146-722: Henry Edmund Pulteney Dana (1820–1852) established the Native Police Corps in the Port Phillip District (later Victoria ) in 1842, he was responsible for two massacres of Aboriginal people one at Barmah Lake in 1843 and the other at Snowy River in 1846. Dana was born in England, his father being Captain William Pulteney Dana of the 6th Regiment. Henry Dana migrated to Van Diemen's Land (later Tasmania ) in 1840, but in 1842 he relocated to
292-557: A Dunghutti man called Doughboy who had murdered a sawyer named Dan Page. In 1860, Poulden was soon called out again to capture Aboriginal criminals who had laid siege to Mrs McMaugh at Nulla Nulla Creek. Poulden and his six troopers tracked them up Five Day Creek to the ranges where several were killed after a gunfight. An orphaned child was taken after the skirmish and delivered to local Towal Creek squatter John Warne to look after. The native police involved in such raids used to strip naked and would wear red headbands to distinguish them from
438-593: A Holocene hunter-gatherer sample ("Leang Panninge") from South Sulawesi , which shares high amounts of genetic drift with Aboriginal Australians and Papuans. This suggests that a population split from the common ancestor of Aboriginal Australians and Papuans. The sample also shows genetic affinity with East Asians and the Andamanese people of South Asia. The authors note that this hunter-gatherer sample can be modelled with ~50% Papuan-related ancestry and either with ~50% East Asian or Andamanese Onge ancestry, highlighting
584-646: A non-commissioned officer ranking over a group of 11 other Aboriginal men in a paramilitary force that was to be sent to Tasmania to fight against the Aboriginal people there in the Black War . The detachment was to be headed by the commissary officer at Port Macquarie George James MacDonald , but the colonial authorities disbanded the unit before it was deployed. At Port Stephens , the Australian Agricultural Company had obtained
730-434: A "friendly fire" incident during this dispersal. Dempster, having fallen sick, then allowed Johnson to take charge of his division and lead it to Yamboukal (modern-day Surat ) where a lot of Mandandanji working peacefully on this pastoral station were subsequently killed. As a result of this, Dempster was suspended for 3 months. It appears that neither Johnson nor Dempster faced any legal repercussions. Sgt. Skelton also led
876-415: A Clarence River squatter was asked if he thought any Aboriginal criminals were still at large, he simply replied "No, I think they are dead." The Native Police were officially withdrawn from the area in 1859. Sub-Inspector Galbraith was dismissed in 1863 for the accidental shooting death of a native girl while out "routing the blacks" near Grafton. In 1854, Sub Lieut. Dempster who was initially stationed as
1022-532: A Gunai clan. Outraged sensibility among the colonists demanded both the rescue of the supposed damsel and the wholesale punishment of the natives involved. A special Native Police mission was organised in September 1846 under HEP Dana that failed to produce the White woman. A private posse of ten armed Aboriginal men and six Whites was then organised under de Villiers which also did not produce the woman. The rumour of
1168-950: A Native Police force on Nauru during its administration of the island from 1923 until 1968. The general template for native police forces in Australia was the sepoy and sowar armies of the East India Company . However, the more compact forces of the Cape Regiment in southern Africa and the Kaffir and Malay Corps in Ceylon are a closer comparison. Before the creation of the first official Native Police forces, there were some informal and privately funded examples of utilising Aboriginal men as enforcers of land claims by European settlers during European colonisation. Armed Aboriginal men were used to capture runaway convicts in
1314-589: A collective punishment. His force drove a camp of people, most of them older women and children, across the Edward River, fatally wounding 2 women and a child. By 1853, 12 troopers of Native Police were officially stationed in the Murrumbidgee District under the command of the local Commissioner for Crown Lands. The need for native troopers in this region was soon deemed superfluous and the government dissolved this detachment in 1857. However,
1460-614: A commissioner, and the other was to trial a force of armed and mounted Aboriginal police under the command of White officers. By 1840, the Border Police became the main replacement for the NSW Mounted Police along the frontier, while the Native Police Corps, as the Aboriginal force was known, was limited initially to one division in the Port Phillip District of the colony, around Melbourne . Requests for
1606-414: A consequence, the 1st Division of Native Police under Commandant Walker was sent into the area. Additionally, Lieutenant John Murray and the 3rd Division with the troopers of Sgt. Doolan were deployed by ship to Gladstone to ensure a strong garrison at the fledgling settlement there. The surveyor sent to mark out Gladstone, Francis MacCabe , felt so unsafe that he established the camp in an area close to
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#17327728493161752-611: A gene flow from India to Australia: firstly, signs of South Asian components in Aboriginal Australian genomes, reported on the basis of genome-wide SNP data; and secondly, the existence of a Y chromosome (male) lineage, designated haplogroup C∗, with the most recent common ancestor about 5,000 years ago. The first type of evidence comes from a 2013 study by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology using large-scale genotyping data from
1898-624: A large congregation of Aboriginal people assembled at the Murray-Darling junction. When investigating another murder of a White man near Menindie , Perry had the ring leader tied to a tree and shot dead as an example in "keeping the blacks quiet". It appears that the Native Police units were dissolved in the Lower Darling and Albert Districts by the early 1860s. Lieutenant Perry occasionally sent several native troopers into
2044-576: A man called Allan, called at G.A. Robinson's office in Melbourne and told him ...a number of men also women were shot by Dana's party at the Murry [sic] and children were knocked on the head with carrabines [sic] . They first sent out a party to look for the natives and then went and planted themselves in a scrub and sent two or three troopers to round or drive them like sheep to be large party carrelled; then they commenced firing and shot some of them in
2190-645: A man named Robertson, he was shot by the Native Police. The Native Police deployed to this region operated over a large area that included forays across the Murray into the Tumut region right down to the Wimmera . They worked under their own officers such as Cowan, Walsh and Dana while also under the authority of Commissioners like Smythe, Bingham, Powlett and McDonald. In 1843 and 1844, Commissioner Smythe led large punitive missions with forces including Native Police along
2336-407: A massacre at Barmah Lake in 1843, during which around 26 Aboriginal people were killed and Dana was speared in the thigh. The official report did not mention the murders and, when challenged on the truthfulness of the report, Dana's reply was that "persons unconnected with the public service know nothing of reports ... being apt to blurt out statements more properly held in reserve." On January 5, 1844,
2482-422: A million acre land acquisition. In the early 1830s, the superintendent of the company, Sir Edward Parry , established a private native constabulary to augment a small garrison of soldiers. These black constables, such as Jonathan and William, were involved in dispensing lethal summary justice to Aboriginal people accused of murdering a company employee, and were also permitted to shoot armed runaway convicts. Parry
2628-427: A mission that ranged from Georges Creek, Lagoon Creek and then up Five Day Creek to Moy Buck Mountain. When the Aboriginal camp was discovered the Aboriginal fled in all directions. Later in 1864, there is a record of the murderer named Blue Shirt being captured and handcuffed to the stirrup of a horse belonging to a Native Police trooper. The horse subsequently become frightened and kicked him to death. Names of some of
2774-511: A number of Aboriginal men accused of murder and felony. The nearby Fraser Island was being used as a sanctuary for these Aboriginal people (the Badtjala people). It was not until late December 1851 that the force was ready to search Fraser Island. Walker, Marshall, Doolan with their three divisions of troopers, together with local landholders the Leith Hay brothers and Mr Wilmot set out down
2920-825: A number of dispersals across the Dawson River area and down to Ukabulla (also near Surat) where Mandandanji leader Bussamarai was killed. Collisions also occurred between John Murray 's troopers and Kabi Kabi at Widgee and with Walker's forces and the Bigambul south of Callandoon. Native Police were also employed tracking down Chinese coolie labourers who had run away from the stations of powerful squatter capitalists such as Gordon Sandeman . In 1853 several new Sub-Lieutenants were appointed including John O'Connell Bligh , Edric Norfolk Vaux Morisset , Frederick Keen, Samuel Crummer, Francis Nicoll and Frederick Walker's brother Robert G. Walker. The Sydney Morning Herald described
3066-486: A number of gold prospectors that had been murdered by the local Aboriginal people. The search team seized two Aboriginal informers, and when they tried to escape, they were shot by the native police. As late as the 1920s, native constables or trackers as they by then were called, aided White officers and stockmen in massacres of Aboriginal people. A famous example of this is the Forrest River massacre . From 1839
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#17327728493163212-635: A person as Indigenous. (Torres Strait Islanders are ethnically and culturally distinct, despite extensive cultural exchange with some of the Aboriginal groups, and the Torres Strait Islands are mostly part of Queensland but have a separate governmental status .) Some Aboriginal people object to being labelled Indigenous , as an artificial and denialist term, because some non-Aboriginal people have referred to themselves as indigenous because they were born in Australia. Australian Indigenous people have beliefs unique to each mob ( tribe ) and have
3358-598: A pool of Aboriginal Australians, New Guineans, island Southeast Asians, and Indians. It found that the New Guinea and Mamanwa (Philippines area) groups diverged from the Aboriginal about 36,000 years ago (there is supporting evidence that these populations are descended from migrants taking an early "southern route" out of Africa, before other groups in the area). Also the Indian and Australian populations mixed long before European contact, with this gene flow occurring during
3504-615: A profound spiritual connection. Over the millennia, Aboriginal people developed complex trade networks, inter-cultural relationships, law and religions. Contemporary Aboriginal beliefs are a complex mixture, varying by region and individual across the continent. They are shaped by traditional beliefs, the disruption of colonisation, religions brought to the continent by Europeans, and contemporary issues. Traditional cultural beliefs are passed down and shared through dancing , stories , songlines , and art that collectively weave an ontology of modern daily life and ancient creation known as
3650-611: A seasonal deployment of native police based at Boisdale . The closeness of the Border Police and the Native Police is demonstrated by officer Windredge who was employed in both forces in Gippsland. In 1845 and 1846, Tyers led extensive punitive raids with his forces around Lake Wellington , up the Avon River and down to the Lakes region. In late 1846 and early 1847, a rumour began that a shipwrecked white woman had been abducted by
3796-582: A sergeant at Grafton with Morisset was ordered to travel to the Macleay River with six troopers and set up a Native Police station near Kempsey . Squatters in the area had recently placed official requests for a section to be garrisoned on the Macleay. The Native Police camp was located at the old Border Police barracks at Belgrave Flat near Belgrave Falls just west of Kempsey. In 1859, 2nd Lieut. Richard Bedford Poulden (sometimes written as Poulding)
3942-495: A single group. Aboriginal identity has changed over time and place, with family lineage, self-identification, and community acceptance all of varying importance. In the 2021 census , Indigenous Australians comprised 3.8% of Australia's population. Most Aboriginal people today speak English and live in cities. Some may use Aboriginal phrases and words in Australian Aboriginal English (which also has
4088-411: A spirit creates the earth then tells the humans to treat the animals and the earth in a way which is respectful to land. In Northern Territory this is commonly said to be a huge snake or snakes that weaved its way through the earth and sky making the mountains and oceans. But in other places the spirits who created the world are known as wandjina rain and water spirits. Major ancestral spirits include
4234-470: A strong connection to the land. Contemporary Indigenous Australian beliefs are a complex mixture, varying by region and individual across the continent. They are shaped by traditional beliefs, the disruption of colonisation, religions brought to the continent by Europeans, and contemporary issues. Traditional cultural beliefs are passed down and shared by dancing , stories , songlines and art —especially Papunya Tula (dot painting)—collectively telling
4380-427: A tangible influence of Aboriginal languages in the phonology and grammatical structure ). Many but not all also speak the various traditional languages of their clans and peoples. Aboriginal people, along with Torres Strait Islander people, have a number of severe health and economic deprivations in comparison with the wider Australian community. DNA studies have confirmed that "Aboriginal Australians are one of
4526-773: Is an increase in allele sharing between the Denisovan and Aboriginal Australian genomes, compared to other Eurasians or Africans. Examining DNA from a finger bone excavated in Siberia , researchers concluded that the Denisovans migrated from Siberia to tropical parts of Asia and that they interbred with modern humans in Southeast Asia 44,000 years BP, before Australia separated from New Guinea approximately 11,700 years BP. They contributed DNA to Aboriginal Australians and to present-day New Guineans and an indigenous tribe in
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4672-477: Is based on the Aboriginal peoples' geographical isolation, with little or no interaction with outside cultures before some contact with Makassan fishermen and Dutch explorers up to 500 years ago. The Rasmussen study also found evidence that Aboriginal peoples carry some genes associated with the Denisovans (a species of human related to but distinct from Neanderthals ) of Asia; the study suggests that there
4818-480: Is no evidence for South Asian gene flow to Australia .... Despite Sahul being a single connected landmass until [8,000 years ago], different groups across Australia are nearly equally related to Papuans, and vice versa, and the two appear to have separated genetically already [about 30,000 years ago]." Aboriginal Australians possess inherited abilities to adapt to a wide range of environmental temperatures in various ways. A study in 1958 comparing cold adaptation in
4964-453: Is only in the last two hundred years that they have been defined and started to self-identify as a single group, socio-politically. While some preferred the term Aborigine to Aboriginal in the past, as the latter was seen to have more directly discriminatory legal origins, use of the term Aborigine has declined in recent decades, as many consider the term an offensive and racist hangover from Australia's colonial era. The definition of
5110-502: Is that the desert people are able to have a higher body temperature without accelerating the activity of the whole of the body, which can be especially detrimental in childhood diseases. This helps protect people to survive the side-effects of infection. Aboriginal people have lived for tens of thousands of years on the continent of Australia , through its various changes in landmass. The area within Australia 's borders today includes
5256-490: The CSIRO stressed the importance of taking a demand-driven approach to services in desert settlements, and concluded that "if top-down solutions continue to be imposed without appreciating the fundamental drivers of settlement in desert regions, then those solutions will continue to be partial, and ineffective in the long term." [REDACTED] This article incorporates text by Anders Bergström et al. available under
5402-515: The Champion Bay area. This situation gave Drummond complete freedom to subdue the natives around Geraldton in whatever method he deemed appropriate and a massacre of Aboriginal people conducted by the police and armed stockholders at Bootenal swamp near Greenough was the result. In 1865, Maitland Brown was sent on a search expedition through the La Grange and Roebuck Bay areas for
5548-465: The Condamine River where the "Fitzroy Downs blacks" were routed and another group were "compelled to fly" from the area. One of these skirmishes was described as a dawn raid on an Aboriginal encampment where around 100 native people were killed and two Native Police troopers were fatally injured. Walker found most of the squatters in the region thought the Native Police existed to shoot down
5694-662: The Darling Downs area was slowing pastoral expansion. As a result, the NSW government passed legislation in 1848 to fund a new section of Native Police based upon the Port Phillip model. Frederick Walker , a station manager and court official residing in the Murrumbidgee area, was appointed as the first Commandant of this Native Police force. Walker recruited 14 native troopers from four different language groups along
5840-729: The Darling River where the first Aboriginal attack occurred 100 miles below Fort Bourke at a place called Moanna, resulting in at least 5 natives being killed by the troopers. In 1849 he mobilised his force north beyond the MacIntyre River to conduct missions to police the out-stations. Once arriving on the Macintyre River on 10 May 1849, the force checked the aggressions of the local Aboriginal people, and when trying to capture six Aboriginal men charged with murder, there were "some lives lost". They were then deployed to
5986-590: The Initial Upper Paleolithic . They are most closely related to other Oceanians , such as Melanesians . The Aboriginal Australians also show affinity to other Australasian populations, such as Negritos , as well as to East Asian peoples . Phylogenetic data suggests that an early initial eastern lineage (ENA) trifurcated somewhere in South Asia , and gave rise to Australasians (Oceanians), Ancient Ancestral South Indian (AASI), Andamanese and
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6132-712: The Kimberley region in what is now Western Australia about 60,000 years ago. They migrated across the continent within 6,000 years. A 2018 study using archaeobotany dated evidence of continuous human habitation at Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen) in the Carnarvon Range in the Little Sandy Desert in WA from around 50,000 years ago. Genetic studies have revealed that Aboriginal Australians largely descended from an Eastern Eurasian population wave during
6278-637: The Makassar people of modern-day Indonesia. Aboriginal Australians have a wide variety of cultural practices and beliefs that some scientists believe make up the oldest continuous cultures in the world, although this is disputed. At the time of European colonisation of Australia, the Aboriginal people consisted of complex cultural societies with more than 250 languages and varying degrees of technology and settlements. Languages (or dialects) and language-associated groups of people are connected with stretches of territory known as "Country", with which they have
6424-486: The Maranoa Region , and one roving division. While Walker was away, the squatter at Goondiwindi station, Richard Purvis Marshall , assumed command of the Native Police operations. Marshall, with the native troopers and contingents of armed stockmen, conducted punitive raids at Tieryboo, Wallan, Booranga and Copranoranbilla Lagoon, shooting Aboriginal people and destroying their camps. This resulted in an inquiry by
6570-683: The Northern Territory to study their genetic makeup (which is not representative of all Aboriginal peoples in Australia). The study concluded that the Warlpiri are descended from ancient Asians whose DNA is still somewhat present in Southeastern Asian groups, although greatly diminished. The Warlpiri DNA lacks certain information found in modern Asian genomes, and carries information not found in other genomes. This reinforces
6716-591: The Orara River at Braunstone 10 miles south of Grafton Morisset was given warrants for the arrest of some Aboriginal people who worked as shearers at Newton Boyd. After arriving in the area on a borrowed horse, he wanted to capture them while they were working in the wool shed. When they saw they police they ran, with two being shot and three captured. This resulted in a government inquiry. The other significant punitive raid occurred in East Ballina , where
6862-517: The Pleistocene epoch and lived over large sections of the Australian continental shelf when the sea levels were lower. At that time, Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea were part of the same landmass, known as Sahul . As sea levels rose, the people on the Australian mainland and nearby islands became increasingly isolated, some on Tasmania and some of the smaller offshore islands when
7008-551: The Port Phillip District of what is now Victoria . From 1848 another force was organised in New South Wales , which later evolved into the Queensland Native Police force. This force massacred thousands of Aboriginal people under the official euphemism of "dispersal", and is regarded as one of the most conspicuous examples of genocidal policy in colonial Australia. It existed until around 1915, when
7154-627: The Rainbow Serpent , Baiame , Dirawong and Bunjil . Similarly, the Arrernte people of central Australia believed that humanity originated from great superhuman ancestors who brought the sun, wind and rain as a result of breaking through the surface of the Earth when waking from their slumber. Taken as a whole, Aboriginal Australians, along with Torres Strait Islander people, have a number of health and economic deprivations in comparison with
7300-652: The argument that ‘uncivilized men’ enlisted ‘in defence of order’ would ‘become the victims of their own zeal’. It was disbanded briefly in January 1838 but reorganised in April of the same year with their new headquarters in Jolimont where the MCG carpark is now situated. Due to funding problems, the force was again dissolved in 1839. These issues delayed reformation of the corps until Superintendent Charles La Trobe indicated he
7446-483: The "wild blacks", so as to prevent shooting each other by mistake. Not long after this, at the request of prominent station manager John Vaughan McMaugh, the Belgrave Flat Native Police barracks was moved to Nulla Nulla station near Bellbrook. After some cedar cutters were hacked to death and others had their skulls smashed in during an ambush, stockmen and native police troopers went out after
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#17327728493167592-459: The 1830s, Aboriginal men around the Newcastle and Port Macquarie penal settlements were regularly used to recapture escaped convicts. Awabakal men such as Bob Barrett, Biraban and Jemmy Jackass would track down the runaways, disable them with spears or firearms, strip them and return them to the soldiers for payment of blankets, tobacco, clothing and corn. In 1830, Bob Barrett was given
7738-778: The 1970s and 1980s, when Aboriginal people moved to tiny remote settlements on traditional land, brought health benefits, but funding them proved expensive, training and employment opportunities were not provided in many cases, and support from governments dwindled in the 2000s, particularly in the era of the Howard government . Indigenous communities in remote Australia are often small, isolated towns with basic facilities, on traditionally owned land . These communities have between 20 and 300 inhabitants and are often closed to outsiders for cultural reasons. The long-term viability and resilience of Aboriginal communities in desert areas has been discussed by scholars and policy-makers. A 2007 report by
7884-677: The 19th century. Scholars believe that most Aboriginal Australians originated from Southeast Asia. If this is the case, Aboriginal Australians were among the first in the world to have completed sea voyages. A 2017 paper in Nature evaluated artefacts in Kakadu . Its authors concluded "Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago." A 2021 study by researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage has mapped
8030-467: The 5th Section of the Native Police under 2nd Lieut. Edric Norfolk Vaux Morisset to the Clarence River region. He thought this was a "retrograde step" as he viewed the Aboriginal problem is this area as minor. But under pressure from powerful squatters in the area like William Forster he relented even though the section did not have enough horses. Morisset and his 12 troopers were stationed on
8176-411: The Aboriginal troopers into White society. Both La Trobe and William Thomas , Protector of Aborigines , expected that the men would give up their traditional way of life when exposed to the discipline of police work. To their disappointment, troopers continued to participate in corroborees and in ritual fighting, although not in uniform. As senior Wurundjeri elder, Billibellary 's cooperation for
8322-496: The Dreaming . Studies of Aboriginal groups' genetic makeup are ongoing, but evidence suggests that they have genetic inheritance from ancient Asian but not more modern peoples. They share some similarities with Papuans , but have been isolated from Southeast Asia for a very long time. They have a broadly shared, complex genetic history, but only in the last 200 years were they defined by others as, and started to self-identify as,
8468-620: The East/Southeast Asian lineage, including ancestors of the Native Americans . Papuans may have received approximately 2% of their geneflow from an earlier group (xOOA) as well, next to additional archaic admixture in the Sahul region. Aboriginal people are genetically most similar to the indigenous populations of Papua New Guinea , and more distantly related to groups from East Indonesia. They are more distinct from
8614-588: The Eumeralla area and at Captain Firebrace's Mt Vectis property. The Native Police based at Portland Bay were ordered to conduct operations across the border at Mount Gambier in South Australia in 1844. Likewise, South Australian police forces at the same time were used to investigate the rape of an aboriginal boy named Syntax near Portland. The officer involved found that when the boy tried to shoot
8760-705: The Holocene ( c. 4,200 years ago). The researchers had two theories for this: either some Indians had contact with people in Indonesia who eventually transferred those Indian genes to Aboriginal Australians, or a group of Indians migrated from India to Australia and intermingled with the locals directly. However, a 2016 study in Current Biology by Anders Bergström et al. excluded the Y chromosome as providing evidence for recent gene flow from India into Australia. The study authors sequenced 13 Aboriginal Australian Y chromosomes using recent advances in gene sequencing technology. They investigated their divergence times from Y chromosomes in other continents, including comparing
8906-416: The LaTrobe Valley, Barmah Lake and Snowy River massacres. Dana made no real use of the tracking skills of his troops and used them in the more traditional role of mounted police. While they proved useful to the pastoralists who were rapidly taking over traditional Aboriginal land, requiring Aborigines to arrest and even shoot down their own people proved demoralising for both sides. Dana was responsible for
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#17327728493169052-523: The Lower Darling and Albert districts respectively. Perry and his troopers, while investigating the death of a White man at Baker's station, threatened and watched four Aboriginal people residing on the property into making confessions. While they were being escorted to prison, they escaped, and after refusing to surrender, one was shot dead. The other three managed to escape but were found at Euston where two more were shot dead. Their hands were cut off and presented as proof of their demise. Perry also dispersed
9198-403: The Macleay region. It was reported as a double murder mystery. Local Aboriginal Left-Handed Billy solved the case by stating that there was a Native Police camp at Nulla Nulla and these two people were some of its victims. Billy offered to take the authorities and show them the other places where people were shot. During this period the Lower Darling district extended from near the confluence of
9344-429: The Maranoa River. Governor Fitzroy noted in the 1851 end of year report that a great many blacks were killed, however no official action was taken to change the aggressive functioning of the Native Police. On 18 February 1851, a meeting of magistrates was held at the newly established town of Maryborough . Three Native Police officers, Commissioner Bidwill and squatter Edmund B. Uhr were present, issuing warrants against
9490-542: The Mary River aboard Captain Currie's Margaret and Mary schooner. Aboriginal people in a stolen dinghy were shot at along the way and the boat seized. The force landed on the west coast of the island where the divisions split up to scour the region. During the night a group of Aboriginal men attempted to surprise Marshall's section resulting in two Aboriginal men being shot. Bad weather hampered operations and Commandant Walker subsequently allowed his division to track down other groups of Badtjala without him. This group followed
9636-426: The Moira area of the Murray, down Mitta Mitta creek and along the Edward River. Other collisions also occurred near Tongala. Further down the Murray, punitive operations were also conducted near McLeod's station in 1846, Lake Bael Bael in 1846 and around Swan Hill in 1850. Swan Hill and Echuca (Maidan's Punt) became bases for Native Police operations. A Wemba Wemba man managed to kill a trooper near Swan Hill. He, in
9782-454: The Murrumbidgee was still utilised as a recruitment area for troopers to fight in Queensland with Lieut. John Murray returning to the area as late as 1865 to enlist local Aboriginal men. In 1864, Murray visited the region bringing with him the remaining four living troopers from Walker's first recruitment in 1848. After 15 years service, one of them was lucky enough to be reunited with his father in Echuca . In 1853, Walker reluctantly deployed
9928-442: The Murrumbidgee with the Murray, up to the Darling and north to near the confluence of the Warrego. The Albert region was the area west of the Darling River . (By the late 1870s this had changed significantly). In late 1853, Stephen Cole, the Commissioner for Crown Lands for the Lower Darling district had organised six troopers for his Native Police based in Euston . This force was involved in arresting European sly-grog sellers. At
10074-399: The Murrumbidgee, Murray, and Edwards Rivers areas. These first troopers were Jack, Henry (both Wiradjuri ), Geegwaw, Jacky Jacky, Wygatta, Edward, Logan (all Wemba Wemba ), Alladin, Paddy, Larry, Willy, Walter, Tommy Hindmarsh (all Barababaraba ), and Yorky ( Yorta Yorta ). Logan and Jack who were both previously employed in the Border Police, were given the rank of corporal. Although most of
10220-427: The Native Police reduced to great effect Aboriginal resistance against squatters in the Macintyre and Condamine regions. Walker returned to Deniliquin in July 1850 to recruit 30 new troopers in order to enable an expansion into the Wide Bay–Burnett region. With these fresh reinforcements, he created four divisions of Native Police, one based at Augustus Morris ' Callandoon station, one at Wide Bay–Burnett, one in
10366-427: The Native Police were routinely recruited from areas that were very distant from the locations in which they were deployed. This would ensure they would have little familiarity with the local people they were employed to shoot and would also reduce desertions. However, due to the excessively violent nature of the work, the rate of trooper desertion in some units was high. As the troopers were Aboriginal, this benefited
10512-859: The Northern, Southern and Central cultural areas. The Northern and Southern areas, having richer natural marine and woodland resources, were more densely populated than the Central area. There are various other names from Australian Aboriginal languages commonly used to identify groups based on geography , known as demonyms , including: Other group names are based on the language group or specific dialect spoken . These also coincide with geographical regions of varying sizes. A few examples are: However, these lists are neither exhaustive nor definitive, and there are overlaps. Different approaches have been taken by non-Aboriginal scholars in trying to understand and define Aboriginal culture and societies, some focusing on
10658-771: The Philippines known as Mamanwa . This study confirms Aboriginal Australians as one of the oldest living populations in the world. They are possibly the oldest outside Africa, and they may have the oldest continuous culture on the planet. A 2016 study at the University of Cambridge suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached Sahul (the supercontinent consisting of present-day Australia and its islands and New Guinea ). The sea levels rose and isolated Australia about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP, possibly because
10804-539: The Port Phillip District where he renewed acquaintance with Superintendent Charles La Trobe , whom he knew in London. The two men became firm friends and Latrobe appointed Dana to establish a native police corps. Twenty-five Aborigines from various Gippsland tribes were enlisted at the depot at Narre Warren , and trained for mounted police duty by Dana and his second-in-command, Dudley Le Souef, under
10950-569: The Province is perfectly free from any thing like outrages by the blacks..." Dana was responsible for a massacre at Snowy River on 16 December 1846, where 15 Tatungalung or Krauatungulung were murdered. According to historian A.G.L. Shaw , the number killed was between 15 and 23. When the Gold Rush began in Victoria in 1851, the Native Police Corps was the only organised government force in
11096-645: The Upper Darling areas to accompany official expeditions into the area. A police station was established at Tintinalogy between Menindee and Wilcannia . Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands . Humans first migrated to Australia at least 65,000 years ago, and over time formed as many as 500 language-based groups . In
11242-521: The White woman was proved false, but the results for the Gunai were devastating. Tyers estimated that the two punitive groups killed at least 50 Aboriginal people and wounded many more. At the same time, more regular combined Native and Border Police operations resulted in mass killings of Gunai around Boisdale and on the MacAllister River. There was a large punitive operation in late 1846 at
11388-444: The ancient people expanded and differentiated into distinct groups, each with its own language and culture. More than 400 distinct Australian Aboriginal peoples have been identified, distinguished by names designating their ancestral languages, dialects, or distinctive speech patterns. According to noted anthropologist , archaeologist and sociologist Harry Lourandos , historically, these groups lived in three main cultural areas,
11534-517: The areas of the Swan and Helena Valleys, was able to capture the perpetrator due to his knowledge of the local tribespeople. As a result, in August 1840 Drummond was rewarded with the title of Inspector in the newly formed Native Police. The Western Australian Native Police was smaller than those of other colonies in that usually only 2 or 3 mounted aboriginal constables were attached to the White officer. It
11680-430: The areas to which miners began to flock, and so it was used to enforce the authority of the early goldfields commissioners . However, Dana antagonised the gold diggers at Ballarat in September 1851 with his rigorous attempt to collect the first licence fees . On 24 November 1852, Dana died of pneumonia , having suffered severe exposure while on a search for bushrangers , and the corps was disbanded early in 1853. Dana
11826-461: The coast, two miles away from any freshwater. As Walker's force originated in this area, native troopers from outside this region were utilised to punish Aboriginal resistance in the Murrumbidgee. For instance, in 1852, after the murder of an American worker at Deniliquin , Sergeant O'Halloran from Moulamein imported both native and White troopers from Victoria to shoot Aboriginal people as
11972-399: The colonists by minimising both the troopers' wages and the potential for Aboriginal revenge attacks against White people. It also increased the efficiency of the force as the Aboriginal troopers possessed incredible tracking skills, which were indispensable in the often poorly charted and difficult terrain. The first government-funded force was the Native Police Corps, established in 1837 in
12118-499: The command of John Nicol Drummond. Other privately funded native police systems were also occasionally used in Australia, such as the native constabulary organised by the Australian Agricultural Company in the 1830s. Native Police forces were also officially implemented in the Papua and New Guinea territories administered by colonial Queensland and Australian governments from 1890 until the 1970s. The Australian government also organised
12264-504: The company of another aboriginal man, approached a Native Police camp and induced one of the Aboriginal troopers to go fishing. After walking about half a mile, they held the trooper down and excised his kidney fat, leaving him to die. Native Police operations in Gippsland began in 1843 with the appointment of Commissioner Tyers to the region. Tyers had command of a permanent force of Border Police based at Eagle Point augmented with
12410-519: The deep split between Leang Panninge and Aboriginal/Papuans. Mallick et al. 2016 and Mark Lipson et al. 2017 study found the bifurcation of Eastern Eurasians and Western Eurasians dates to least 45,000 years ago, with indigenous Australians nested inside the Eastern Eurasian clade. Two genetic studies by Larena et al. 2021 found that Philippines Negrito people split from the common ancestor of Aboriginal Australians and Papuans before
12556-497: The desert-dwelling Pitjantjatjara people compared with a group of European people showed that the cooling adaptation of the Aboriginal group differed from that of the white people, and that they were able to sleep more soundly through a cold desert night. A 2014 Cambridge University study found that a beneficial mutation in two genes which regulate thyroxine , a hormone involved in regulating body metabolism , helps to regulate body temperature in response to fever. The effect of this
12702-554: The establishment of a Native Police Corps were made from as early as 1837 when Captain William Lonsdale proposed legislation for its formation. In October 1837, Christian Ludolph Johannes de Villiers was appointed to command the first official Native Police troopers from their station at Nerre Nerre Warren, in spite of warnings against the use of native police from the House of Commons Select Committee on Aborigines based on
12848-466: The general supervision of the assistant protector of Aborigines, William Thomas. Dana's police force lasted longer than the original corps set up by Christiaan de Villiers in 1837, partly because Dana made some allowances for the Aborigines' traditional way of life. For example, during summer the troopers were generally allowed to rejoin their communities to take part in cultural activities. The Corps
12994-714: The haplogroup C chromosomes. They found a divergence time of about 54,100 years between the Sahul C chromosome and its closest relative C5, as well as about 54,300 years between haplogroups K*/M and their closest haplogroups R and Q. The deep divergence time of 50,000-plus years with the South Asian chromosome and "the fact that the Aboriginal Australian Cs share a more recent common ancestor with Papuan Cs" excludes any recent genetic contact. The 2016 study's authors concluded that, although this does not disprove
13140-593: The headquarters was at the Aboriginal Protectorate Station at Nerre Nerre Warren, near to present day Dandenong about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south-east of Melbourne. The force made use of Aboriginal men from the Wurundjeri and Bunurong tribes and was made up of 60 members, three-quarters of whom were "natives". There were two goals in such a force: to make use of the indigenous peoples' tracking abilities, as well as to assimilate
13286-401: The idea of ancient Aboriginal isolation. Genetic data extracted in 2011 by Morten Rasmussen et al., who took a DNA sample from an early-20th-century lock of an Aboriginal person's hair, found that the Aboriginal ancestors probably migrated through South Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia , into Australia, where they stayed. As a result, outside of Africa, the Aboriginal peoples have occupied
13432-653: The increased suicide rate, many researchers have suggested that the inclusion of more cultural aspects into suicide prevention programs would help to combat mental health issues within the community. Past studies have found that many indigenous leaders and community members, do in fact, want more culturally-aware health care programs. Similarly, culturally-relative programs targeting indigenous youth have actively challenged suicide ideation among younger indigenous populations, with many social and emotional wellbeing programs using cultural information to provide coping mechanisms and improving mental health. The outstation movement of
13578-511: The indigenous populations of Borneo and Malaysia , sharing drift with them than compared to the groups from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. This indicates that populations in Australia were isolated for a long time from the rest of Southeast Asia. They remained untouched by migrations and population expansions into that area, which can be explained by the Wallace line . In a 2001 study, blood samples were collected from some Warlpiri people in
13724-572: The islands of Tasmania , K'gari (previously Fraser Island) , Hinchinbrook Island , the Tiwi Islands , Kangaroo Island and Groote Eylandt . Indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, however, are not Aboriginal. In the 2021 census , people who self-identified on the census form as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin totalled 812,728 out of a total of 25,422,788 Australians, equating to 3.2% of Australia's population and an increase of 163,557 people, or 25.2%, since
13870-455: The land was inundated at the start of the Holocene , the inter-glacial period that started about 11,700 years ago. Scholars of this ancient history believe that it would have been difficult for Aboriginal people to have originated purely from mainland Asia. Not enough people would have migrated to Australia and surrounding islands to fulfill the beginning of the size of the population seen in
14016-406: The last 10,000 years it may have occurred—newer analytical techniques have the potential to address such questions. Bergstrom's 2018 doctoral thesis looking at the population of Sahul suggests that other than relatively recent admixture, the populations of the region appear to have been genetically independent from the rest of the world since their divergence about 50,000 years ago. He writes "There
14162-458: The last Native Police camps in Queensland were closed. Native Police were also utilised by other Australian colonies. The government of South Australia set up a short-lived Native Police force in 1852, which was re-established in 1884 and deployed into what is now the Northern Territory . The colonial Western Australian government also initiated a formal Native Police force in 1840 under
14308-524: The latter two diverged from each other, but after their common ancestor diverged from the ancestor of East Asian peoples . The dingo reached Australia about 4,000 years ago. Near that time, there were changes in language (with the Pama-Nyungan language family spreading over most of the mainland), and in stone tool technology. Smaller tools were used. Human contact has thus been inferred, and genetic data of two kinds have been proposed to support
14454-496: The likely migration routes of the peoples as they moved across the Australian continent to its southern reaches and what is now Tasmania , then part of the mainland. The modelling is based on data from archaeologists , anthropologists , ecologists , geneticists , climatologists , geomorphologists , and hydrologists . It is intended to compare this data with the oral histories of Aboriginal peoples, including Dreaming stories, Australian rock art , and linguistic features of
14600-465: The local Aboriginal people across to the east coast where they "took to the sea". The force returned to Maryborough in early January 1852 and Captain Currie received a reward of £10 for his contribution. The year 1852 saw further recruitment and expansion of the Native Police to eight divisions. Forty-eight new troopers were signed up mostly from the northern inland rivers of NSW. Lieutenant John Murray
14746-557: The local Crown Lands Commissioner and a vaguely worded official reminder from the NSW Attorney General to only shoot in "extreme cases". In 1851, Commandant Walker with his newly appointed officers Richard Purvis Marshall, George Fulford, Doolan and Skelton conducted wide-ranging and frequent operations resulting in many dispersals and summary killings. Dispersals of large numbers of Aborigines occurred at Dalgangal, Mary River, Toomcul, Goondiwindi and at various places along
14892-482: The main frontier policing force in this colony were divisions of mounted convict soldiers known as the Border Police . However, in the late 1840s with the end of convict transportation looming, a new source of cheap and effective troopers were required to subdue resistance along the ever-extending frontier. The need was especially apparent in the north as conflict between squatters and Aboriginal people toward
15038-423: The many Aboriginal languages which reveal how the peoples developed separately. The routes, dubbed "superhighways" by the authors, are similar to current highways and stock routes in Australia. Lynette Russell of Monash University believes that the new model is a starting point for collaboration with Aboriginal people to help reveal their history. The new models suggest that the first people may have landed in
15184-403: The micro-level (tribe, clan, etc.), and others on shared languages and cultural practices spread over large regions defined by ecological factors. Anthropologists have encountered many difficulties in trying to define what constitutes an Aboriginal people/community/group/tribe, let alone naming them. Knowledge of pre-colonial Aboriginal cultures and societal groupings is still largely dependent on
15330-570: The mouth of the Snowy River involving the forces being split into 3 groups to surround and engage Aboriginal people residing in the estuary area. The Native Police Corps then continued upstream along the river. The brutality of these Gippsland Aboriginal men is demonstrated by the Protector Thomas being able to describe how they killed one man, two women and six children, returning with fragments of their flesh to eat, or returning with
15476-496: The mummified severed hands of the defeated as trophies. In the late 1830s, Western Australia was in a similar situation as the eastern colonies in that the regular Mounted Police force were proving expensive and increasingly ineffectual in subduing resisting Aboriginal people. This culminated in 1840 with the murders of a White woman and her child in York. John Nicol Drummond , a young man who had grown up amongst Aboriginal people in
15622-413: The murderers. Again another battle ensued and in the end there were a great number of dead and wounded Dunghutti. The creek where this occurred was named Waterloo Creek (halfway between Dyke River and Georges Creek) as a result of the carnage. Four prisoners were taken. In 1863, Senior Constable Nugent took control of the Native Police at Nulla Nulla. In September 1864, he and his troopers were involved in
15768-411: The native police included searching for missing persons, carrying messages, and escorting dignitaries through unfamiliar territory. During the goldrush era, they were also used to patrol goldfields and search for escaped prisoners. They were provided with uniforms, firearms, food rations and a rather dubious salary. However, the lure of the goldfields, poor salary and Dana's eventual death in 1852 led to
15914-425: The natives so they would not have to. Walker advocated a method of "bringing in" the Aboriginal people, allowing them onto pastoral stations, where they could obtain a lawful means of a livelihood. Those who stayed away were consequently regarded as potential enemies and were at high risk of being targeted in punitive missions. Walker's measure of success was the resulting increase in land values. These first actions of
16060-409: The natives who assisted in the police" and advised Morisset that he had "directed £50 subject to detailed accounts of its expenditure" to be at his disposal. Musquito was a Hawkesbury Aboriginal man who was exiled first to Norfolk Island in 1805, then to Van Diemen's Land in 1813. He proved to be a valuable asset to the government there in tracking down bushrangers. He later became a renegade and
16206-411: The observers' interpretations, which were filtered through colonial ways of viewing societies. Some Aboriginal peoples identify as one of several saltwater, freshwater, rainforest or desert peoples . The term Aboriginal Australians includes many distinct peoples who have developed across Australia for over 50,000 years. These peoples have a broadly shared, though complex, genetic history, but it
16352-471: The official disintegration of his Native Police Corps in January 1853. During its existence, there were three main areas of activity of this corps: Portland Bay, Murray River, and Gippsland. Divisions of the Native Police would be deployed to these areas in the winter of each year until 1852 and spend the rest of the year mostly garrisoned at the Narre Narre Warren barracks. Winter was chosen as
16498-638: The oldest living populations in the world, certainly the oldest outside of Africa." Their ancestors left the African continent 75,000 years ago. They may have the oldest continuous culture on earth. In Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory , oral histories comprising complex narratives have been passed down by Yolngu people through hundreds of generations. The Aboriginal rock art , dated by modern techniques, shows that their culture has continued from ancient times. The ancestors of present-day Aboriginal Australian people migrated from Southeast Asia by sea during
16644-486: The operations of Lieutenants Marshall and John Murray along the Burnett River as "taking and shooting hosts of murderers, never stopping, never tiring". New barracks were built at Rannes , Walla and at Swanson's Yabba station at the top of Yabba Falls . Squatters Holt and Hay pursued an overland path to the taking up of lands toward Port Curtis . Two men accompanying them were killed by Aboriginal people and as
16790-480: The original 250–400 Aboriginal languages (more than 250 languages and about 800 dialectal varieties on the continent) are endangered or extinct, although some efforts are being made at language revival for some. As of 2016, only 13 traditional Indigenous languages were still being acquired by children, and about another 100 spoken by older generations only. Dispersing across the Australian continent over time,
16936-420: The other studies had utilised complete Y chromosome sequencing, which has the highest precision. For example, use of a ten Y STRs method has been shown to massively underestimate divergence times. Gene flow across the island-dotted 150-kilometre-wide (93 mi) Torres Strait, is both geographically plausible and demonstrated by the data, although at this point it could not be determined from this study when within
17082-424: The past, Aboriginal people lived over large sections of the continental shelf . They were isolated on many of the smaller offshore islands and Tasmania when the land was inundated at the start of the Holocene inter-glacial period , about 11,700 years ago. Despite this, Aboriginal people maintained extensive networks within the continent and certain groups maintained relationships with Torres Strait Islanders and
17228-624: The period of active duty as the target Aboriginal people were more sedentary in the colder periods and therefore much easier to find. Native police were called upon to take part in operations in the Victorian Western District in 1843. Operations in this year included attacks upon the Gunditjmara and Jardwadjali at the Crawford River, Mt Eckersley, Victoria Range and at Mt Zero. Upon return to Melbourne one of
17374-440: The presence of any Holocene gene flow or non-genetic influences from South Asia at that time, and the appearance of the dingo does provide strong evidence for external contacts, the evidence overall is consistent with a complete lack of gene flow, and points to indigenous origins for the technological and linguistic changes. They attributed the disparity between their results and previous findings to improvements in technology; none of
17520-414: The previous census in 2016. Reasons for the increase were broadly as follows: Most Aboriginal people speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English (which also has a tangible influence of Aboriginal languages in the phonology and grammatical structure ). Some Aboriginal people, especially those living in remote areas, are multi-lingual. Many of
17666-438: The proposal was important for its success, and after deliberation he backed the initiative and even proposed himself for enlistment. He donned the uniform and enjoyed the status of parading through the camp, but was careful to avoid active duty as a policeman to avoid a conflict of interest between his duties as a Wurundjeri ngurungaeta . After about a year, Billibellary resigned from the Native Police Corps when he found that it
17812-538: The region and John Macarthur sometimes appeared at public functions with a bodyguard of uniformed Dharawal and Gandangara men. In 1824, at the conclusion of the Bathurst War against the Wiradjuri , Governor Brisbane sent Major James Thomas Morisset , commandant of the colonial forces at Bathurst , a letter congratulating him on his efforts. In this letter, Brisbane outlines his desire to give "rewards to
17958-472: The region. In the late 1830s, the NSW government found it was having trouble financing the NSW Mounted Police which was a corps of mounted soldiers that since 1825 operated as the main enforcers of colonial rule in frontier areas. Officials looked at cheaper alternatives and came up with two solutions. One was the Border Police , which was a mounted force of armed convicts under the command of
18104-487: The remaining land bridge was impassable. This isolation makes the Aboriginal people the world's oldest culture. The study also found evidence of an unknown hominin group, distantly related to Denisovans, with whom the Aboriginal and Papuan ancestors must have interbred, leaving a trace of about 4% in most Aboriginal Australians' genome. There is, however, increased genetic diversity among Aboriginal Australians based on geographical distribution. Carlhoff et al. 2021 analysed
18250-496: The river. Dana told me he had a brush with the natives. He went to the Murry [sic] by the Campaspe and returned said 20 men, one woman, five children were shot. Kelsh's overseer told me that he, Dana, said he would turn the natives out. (Robinson 5 Jan 1844). In 1844, Dana sent a letter to La Trobe reporting that he had just completed a second tour of the district, in which he stated: "from observation and information this part of
18396-406: The same territory continuously longer than any other human populations. These findings suggest that modern Aboriginal Australians are the direct descendants of the eastern wave, who left Africa up to 75,000 years ago. This finding is compatible with earlier archaeological finds of human remains near Lake Mungo that date to approximately 40,000 years ago. The idea of the "oldest continuous culture"
18542-552: The same time, Commissioner for Crown Lands for the Albert District, G. M. Perry, had organised another six Native Police troopers based at Moorana, an administrative town that used to exist just west of Wentworth . By the late 1850s the jurisdiction of the native troopers had transferred from the Crown Lands department to the Native Police proper, with E. M. Lockyer and A. T. Perry being appointed 2nd Lieutenants for
18688-589: The story of creation known as The Dreamtime . Additionally, traditional healers were also custodians of important Dreaming stories as well as their medical roles (for example the Ngangkari in the Western desert ). Some core structures and themes are shared across the continent with details and additional elements varying between language and cultural groups. For example, in The Dreamtime of most regions,
18834-454: The subsequent operations of this force over the following 60 years occurred in what is now Queensland, Native Police were stationed in various parts of New South Wales and patrolling continued there until at least 1868. These areas included Kempsey/Macleay River, Grafton/Ballina (Clarence River), Murrumbidgee, Lower Darling/Albert and Upper Darling/Paroo regions. This force was consolidated and trained by Walker at Deniliquin before traveling to
18980-409: The term Aboriginal has changed over time and place, with the importance of family lineage, self-identification and community acceptance all being of varying importance. The term Indigenous Australians refers to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the term is conventionally only used when both groups are included in the topic being addressed, or by self-identification by
19126-493: The troopers and their officers were placed under the command of the local Commissioner for Crown Lands, who would then seek out and capture or destroy the dissident groups and individuals. In addition to Native Police, the Commissioner also had the troopers of the Border Police and NSW Mounted Police as well as armed volunteer settlers at his disposal to conduct punitive raids on Aboriginal people. Other more minor duties of
19272-530: The troopers conducted an early morning raid on Aboriginal people sleeping on the slopes near Black Head. This resulted in at least 30-40 deaths and many wounded. Complaints were made to the government about the massacre but no action was taken. Edric Morisset later became Commandant of the Native Police based in Brisbane and was replaced on the Clarence by 2nd Lieut. John O'Connell Bligh . A few years later when
19418-399: The troopers posted to the Macleay region include Carlo, Quilt, Paddy and Dundally. Nulla Nulla barracks appears to have closed in 1865 when Henry Sauer bought the property and turned it into a dairy farm. In 1885, 36.4 hectares of the property was gazetted as an Aboriginal Reserve. In 1902 the skeletons of a woman and child with shot holes in their skulls were found on Taylors Arm Mountain in
19564-629: The troopers stated about an incident in which 17 Aboriginal men had been killed by the corps. One of the Native Police troopers stated With reduced reports of attacks in the Western District following two years of policing, two new troopers were signed up from the Port Fairy area in 1845. Although 1843 appears to be the year of the largest casualties from the corps in this region, operations in other years up to 1847 resulted in further mass fatalities namely at Lake Learmonth, Cape Otway ,
19710-618: The twentieth centuries. From temporary base camps and barracks, Native Police were primarily used to patrol the often vast geographical areas along the colonial frontier in order to conduct raids against aboriginals or tribes that had broken the law and punitive expeditions against Aboriginal people. The Native Police proved to be a brutally destructive instrument in the disintegration and dispossession of Indigenous Australians. Armed with rifles, carbines and swords, they were also deployed to escort surveying groups, gold convoys and groups of pastoralists and prospectors. The Aboriginal men within
19856-517: The wider Australian community. Due to the aforementioned disadvantage, Aboriginal Australian communities experience a higher rate of suicide, as compared to non-indigenous communities. These issues stem from a variety of different causes unique to indigenous communities, such as historical trauma, socioeconomic disadvantage, and decreased access to education and health care. Also, this problem largely affects indigenous youth, as many indigenous youth may feel disconnected from their culture. To combat
20002-530: Was also different in that the officers were given monetary rewards for capturing wanted people and that they were placed under the control of the Native Protector. However, extrajudicial killings by the police upon Aboriginal people still occurred during the 1840s. The force also became less formalised in its command structure to the point where, in 1854, Drummond concurrently held the positions of Native Protector, magistrate and Superintendent of Police in
20148-421: Was appointed to the 4th Division, Lieut. Blandford to the 3rd Division and Sergeants Skelton, Pincolt and Richard A. Dempster were also appointed as officers in charge of other divisions. The Traylan barracks on the Burnett River near the now-abandoned site of Ceratodus, north of present-day Eidsvold, was established while the other major barracks, besides Callandoon, was at Wondai Gumbal near Yuleba . Sgt. Dempster
20294-424: Was controversial due to Dana's emphasis on the use of deadly force, rather than arrest. For example, one trooper is reported to have said: "Captain say big one stupid catch them very good shoot them, you blackfellows, no shoot them me hand cuff you and send you to jail." The Native Police Corps is estimated to have killed 125 indigenous Australians between 1835 and 1850. Specific massacres of Aboriginal people include
20440-667: Was deployed to Belgrave Flat with his troopers from the Upper Dawson area in Queensland. Poulden was previously an Ensign in 56th Foot who fought in the Crimean War , and was the great-grandson of the Earl of Devon . In addition to performing patrolling duties, he also came for the purpose of recruiting more troopers. In 1859 he conducted a raid on Aboriginal people living at Christmas Creek near Frederickton . He captured
20586-531: Was himself tracked down and shot in the groin by another Hawkesbury aboriginal named Teague. Teague was sent by Hawkesbury settler Edward Luttrell to capture Musquito on the promise of a whaleboat as payment. Teague never received the boat and Musquito was hanged in 1825. In the 1830s, John Batman also used armed Aboriginal men from the Sydney region such as Pigeon and Tommy to assist in his roving parties to capture or kill indigenous Tasmanians . Up until at least
20732-499: Was later officially accused of offering rewards on the heads of certain Aboriginal people, which he unequivocally denied. By 1841, the new superintendent P. P. King still employed black constables, but their duties may have been limited to dingo culling. Also in the 1830s, Major Edmund Lockyer a magistrate in the Goulburn region , employed at least one Aboriginal constable who captured murderers and gangs of armed bushrangers in
20878-467: Was married and had four children. Dana Street in Ballarat is named after him. Australian native police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal troopers under the command of White officers appointed by colonial governments. These units existed in various forms in colonial Australia during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into
21024-401: Was responsible for several large scale dispersals in 1852. The first was at Wallumbilla where an ex-trooper named Priam and a number of others were shot dead. Dempster then traveled to Ogilvie's Wachoo station near St. George and shot a large number of Aboriginal people with the aid of a man named Johnson who was the superintendent of the property. Johnson also shot dead a White storeperson in
21170-415: Was to be used to capture and kill other natives. He did his best from then on to undermine the corps and as a result many native troopers deserted and few remained longer than three or four years. The main duty of the Native Police was to be deployed to areas around the Port Phillip region where Aboriginal resistance to European colonisation was unable to be controlled by armed settlers. Once in these areas,
21316-405: Was willing to underwrite the costs in 1842. A significant factor in the restoration of the force was the successful capture of five Tasmanian aboriginal people near Westernport in 1840 by local Aboriginal men who were attached to a party of Border Police and soldiers. Henry EP Dana was selected to command the corps in 1842. Except for a brief period where the corps was based at Merri Creek ,
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