Clay Tobacco Pipes from Aboriginal Middens on Fraser Island, Queensland Author(s): Kris Courtney and Ian J. McNiven Source: Australian Archaeology , Dec., 1998, No. 47 (Dec., 1998), pp. 44-53 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40287395 JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at https://about.jstor.org/terms Taylor & Francis, Ltd. is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Australian Archaeology This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Clay tobacco pipes from Aboriginal middens on Fraser Island, Queensland Kris Courtney1 and Ian J. McNiven2 This paper examines the age, place of manufacture and was seen to corroborate notions for European exploration of cultural significance of clay tobacco pipes found on two the east coast of Australia prior to Cook's 1770 voyage. Apart Aboriginal shell middens at Corroborée Beach, Fraser Island, from entering local popular culture as fact (e.g. Sinclair and south-east Queensland (Fig. 1). Although clay pipes are often Corris 1994:52), the seventeenth century Dutch connection found in European archaeological sites in Australia, surpris- hypothesis has entered official government documents such ingly few detailed analyses of these items have been published. As such, the meth- odological approach taken in this paper will be of interest to those analysing clay pipes in other archaeological contexts. Fur- thermore, the study represents the first de- tailed analysis of this class of European material culture from Aboriginal 'contact' sites in Queensland, and indeed one of very few for other parts of Australia (see Coutts et al. 1977:195). Following recent interest in the archaeology of nineteenth century Aboriginal-European interaction in Australia (e.g. Rhodes 1990, 1995; Birmingham 1992; Layton 1992:89-1 13), our paper reveals the potential of clay tobacco pipes to shed light on some of the economic and social dimensions of Aboriginal life on the colo- nial frontier. Background In the mid-1970s, Peter Lauer from the Anthropology Museum, University of Queens- land, discovered two clay tobacco pipes while recording Aboriginal archaeological sites on the east coast of Fraser Island. In a subse- quent publication of survey results, Lauer (1979:34) made brief mention of the pipes and provided a photograph without any indi- cation as to where on the east coast they were found. A few years later, Kelly (1982: 141) noted that 'two clay pipes' had been re- covered from midden site 799/54 (Lauer's Site Number) which, according to Lauer (1979:36), is located within sand-dunes back- ing Corroborée Beach near Indian Head (Fig. 1). While Lauer implies that the pipes were used and discarded by Aboriginal peo- ple, no attempt was made to identify the age or origin of the pipes. Figure 1 Great Sandy Region study area. John Sinclair in his popular 1990 book Fraser Island and Cooloola supplied a detailed close-up as the Australian Government's proposal to nominate the photograph of the two Lauer pipes (Sinclair 1990:68). Sig- Great Sandy Region (Fraser Island and Cooloola) for inclu- nificantly, Sinclair (1990:68) claimed that the pipes were 'of sion on the World Heritage list (Department of the Arts, a type used exclusively by seventeenth century Dutch navi- Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories 1991:7) and gators to trade with Indigenous people'. This information the Fraser Island World Heritage Area management plan (Queensland Government 1994:58). 1 School of Fine Arts, Classical Studies and Archaeology/Department of In 1993/4, a re-survey of Aboriginal archaeological sites History, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia,in the Corroborée Beach area was undertaken as part of a k.courtney 1 @pgrad.unimelb.edu.au broader cultural heritage management assessment and arch- 2 School of Fine Arts, Classical Studies and Archaeology, The University aeological research investigation of Fraser Island (McNiven of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia. imcniven@ocean.com.au 1993, 1994a, 1994b, 1998, in press). A third clay pipe was 44 Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1998 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Courtney and McNiven found on another shell midden located a few kilometres Date of manufacture from Lauer's clay pipe finds. It was noted that 'Although Evidence indicates that Pipe A was most likely manu- factured sometime during the second half of the nineteenth further detailed research will be required to ascertain the date of manufacture of the pipe, preliminary examinationscentury. It definitely was not manufactured in the seven- teenth century (when moulded clay pipe manufacture begins suggest a 19th century antiquity1 (McNiven 1993:31). Follow- ing examination of photographs of the Lauer pipes, it was- Walker 1975:166) or eighteenth century where typologies of Dutch and English pipes are undisputed and well- suggested that 'no data are available at present to support documented (e.g. Oswald 1960:51; Atkinson and Oswald inferences that any of the pipes represent Dutch trade items' (McNiven 1993:31). However, the view that the pipes 1969:178, 180; Atkinson and Oswald 1972:178; Oswald 1975:117; Walker 1977:1529-33, 1733-45) (Figs 3 and 4). were used and discarded by Aboriginal people is assured given their recovery from Aboriginal sites and the knownAlthough no typologies have been published for nineteenth absence of European settlement of the area (Williams 1982; century pipes, enough work has been done to establish be- McNiven 1993). yond doubt that pipes of that century differ considerably and unmistakably from those of the seventeenth/eighteenth cen- The pipes turies (e.g. Oswald 1975; Walker 1977). In this connection, To shed further light on the clay pipe problem, one of a post- 1860 catalogue of the Glasgow pipe manufacturer us (KC) made a detailed description of all three clay pipes Thomas Davidson Jnr and Co. (Gallagher and Price 1987) has and documented their likely age and place of manufacture. a pipe (numbered 1 1 in the catalogue) which is very similar, The study was based on examination of the pipe found by if not identical, to Pipe A (Fig. 5). It is possibly called a McNiven and limited to examination of the Sinclair photo- SMALL ALMA pipe based on comparisons with Davidson's graph of the two Lauer pipes. Unfortunately, searches at ca. 1900 price list (reproduced in Gallagher 1987). This The University of Queensland's Anthropology Museum and pipe was most probably named for the Battle of Alma in the Queensland Museum failed to locate the Lauer pipes 1854 (Jack 1986) and so it would have been first produced and their present location is unknown to the authors. The sometime after this date. pipes will be referred to as: Pipes A and B (Lauer pipes) Bowl. The angle between the bowl and stem is the single and Pipe C (McNiven pipe). most diagnostic feature in the process of distinguishing nine- teenth century pipes from those of the eighteenth or seven- Pipe A teenth centuries. Dutch pipe bowls of the seventeenth cen- Pipe A (Fig. 2) is a cutty-style pipe (as defined below) tury were set at an obtuse angle such that the angle between with a bowl which is roughly perpendicular to the broken the stem and the upright bowl axis was considerably greater stem and no evidence of a spur on the base of the bowl. than 90° from the stem (e.g. Fig. 3). Pipe A, like Pipes B The bowl appears to be plain apart from prominent raised and C, has an upright bowl - i.e. the vertical axis of the sections along both mould-seams which continue a short bowls, like most nineteenth century pipes, is roughly perpen- distance down the stem. These raised sections are what are dicular to the stem (Fig. 5). The obtuse bowl angle and other referred to by some as 'raised ribs' (Flood 1976:17) and by features of seventeenth century pipes are well-documented others as 'linguaform seams' (Graham Wilson pers. comm. in typologies (Fig. 3) as well as being illustrated frequently 1997). The pipe exhibits staining and other signs of fairlyin paintings and drawings of the period (e.g. Corti 1931; heavy smoking use. Ehwa 1974). Figure 2 Two clay pipes from an Aboriginal shell midden at Corroborée Beach recorded by Lauer (1979:34). Pipe A (left) and Pipe B (right) (photo courtesy Anthropology Museum, The University of Queensland). (NB. scale not available for this photo). Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1998 45 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Clay tobacco pipes from Aboriginal middens on Fraser Island, Queensland Figure 3 Selected seventeenth century Dutch clay pipe bowls. (Sources: top row and lower row left - after Atkinson and Oswald 1972:176; lower row centre and right - after Oswald (1955:247). Note the broad, flattened spurs, the milling around the rim, the elongated-shape of the bowls, and the obtuse bowl angle (i.e. the vertical axis of the bowl slopes away from the stem at an angle of about 135°. (NB. accurate scales not available for these illustrations). Milling around the rim of pipe bowls is a feature which is PipeB typical of pipes of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Pipe B (Fig. 2) is a plain rounded bowl with a broken (Fresco-Corbu 1964; Atkinson and Oswald 1969:177; Atkin- stem and is best described as a 'crop' pipe (defined below) son and Oswald 1972; Flood 1976:18) (Fig. 4). The absence of rather than a cutty pipe (e.g. Gallagher 1987). The stem milling on Pipe A is significant as milling continued to be a curves up at an acute angle to the bowl - i.e. the vertical feature (usually the sole decorative feature) of most Dutch axis of the bowl is at an angle somewhat less than 90° to pipes well into the nineteenth century (Walker 1977:197, 184). the stem, a significant feature which is discussed below. As As such, it is extremely unlikely that Pipe A either dates to the with Pipe A, Pipe B exhibits staining and other signs of fairly seventeenth or eighteenth centuries or is Dutch in origin. heavy use. In addition, Pipe B seems to be fairly weathered, Stem. Pipe A clearly fits the description of the general although not to the extent of Pipe C. category of cutty pipe which was first introduced around the period 1780 to 1820 (Flood 1976:18). The cutty is charac- Date of manufacture terised by a short stem, an upright bowl (except for 'Dutch Examination of typologies of seventeenth and eight- style1 imitations - Fig. 5) and sometimes by a narrow, pointed eenth century Dutch and English pipes reveals that Pipe B spur (Walker 1975:180; Flood 1976:18). It was the typical was definitely not manufactured during this time. The pipe pipe of the Victorian era, and while detailed typologies have is similar, possibly identical, to pipe number 83 in David- not been compiled, documentary evidence such as an illus- son's catalogue (Fig. 5); a pipe which is called LARGE trated catalogue of a nineteenth century pipemaking firm CROP on the ca. 1900 list. Crop was a famous London (Gallagher and Price 1987) and a multitude of popular draw- firm who first began manufacturing in 1856 (Oswald 1975: ings and engravings of the time (e.g. the works of Victorian 108; Walker 1977:164-5) so the pipe must post-date this goldfield artist Samuel Gill - Dutton 1981), attest to the time. Plagiarism was rife among clay tobacco pipe manu- prevalence of this style of pipe in the nineteenth century. facturers and any popular style of pipe was likely to be The cutty was known also as a Dhudeen to the Irish who, copied shamelessly by rival manufacturers, as was proba- along with Scottish and Aboriginal workers, were particularly bly the case with the pipe in this catalogue, which is a Scottish copy of the London firm's pipe. Indeed, Crop's pipes fond of this style of pipe last century, apparently because the short stem enabled one to work and smoke at the same were copied to such an extent by Scottish manufacturers time (Wilson and Kelly 1987:28). The short stem was knownthat the term CROP, originally a brand name, eventually came also to have conferred the added advantage of keeping theto be a generic term for any pipe with a short, curved stem nose warm when working outdoors in cold weather (Aytoand the concomitant acute angle between the bowl's verti- 1987:10). cal axis and the stem. First-hand examination of the pipe 46 Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1998 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Courtney and McNiven Figure 4 Selected eighteenth century Dutch clay pipe bowls (after Atkinson and Oswald 1972:175). (NB. accurate scales not available for these illustrations). would be necessary to determine if the pipe is a copy rather no markings or writing. If it is a nineteenth century Scottish than an original Crop pipe. However, judging by the pho- pipe the manufacturer's name and location would have proba- tograph, Pipe B does appear to be a copy, a finding which bly been impressed along the length of the stem (Walker would be consistent with the emerging pattern that Scottish 1983:18). However, the bowl and stem are both abraded pipes are by far the most numerous found in Australian by weathering, possibly sandblasting, so it is most likely sites of the mid- to late-nineteenth century (e.g. Dane and that all traces of any such marks, if present and only lightly Morrison 1979; Jack 1986:127; Wilson and Kelly 1987:29; impressed, have been eroded off. The stem bore diameter Courtney 1998). is 2.2 mm (measured with callipers sensitive to 0.05 mm). Bowl. Again, the acute bowl angle of this pipe is char- The stem itself is distinctly oval in cross-section, measuring acteristic of the nineteenth century; a similar example was 6 mm (horizontal axis) by 4.2 mm (vertical axis) in diameter. found in a securely-dated deposit from the Victoria Hotel The pipe has a small upright bowl (diameter of 17 mm and site (Auckland) which dates from 1841 to 1865 (Brassey wall width of 1 mm) with a fluted pattern around the entire and Macready 1994:Fig. 41, pipe 93). Furthermore, the upper section and a series of small raised lines around the absence of milling makes it extremely unlikely that it is lower part. The bowl has three or four small chips out of either Dutch or from the seventeenth or eighteenth centuries. the top near the rim and a sandblasted hole near the base of Stem. Pipe B features a stem which curves up at a the bowl. Sandblasting has left only remnants of a small, sharp angle to the bowl. This feature is characteristic of mid- narrow, pointed spur on the base of the bowl. nineteenth century pipes and appears to be an imitation of The pipe shows no signs of teeth marks or of the tobacco Briar (wooden) pipes (Courtney 1998). Briar pipes were staining and discolouration typical of used pipes. It is noted, first introduced in about 1856 (Walker 1977:71) and the clay however, that the bleaching effect of wind, sand, water and imitations of them were probably first made by the above even burial underground for long periods can totally remove mentioned London firm of Crop (Courtney 1998) in the such stains, while sandblasting could obliterate subtle teeth same year (Walker 1977:164-5). Therefore, Pipe B almost marks. Pipe C smells distinctly of tobacco, a feature common certainly post-dates 1856. in pipes which have been used for the purpose of smoking, and one which can be discernible even after a century or so PipeC underground (Courtney 1998). The tobacco smell suggests Pipe C is a white ball-clay cutty with a stem length of that the visible features of wear were once present but have 7.1 cm (Fig. 6). The stem appears to be broken and exhibits since weathered off. Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1998 47 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Clay tobacco pipes from Aboriginal middens on Fraser Island, Queensland Bowl. The spur on the base of the bowl is typically nineteenth centuiy. Seventeenth century spurs were either flat and broad (Atkin- son and Oswald 1969:177; Flood 1976:18) or sometimes cylindrical in shape with a flat base (Atkin- son and Oswald 1972:Fig. 78; Flood 1976:18) (Pig. 3). While eighteenth century pipe spurs tended to be somewhat smaller than their seventeenth century counterparts, they continued to be cylindrical in shape with a flat, circular base (Atkinson and Os- wald 1972:Fig. 79) (Fig. 4). Gen- erally, eighteenth century spurs are larger, broader, and flatter- based than those of the nine- teenth century, which tend to be smaller, pointed and narrow (At- kinson and Oswald 1972; Walker 1975:180; Flood 1976:18). Spurs did not become narrow and pointed like that found on Pipe C until about 1780-1820 (Flood 1976:18). The fluting evident on the out- side of the bowl is not a feature of pipes made prior to about 1770 (Walker 1977:21). After this date, the fluted pipe gradually becomes more common so that by the late- nineteenth century it is one of the most popular pipe forms made (Courtney 1998), with many manu- facturers making them in a multi- tude of designs (e.g. Gallagher and Price 1987). A pipe with an identical fluted pattern to Pipe C Figure 5 Selected nineteenth century Scottish clay pipes. (Tracings taken from a late nineteenth century has been recovered from Port illustrated clay pipe catalogue of the firm Thomas Davidson Jnr and Co., Glasgow - reprinted Arthur (dated 1 830 to 1 877 - Dane in Gallagher and Price [1987:123, 125]. Name designations are only inferred by comparison with and Morrison 1979) while pipes Davidson's ca. 1900 price wages document [reproduced in Gallagher 1987]. Note with these pipes that the bowl is usually upright [i.e. at approximately 90° to the stem] and the stems are of similar bowl shape and size, short. The exception is the DUTCH CUTTY, which is a Scottish pipe made in imitation of the including one with a similar but classic Dutch style, and as such has the bowl axis at an 135° angle to the horizontal. [NB. no not identical style of fluting, were scales associated with original catalogue illustrations]). excavated recently from the post- 1830s Viewbank Homestead site Date of manufacture in Melbourne (Courtney in prep.). The nineteenth century designation is consistent also with Typologically, Pipe C falls within the mid- to late- nineteenth century despite its unusually small and delicatethe absence of milling around the bowl rim and upright bowl form (see above). form (especially compared to thick-walled 'Irish' pipes - see Gojak 1995). However, pipes of this form have been exca- Stem. Pipe C is an example of a cutty pipe which was vated from the Viewbank Homestead site (dated post- 1830). first introduced around the period 1780 to 1820 (see above). The other pipes similar to Pipe C from Viewbank were all The most strikingly unusual feature of the pipe is the stem manufactured by William Murray of Glasgow (Courtney in bore diameter, which at 2.2 mm is considerably larger than prep.), a pipemaker whose firm operated from 1830 to 1861 is usually found on cutty pipes of the nineteenth century. (Oswald 1975:205), and whose pipes are found commonly in Harrington's (1978) system for measuring seventeenth cen- Australian sites (Courtney 1998). Furthermore, the pipe tury is English stem bore diameters uses drill bits inserted into made of common ball clay with the indifferent finish typi- the pipe stem bore as a simple measuring device (Walker 1975:189-91; Harrington 1978). Therefore, Pipe C was tested cal of Scottish pipes of the nineteenth century. In contrast, Dutch pipes can be readily distinguished by their superiorby this method and easily took a drill bit of 5/64 of an inch. quality of clay and highly polished finish (Walker 1975: It should be made clear, however, that this wide bore, although 166; Duco 1986:101). so far unusual in nineteenth century pipe assemblages, in 48 Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1 998 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Courtney and McNiven no way indicates anything other than a nineteenth century seventeenth and later centuries were extremely popular with manufacture date for this pipe. (The stem-bore dating traders and smokers of all nationalities as they were of good method is not viable on a sample of less than a few hundred quality and low price (Walker 1975:166). In fact, because of pipe stems so it is of no use in dating this pipe. The drill these characteristics, their import into Britain was forbidden bit was used in this instance merely to test the unusually in order to protect local manufacturers (Donnan 1931 cited large size of the stem bore). in Walker 1975:184). However, such restrictions did not prevent English, French, and other ships from regularly calling at Dutch ports and buying pipes for export to other countries (Walker 1975:184). Further, Dutch pipes 'were also major exports ... [to] ... other European countries such as Denmark, Sweden, and Brandenburg, all of which countries were active in ... [overseas] ... trade1 (Walker 1975:184). Thus, Dutch pipes were widely distributed around the globe by people other than the Dutch, so even if the Corroborée Beach pipes were Dutch in origin, their arrival on Fraser Island could have been via the trade vessels of any number of countries. Clay pipe smoking and nineteenth century culture contact on Fraser Island How does the dating of the three clay pipes to the mid-to late-nineteenth century fit with the known nine- teenth century history of Aboriginal-European contact on Fraser Island? Between 1770 and the 1850s, Fraser Island was observed and visited by a series of European navigators, castaways and escaped convicts. James Cook sailed past Indian Head in 1770 and made only visual con- tact with Aboriginal people (Wharton 1893). Matthew Flinders landed at Sandy Cape on the northern end of the Island in 1802 and made the first recorded European contact with Islanders. He notes 'presenting' a party of Aboriginal people 'with hatchets and other testimonials of Figure 6 Clay pipe from an Aboriginal shell midden at Corroborée Beach our satisfaction' (Flinders 1814). In 1836 the most famous (from McNiven 1998). European encounter with Fraser Island Aboriginal people took place with the castaways of the Stirling Castle (Curtis Another unusual feature of the pipe is that the entire 1838; Alexander 1971; McNiven et al. 1998). Again, ex- stem is oval in shape (i.e. in cross-section). Whilechangenot a of items took place soon after arrival on the Island's particularly common feature in nineteenth century pipes, a east coast to the point that Second Mate John Baxter de- few pipes with this characteristic have been found atscribed Port it as a 'regular system of barter' (Curtis 1838:43-4). Arthur, a site dating from 1830 to 1877 (Dane and Morrison Few details are available on the European exchange items 1979:1 1, 41, 49, Plate 9; Jack 1986:127) and similar examples except that it was noted that each of the male castaways were excavated from the early Melbourne site of 'Little Lon' carried a bag containing utensils, and trifling arti- (Courtney 1998) from contexts dated fairly tightly to between cles of clothing, and that these were the first things 1848 and the 1890s (McCarthy 1987). So whereas most the savages took from them into the bush for nineteenth century stems are rounded in cross-section, theresafety and concealment from other tribes. (Curtis are a few documented instances of oval stems in nineteenth 1838:52) century pipes. The reasons for the differences have not While as not stated, it is possible that Fraser Island Abori- yet been examined in enough detail to use them as indicators ginal people obtained clay pipes from either Flinders, the of particular manufacturers or to assign their occurrence toCastle castaways or other unrecorded castaways from Stirling specific time periods. the numerous shipwrecks of the south Barrier Reef region. Indeed, Breaksea Spit off Sandy Cape on the northern tip Discussion of Fraser Island was for shipping 'the greatest danger on the eastern coast of Australia' prior to the completion of the Dutch pipes - interpretative problems Sandy Cape Lighthouse in 1870 (Davenport 1986:95). Our research indicates clearly that the Corroborée BeachIn 1842, Andrew Pétrie and his survey team from Moreton Bay sailed around the south-west coast of Fraser Island. pipes have a mid- to late-nineteenth century origin and there- fore discredits previous notions that two of the pipesAlthough are they camped and met Aboriginal people on the seventeenth century Dutch trade items. However, even if Island, the no mention of exchange in items was made (Pétrie pipes were of seventeenth century Dutch origin, such data 1980). However, Henry Stuart Russell, who was on the would not constitute evidence of a Dutch presence on Fraser expedition, recorded that Pétrie had written a note to escaped Island as such pipes were common trade items and couldconvict David Bracewell informing him that if his Aborigi- have arrived there by a number of routes which neednal not friends brought him forward they would be rewarded involve Dutch vessels or personnel. Dutch pipes in with the 'bacca and blankets' (Russell 1888:254). Although the Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1998 49 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Clay tobacco pipes from Aboriginal middens on Fraser Island, Queensland interchange took place near Noosa some 60 km south of supply them with tobacco, but they manage to Fraser Island, it suggests that the immediate neighbours of get it at the townships and from the vessels pass- the Fraser Islanders may have known about European to- ing. The pipe is scarce ever out of their mouths bacco through contact with the Moreton Bay settlement when they are awake. (Fuller 1872 cited in Curr which was established in the 1820s. As such, Fraser Island 1887:146) Aboriginal people may have had access to European items, In terms of passing boats, Fuller (1872 cited in Curr including clay pipes, indirectly through trade with other 1887:145) adds: Aboriginal groups in south-east Queensland any time after If a schooner is passing the Mission about sunset, ca. 1820. It is doubtful pipes were obtained from escaped the natives will sometimes throw sand up into the convicts as most would have 'gone bush' taking little more air, and blow with their mouths towards the sun, in than the prison clothes they wore at the time of absconding. order to make the sun go under quickly, and thus Of equal significance was Russell's meeting of Aboriginal compel the schooner to come to an anchor for the people, including Fraser Islanders, at Inskip Point opposite night in the channel, near the Mission, and enable the southern end of Fraser Island. Russell (1888:264) notes them to get on board [for] tobacco, biscuits, &c, that after meeting one particular man, 'I had to make a heavy which the captains generally supply them with. deduction from my daily allowance of smoking, in order to Fuller's testimony would suggest that by the 1870s numer- supply his quickly acquired taste for the pipe'. In this in- ous clay pipes were circulating amongst the 300 or so Abori- stance, Russell provides solid evidence that Aboriginal people ginal people he estimated were living on the Island at that of the Fraser Island region were introduced to European time (Fuller 1872). tobacco pipe smoking at least by 1842. In the 1890s, the role of the clay pipe in local Aboriginal With the establishment of Maryborough township on the society took a sinister turn with the introduction of opium banks of the Mary River opposite Fraser Island in the late (Evans and Walker 1977:72). By 1901, Protector of Abori- 1840s (Anon 1976), the potential for Fraser Island Abori- gines Archibald Meston noted that at Bogimbah Mission ginal people to access European pipes increased dramatically. (est. 1897) on the Island's west coast: In 1847, George Furber set up a small trade store and the The change in some of the men is truly deplor- following year trade vessels stopped regularly at the fledg- able. They show great physical deterioration, and ling settlement (Walker 1987). Through the 1850s Mary- have the glazed and lustreless eye characteristic borough increased dramatically in size and population and of the opium smoker and eater ... They do very it is clear that Fraser Islanders, whose 'tribal' lands included little fishing ... and have drifted into a pathetic the adjacent mainland, would have established regular con- condition mournful to contemplate, (cited in Evans tacts, both amicable and aggressive, with European colonisers and Walker 1977:89) at this time. Indeed, it was noted that many Aboriginal people Despite problems of opium abuse at Bogimbah, it is would retire to Fraser Island for security after assaults on clear that many Aboriginal people at the mission enjoyed European property and personnel (Evans and Walker 1977: tobacco smoking and it is likely that most smoking was un- 56). It is doubtful that Aboriginal people would have had dertaken using clay pipes. Indeed, it is possible that such many opportunities to obtain pipes during the brutal repri- items were supplied by mission authorities, given that part sals led by Maryborough police on Fraser Island (Williams of the rigid daily timetable for Aboriginal 'inmates' included 1982:55). 'tobacco serving' at 8.30am (Williams 1982:77). The 1860s saw the beginnings of European settlement The closure of Bogimbah Mission in 1904 represents the of Fraser Island. Through this decade the logging industry end of an era in the Aboriginal-European relations in the became well-established across the middle sections of the Fraser Island region. While many Mission 'inmates' were Island and it is clear that Aboriginal people became increas- transferred to Yarrabah near Cairns, many Fraser Island Abor- ingly involved in the industry as a cheap source of labour iginal people stayed on in the region, including some on the (Evans and Walker 1977; Williams 1982). Island itself, and slowly consolidated their cultural, social The pace and diversity of European activity on the Island and economic place in the region (e.g. Devitt 1979; Foley picked up in the 1870s. Apart from involvement in logging, 1994; McNiven 1994a). Significantly, clay pipe use con- Aboriginal people helped build the Sandy Cape Lighthouse tinued well into this century. In the 1940s, an 'old But- (Anon 1869:2) and helped the lighthouse keepers for which chulla [Fraser Island] woman' from the inland Aboriginal they received 'a supply of flour, tobacco and pipes each May,settlement of Cherbourg was observed smoking a 'white clay with the Government's annual blanket distribution' (Evans andpipe' on the beach at Urangan opposite Fraser Island (But- Walker 1977:62, emphasis added). That pipe smoking hadchulla elder Olga Miller 1996 pers. comm.). become a regular part of daily life for at least some Fraser Islanders by the early 1870s is revealed by Rev. Edward Significance of Corroborée Beach pipes Fuller who ran a small mission on the Island's west coast: It is quite clear from the above historical sketch of Although the aborigines (sic) were not in the habit Aboriginal-European interactions on Fraser Island that Abor- of smoking before the arrival of the White man, iginal people had access to European items, including pipes, yet now, since tobacco has been introduced among throughout the nineteenth century. However, the dating of the them, they are great smokers - men, women, and three Corroborée Beach pipes to the mid- to late-nineteenth children. A little girl or boy about two or three century reflects for the most part the period after which years old may be seen with a pipe in its mouth Europeans began settling the region in the 1850s. The signifi- smoking tobacco; yet they assure me that some- cance of this pattern is threefold. First, although the present times the mother will even take the breast out of sample is small, the three pipes suggest that Aboriginal use the child's mouth and put the pipe in. We do not of European pipes mirrored the degree of interaction with 50 Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1998 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Courtney and McNiven Europeans - peaceful or otherwise. That is, despite direct hopwoodii - Watson 1983) and used wooden, bone and shell European contact since the early-nineteenth century, clay smoking pipes in the case of far northern Australia, well pipes only become visible in the archaeological record of before European colonisation (Thompson 1939). Torres Strait Fraser Island when European presence of the region in- Islanders cultivated a form of tobacco that was smoked in creases dramatically after 1850. This view accords with bamboo pipes (Haddon 1935:303) while some northern Abori- the recent identification of flaked tools made from late- ginal groups were known to have had access to early Euro- nineteenth century Dutch gin bottle glass in some shell pean clay pipes via Macassan trepangers (Mulvaney 1975: middens on Fraser Island (McNiven 1998). 38-9; MacKnight 1976:82). As Thompson (1939) notes, in Second, of the 193 midden/stone artefact scatters recorded this context, use of European tobacco products may not have along the east coast of Fraser Island (McNiven 1994b, 1998), been altogether novel for many Aboriginal groups, repre- ten exhibit bottle glass and only three sites have revealed senting simply an extension of a 'traditional' practice. At this clay pipes (Pipes A, B and C, and a stem fragment at anotherstage, too few historical records are available to indicate to site near the southern end of the Island). The low numberwhat extent clay pipe use among Fraser Island Aboriginal of pipe finds coupled with their intact state suggests thatpeople during the nineteenth century represented an exten- the Corroborée Beach pipes were treasured items given that sion of 'traditional' activities. What is more clear is that the usual hallmark of a pipe smoking population is a very future investigation of clay pipes from other 'contact' arch- high ratio of pipe stem fragments to bowls (Oswald 1975: aeological sites on Fraser Island will shed new light on the 126). However, the apparent rarity of east coast pipes doeslargely unknown Aboriginal history of Fraser Island during not match the number of Aboriginal pipe smokers suggestedthe nineteenth century. by Rev. Fuller and the ready availability of pipes following European settlement of the region. Numerous reasons could Acknowledgements account for this situation including Thanks to Justin McCarthy (Austral Archaeology) and 1. poor preservation; Robert Brassey (Auckland Conservancy) for helpful discus- 2. removal of archaeological specimens by collectors; sion and references. Thanks also to Antonio Sagona and 3. limited exposure of historic archaeological remains; Claudia Sagona (University of Melbourne), Gary Presland 4. limited use of the east coast after 1 850; (Museum Victoria), Cathy Webb (Heritage Branch, Abori- 5.use of pipes for restricted, special reasons on the eastginal Affairs Victoria) and Paul Taçon (Division of Anthro- coast compared to more open use on the west coast. pology, Australian Museum) for information regarding Abori- ginal pipe smoking. Wayne Johnson and Graham Wilson Of these options, the first two are the least likely as clay pipes are known to be highly resistant to mechanical and(Sydney Cove Authority), Lynn Collins (Hyde Paric Barracks), chemical decay (Gojak and Stewart in press) while souvenir- and Elizabeth Willis and Melanie Raberts (Museum Victoria) generously ing by collectors is unlikely to affect small stem fragments. provided advice and access to pipe collections. Furthermore, while options three and four may affect overallHelp on locating the Lauer pipes was provided by Leonn pipe numbers, they are unlikely to affect the ratio of bowls Satterthwait (University of Queensland Anthropology Mu- to stem fragments. We suggest that the last option needs seum), Richard Robins (Queensland Museum), Peter Lauer further exploration given that traditional pipe smoking amongand John Sinclair. Permission to reproduce Figure 2 was Aboriginal groups of northern Australia was often restrictedprovided by The University of Queensland Anthropology to ceremonial occasions (Thompson 1939). In this connec- Museum. Olga Miller provided advice on recent Butchulla clay tion, archaeological and historical information suggests that pipe smoking. Helpful comments on earlier drafts of the west coast of Fraser Island was a core habitation zone this paper were kindly provided by Graham Connah, Denis for resident Fraser Islanders while the east coast was used Gojak and Scott Mitchell. for large-scale, inter-group gatherings involving local and References non-local peoples (Devitt 1979; McNiven in press; MillerAlexander, M. 1971 Mrs Fraser on the Fatal Shore. New York: 1998). Following the pattern of inter-group gatherings across Simon and Schuster. many parts of Australia (Lourandos 1988), the Fraser IslandAnonymous 1869 Article in The Maryborough Chronicle, May gatherings would have involved a range of economic, poli- 25,p.2. tical, social and ceremonial activities. Clay pipes may haveAnonymous 1976 A History of Maryborough 1842-1976. Mary- played a special role at these gatherings. borough: Maryborough, Wide Bay and Burnett Historical Society. The third significant implication of the pipes relates to Atkinson, D. and Oswald, A. 1969 London clay tobacco pipes. Aboriginal land-use patterns after European contact. The Journal of the Archaeological Association 22(3): 1 7 1 -227. Corroborée Beach pipes were recovered from an area whereAtkinson, D. and Oswald, A. 1972 A brief guide for the identifi- abundant shell midden and stone tool remains attest to long- cation of Dutch clay tobacco pipes found in England. Post- term Aboriginal usage, possibly back to ca. 4000 years (McNiven Medieval Archaeology 6: 1 75-82. 1998). Indeed, Lauer obtained a radiocarbon date of ca. 800Ayto, E.G. 1987 Clay Tobacco Pipes. Aylesbury: Shire Publi- years for some of the shells at the midden site where he col- cations. Shire Album 37. lected the two pipes (McNiven 1998). These data indicate Birmingham, J. 1992 Wybalenna: The Archaeology of Cultural that at least some Fraser Islanders continued to use 'traditional' Accommodation in Nineteenth Century Tasmania. Sydney: The Australian Society for Historical Archaeology. camp sites and undertake 'traditional' foraging activities during Brassey, R. and Macready, S. 1994 The History and Archaeology the period of intensive European settlement of their lands. of The Victoria Hotel, Auckland (Site Rll). Auckland: Depart- ment of Conservation. Auckland Conservancy Historical Conclusion Resources series. No. 10. It is clear that Aboriginal people in many parts of Aust- Corti, C. 1931 A History of Smoking. London: George Harrap ralia consumed tobacco-like substances (e.g. pituri, Duboisiaand Co. Australian Archaeology, Number 47, 1 998 5 1 This content downloaded from 203.10.59.73 on Sat, 04 Sep 2021 12:47:19 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms Clay tobacco pipes from Aboriginal middens on Fraser Island, Queensland Courtney, K. 1998 Piece pipes: The clay tobacco pipes from the Jack, I. 1986 Clay tobacco pipes exported from Scotland to Aus- historic site of Little Lon1, Melbourne, Australia. M.A. the- tralia in the Nineteenth Century: Some preliminary obser- sis, School of Fine Arts, Classical Studies and Archaeology, vations. Historic Clay Tobacco Pipe Studies 3:125-34. and Department of History, The University of Melbourne, Kelly, M. 1982 A Practical Reference Source to Radiocarbon Melbourne. Dates Obtained from Archaeological Sites in Queensland. Courtney, K. in prep. 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