How aboriginals helped Europeans survive?

Answer 1

When the white settlers came, the Aborigines were dispossessed of their land and, much later, "encouraged" onto reserves, supposedly for their protection. They were forced off their traditional hunting grounds, and certainly herded away from the fertile coastal areas where there was plenty of food. White settlers wrecked the very effective native fishing traps, cleared native habitats and reduced the native food supplies, as well as polluting their water.

Massacres of the indigenous people occurred on a regular basis. The Coniston massacre, the massacre at Myall Creek, the "Battle of Risdon" in Tasmania and many others, all were perpetrated against the Aborigines by the Europeans. There were years of conflict between Tasmanian Aborigines and white settlers which eventually resulted in the loss of the purebred aboriginal race from Tasmania - virtually genocide.

The Europeans also introduced foods and diseases, all of which were perfectly harmless to the white settlers, but lowered the life expectancy of the aboriginal people. Simple diseases like Measles and Influenza had devastating effects on Aborigines. Foods containing wheat and sugar resulted in Heart disease and obesity among the indigenous Australians. Europeans introduced new flora and fauna which took over native habitat, leading to the extinction of many plants and animals on which the Aborigines relied.

When the aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their families, this directly led to a loss of culture, language, customs and traditions among the Aborigines. When the Europeans first came to Australia, there were around 250 different aboriginal languages in Australia. There is just a fraction of that number now. Many stories from the aboriginal Dreaming (creation legends) have disappeared forever.

Answer 2

The War for the land: A Short History" of Aboriginal-European relations in Cairns.

Conflict between Aborigines and Europeans began almost immediately after the first arrival of settlers in Cairns in October 1876. Before this time early navigators had passed through the seas off Cairns, but had had little or no contact with the Aborigines.

Relations between Aboriginals and Europeans began poorly. Apart from some trade between the two peoples, the attitude of the Europeans towards the Aborigines in Cairns was one of contempt, fear and hatred. Aborigines at first tried to fit Europeans into their society. They found whites hard to deal with because they broke Aboriginal law and took food from Aboriginal land without permission. Soon they became angry and tried to punish white "misbehaviour". Beche-de-mer fishermen started this change in trust because they often kidnapped Aborigines to work for them, almost as slaves.

Aborigines struck back with ambushes being laid for Europeans who were unlucky enough to fall into them. As they lost their hunting grounds and trade routes to land-grabbing Europeans, the Aborigines turned their anger on any European they could find. These were usually isolated farmers, lone travellers and miners who were alone. Europeans fought back by killing every Aborigine they could find, whether these people were responsible for the attacks or not.

The white people of Cairns appealed to the Queensland Government who brought Native Mounted Police troopers to Cairns. These troopers were Aborigines from New South Wales or southern Queensland, who were organised in military bands with a white commander and a sergeant. They were sent to do the dirty business of 'dispersing' the Aboriginals from districts which were wanted by the Europeans. There were Native Mounted Police camps at the Mulgrave River near Cairns, the Johnstone (Innisfail) area to the south, Port Douglas to the north, and Mareeba to the west.

The Native Police were good trackers and soon learned their way around the country. Aborigines believed that other blacks from far away were enemies, so the Native Mounted Police were responsible for a number of massacres of local Aborigines. These 'dispersal raids' were very effective. By 1898 only around 500 of the original Aboriginal population remained in Cairns and the surrounding districts. Aborigines were also killed off by disease, as they had no immunity to European diseases like measles and influenza.

Aborigines killed the following people. These people would be considered invaders:

• April 1873 William Rose and William?, on the cutter "Goodwill, at Green Island. (These were Palm Island Aborigines who had been taken to work under false pretences).
• 10 July 1873 John Finley, James Mercer, Charles Reeves and a South Sea Islander labourer, beche de mer fishermen killed at Green Island by kidnapped Aboriginal workers.
• June 1874 Old Bill Smith, Green Island.
• February 1878 Packer (someone who packed supplies on horses and mules), speared on the range west of Cairns.
• 31 August 1878 Monday, an Aborigine working for white people, killed at Smithfield.
• September 1879 Keating and Harvey, Mulgrave River - unconfirmed.
• November 1882 Seven Chinese travellers between Granite Creek (later Mareeba) and Cairns - unconfirmed.
• 26 August 1883 Nine Chinese travellers near the Russell River.
• August 1884 John Conway, Russell River.
• 21 December 1884 Donald McAuley, selector (a small farmer), Mulgrave River.
• August/December 1884 A selector, Mulgrave River - unconfirmed.
• 6 September 1886 Two Aboriginal porters with Christy Palmerston, the explorer.
• 1888/1889 John Clifford, Boar's Pocket
• 23 July 1883 Three European miners including Frank Pask, Russell River
• July 1890 George Hobson, Lower Barron
• August 1892 A white man at Myola, near Kuranda.

When Aborigines were killed, there was much less publicity. People kept quiet about it. However there are a reports of "dispersals" (massacres) at Smithfield in 1878, Bibhoora near Mareeba in 1881, Clohesy River near Kuranda in the early 1880s, Speewah (near Kuranda) in the mid 1890s, and Spring Creek Valley between Cairns and Port Douglas. Others which are unconfirmed were at Mona Mona and Flaggy Creek near Kuranda. In the late 1880s, groups of Aborigines were killed by leaving poisoned food for them.

Generally, in the war for the land, the Death Rate was ten Aborigines for every one European. This was because the white settlers had guns and the Native Mounted Police.

From the mid 1880s Aborigines began to "come in", looking for work, food and safety.

They were forced to eke out an existence, taking any menial jobs that they could find. Whites found them useful as cheap labour, especially as domestic servants. Women and children were often stolen from their families for this.

The Missions

Some white people felt badly about what was happening to the Aborigines, especially in the Churches. Missions were established. The first was built at Yarrabah on the south side of Cairns in 1891 by the Church of England. The other mission in the area was at Mona Mona, near Kuranda. It was set up by the Seventh Day Adventist Church in 1913. At first Aborigines came to the missions looking for protection from white violence. They also needed help to survive as their hunting grounds were taken. The missionaries, like Reverend Gribble, wanted to help them and give them skills to work and live in white society. However the main aim of the Missions was to turn them into Christians. This meant destroying the Aborigines' culture and ways of living, and taking their children at age 6 or 7 to be brought up in dormitories. This was so the children would not learn traditional customs and languages.

Once the missions were established, Aboriginal people from other areas were rounded up by the Government and sent there against their will, as indigenous people have very close ties to their land. By 1910 only 60 of the 300 people at Yarrabah were actually from the area. At Mona Mona, there were people from as far away as Normanton. Missions may have helped Aboriginal people to survive, but they created many more problems. Aboriginal traditional society was destroyed, yet they were rarely accepted into European society.

In 1897 the Aborigines Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act was passed by the Queensland Government. This took away many civil rights of Aborigines. Their work, income, marriages, children, the people they could be friends with, the places they could live, were all controlled by Government officers or the missionaries. For example, they were not allowed to have the low wages they worked for. Pocket money was given out to them by Protectors (usually the local policeman). Aboriginal people could work all their lives and see very little of their own money, and they could not pass it on to their children when they died. The restrictions of this Act only ended in the 1960s.

For more information on the Aborigines of Cairns consult the following books:

• Timothy Bottoms, Djabugay Country: An Aboriginal History of Tropical North Queensland .
• Mollie Coleman, Green Meat and Oily Butter: Memories of Yarrabah.
• Noel Loos, Invasion and Resistance.

Answer 3

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