into the Aboriginal man from Botany Bay whose lengthy evidence to a select committee o f the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1845 has survived.

Any history of the Aboriginal experience o f eariy colonial New South Wales is necessarily dominated by


jcnnelong. Only lasl year previously unknown Treasury documents came to light (PRO T l/731-3) which gave a detailed view o f the first Australian Aborigines to visit England. Benne- long and Yemmerrawannie, who were presented to King George III in May 1793. Expense accounts lodged by Governors Phillip and Hunter reveal that the two Aboriginal men stayed at a fashionable West End address in Mount Street. Grosvenor Square, played shuttlecock, swam, went boating, attended the trial of Warren Hastings in Westminster Hall and the theatres of Drury Lane and Covent Garden. Also chronicled is Yemmerrawannie’s declining health in the Surrey village o f Eltham, where he died in 1794.

A close look at early Abo- riginal-European contact history brings new evidence o f the locations of a series o f contacts and conflicts, including the first fatal spearing o f convicts in the vicinity o f Rushcutters Bay and Iron Cove in May 1788. In the same month GovemorPhillip stumbled on a large Aboriginal gathering which can be identified as taking place at Long Bay. A close examination o f the documentation of Phillip’s first exploration of Parramatta’s western hinterland in April 1788 reveals that the orthodox view that he went only as far as Pn)s- pect Hill or a little beyond is deeply Hawed. His party is much more likely to have traversed Toongabbie. Seven H ills and B lacktow n to clim b Bungarribcc Hill. Doonside and reaching Eastern Creek and Rooty Hill.

One of the most distinctive features of pre-1788 Aboriginal Sydney was the cultural divide between the inland paiendra ‘tomahawk people' who hunted game and used their stone accs to cut climbing marks on trees and the katungiil ‘sea people' who were oriented towards the seafood produce of the saltwater harbour, estuaries and ocean beaches. The katungal people of

the harbour and Botany Bay called themselves Eora (which meant ‘people of this place’ or ‘people here’). The westernm ost Eora clan was the Burramattagal, of Parramatta - ‘ the place where the eels sit down’ which marked the border between the cultures of the harbour and the inland. West of Parramatta were the Cannemegal clan of Prospect and the Warrawarry of Eastern Creek; to the south were the warlike Bidjigal, who inhabited thick bushland around Prospect Creek, Salt Pan Creek and north of the Georges River.

the banks of Duck River, at a place they called ‘Watergoro’ which may be a corruption o f the Sydney language tenns Wadi-ora'wood place’or‘wooden club place' - possibly the campsite at Camellia described in Thomas Fowlie’s ‘History of Granville’ (Mitchell Library), a remarkable unpublished gem of 1918 which describes the shell middens o f Parramatta River. Duck River and Clay Cliff Creek left from meals over thousands of years. Numerous descendants o f the Sydney clans live on. many of them descended from Damg

An A ttack by S 'atives, P ort Jackson P a in ter c l 7SS. N a tura l H istory M useum L ondon

The Burramattagal and neighbouring clans survived the occupation and settlement o f their territories, the frontier wars which followed, and maintained their cohesion into the 1830s when documentation of the issue of blankets at the annual ‘Native Feast' at Parramatta allows a partial reconstruction of the old clan structure and the identification o f such key figures as Burung, Bidgee Bidgee and Baluderri as members of the Wallumattagal clan. Three previously unknown Parramatta retums for the years 1836, 1839 and 18-iO have recently been found. They indicate that the pre-1788 Wangal and Wallumattagal clans remained in the 1830s as the Concord and Kissing Point ‘tr ib es’ and remnants o f the Burramattagal clan survived as an Aboriginal group who camped along

of the Hawkesbury district and the western suburbs.

Parramatta’s beautiful, park-like landscape had been created by Aboriginal firing practices over thousands of years. To the Europeans it seemed like a garden of Eden whose fertile soil saved the colony from starvation after the establishment o f a farming settlement there in November 1788 within what is now Parramatta Park. It was also the focus o f a savage frontier conflict which began with an Aboriginal attack on the first emancipist farmers of Prospect in 1791 and spread to Toongabbie soon afterwards. The streets of Parramatta were the setting forthe ‘high noon’ confrontation between Pemul- wuy’s rebel Bidjigal clan and the New South Wales Corps in 1797. The struggle in the Sydney region set a pattern


A'hich was followed across ihc coiui- nent; initial friendly contact, mistrcai- ment and atrocities committed by whiles, sporadic Aboriginal guerrilla attacks, gubernatorial efforts to achieve reconciliation and failed legal investigations. Watkin Tench’s literary approach to his story of the First Fleet was imbued with the humanist perspective of an enlightened ‘Man o f Feeling’ of the eighteenth century. His quotations from Milton’s / ’aradwe Lost reflect his view of the colony as a ‘nether Eden' from which the Aboriginal Adam and Eve had been expelled.

Henry R eynolds has demonstrated how conventional history often downplayed the extent o f Aboriginal resistance and the process o f negotiation with the European conqueror which produced such an unfair settlement for the Aboriginal side, even in comparison with othersettler societies like America, New Zealand and Canada. Again the pattern begins in the Sydney region. In 1805 Parramatta was the site of two Aboriginal-European con- Foundmsofthe ferences ‘with a view o f '>>omasCosse opening the way to reconciliation’ with the Reverend Samuel Marsden and Governor King for which a group of Aboriginal women acted as intemiedi- aries. Under Macquarie an attempt was made to assimilate Aboriginal children at the Parramatta Native Institution which eventually failed as it became drawn into the Governor’s political struggle with the flogging parson. The school's establishment in 1814 was accompanied by an annual conference and feast at Parramatta which established a tradition that survived into the twentieth century of annual distribution o f blankets. Although som ew hat tokenistic, the government-sponsored feasts implied a recognition of clan structure and were viewed openly by Macquarie as a kind o f compen.saiion for land loss. They were accompanied

by A'tx)riginal ceremonies and corroborees which helped maintain tradition and a .sense of continuity with a past which had been shaken by invasion. disease and hardship. In tJie case of Parramatta such meetings may have actually predated European .settlement.

The pro-Aboriginal attitudes of a small educated minority which included George Caley, George Shelley, Roger Oldfield, William Walker and Archbishop John Bede Folding reflect the existence of a body o f egalitarian, anlj- racist feeling in the colony which, at its

settlem ent o f Port Jackson j / B otany B a y in N ew South W ales. 1799. R e .xSan K ivell collection, N a tio n a l L ib rary o f A ustra lia . C anberra

fringes, approached a recognition of the modem concept o f ‘native title’. On the grimmer side of the story appears the death of Arabonoo in the 1789 smallpox epidemic and Baluderri's dramatic confrontation with Phillip at Parramatta in 1791. .At the end o f their short lives both men were buried in Phillip's garden at Government House, the site of today’s Museum of Sydney.The grimness also appears in atrocities committed by brutalised frontier settlers whose attitudes verged on support for genocide. The sometimes tragic consequences of a.ssimilation are reflected in the little-known story of Moowattin, a Darug youth who went to England with Caley in IS 10. met Sir Joseph Banks and frequented a Chelsea coffee house as 'a black beau', smoking a pipe, speaking g(X)d English and

joking with curious Londoners. On reluming to Australia he was tom between a desire to return to Aboriginal life and a position as a wage earning '.tockman. He raped a white giri near Parramatta and was hanged the day Macquarie declared an end to his Abo- .riginal frontier war o f 1816.

The popular image o f the Aboriginal warriors who challenged the first arrival o f the white men in Sydney Harbour is one o f wild, gesticulating savages. A more realistic image in the context o f what is still empirical history

would use the more detailed descriptions o f the men Phillip saw; their/zaA'a-like song and dance on the cliffs and headlands around Bondi, Maroubra and Coogee, the powerful symbolism and artistry of theirbody paint, the appearance of the ghost-like painted face of the w om an who stood watching Phillip from a rock in Sydney Harbour. An enhanced sense of place which draws on Aboriginal concepts can only benefit the new sense of Australian identity, culture and lore: a recognition of the ancient

human associations which sometimes appear in the names of places which have long been covered by successive layers o f farmland or suburbia, like Dawes's names of localities traversed on the walk from Parramatta to Prospect in 1790... Parramatta, W au-maille, Malgray-matta, Era-worong, Carra- matta, Boolbane-matta, Carro-Wotong. Mar-rong.

SourcesMichael Flynn. ‘Place of eels; Parramatta and '.he .Aboriginal clans of the Sydney region, 1-88-1845', research report for Parramatta City Council. 1995. William Dawes, Abo- r t't'.al Grammar and Word Lists. School and i)r!cntal and African Studies, London :MS-iI645a-b. microfilm copy in Mitchell Librarv i; .Aboriginal Blanket Returns, Parramatta 1834-43. AONSW Col. Sec. 4/

4/2,’ 02.1. 4/1133.3, 4/2433.1, 4/1.

10 HISTORY December 1995

5 K ± n g B x a x ' X ' S L g S L e t n c i L o cs e t 1H i t C3 X ' y : w r - L t i r i A ' f c > o x ' i s ± n e s

l o S L C l r S i i 1 1 1_ CJ l l 63 S t O OT y

11 e ; EBL t I x e ; i ' G c 5 0 c3Ls l 1 1

H u m s t n d . t _ i ^ L / n z J T ' s jL o sf~

T G G j n o JL CJ M ' .V

Joe Anderson was an Aboriginal man who lived at Salt Pan Creek in south western Sydney in the 1930s. He was an active political spokesperson, although he was often acknowledged by whites only as a stereotypical figure. Joe Anderson would sell gum tips and wildflowers at the Markets at the same time as he ’spruiked’ about land rights. He was interviewed by Cinesound News in 1933 and introduced himself at King Burraga.i Why? Was it merely a coincidence that he chose the name of valley near Sydney? No: his choice leads us to the complex history of Aboriginal interaction with whites in the Burragorang Valley from the beginning of the British invasion. Joe Anderson left us, among other things, some valuable clues about how to work as local historians.

There is now a great deal of interest among local history groups about Aboriginal history and this has raised questions about how to research and present this information. Often, local and regional histories have a first chapter or section on Aborigines, where traditional lifestyles and perhaps initial Aboriginal resistance to the invasion are outlines. Then - nothing. Even where the authors do not intend it, this absence of Aborigines from the main body of the work reinforces one of two ideas: that Aborigines disappeared altogether from that area, or if they survived. Aborigines were unwilling, or incapable, or prevented from playing any role in the Europeans’ society or economy. Usually, neither

Cinesound News Review, No.100, 19 33.

40

are correct but researching and telling the continuing Aboriginal history of an area can be a daunting task.

My interest in Aboriginal history is in that period after the invasion began in 1788, and I have found much that is enriching fr local histories. I have, however, found the sources for Aboriginal history in any one place often to be scattered, fragmented and difficult to interpret. This paper is about a strategy to make sense out of the documentary, photographic and material evidence that does exist for local areas. It is basically a comparative method: you compare what you can learn from your own locality with what has been pieced together on a larger, state-wide level. The parallels and, just as importantly, the divergences between the local events and wider patterns will help to clarify at least some themes and will undoubtedly enlarge the field of questions which can be explored.

I will use as an example a locality where a great deal of work has already been done - the Burragorang Valley, Joe Anderson’s home - to trace through the post-invasion history of interaction between Aborigines and non-Aborigines. It is very important to point out that the reason there is so much known about the Valley is because of the work of family and local history groups. The La Perouse Family History Group has been particularly active in tracing their Gandanggara families in the Valley with oral history, photographs and documents.2 Work undertaken by The Oaks History Group has also been important in tracing non-Aboriginal oral history, photographs, objects and documents.^ Local historians have an invaluable role in expanding our information and interpretations of Aboriginal and white local history. I will suggest that, in the Valley as elsewhere, Aboriginal history is not only a rich field in itself, but illuminates all of the local history of the area.

The Burragorang Valley is the country of the Gandanggara. These people have close relations with the Dharawal people whose land lies to the south of Sydney and includes Thirroul, the town which bears their name. The Gandanggara faced the invasion of their country from around 1800. After periods of conflict with settlers and troops, they actually reached an accommodation with Governor King in which King agreed that the Gandanggara could retain the upper reaches of the Nepean River. King’s promise was not kept and by 1816 there had been intrusions into Gandanggara lands, more Gandanggara resistance and then, in 1816 the government sent a punitive expedition which admitted killing at least fifteen Aboriginal people at Appin.* We would expect then that there would be

See their collection of writings, La Perouse: The Place, The People, The Sea, Aboriginal Studies Press, AIAS, 1987.Particularly the research of Ron Mills and Sonja den Hertog and the displays in the recently completed Wollondilly Heritage Centre at The Oakes.Historical Records of Australia, 1804, Vol.l, p.166

4 1

few Gandanggara remaining in this fertile little valley and so there would be little Aboriginal history after the 1820s. But this is not the case.

The first fragment of later information we have is that in 1876 the Catholic priest in the Burragorang Valley, Father Dillon, raise funds from among his parishioners to buy a portion of a farm, called St Joseph’s, on the junction of the Cox’s and Wollondilly rivers.= This seventy acre property was handed over to the Aboriginal community of the Valley. Was this charity? Was it an isolated case of an eccentric priest or an unusually generous parish? To judge, we need to look at the wide view. There was, from the 1860s, a movement among Aborigines to try to regain and secure some of their own land.® From Victoria, through the south west of New South Wales at places like Cumeragunja, at Braidwood and around the goldfields, on the south coast and then along up to the north coast, Aboriginal people began to resettle, to squat on pieces of their own traditional country. They began farming, they built dwellings and they called on local and State government authorities to recognise their right to the land. They often recruited local whites to support them in this process. On some occasions, these were missionaries from outside the area, but many times they were local officials, sometimes policemen and sometimes, as on this occasion, local churchmen. There are accounts of large groups of Aboriginal people forming delegations in the 1860s to discuss with these local officials ways to meet their needs for secure tenure of the land they had re-occupied.'^ So, we find that rather than an unusual or aberrant case, the Burragorang situation reflected a wider process which Aboriginal people had initiated to win back their land using the support and assistance they gained from at least some local whites.

When we next find records concerning developments on this farming land at St Joseph’s, we read of an Aboriginal community of around fifty people ’making a very fair living growing maize and vegetables and raising stock’ through the 1890s and indeed into the 1910s.® Now was this unusual? This is certainly different from the image many of us hold of Aboriginal people and their relationship to European farming methods. Yet in referring to wider patterns, we find again that the Burragorang experience was not uncommon. The Aboriginal push for land from the 1860s had seen Aboriginal people begin farming on the land they had regained wherever that land had been fertile enough to enable them to do so.

Aborigines Protection Board Register of Reserves (APBRR), Folios 30 and 56, NSW State Archives (NSWSA).H.Goodall, 'Land In Our Own Country’, Aboriginal History, Volume 13 (forthcoming).See for example: M.Brennan, Australian Reminiscences of the Goldfields, Sydney 1907,APBRR, Folio 30; Aborigines Protection Board Minutes (APBM), 4 December 1918, NSWSA.

42

Some of that land was freehold which Aboriginal people had purchased themselves; some, like that at Burragorang, was a mixture of freehold and permissive occupancy; other patches of land became Aboriginal reserve after Aborigines had appealed to the government for secure tenure. On all of these different types of holdings, however. Aborigines began farming independently of government and in parallel with the local agricultural economy. Where the land was fertile enough to allow low capital farming to support an extended family, Aboriginal peoples’ farming was successful, just as it was in the Burragorang.®

This was not the only occupation for Aborigines in the Burragorang. A number of people were employed in dairy farming the Valley, including William Russell who later published a short volume of his people’s oral traditions. ° Many women were employed in domestic work and in ’outside’ work such as whitewashing fences and houses, as an alternative or supplement to independent f a r m i n g . A s might be expected, the experience of Aborigines in pastoral areas in the north-west and western areas of the state is very different from that of Aborigines in the east where agriculture predominated: not only were actual jobs different, but the organisation of work was very different . 1 2 Comparing the local Burragorang situation then with the wider picture we find that there are both important differences and important similarities, and we can use these to assist us in interpreting what was going on.

The third cluster of pieces of local information about the Burragorang Valley is about women. We find that one of the earliest Aboriginal farmers was a woman called Mary Tollman, a Gandanggara woman married to an Aborigine named Tollman. Mary was the midwife for the whole of the Burragorang Valley: for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike.1 3 We learn from family histories and memoirs that Mary was relied upon heavily by both communities. We can consider the question of the sources of her expertise and speculate that it developed jointly from her Gandanggara knowledge base, from experience she gained assisting at births and from information gained from local whites, themselves drawing on accumulated women’s knowledge and on professional medical sources. Mary Tollman’s story raises important questions which allow us to expand the

® H.Goodall, 'Land In Our Own Country’.10 W.Russell, My Recollections, Sydney 1913

Ron Mills, The Oakes Historical Society; Gloria Ardler, La Perouse Family History group: personal communication.H.Goodall, A History of Aboriginal Communities in NSW, 1909-1939, unpublished PhD, 1982, Ch 1, 2.

13 Gloria Ardler, (Mary Tollman Longbottom’s greatgrand-daughter) La Perouse Family History Group; Ron Mills, Shirley Clark, The Oakes Historical Society; Wollondilly Heritage Centre.

43

areas we consider to be part of local history. How was she seen by each group, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal? Labour and childbirth around the turn of the century continued to be such arduous, dangerous and emotional experiences that the woman and her family were dependent on and must have respected the expertise and skill of the midwife. How did this close and very intimate contact between Mary Tollman and white families in the Valley modify or affect relationships between the racial groups?

In a related issue, we know that there was a range of sexual interaction between Aborigines and whites in the Valley. We have an account, for example, from the 1880s of the post office being relocated onto St Joseph’s farm, a move which raised a number of objections.i These expressed white residents’ anxieties that sexual relationships might develop between the young Aboriginal women of the farm and young white men going there to collect mail, anxieties which were possibly present because such inter-racial sexual contact, exploitative or not, already existed. Whatever the validity of such fear, they indicate clearly a level of sexual tension and ambivalence in the relationships between the two groups. How then did Mary Tollman’s work affect or intervene in these social dynamics? Searching for the answers to such questions in oral reminiscences or letters and diaries from the period give us information not only about the Aboriginal community, about the sort of work Aboriginal men and women might undertake but information, too, about the life cycle history of the whole Valley.

In looking to wider state patterns, we find very little in the way of evidence of such personal interaction. Yet we know that close personal relationships were not infrequent: in just one example, many white children in rural areas had Aboriginal nannies or babysitters. There are a number of oral accounts among Aborigines about such personal and sexual inter r e l a t i o n s . B u t non-Aboriginal records of such interactions are very rare, while sympathetic accounts of inter-racial sexual relationships are virtually non-existent. So the questions which the local history study raises re about why such accounts are so rare on a state-wide level? Why have non-Aborigines been so reluctant to record and acknowledge their relationships with Aborigines?

The fourth set of local evidence we have is about the tenure of the farm in the first years of the new century. Part of St. Joseph’s farm became Aboriginal reserve around 1900. The reflected a restructuring in rural land use, caused by the impoverishment of the area which created the need for local whites to expand the limited landholdings they had. They attempted to do this at the expense of their Aboriginal neighbours, threatening to take over that portion of St.

1-1 C . Dunn, JP, to Postmaster General, 23 December1881, Australia Post Archives; St Joseph’s School records, Department of Education files, NSWSA.

15 H.Goodall, A History of Aboriginal Communities,Ch 3; P. Read, .4 Hundred Years War, Canberra 19 88.

44

Joseph’s that was permissive o c c u p a n c y . T h e Aborigines Protection Board at that time defended the independence of Aboriginal tenure and arranged the conversion of the permissive occupancy section into Aboriginal Reserve, assuring the Aborigines that the independence of their farm would not be tampered with.

As the Burragorang area had become impoverished, however, so the local Church had fallen on hard times. It now tried to gain financial benefit by taking back the freehold section of St Joseph’s which had legally remained church property, as well as claiming the original permissive occupancy which was by then Aboriginal reserve. That was the piece of land which had become associated with Mary Tollman, now widowed and remarried to a Dharawal man from the south coast named Longbottom. This section of the farm was shared with Mary’s daughter, Selina, who had married an Aboriginal man named Archie Shepherd. They were adamant that the church had handed over the land as a gift and had no further claim to it. The churchmen were appalled by this but the tone of their correspondence suggests they were even more concerned because the men in the family, Longbottom and Shepherd, refused to give the church their allegiance. Speaking of Archie Shepherd, Father Considine wrote to Cardinal Moran in 1908:

He is a very indifferent Catholic and does not attend to his religious duties. I informed him that unless his conduct changed, I should have to consider some fresh arrangements with regard to his tenure of St Joseph’s farm... He said most emphatically that he refused to recognise the Church’s authority over the farm... So defiant was he, that I consider some action must be taken to assert your Eminence’s title to the property... And if the 40 acres could also be recovered from the Crown it would be very advantageous, as it would complete the farm.^ ’’

The local priest believed a neighbouring Protestant had put them up to this very public rejection of the church. These events give us insights into not only the situation of an extended family of Aborigines in one little valley, but into the finances of the local Roman Catholic church, into the relationship between the local church and the Catholic hierarchy, into the state of race relations in the valley and into the relations between Protestants and Catholics in this economically declining area.

When we look again at the wider picture, we find that it was not usually the church which took on the task of taking away Aboriginal land at this time, but that threats to

APBRR, Folios 30 and 56.Fr Considine to Cardinal Moran, 9 November 1908; Fr O ’Reilly to Archbishop, 17 August 1916; J. Smith to Archbishop, 9 July 1918; Burragorang Parish file, St Mary’s Archives.

45

Aboriginal land were indeed increasing.i® In the Burragorang, the cause lay in economic recession, but in most areas the pressure arose from the renewal of economic activity after the depression and droughts of the 1890s. Closer Settlement legislation in 1905 had legitimised the building pressures from local whites to take over independently-farmed Aboriginal land. Even where the title was legal, such as freehold or Aboriginal reserve land, this title was not seen by whites as legitimate where it was held by Aboriginal people. Instead, local whites saw this Aboriginal land as land still to be conquered. So in this sense the Burragorang situation is an example of wider patterns, although it is by no means identical to the way that pattern worked out in other areas.

How then did the Aborigines in the Burragorang Valley handle this building pressure? We find that Mary Tollman and Selena Shepherd took on the role of negotiating with the Catholic church from 1908 through to 1916.19 They were the ones who conciliated. Mary and Selena argued that they had had a long association with the land but they stressed also that they would go to church and continue to be loyal to Catholicism. While Longbottom and Shepherd held out a hard line throughout these eight years, Mary and Selena consistently agreed to negotiate. Both positions may have been elements of the one strategy to keep the land.

These events raise important questions. What was the difference between the relationships Aboriginal women had with the church and those of men? Indeed, were there differences in women’s relationships generally with the church compared with those of men? What were the roles of Aboriginal women in political strategy? Were this group of Aboriginal people making decisions themselves about playing of one denomination against the other, in order to retain the land which they had worked for over forty years? The particular situation in this local history throws up questions which may be different in detail from those in other parts of the state, but which can certainly help us to think more deeply and broadly about Aboriginal people’s relationships to non-Aborigines at this time.

The final piece of information we have is that all the land of St Joseph’s was lost completely between 1916 and 1924, when the reserve was finally revoked. This revocation did not occur because Aboriginal people did not want the land or because they were no longer using it. Instead, the loss occurred because whites wanted Aboriginal land . 20 This was a second disposition. In similar losses of land across the eastern half of the state, thirteen thousand acres of

IS H.Goodall, A History of Aboriginal Communities,Ch 2 and 5.

19 St Mary’s Cathedral, Internal notes on Mrs Longbottom and Mrs Shepherd’s visit, 5 June 1909. Burragorang Parish file, St Mary’s Archives.

20 APBM, 4 December 1918; 19 June 1924; APB Annual Reports, 1917, 1918.

46

Aboriginal reserve was revoked between 1913 and 1927.2 1 This resulted in a major political movement, from 1924 to 1929, organised by the Aboriginal farmers of the north coast and around Sydney and those on the south coast who were involved in similar conflicts . 22 it is not clear whether the Burragorang families participated in this movement directly, but after they were forced off St Joseph’s, they moved to Salt Pan Creek, near what is now Riverwood in Sydney, and then to La Perouse.^s The Salt Pan Creek camp was highly politicised. Aboriginal people who had been pushed off their land in other parts of the state gathered there in an independent camp. Many of them spoke at the Domain or at the City Markets on Friday nights.2 4 By the early 1930’s, at least one family who had had connections with St Joseph’s, the Anderson family, were speaking at the markets regularly. Joe Anderson was one member of this family. When he was filmed by Cinesound in 1933, choosing the name Burraga, he talked about Aboriginal people’s desire for political representation and for land to farm. In this case the local history of one area, the Burragorang, had a very direct link into the public political organisation of Aborigines.

The Andersons, the Sheperds and the Tollmans were not the only Aboriginal people in the Burragorang Valley. We know of the Sherritts and the Reily’s, among others, who also farmed small pieces of land although none of them were as fertile as the rich land at St Joseph’s. We know as well that Valley Aboriginal men worked as general labourers and in dairy work while women worked as domestics, doing the heavy work such as laundering and whitewashing, to bring extra money at time when the farming was not able to support the extended families camped on St Joseph’s. So the history of St Joseph’s, interesting as it is, is the only one part of the Burragorang’s local history of interaction between Aborigines and whites. We know also that this agricultural and labouring work was not the only type of work Aborigines undertook in the state, and it is important to reiterate that pastoral workers’ experiences in western New South Wales was different from that of Aborigines in the east. The structures then in which they interacted with whites in their own areas were also very different from the ones which developed in the Burragorang. Nevertheless, this area’s local history gives us a valuable key into methods to interpret the scattered pieces of information which we are able to find in any other area.

Aboriginal history cannot be seen in isolation; it cannot be seen as a separate history to that of local whites. There

H.Goodall, A History of Aboriginal Communities, Ch 5.

- 2 ibid; NSW, Premier’s Department Files, 1927,NSWSA.

2 3 Gloria Ardler, La Perouse Family History Group.2 Jacko Campbell, in H.Goodall, Cryin’ Out For Land

Rights, in V.Burgmann and J.Lee (eds), Staining The Wattle, Melbourne 1988.

47

has been continuous interaction between Aborigines and non- Aborigines throughout the State and at all levels. Whether Aborigines and whites were in conflict or were cooperating- and they did both in most areas - their lives were always entangled. This is not to suggest that Aboriginal people’s lives were not very different in many ways to those of whites. Nevertheless, we cannot see the lives of either separate from the other. It is as much of a distortion to see non-Aboriginal lives without this interaction with Aborigines as it is to see Aboriginal lives without recognising their interaction with non-Aborigines.

Aboriginal communities have undoubtedly been influenced and changed by their interactions with non-Aborigines and their economy and society. It is just as true that white Australians have been changed and influenced by their interactions with Aborigines. Local history gives us the opportunity to trace out such personal and yet important interaction.

48

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SUBJECT:

SOURCE:pgjrtax Sun - PARRAMATTA

2 6 NOV 1397

PAGE NO;

■ PARRAMATTA residents will be treated to an exhibition of some of A ustra lia ’s most ta len ted indigenous artists at the Parramatta Regional Park Visitors Centre this weekend. Starting this Friday, the exhibition will showcase the work of indigenous artists from central Australia, including M ichael Nelson Jagam ara, Paddy Tjungarrayi Can'oll and local urt)an Koori artist Danny Eastwood. The exhibition was organised by World Vision Australia, with money raised going towards the organisation ’s Australian indigenous programs.

R b o M G i

I i

WITHIN the Baulkham Hills Shire and surrounding countryside are to be found m any w ell-preserved rock carvings and ca v e p a in tin gs as e v idence of the Aboriginal culture which prevailed in this d istrict before the com in g of E uropean settlement.

Im p lem en ts such as s to n e ax e h ead s and grind in g s to n e s have occasionally been found. T hese also serve to remind us that the Aboriginal people once roam ed these parts.

Some of the rock car\'- ings are very old. Others depicting such objects as sailing vessels which were common on the Hawkes- bury R iver during the early days of settlement indicate that Aborigines were still living in this district, under organised tribal conditions, less than 200 years ago.

Today, apparently, none of the Aboriginal people whose ancestors travelled and hunted through the area for many centuries, remain.

Much of the knowledge of their way of life has been lost.

At th e tim e of the original white settlement

With Hills historian, W . D. NEIL

at Sydney Cove in 1788, co n ta c t b etw een the Aboiigines and the newcomers was friendly and efforts were made to encourage this relationship.

In November, 1788 a second se tt le m e n t w as formed at Rose Hill (later Parramatta).

Witliin a few years settlers were being placed on farm s within the neighbourhood of Parramatta, a c ircu m sta n ce wliich raised in a m ore acute form the problem of the co-existence of th? Aborigines and the settlers.

The native people lived by hmiting and had always been free to roam about the land at will whereas it was essentail to the white m an’s survival that he should settle on and cultivate an established area of land.

A stage of hoiitility between the two races soon

arose. Parties of Aborig ines frequently raided the se ttlers’ farm s and hom es, forcibly taking food and clothing.

At tim es settlers and members of their families were killed.

There can be no doubt that the occupation of th e ir form er hunting grounds m otivated the Aborigines in their actions a g a in st th ose they regarded as intruders.

Moreover, their cu.stom of com m un al sh arin g probably su ggested to them the logical solution that they should have their sh are of the s e t t le r s ’ produce.

In one in cid en t in March, 1797, a party of about 100 Aborij^ines plundered the northern farms o u tsid e P a rra m a tta , killijig a man and woman and making off with clothing and supplies.

cx

The neighbouring settlers arm ed th em selves and pursued the natives, whom they overtook.

Realising that the settle r s w ere arm ed the Aborigines fled, leaving behind a quantity of corn and articles which they had taken from settlers’ properties.

E ventually confrontation occured with the result that five Aborigines were lulled by musket fire and several wounded.

One of their most prominent leaders, Pemulwy, whom the s e t t le r s regarded as a “riotous and troublesome savage” was severely wounded.

The then Governor was disturbed that the lives of so many of the Aborigines had been taken, but hoped that the incident would act as a deterrent against more raids.

U n fortu n ately , the hostility between the two races continued, although in some areas a degree of acceptable co-existence was established.

Tlie sincerity of the authorities m their desire for a peaceful solution to the problem became evident in February, 1805, when a white man was sentenced to th e goa l gang for “ w antonly str ik in g a native”.

In May of the sam e year, as reported in the Sydney Gazette, settlers from Northern Farms and Baulkham Hills combined to search for Aborigines in the neighborhood of Pennant Hills.

One man was captured

and persuaded to guide the settlers to the north rocks, w here property, stolen from two stockmen who had been killed at Prospect, was found.

During the search the settlers cam e across a sm all number of Aborigines, one of whom, add ressin g them in good E n glish , d efia n tly declared that he would continue to raid the farms.

But there was no way in which the Aborigines’ way of life could survive.Their primitive weapons

were no match for those p ossessed by the white

Another great problem w as the lack of m ean in gfu l com m unication.

While some Aborigines learned to speak English there is no evidence that any European settlers becam e fam iliar with the Aboriginal language.

In tim e, the se ttlers sp read over the countryside, occupying more and more of the age- old A boriginal hunting grounds.

In 1814 the Colonial Secretary wrote that: “His ExceUency, the Governor, having long viewed with se n tim en ts ofco m m isera tio n the w retch ed s ta te of the aborigines of lliis country and having revolved in his mind the most promising and probable m eans of am eliorating their condition has now resolved to adopt such measures as appear to him best calcu la ted to e f f e c t that object and to improve the energies of this innocent, destitute and unoffending race” .

An invitation is extended to all local residents who m ay h ave any knowledge of Aborigines or Aboriginal culture in the Hills District to communicate with the writer (W. D. N eil, telephone 634 1892).

B C jo R. 'Qs / N £ 3 A

ABORIGINES AIDService expands education access

THE Aboriginal Education Office in Hunter Street, Parramatta, provides easy access to information and advice on education programs to Aborigines.

The information and support service extends to students and families in areas as far reaching as Katoomba and Liverpool.

The centre aims to give Aborigines, disadvantaged in the past, the opportunity for long term education.

Education officer, Sally Browne, said it was most important for Aborigines to be aware of their educational options.

“ So many of them were forced to leave school in the past and were no less intelligent than their white counterparts,” she said.

“ Through education assistance schemes for secondary and post secondary schooling many Aborigines

can now benefit from continued education.”

Recently the education officers at the centre held a seminar for 84 Year 10 Aboriginal students.

Further education, career choice and Aboriginal culture were a few of the topics discussed.

An Aboriginal student of visual arts at Nepean College of Advanced Education, Marion Coghlan, is exhibiting stained glass windows at the centre on September 19, 20 and 21.

The centre is staffed by four educational officers, an Aboriginal Uaison officer, two clerical assistants and a supervising officer.

For further information telephone 689 1666.

STUDENT, Marion Coghlan: education officer, Sally Browne and Aboriginal liaison officer, Coral Dessaix study plans for a new education program at the Aboriginal Edu

cation Office in Parramatta.

\2 .

'* )

National week changea blow to Aborigines

ABORIGINAL workers at the Parramatta Aboriginal Education Office have called the decision to change the date of this year’s National Aborigines’ Week a “slap in the face”.

Liaison officer at the offices, Mrs Coral Dessaix, said the date of the official week was changed for bureaucratic reasons.

Aborigines’ Week has been celebrated in July for nearly 30 years and the official date this year is from Monday, September 10.

The date was changed by M inister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Clyde Holding.

The Parramatta office celebrated the week during the month that has been accepted since 1955.

“I feel annoyed that the change was sprung upon us and local groups were not consulted,” Mr Dessaix said.

She said she felt the change had reduced the significance of Aborigines’ Week.

Education officer at the Parramatta office, Mr Jim Mottees, said staff would cooperate and help those wishing to celebrate the week, despite the change.

He said the date change was a “slap in the face” and that Aboriginal communities had not been consulted.

“It would have been nice had the Minister consulted us and sent out a questionnaire. ”

The Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, AECG, held a meeting of its 22 regional representatives and agreed that A boriginal opinion had not been sought for the change.

PoliticalActing Executive Officer

for the AECG, Mrs Pam McFadden, said the date was changed for political reasons.

Mrs McFadden said the M inister for A boriginal Affairs, Mr Clyde Holding, was “very rude” to AECG President, Mr Robert Morgan, in a meeting at Canberra.

“Mr Holding told him to ‘celebrate it when you want to, but don’t look to me for funding’,” she said.

“One of his reasons for the change was that it clashed with the Labor Party Conference and that we would not get the warranted publicity.

“We were frozen out of our celebrations after nearly 30 years.

“Only a handful of Aboriginals and politicians are telling us when to celebrate our own day.”

Mrs McFadden said the AECG supported all the groups who wanted to celebrate in July and did not look for funding.

“ Publicity and massive ipedia coverage is not necessary in our week to celebrate,” she said.

"That is not the meaning of the week and National Abori-

MRS CORAL DESSAIR

gines’ Day. It is not a big commercial deal.”

State chairm an of the National Aborigines’ Day Observance Committee, .Mrs Evelyn Bashford, said she now regretted going along with the change without consultation.

“We were advised from higher up to go along with it,” she said.

“I did not realise what was going on and now there are problems with the date.”

The theme for the official week is The Land My Mother.

R 6 G R I Q ,I W £ 5 >

GREAT FEAST WAS HELDShelley's scheme to help the Aboriginal

A PREVIOUS historical feature in “Farm and Garden” described how the Aboriginal people and theii; culture suffered from the

' impact of European society.

This occurred despite the desire of the authorities for the peaceful co-existence of the Aboriginal people and the settlers who were taking over the traditional hunting grounds and living areas.

When Governor Macquarie assumed control of the colony of New South Wales in 1810 he expresed deep concern over the way in which the Aboriginals and their culture had been suppressed and took action to help hem.

Living in Parramatta at the time was another humane man, William Shelley, who was also disturbed about the neglect of the Aboriginals.

Shelley was one of the missionaries who had fled from Tahiti in 1798 and who eventually settled in Parramatta.

lie devised a scheme to help the Aboriginals. His proposals represeiited a twofold attack on the problem and won Macquarie’s approyal.

Adult natives who wishes to become settlers were each to be given ten acres (4 ha) of land w ith a hut and farm ing implements.

Called meeting

By historian W . D. Neil.

Macquarie made detailed preparations. Among other things he an'anged for stocks of food, mainly beef and ale, to be available.

Having no good reason to trust the white men, many of the Aboriginals were fearful of attending the meeting.

At first, only a small luimber assembled to hear Macquarie but, as he movd among them, engaging them in conversation, more joined their fellows, sitting in a friendly circle enjoying beef and ale.

This meeting was to become an annual event.

Several of the Aborigines were persuaded to participate in the plan to help them become farmers and duly received their i^rants of ten-acre blocks of land.

The area set aside for these small farms becam e known as Black Town, a name which has persevered to this day.

Nevertheless, he persevered in his efforts to improve the conditions under which they lived.

What Macquarie called the Annual Con- gi ess of the Adult Natives became known as the Native Feast and was held in the Market Place at Parramatta until the 1830s.

Supplies ordered for the Feast in 1826 indicate its extent.

In that year the Superintendent of Rooty Hill Stock Farm was instructed to supply a “good, young fat steer” feast.

he following goods were also supplied; twenty lb each of plums, sugar and suet, gallons of rum, two cwt of potatoes, 300 iloaves of bread and 30 lb of flour.

Fringe dwellers

They were also to be given instruction in farming methods and supplied from the Government Stores until they could fend for themselves.

The other main provision was that their children should be taught in a special school in Parramatta.

Pupils were to be between the ages of four and seven and were to remain at the Native Institution, as it was called, until they reached the ages of sixteen for boys and fourteen for girls.

It was intended that ttiis plan should lead to peace between the two races and also help the Aborigijies adjust to life within “a civilised community”.

Macquarie purchased a house in Parramatta for the school and enclosed the large grounds which surrounded it.

He appointed William SheUey as the first Superintendent and Principal Inspector.

To ensure that the Aboriginals were aware of the details of the plan and to secu re their co-operation M acquarie invited the tribes to meet him in the Market Place at Parramatta on December 28,1814, to discuss the proposals.

They were not receptive to the idea ol giving up their children to Itie school.

On the day of opening, January 18, 1815, only three cWldren were available for enrolment. It took more than two y(Mirs for the number to increse to sixteen - five boys and eleven girls.

Unfortunately, the author of t lie scheme, William SheUey, died in July, 1815, when the Native Instituiion had barely b(!gun.

His position was taken over by his wife Elizabeth, a daughter of Hills District pioneer, James Bean. Mrs Bean and her daughters continued to conduct the Native Institution in a manner which won general approval.

After Mrs Shelley’s retirement in 1823 the school was transferred, first to Blacktown and later to Liverpool where it lingered on for several years.

D esp ite th ese s in cere overtu res of friendship by Governor Macquarie the feud between the two races continued.

In 1816, M acquarie reluctantly felt compelled to send a punitive expedition against some of the Aborigines.

The “Sydney Monitor” of January 7,1826 reported that the Governor of the day was present and that he gave “a hat to each cMef and a handkerchief to his chieftaines” .

^ [ I'hese well-meant measures were of little ' avail. Despite the”efforts of Macquarie, of

those who preceded him and of his successors the problem has not yet been resolved.

In most of the closely settled areas, including the Hills District, Aborigines as members of a race with their own well- defined culture have disappeared.

In other parts of the State they have b ecom e frin ge d w e llers , liv in g in underprivileged conditions on the outskirts of country towns.

With a desire to increase local knowledge of the former Aboriginal inhabitants of the Hills District, the writer would like to hear from anyone who has information or stories passed down through families.

Knowledge of the location of rock caiA<- ings and cave paintings would also be appreciated.

Such information would be recorded in the Archives of the Hills District Historical Society under conditions imposed by the informants.

The Society would also be grateful for gifts of Aboriginal relics with information as to where, when and by whom they were found.

(T he w riter m ay be co n ta cted by telephone at 634 1892.)

F Q r r r \ Q o . r A e . ' q

2 6 4 CUSTOMS 0 "nr: N. T -S.

s tu p id ly i n t o x ic a t e d . O n e v ,nan 1 ad nn ii- in t n< licr b a c k , s w u n g in a b a g o f karg i .rc .o -s ’/ i i*. T ' l e y v’cre ail o f l o w s ta ture , w i th m ea rc. ihiv!)s ; thi' ir I r ‘ b l a d e , bsil no t cu r ly ; in the ir co n ip lr v,i‘. > v s dark di.^os Guine: ! K.i- g r o e s , an d the ir ] )crsons loatl ' inen'^ h l i lJ i . D r t l r;o iiuui c a r e for the ir souKs? “ ! / a n , tVijy soal;3 it r . a y he s r p o r - c i l io u s ly a s k e d . W o i i sw er , i. \. .is o i t o i us(‘d w i i h i m p io u s lev i ty , ‘’■The I j . rl l-fiotns i h r h a o r / '

Se[)t . 1(). W e w e n t -o ” -’.rrai ;t(: . IMj-. via' ' e n );aving in v i t e d severa l o f th e prii -fii.'Ons o f uu; c o l o n v (om e e t Uh, at ii is h o u s e , lo d' lnr;,. T h e r e w o i o p rn son l th(‘ g o v e r n o r , sir T h o m a s I ris!)ane, u d g o F o r b e s , .Mr. H a r n e s s , th e sheritr, M r . S t e p l i e n , th e s o l i c i t o r - g e n e r a l , Air. P<alcoi!ib(‘, th e treasurer . Dr. IM’C h 'o d , a p h y s i c i a n , th e i<ev. ivlr. ( ' a - t - w r ig h t , and severa l oiIhm's ; w h o all b e h a v e d l o w a r d s us w i th th e m o s t g r a t i f y i n g c o n d e s c e n s i o n and k i n d n e s s . A\'e w e r e (^special ly j ) leasod to ih id that h is lO xce l l ency , and those; in iunucuiiate author i ty u n d e r him., w e r e wel l d i s p o s e d lo promote',, by any m e a n s in the ir p o w e r , tlu' civi l and rcdigious in tere s t s o i ’ th e c.olony ; and to ] )atroni/ ,e a n v p r u d e n t uK'as- u re w h i c h m ig h t be adopli 'd lijr am ol ior f i t in g the c o n d i t io n o f th e a b o r ig i n e s .

S ep t . 18. F r o m a g e n t l e m a n w h o has re s id e d th ree vears at th e C oa l -r iver ( w h e r e t h e r e are m a n v n a t i v e s ) w e h ave r(HU'ived t!ie l ( ) l low iu g in f o r m a t io n c o n c e r n i n g t l:eir hab its a n d c u s t o m s . W h e n o n e d i e s a natura l (hiath, th e c o r p s e , sh r o u d e d in j ) ieces o f bark , is laid on t h e g r o u n d , an d li^ur sm a l l lir('s are l i g h te d at th(; h ead a n d feet an d on eithf'r s id e : a g r a v e is s c r a t c h e d up in th e g r o u n d an d a n o th e r fir(‘ l i g h te d in the h o le , w h i c h is al lowecl to burn o u t : th e bodv o f th e d e c e a s e d is th e n la id uj)on th e a s h e s , w ith a n y litth* )vroporty w h i c h b e l o n g e d to h i m , — his c lu b , his spear , his c l i ) th es ,— and th e earth is h e a p e d o ver ail. B u t i f th e ]>er- so n lell in w ar , or his b lood w a s s h e d by murd('r or chanc(^- n i e d le y , his b od y is not bu r ied , but burnt to dust . Li! \e all savagi.'s, th e N e w i foU am hirs use; the ir w o m e n cru e l ly . 'I 'hev g(H the ir w i v e s by v i o l e n c e , s e i z i n g t h e m bv s torm , or s p r i n g i n g u p o n t h e m from a m b u s h — w h e n , i f th e u n f o r t m ia t e f<;- m ahi m a k e s a n y resistance; , her u n c o u r t e o u s su itor k n o c k s h er d o w n w ith his w a d d y ( a t r e m e n d o u s c u d g e l ) and carr ie s l ier olf, on his s h o u l d e r s , in a i>tate o f in s e n s ib i l i t y , w i th th e blood s t r e a m i n g Irom th e l o v e - t o k e n s w h i c h In; h as inflict( 'doil her ■;I':(‘f'v'.'.'i!'d< <hc I'; III' -l ive ■ at mi'al ' ' lic and

F ie > o M G tN < 5 :-5/

\ '= ^ \S \^ V j^

Historical Feature:Aborigines of the Hills District

I am often asked about the early Aborigines who lived in the Hills District but I must admit

the information is very scanty.

The Hills District Historical Society in its interesting little publication “Historical Tour of The Hills District” states that: “two major tribes had the whole or part of

I their tribal lands within ‘ the Hills District. There is evidence to support the statement that about six sub-groups of these tribes roamed the district.

"The larger tribe was the Gimdunggura whose tribal lands extended across the Cumberland Plains to just north of Little Cattai Creek. These people left behind many examples of their fine cave paintings. Many caves in the district still retain fine examples of their brilliant red ochre

drawings."The second tribe was

the Dharug and their tribal land extended from Little Cattai Creek north across the Hawkesbury (or Deerubbin as it was known to them). They were mainly fishermen. Their art remains in many areas andn often takes the form of large carvings.”

Unfortunately it is not possible to publish details of the location of samples of the art work remaining because of the fear of vandalism.

Mr. Bruce McKemde (Castle Hill. 634-3811) would be the person to contact should any reader wish to obtain more details on this very interesting subject.

S. J. McCoullough.

A Northmead family

i believe it has an Aboriginal pigment mine in its

I backrgarden.

I M r. and M rs . Ron t Shipp, o f Caprera Road.I believe a dozen holes♦ dug into' a sandstone J floater on their p ro p e rty j m ay have been the woric J o f Aborigina'i artists.

The h o les, m ostly round in shape, vary in depth from two inches to2 feet.The rock exposed by the

digging is orange in colour.A , s e r i e s of l inc) ;

scratched into the surface » alongside the holes form an J indflerminate pattern.I Mrs. Shipp said this wevlv* she believed Aboriginals ; had scraped the holes to

obtain colours for their > bark and rock paintings.

The fami ly had discovered them soon after they moved to the property seven,; years ago.

' Mrs. Shipp has since planted miniature .gaWens in some holes and their pet cat used one or tw-o as water' bowls.

Mrs; Shipp said she first

Holes dug by colour

suspected the holes had been dug by Aboriginals when she saw a television programme.

The programme showed a group of similar holes dug into rock in the Australian outback.

Anthropologists h&d confirmed the pigment theorv in the programme.

The Advertiser yesterday sent a photograph of the Nort hmead ■•pigment mijie" to Curator of Anthropology at the Australian Museum. Mr. D. R. Moore, for an opinion.

Mr. Moore said it was impossible to nuake a definite comment on the holes without seeing them.

However, he believed

Mr. and Mrs. .Shipp’s theory could be correct.

Mr. Moore confirmed Aboriginals obtained ochre from sandstone in the Sydney and Hawkesbury district.

They used tlte-cnlouring mainly for make-up foH*or- roborees. and for ,ca> ' paintings and decoration-s of .shields and spears.

Mr. Moore said the ochre used by Aboriginals was iron oxide, bfteii found in sandstone, and it was usually coloured a dull red.

He promised to look into the Northmead find more closely.

PICTURE shows Lvnelle Shipp, 11. with the series of holes thought to have been formed by Abi>riginals.



SUBJECT:(\(L o tZ )

SOURCE: ParrairallaAdvertlser-CITYNORTH

DATE: 1 3 I I P

PAGE NO;

Confusion turns Burra into Parra

“ The place was just covered with water and people only lived where there was a bit o f high ground,” Colin said.

The Aboriginal population declined greatly after Europeans landed in the western region.

Colin said hangings and shootings were common because the settlers resented the natives. Also, waves of smallpox swept through the community, killing both Europeans and Aborigines.

“ Within the first five years of European occupation the Darug people lost between 60 to 80 per cent of the population,” Colin said.

FACESof

PARRAMATTASf

by CHRIS NEWIANA MISUNDERSTANDING of the local Aboriginal dialect by European settlers meant Parramatta was given the wrong name.

After endless debate and varied interpretations by different tribes as to what the Aboriginal term Parramatta really meant it turns out one important detail has been left out of the discussion.

The name is actually Burramatta but its meaning — a place where the eels meet — remains the same.

According to Colin Gale, a descendant of the Darug tribe which inhabited the area, a group of colonists stopped some natives to ask them the name of the newly settled area.

The difficulties in understanding each other in the ensuing conversation meant

Burramaltagal. . . Colin Gale is a descendant of Parramatta's original people PHOTO Darren Edwards

Parramatta was adopted as the city’s name.

The natives called themselves Burramattagals.

Colin’s association with the area dates back to when settlers first rowed up the Parramatta River in 1790.

A distant grandmother was the first child to be enrolled in the Parramatta Native Institution in 1815

which, Colin said, aimed to “ Europeanise” Aboriginal children.

The school taught children basic life skills such as reading and writing but the idea turned out to be a disaster.

“ A lot of kids actually died here,” Colin said.

“ Parents were only allowed to visit once every 12

months. It was a different way to try and get the Aborigines on side.”

Years later the same woman was the first Aborigine to be married in an Australian church.

The ceremony took place on January 26, 1824, in St Johns Cathedral at Parramatta. Her husband was a British convict who was

1

sent to Australia for committing a minor crime.

Colin said Aborigines have been in Parramatta for only 8000 years.

The city was underwater and it was not until the ocean subsided humans decided to move into the area.

But only a stone’s throw across the river, there is evidence of human occupation dating back 45,000 years.

still to be seen throughout Australia. There are Bills troughs in the UK, mid-west USA, France, Italy, Syria, India, Japan and many other lands.

SOURCES:

Mitchell Library Phillip Geeves Bill Baverstock Tom O’Mara Mr. McGaskill, RSPCA Sydney Morning Herald North Sydney Council Local Government Bulletins W.L. Crock

Geraldine Palmer is a member o f the Society. She and Margaret McWUliam, a member oftbeMosman Historical Society, prepared for PDHS the ‘Plaques and Memorials’ project. This project, with measured drawings o f the Parramatta Bills Horse trough, sketches, shdes and photos, is held in the Society Library.

O I 1 ^3 *2 r e = ,

£ ■' . c-

______________'"Tgg - T-Srto Jo.Jr yf -VC-*. £ D,

46 Journal of the Parramatta and District Historical Society

A CONFLICT OF INTEREST.ABORIGINAL PRESENCE IN THE PARRAMATTA DISTRICT,

1788- 1810.

NEIL SMITH

Aboriginals of the Sydney Region, according to radio-carbon dating o f middens, appear to have occupied the area about 20,000 years ago. T\vo tribes apparently existed, the Dharug and the Eora; the latter, being the smaller may have been part o f the Dharug. It is not quite clear as to the tribal structure because of the depletion of the tribes during the early days of the colony before a study could be made of their social structure . The Dharug was broken into small clans o f 20-60 people and there were some 40-50 clans. Each clan had its own name, derived from the area which it occupied

The Parramatta area was inhabited by two clans - the Wangal, and the Barramatagal. The territory o f the Wangal was along the southern shore o f the Parramatta River from Port Jackson to Rose Hill whilst the Barramatagal, although not exactly defined, appeared to be in the vicinity o f Parramatta itself. ‘Barra’ meant ‘eel’ or ‘local food’, ‘matta’ meant ‘creek’ or ‘river’,‘gal’ referred to the males o f the clan. Similiar name structures were the Toogagal and the Bidijigal* .

The Dharug had a dreamtime as did other tribes o f Australia which they called Gunyunglung. In the dreaming, all animals were men or had human attributes. These were called Burringilling, living in the clouds, in mountains, throughout the dense scrub or down the waterholes. Some could change the shape o f their bodies, disappear under the ground, make watercourses, mountains or make springs appear. Bennelong was a Wangal and was recorded as saying that at birth, people came from the clouds and on death, returned to the clouds. When they ascended to the clouds, the dead changed to the shape of little children. Firstly they would hover over the treetops, eating their favourite foods.^

T)reaming’ meant to an aboriginal the place from where the persons spirit came from and to which it must return. Dreaming was continuous and present, a cycle o f life without beginning or end, a parallel and all inclusive reality. It was something mystic - a feeling o f harmony with the universe in turn with the rhythm o f the land. Dreaming bound aboriginalpeople to the land that ovraed them^.

tWith the coming of the Europeans in the late eighteenth century, a

conflict was inevitable between the two cultures. Under English law of

Journal of the Parramatta and District Historical Sodefy 47

that time, land that was not occupied by habitation and cultivation was ‘Terra Nullas’, and could be occupied by settlement without a treaty®. Although the British were still dealing in the slave trade in 1787, Phillip stated at that time that the moment His Majesty’s forces took possession of the country, that there could be no slavery in a free land®.

The first presence of aboriginals in the Parramatta district was recorded on Governor Arthur Phillip’s initial journey to the district in April 1788. Although no aboriginals were sighted by the party, there was evidence of their presence from camp-sites and remains of fires^. On 3 November 1788, Phillip opened a small farming settlement at Parramatta, which he named Rose Hill. A small redoubt or fort was constructed underneath Rose Hill manned by a small detachment of marines under the command of Captain Campbell. The purpose of the redoubt was to protect the settlement from the unabated animosity which had grown between the colonists and the natives at Sydney Cove^. Although Phillip had seen evidence o f aboriginals, he had not met any ‘face to face’, on his April journey through the area and he was uncertain of the reception that his settlers would receives.

Within a year, smallpox had taken the majority of the natives^ Captain John Hunter wrote By the winter o f 1789, hundreds o f natives died of smallpox as a distemper natural to this country^. Tench vvrote:

...the natives on inspection died of a natural death of pustules similiar to smallpox. It is indigenous to the country - ships under Monsieur de la Perouse departed for one year, no word of being on a French ship. It possibly travelled across country from Dampier, voyages of Cook or other European voyages^.

By 1791, almost 90% of the aboriginals around Sydney had succumbed to the disease and o f the remainder, many were infected by venereal diseases^.

The first known incident o f conflict at Rosehill was in February 1790. A convict was wounded by a native spear, beaten and robbed o f his clothing. This occurred because of a quarrel between the convict and some natives and his life was saved by the intervention of a native woman on behalf of the convict^.

By August 1790, Rose Hill had become a settled town. Government House had been built and George Street was almost lined with huts^. In November, two soldiers of the New South Wales Corps strayed and became lost for four days in the surrounding bush but the natives caused themnoharm^. In September of the year, Lieut. Dawes and the Chaplain


on an exploration trip out o f Rose Hill met two natives who said that they were inhabitants of that area. They expressed great dissatisfaction at the number of white men who had settled in their territory. The next day, the detachment at Rose Hill was reinforced^. In addition to this action, arms and ammunition were entrusted to convicts on the outer farms for protection but were later recalled because of misuse * .

In March 1791, William Bryant escaped from the colony. He was a convict employed as head fisherman and this made further fishing difficult. By June, a trade had been established whereby the natives were taking fish which they had caught to Rose Hill and bartering them for bread, beef and rice. Phillip had hoped that it would become an established fish market^. However, this failed unfortunately because of an incident over a convict destroying a native canoe^

In February 1790 Phillip mentioned in his despatches that the natives called Rose Hill, Parramatta. As part o f the King’s Birthday celebrations on 4 June 1791, Phillip changed the name o f the settlement from Rose Hill to Parramatta. From the Eora language the name was ‘parra’ meaning ‘empty’ and‘matta’ meaning‘river’ ; Mrs. Macarthur, in a letter to an En^ish friend stated that the word meant ‘head o f the river’ and in the 1860’s a story was spread that the meaning was ‘where the eels lie down’ . By the time of the name change, Phillip had granted 30 acres to James Ruse, 140 acres to Phillip Schaffer and to Robert Webb and William Reed, 60 acres each. Settlement had spread around the town which had now become more regular^ By September, convicts had cleared land for 1 1/2 miles around Parramatta. In December 1791, some natives were crossing the Prospect Hill farms when a settler fired on them thinking that they would cause trouble. They retahated by setting fire to his hut. Phillip despatched a guard comprising a corporal and two marines to prevent further trouble but their presence caused further incidents** . Fearing more unrest, Phillip strengthened the guard at Parramatta in March 1792. By late 1792, some 3500 acres had been cleared for settlement and farming, further driving the local aborigines from their traditional lands .

When Phillip departed. Major Grose became Acting Governor. He received orders from England to grant 100 acres to officers o f the Corps and relative parcels o f land to NCO’s. By 1794 he had allocated 10,674 acres, much of which was located around Parramatta and Prospect . Little resistance had been encountered by the natives during 1792-3, only one incident having been recorded where a convict was robbed between Parramatta and Prospect^. There was a change o f mood in 1794. In February, natives twice robbed the wives of settlers as they travelled from

Journal of the Parramatta and District Historical Sodety 49

their farms to the town. Farms were robbed o f com and it is assumed that the gradual loss of land for settlement resulted in a corresponding loss of the natives natural food supply sources. In aboriginal society there was no concept o f personal ownership of food supplies which added to the causes of rising conflict^.

A native named Pemulway was a leader of the Bidijgal clan whose territory was near Parramatta. He first came to notice when he speared a gamekeeper called McIntyre. When Phillip left the Colony he stated that Pemulway had killed or wounded up to seventeen people*^. Pemulway was accused of hostile activity in the Hawkesbury ^strict in May 1795. Colonel Paterson, who had become Acting Governor, directed a party of the New South Wales Corps from Parramatta to the Hawkesbury. His orders were to destroy as many Bidijgals as possible. He ordered that gibbets be erected in different places and that their bodies were to be hung from them. Paterson hoped that this would strike terror in them and act as a deterrent. Several natives were killed but the bodies were removed by the Bidijgals. This seems to have been Paterson’s only attempt to control the natives^.

By February 1796, trouble between the natives and the settlers had escalated for on 22 February, Governor Hunter ordered that settlers residing in different districts were to assist each other if trouble broke out with the natives. The main area of coriflict seemed to be at the Hawkesbury district*'*. There was no recorded trouble in Parramatta during 1796 although in January a wheat stack of 800 bushels and some wheat fields were set alight at Toongabbie, possibly by Pemulway. Natives had used fire as a traditional method to ‘harvest’ their hunting grounds for centuries, now they were employing the method to clear away the settlers'*.

A settled area about one mile north o f Parramatta, known as the ‘Northern Boundaries’ had been repeatedly plundered o f provisions in March 1796 by natives who had also killed a man and a woman. The settlers armed themselves and on the next night on which they were attacked, pursued the natives all night. They came across about 100 natives in the morning who fled on seeing their pursuers. The settlers returned to Parramatta and about an hour afterwards, Pemulway entered the town with a large body of aborigines. A skirmish resulted in which Pemulway was severely wounded in the head and five of his group were killed. The rebel was captured and chained but managed to escap^.

Hunter wrote the Duke of Portland in June 1797 concerning the trouble the Colony was having with the natives. Crops and buildings were

50 Jotjmal of the Parramatta and District Historical Socfety

being destroyed and the Corps was much in need o f small arms and equipment to form patrols to pursue the marauding natives*®. In the same month, William Garland, a convict, was speared at Parramatta. Peace reigned until February 1798, when with the ripening o f the wheat and maize in the district, the natives returned to raid the crops. Several settlers were killed at Parramatta and nearby Toongabbie*^. In reprisal, Hunter ordered out numerous well-armed parties with orders to attack native groups, fearing that they would rob and fire crops unless deterred*^.

These tactics were successful for the crops of 1798 were reported to be fully accounted for at Parramatta but there was trouble at the Northern Boundaries when in June 1798, a large group of natives attacked and burned several houses*®. The following two years seemed to be trouble free. There were no reports o f reprisals in the General Orders and full harvests were recorded at Parramatta 10

The armed patrols may have been discontinued because o f the lack of native resistance but in May 1801 trouble broke out again with the murder o f Daniel Conray and the wounding o f a man named Smith. Crops were being burned again and Governor Hunter sent guards to the farms with orders to fire on marauding natives*®. Governor King offered a reward for the capture of Pemulway, claiming that he was the cause o f the current trouble. 1\vo escaped convicts, William Knight and Thomas Thrush had joined the native outlaws. The Governor was sure that the convicts were acquainting Pemulway o f the methods o f the settlers and the military and offered a reward for them also in the form of a free pardon for a convict or the assignement o f a convict for twelve months for a settler10

After the harvest, the natives moved away from the district until November 1801 when the late crops were being harvested. Pemulway had a strong feeling o f revenge for the loss o f his peoples life style. He took the lives o f four settlers in October, f ired crops and cruelly beat several convict women.*®. The Reverend Samuel Marsden may have by now been losing a large quantity o f crops for in November 1801, he raised a contingent of soldiers and convicts to apprehend by force all natives living near Parramatta. Planned as a night time exercise, it failed with Marsden saying ‘that there would never be any good done by the natives’ 16

The garrison at Parramatta and Toongabbie had a total o f a Captain, a Lieutenant,three sergeants and 74 privates in 1799. By December 1801 the detachment was increased by 8 privates*^. With this military strength, Pemulway led his group away from the area. In October 1802, King was again reporting on the troubles with the natives and their leader. Again he posted orders to allow settlers to fire on natives to keep them away

Journal of the Parramatta and District Historical Soctety 51

from their farms. King even suggested to the natives that if they surrendered Pemulway for justice, he would ensure friendship between the colonists and the natives**^

Early in November o f 1802, when settlers were preparing for raids on their crops, two of them came across Pemulway and shot him and another native. Pemulway was decapitated and his head offered to the Governor who declined the gift . However, the head was preserved in spirits and sent to England on board the ‘Speedy’. The fate o f it has not beenrecorded

After Pemulway’s death, troubles with the natives ceased around the Parramatta district and King posted an order proclaiming that natives were not to be molested or ill-treated*®. George Barrington, Chief Constable at Parramatta wrote that Pemulway and his group were clearly at war with the British. His 12 year campaign was beyond the acts o f an outlaw. They were, he claimed, acts of war carried out by a people who were determined not to surrender their land or sovereignty to an invader*®.

There were only a few natives living in Parramatta during the troubles. In 1796 there was a population of 1020 and one known native. By 1799 the number had grown to 1364 and two natives. By 1800, there were 1444 residents and no natives^.

The Reverend Samuel Marsden took a four year old aboriginal boy, whom he called Tristan, into his house in 1794. After a time, Tristan was regarded as an example of how well an aboriginal could be assimilated into white society. On 2 December 1804, Marsden baptised him making this the first probable baptism of an aboriginal in Australia** . Tristan accompanied Marsden on his journey to England in 1807 but after being disciplined in Rio de Janeiro, he absconded only to be bought back to Australia later in a diseased and miserable state .

Another Parramatta aboriginal, Moowaltin, also known as Dan, lived with George Caley the botanist from 1807 until Caley returned to England in 1810. He was possibly the first Parramatta native to travel to England. He remained only a short tune and on returning left Parramatta and went back to the bush. Caley stated that he could single out several aboriginals whose mental faculties were better than many o f the lower order of England. Caley was on good terms with the aboriginals, a situation made easier after the death of Pemulway. He used many aboriginal words in the naming o f new plant and bird species, many of which are still currently used. These words were probably learned from natives in the Parramatta region

52 Jcxjmal of the Parramatta and District Historical Society

The years 1803-4 were trouble free with the natives. By August 1804, Parramatta had a population o f 1,709. So much land had now been cleared that it was impossible for the local aboriginals to support themselves in their old life style. Trouble again flared up in 1805 between natives and settlers in the South Creek and Hawkesbury areas. It is thought that Tferbury, Pemulway’s son was the instigator. Although he used small raiding party tactics probably learned from his father, he did not develop the ‘resistance fighting’ strategies used by Pemulway .

What was left of the Western Sydney Dharugs gathered together in Parramatta in May 1805 and so u ^ t protection from the magistrates, probably because of Terbury’s activities and the resultant growing hostilities ofthe settlers and the inevitable lack o f food. In July 1805,three settlers were killed by natives. The ‘protected’ group turned in the culprits to be gaoled. The group was settled on land between Prospect and the Georges River*®.

Shortly after this incident, Judge Advocate Atkins wrote the Governor on various legal matters; one section concerned the law and aboriginals. He felt that aboriginals were incapable o f giving evidence in court as accused criminals. He suggested that a fair verdict was one made according to moral and religious ties. Currently, he claimed, the mode of law was to inflict such punishment as may be merited*®. Atkins’s suggestions were eventually incorporated in colonial law

In 1809 Tferbury was very active with attacks along the Parramatta Road, robbing settlers retxxming to their farms with their stores. His raids were as far as the Georges River; spears were thrown on the raids but there were no deaths. In October, three settlers were pursued for a considerable distance along the Parramatta road. The settlers escaped harm but on the same day, Edward Powell had a flock o f 43 sheep stolen. The Sydney Gazette reported the raid which seems to have been Tferburys largest His raiding parties only consisted o f three to four followers and it seems that he could not command the following o f his father^.

On 24 June 1810, F. Luttrill jnr. was committed to gaol for the death of Tferbury but vras released on bail. Luttrill apparently killed Tferbury because of a raid and he was committed because there was no Government Order on Tferbury. Luttrill, whilst still on bail, left the Colony, returning to England^. The Government hoped that settlers would not take revenge on other natives thus provoking the peaceful for a fewmiscreants20

The death o f Tferbury seemed to have brought aboriginal resistance

Journal of ttie PanBniatta and District Historical Society 53

around the Parramatta district to an end. There seems to be no evidence of the fate of the remaining clans and certainly no written story by the aboriginals o f the time. Probably sympathetic settlers allowed natives to live on their land whilst others became integrated into the community or became fringe dwellers. Some may have moved out into otber tribal territories.

Maintaining peace between settlers and aboriginals was made difficult because o f the low esteem held towards natives. Even Phillip, with his enlightened outlook and relatively trouble free contact compared to later Governors*^, left the Colony beieving that the aboriginal natives were incapable of being civilised^ . The commissions of the early Governors always included instructions to maintain friendly relationships with the natives. As the clearing and settlement of land for agriculture was a prime priority, a conflict of interests was inevitable.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES.

1. TURBET, Peter. The Aboriginals of the Svdnev District before 1788. 1989.

2. BLAINEY, Geoffery. The Triumph of the Nomads. 1975.3. TENCH, Watkins. A Complete Account of the Settlement of

Port JacksQP ip New South Wales. 1793.4. KOHEN. J.L. Aboripines in the West- Prehistory to Present.

1985.5. COLLINS, David. An Account of the English Colony in

Nfi.VY Q.utli Wales. 1802.6. KOHEN, J.L. and JERRQW. J. PARRAMATTA

ADVERTISER. 1988.7. PARBURY, Nigel. Survival History of Aboriginal Life in

MSW. 1988.8. PHILLIP, Arthur. JOURNAL. 1787.9. HUNTER. John. An Historical Journal 1787-93. 1793.10. Historical Records o f NSW.11. JERVIS, James. Cradle Citv of Australia: Parramatta.

1961.12. BARNARD. Mariorie. A History of Australia. 1962.13. BARNARD. Mariorie. Six Australian Battlefields. 1962.14. WOOLMINGTON, Jean. Aboriginals in Colonial Society

15. COBLEY,John. Svdnev Cove: 1795-1800. 1986.16. CALEY, George. Reflections on the Colony o f NSW .


1966.17. Historical Records o f Australia.18. WILMONT, Eric. Pemulwav. 1987.19. YARWOOD. Alexander T. Marsden of Parramatta 1986.20. The Svdnev Gazette.21. CROWLEY. Frank. Colonial Australia. Vol 1. 1980.22. WHITE, John. Journal. 1792.

N eil Smitb is a member o f the Society. He wishes to ackno wledge the assistance given to him by Lyndall Wright and Megan La vander in researching this article.

Journal of the Parramatta arid DIstrtet Historical Society 55

Aborigjjftal People and Place Page 1 of 6

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« a 3 S i»

The traditional owners of the Sydney City region are the Cadigal band. Their land south of Port Jackson stretches from South Head to Petersham. The "Eora people" was the name given to the coastal Aborigines around Sydney. The word Eora simply means "here" or "from this place". Local Aboriginal people used the word to describe to the British where they came from and so the word was then used to define the Aboriginal people themselves. The name Eora is proudly used today by the descendants of those very same people. Central Sydney is therefore often referred to as "Eora Country".

A^t>ri5irai Ar«*3

With the invasion of the Sydney region, the Cadigal people were decimated but there are descendants of the Eora people still living in Sydney today. Suburbs close to the city such as Glebe are also the home of the Cadigal and Wangal Wangal ancestors and the surrounding bushland contains remnants of traditional plant, bird and animal life with fish and rock oysters available from Blackwattle Bay.

O i s t r i b u t f o h o f f i n j i i i s t t c t r i b e s t r S y d n e y a r e a i n 1 7 6 6

Click on this interactive map to view the location of the tribes in the Sydney area.Map: Locations of Aboriginal groups in the Sydney Area. Based upon a map by J. Goodrum in Australians to 1788. p. 345. (Fairfax, Syme and Weldon Associates, Sydney. 1987)

Clans or bands (called "tribes" by the Europeans) within Sydney belonged to several major language groups, often with coastal and inland dialects, including Dharug, Dharawal/Tharawal, Gundungurra and Kurringgai.

Aboriginal group names in the Sydney areaBand Language

GroupLocation Band I Language

GroupLocation

Cadigal Dharug Sydney Kurrajong Dharug Kurrajong

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A b o i^ n a l P eople and Place / ^

Page 2 o f 6

Click here to listen to a tribute to the Cammeraigal clan. The song "The waterways of Cammeraigal" was written by Chris Robinson and sung by Pamela Young. The Sydney suburb of Cammeray commemorates these people.

i(Eora) 1

Wangal Dharug I l(Eora) 1

1 Concord Boo-bain-ora Dharug Wentworthville

------------Burramattagal Dharug

(Eora)Parramatta Mulgoa Dharug Penrith

Wallumattagal Dharug(Eora)

Ryde Terramerragal Kurringgai IiTurramurra

Muru-ora-dial Dharug(Eora)

Maroubra Cammeraigal Kurringgai Cammeray

Kameygal Dharug(Eora)

Botany Bay Carigal Kurringgai West Head

Birrabirragal Dharug(Eora)

SydneyHarbour

Cannalgal Kurringgai Manly (coast)

Borogegal-Yuruey

Dharug I1 Bradleys Head

Gorualgal Kurringgai Fig Tree Point

Bediagal Dharug North ofGeorge'sRiver

Kayimai Kurringgai Manly(harbour)

BIdjigal Dharug Castle Hill Gweagal Dharawal Kurnell

Toogagal Dharug Toongabbie Norongerragal Dharawai South of George's River

Cabrogal Dharug Cabramatta lllawarra Dharawal Wollongong

Boorooberongal Dharug Richmond Threawal Dharawal Bong Bong

Cannemegal Dharug Prospect Tagary Dharawal Royal National Park?

Gomerigal-tongara

Dharug SouthCreek?

Wandeandegal Dharawal

Muringong Dharug Camden Ory-ang-ora Dharawal

Cattai Dharug Windsor Goorungurragal Dharawal

Source; J L Kohen and Ronald Lampert 'Hunters and Fishers in the Sydney Region' ,in D J Mulvaney and J Peter White: Australians to 1788. Sydney, Fairfax, Syme & Weldon, 1987, p.351

There is some disagreement as to the degree of cultural separateness of the people who traditionally lived in the adjoining lands which comprise Greater Sydney, encompassing most of the westem suburbs and stretching up to the Blue Mountains. The claim that the language groups listed above were of one tribe is based on an understanding that they spoke the same language, but in two distinct dialects.

However, there is much evidence to suggest that the major language groups of greater Sydney were different groups using different languages and different initiation rites. There is evidence of Aboriginal people migrating in a north-south direction but none from east to west. The appearance of men from the inland group was different from that of coastal men who were missing their right incisor tooth, removed during their initiation.

Similarly, when Bennelong of the Wangal people went into Parramatta in 1789, he did not understood the language spoken there so that’s another practical example of tribes being distinct entities.The twenty-nine or so clan groups of the wider Sydney region were associated with specific areas of land by family boundaries, and distinguished by body decorations, hairstyles, songs and dances, tools and weapons.

Sydney has always been a city with a high proportion of immigrants. Aboriginal people moved into Sydney from all parts of NSW and Australia in the 20th and 21st to become part of the City’s people.

Governor Phillip estimated there were about 1500 Aboriginal people within a 10 mile radius of Port Jackson in 1788. But there is much scepticism about population figures offered by historians and even those in official govemment parties. It must be remembered that there were bounties on the heads of Aboriginal people at one stage, and some whites went as far as digging bodies up to

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IO N

turns.

ABORIGINAL CLANS OF THE SYDNEY REGION

Derived from ethnographic accounts, 1828 census, blanket returns.

INLAND CLANS

d

RA)

DARUG

ParramattaRichmondLiverpool - CabramattaAirdsMulgoaCowpasturesCastlereagh-Emu PlainsSpringwoodKurrajong-North RichmondCattai Creek - Pitt TownPortland HeadWindsorCamdenMt TomahSouth CreekEastern CreekProspectToongabbieCastle HillBotany Bay - Salt Pan Creek

DARKINTIJNC

Mangrove Creek Dangar Island MacDonald River Colo River Putt\

BURRAMATTAGALBOOROOBERONGALCABROGAL

7MULGOWIMURINGONGNEPEAN "TRIBE" (WANDEANDEGAL?) ORYANG-ORA (AURANG)BELMONT "TRIBE"CATTAI

?WINDSOR "TRIBE"COBBITI BARTA TOMAH "TRIBE"GOMERIGAL SOUTH CREEK "TRIBE" WAWARAWARRY (WARRAWARRY) WARMULI (WEYMALI)TOONGAGAL (TUGAGAL)BIDJIGALBEDIAGAL

l^uttvMellongWollombi

MANGROVE CREEK "TRIBE" MULLET ISLAND "TRIBE" HRST BRANCH "TRIBE" SECOND BRANCH "TRIBE" PUTTY "TRIBE"ILWARRYWOLLOMBI

GUNDUNGURRA

^ ^ a g o ra n g Valley

Nattai River Kpers Flat Wallerawang Goulbum Bungonia

BURRAGORANG COX'S RIVER "TRIBE" NATTAI "TRIBE" WYWANDY THURRABULAT BURRA BURRA PARAMARGO

21

TABLE 1. ABORIGINAL CLANS OF THE SYDNEY REGION

Derived from ethnographic accounts, 1828 census, blanket returns. Derived fr

COASTAL CLANS

LOCATION

KURINGGAI TRIBE

Broken Bay-West HeadBrisbane WaterTuggerah BeachWyongNararaErinaManlyFig Tree Point Sydney Harbour Turramurra-Lane Cove River Cammeray Manly - Dee Why

DARUG (EORA)

Duck River Kissing Point - Ryde Botany Bay Maroubra ^ d n e y ConcordSow and Pigs (Harbour) Bradley's Head

DHARAWAL

W ollongongBulliLake Illawarra Crooked River Kangaroo Valley Bong Bong- Thirroul Royal National Park Wollongong? Minto-Holsworthy

KurnellBerrima - Bundanoon

NAMF.

CARIGALNORTHEAST ARM "TRIBE"TUGGERAWYONGNARARAERINAKAYIMAIGORUALGALBURRABURRAGALTURRAMURRAGALCAMMERAIGALCANNALGAL

WATEGORA (WATTAGURRA)WALLUMATTAGALKAMEYGALMURU-ORA-DIAL (MURUBORA)CADIGALWANGALBIRRABIRRAGALBOROGEGAL.YURUEY

THAMPA YARRAMAH FIVE ISLANDS BULLIILLAWARRACROOKED RIVER "TRIBE"KANGAROO GROUND "TRIBE"THREAWAL (THURRAWAL?)TAGARYWODI WODINORONGERRAGALNUNNUNGURRUNGALGWEAGALBUNDA

g A B U f i

p a r r a m a t t e

Richmond Liverpool - Airds MulgoaCowpastuCastlereag Springwo< Kurrajong Cattai Cre Portland I Windsor Camden Mt Tomal South Cre Eastern C Prospect Toongabl Castle Hi'. Botany B.

PARKIN

Mangro\Dangar IMacDonColo RivPuttyMellongWollom:

G U N D l

Burragc'HartleyNattai I-Pipers 1WallersGoulbuBungor

20

AThe Atavailabl Aborigi and wht did not be avail

tree.'

FIGURE 1. Distribution o f linguistic tribes in the Sydney area in 1788.

There were several dialects o f each language spoken. The tw o dialects o f the Darug language were the Eora dialect along the coast and the inland dialect, which was

spoken by the "woods tribes", the bediagal-tugagal-tugara.

A distinct dialect o f Dharawal was spoken by the G weagal clan on the south side o f Botany Bay near K um ell, w hile the W odi W odi dialect was spoken further south near W ollongong.

The Kuringgai language probably consisted o f several dialects, one o f which was spoken at Broken Bay. This was recorded as Kari (the language o f the Carigal clan).

22

Clan names chart - Australian Museum Page 1 o f 2

Australian Museumnarure culture discover

Clan names chart

A chart of the main clan names for the Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney section, including historical spellings and a description of country.

Clan names chart

Clan name

Bediagal

Historical spelling/s Name or description of country

Bediagal, Bidjigals, Bid-ee-gal, Bejigal, Be-dia-gal

Birrabirragal Birra birragal-leon

Borogegal Borogegal,Borogegal-yurrey

Boromedegal Boorammedegal, Boromedegal,Boora me di-gal, Booramedigai-leon

Buruberonga! Burubirangal,Bu-ru-be-ron-gal,Buruberongal,Boo-roo-bir-rong-gal,Boo-roo-ber-on-gal,Boorooberongal

Darramurragal Darra murra gal, Tarra-merragal

Gadigal

Gahbrogal

Cadigal, Cadigai, Cad-i-gal, Cadi-gal

Cah-bro-ga!

Gamaragal Cammerragal,Cam-mer-ray-gal,Cameeragal,Camera-gal,

Probably to the north-west of Parramatta, between Parramatta and Hawkesbury River, possibly around present day Castle Hill.

Possibly associated with Birra Birra, a rocky reef in the lower harbour now known as Sow and Pigs,

Possibly associated with Borogegy, now know as Bradleys Head.

Assumed to be associated with Parramatta area, on similarity of pronunciation, Parramatta (Tench 1793), Par-ra-mata (King in Hunter 1793).

To the north-west of Parramatta, about two hours walking distance from the Hawkesbury River (Phillip in Hunter 1793).

Said to be 'in the district of Wanne', but on similarity of name associated with the suburb Turramurra, at the headwaters of the Lane Cove River.

Cadi was on the south side of Port Jackson, extending from South Head to Long Cove (Darling Harbour) (King in Hunter 1793). Cadi, the bay of Cadi, is probably 'Kutti' which is the Aboriginal place name for Watsons Bay.

The Cahbrogal lived inland and ate estuarine teredo worms called cah-bro (Collins 1798). In 1845 Mahroot said the 'Liverpool blacks' were called 'Cobrakalls'(ln: Select Committee on the Condition of the Aborigines Report 1845). Associated with the suburb Cabramatta.

Cam-mer-ray (Collins 1798), Cammerra (Phillip 1790), Camerra (King in Hunter 1793) was on the north shore or north side of Port Jackson.

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Clan names chart - Australian Museum Page 2 o f 2

Kamarigal

Gameygal Kamey-gal

Gannemegal Cannemegal

Garigal Caregal, possiblyCorrugal

Gayamaygal 'the tribe of Kay-yee-my'

Gweagal Gweagal, Gwea-gai

Wallumedegal Wallumedegai, Walumetta, Wallume-de-gal

Wangal Wangal, Wanngal,Won-gal

Around Kamay, the name for Botany Bay, possibly to the north-west of Gwea (Anon ca 1790-1792).

Wau-maille [War-mul] which the Cannemegal was said to inhabit was one of eight place names in the district of Rose Hill which was 10 minutes walk westward from Rose Hill (Anon ca 1790 1792).

Caregal initially given as name of 'a man, or a tribe, who resided to the northward'. Later, 'Nanbarre said Caregal was the man's name, and he lived at, or near Broken Bay' (Phillip in Hunter 1793).

Kay-yee-my, the place where the Governor was wounded - Manly Cove (Phillip in Hunter 1793); Kay-ye-my, Manly Bay (Anon ca 1790-1792).

Gwea. Gweea was on the southern shore of Botany Bay (Tench 1793).

Wallumede. Waiiumede was on the north shore, opposite Warrane (Sydney Cove) (King in Hunter 1793).

Wann (Phillip 1790). Wanne (King in Hunter 1793) extended along the south side of the harbour from Long Cove (Darling Harbour) to Rose Hill, which the local inhabitants called Parramatta.

Dr VaJ Attenbrow, Principal Research Scientist Last Updated: 24 December 2009

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