Bligh, John O’Connell [Officer] (1).pdf - Gilburri

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FRONTIER CONFLICT AND THE NATIVE MOUNTED POLICE IN QUEENSLAND Bligh, John O’Connell [O cer] Map data ©2021 Google Imagery ©2021 TerraMetrics O cer information O cer's name Bligh, John O’Connell Portrait Precis John O’Connell Bligh served in the Native Mounted Police for 11 years, spanning the late 1850s and early 1860s. Born in Buckinghamshire, England, Bligh was the grandson of royal naval o cer and Governor of NSW William Bligh, and the son of cousins Richard and Elizabeth Bligh. According to one of his obituaries he was also “the nephew of the late Sir Maurice O'Connell, President of the Legislative Council, and a grandson of the great liberator Dan O'Connell” (Capricornian, 18 December 1880, p10). His nephews, John Bligh Nutting and Chalres Marshall Nutting were also members of the NMP. Although records of his NMP career are sparse, John O’Connell Bligh was rst appointed as a sub-Lieutenant in 1853. He was stationed at the Yabber Creek NMP camp in 1854, Tiaro in 1855, Gladstone in 1857 and the Cooper’s Plains barracks near Maryborough in 1859. He was appointed Acting Commandant and then Commandant of the NMP in 1861 on the resignation of Edric Morisset. Bligh married Charlotte Dick in 1863, with whom he had eight children: Charlotte Elilzabeth (b. 1864), Charlotte Lucy (b. 1864), an unnamed son (b. 1866), Lancelot John Shanley, Francis Harold (b. 1870), Edric Alexander (b. 1873), Margaret Ruth (b. 1874) and Lily (b. 1876). His daughter Charlotte Lucy married her cousin (John’s nephew and fellow NMP o cer), John Bligh Nutting. Described as e cient, energetic and “perfectly temperate” by his superior o cer, Edric Morisset, Bligh claimed to work on very friendly and familiar terms with his troopers, although several letters to the newspapers in the early 1860s alleged very di erent conduct, including drunkenness and cruelty. In di erent capacities, he was involved in NMP reprisals following two of the most sensational attacks on Europeans in the 19th century: the deaths of the Fraser family at Hornet Bank in 1857 and of Horatio Wills’ party at Cullin-la-Ringo in 1861. His actions in the township of Maryborough in 1860 also created much consternation on the part of the inhabitants of the town and led to formal questioning at the 1861 Select Committee Enquiry into the Native Police. Apart from his NMP duties, Bligh was appointed a clerk of petty sessions in NSW in 1853 and as a Justice of the Peace. Following his resignation from the NMP in 1864 he became a police magistrate at Maryborough and Gympie between 1869-1880. He was a member of both the Masons and the Oddellows (Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser 18 December 1880, p2). John O’Connell Bligh died in 1880, possibly from an accidental overdose of chloral hydrate. On the eve of his marriage in 1863 he had sustained serious injuries, including the loss of an eye, that dis gured him for life. As described by William Hill, who witnessed it, “poor Bligh had his nose kicked nearly o while docking his favourite horse's tail. It was a terrible dis gurement, and worse too by reason of happening on the eve of his wedding day” (Hill 1907:25). An enquiry into his death found that he su ered from insomnia, and it may be that pain from his injuries contributed to his overdose. ID number 36 QSA le number No QSA Police Sta le Earliest known date - year 1853 Latest known date - year 1864 O cer’s reason for departure Resigned Birth date 03-Mar-1834 Year of birth 1834 Year of death 1880 Place of birth Buckinghamshire, England Date of death 12-Dec-1880 Location of grave Died in Gympie (presumably his grave is in same) Date of marriage 29-Dec-1863 Name of spouse Charlotte Eliza Dick Information about other duties JP; NSW clerk of petty sessions 1853; police magistrate at Maryborough and Gympie 1869-1880. Member of the Masons and the Oddellows (Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser 18 December 1880, p2) General notes One of the initial o cer cohort in 1859. Commander of detachment of Maryborough killing 1860. Brother of Richard Bligh, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Clarence District, NSW. Grandson of William Bligh, son of cousins Richard and Elizabeth Bligh. Appointed Acting Commandant of the NMP in 1861. Wife died in 1876 giving birth to their sixth child Lily (Richards 2008:225) ‘I was present when poor Bligh had his nose kicked nearly o while docking his favourite horse's tail. It was a terrible dis gurement, and worse too by reason of happening on the eve of his wedding day.’ (Hill 1907:25) ‘111. On what terms do you generally live with your troopers? On very friendly terms, I am on much more familiar terms with them then [sic] I could be with white men’ (John O'Connell Bligh 8 July 1861, Qld Legislative Assembly 1861 Select Committee into the Qld Native Police: 156). '86. The next o cer is Mr. John O'Connell Bligh—how long has he been in the Force? Nearly eight years. 87. Do you consider him an e cient o cer? Yes. 88. Perfectly temperate? Most particularly so. 89. Energetic? Yes. 90. Altogether a good o cer? Yes, I should say the best in the Force' (Edric Morisset 6 July 1861, Qld Legislative Assembly 1861 Select Committee into the Qld Native Police: 145). Seemingly died from an accidental overdose of chloral hydrate: 'Our Gympie correspondent writes:—"Death has again visited us, and quite a gloom was cast over the eld on Sunday morning when it became known that Mr. J. O'Connell Bligh, warden and police-magistrate, had been found dead in his bed. From the evidence elicited at the enquiry into the cause of death, held on Wednesday, it appears that deceased had been in the habit of using a preparation of chloral with which to combat attacks of sleeplessness from which he frequently su ered, and that on Sunday morning he must, unawares, have taken an overdose of this powerful drug, hence the fatal catastrophe, A very large funeral cortege followed the remains of the deceased to their last resting place on Monday, all denominations and classes of the community taking part in the same. The deceased, who was deservedly esteemed for the impartial and conscientious discharge of his magisterial duties and generally courteous deportment, leaves a family of six children to lament their loss.' (Queenslander 25 December 1880, p808) 'It is believed that the cause of death was heart disease, although one telegram states that the deceased gentleman had taken an overdose of chloral. Mr Bligh has been long in the public service, and has always enjoyed the esteem of the residents in the districts where he has been stationed, being a courteous, upright, and kindly gentleman It is not quite two years since Mr Bligh lost his wife, and the care of a large and young family added painfully to his responsibilities He was at times a severe su erer, having received terrible injuries some years ago from a kick in the face by a horse, by which he lost one eye and was cruelly dis gured, and it was probably to alleviate one of these periodical attacks of su ering that the unfortunate gentleman took the opiate that has occasioned so sad a result.' (Brisbane Courier 14 December 1880, p2) Posting timeline Week | Month | Quarter | Year | All 1850 1855 1860 Yab Gladstone (Port Curtis) Clarence and Macleay (dist Wandai Gumbal (also s Coope Malchi Hill 1850 1855 1860 Blog posts 7 entries Label Tools ‘My The historical record tells us that alcohol consumption in the early days of European Unfortunate ‘settlement’ was prodigious (Dingle 1978, 1980; see Figure 1). Indeed, the most common Habit of artefact we have recovered during excavations at Native Mounted Police (NMP) camps Nipping’ is glass, by far the most common type of which comes from alcohol bottles. Alcoholism and/or the over consumption of alcohol amongst the European o cers of the NMP is a relatively common complaint in o cial records and the reason for a number of dismissals of o cers from the force (Richards 2008:143). Loneliness, isolation and the brutal nature of the work they were tasked with probably all contributed to excessive alcohol consumption by NMP o cers—most of which was tolerated unless it resulted in an inability to carry out their duties. For example, Commandant Frederick Walker was dismissed from the force in 1855 after complaints that he ‘had fallen into habits of great intemperance that incapacitated him from performing his duties properly’—speci cally irregularities, drunkenness, abuse to the o cers, and his general irregularity in the management of the force’ (as cited in Skinner 1975:153). Second Lieutenant Richardson was dismissed in 1863 for ‘becoming intoxicated while on duty and subsequently shooting a black boy whom he had in custody as a deserter from the force’ (as cited in Richards 2008:145). Richards goes on Label Tools to say that, although Commandant Bligh reported he was made aware of Richardson’s intemperance, he did not report his behaviour due to ‘extenuating circumstances … in the hope he might still prove an e cient o cer’. So what were NMP o cers drinking in 19th century Queensland? A perusal of contemporary newspaper advertisements show a wide range of alcoholic beverages for sale. For example, in the 14 February 1884 edition of the Cairns Post there were advertisements for “Regular shipments of wines, spirits and ales”, including A van Hoboken gin, wines, ports and sherries —both colonial and European—rum, whiskey, brandy and liqueurs. Figure 1 clearly shows a preference for spirits throughout most of the 19th century in Australia, with beer consumption only becoming the more popular alcoholic drink at the end of the 19th century and wine consumption remaining relatively low until the mid-20th century. To what extent this consumption is re ected in the archaeological record is di cult to ascertain, as, although some bottles at archaeological sites remain intact, the majority are broken into thousands of fragments, making it very di cult to identify bottle types. These fragments are sorted into colour groups and examined for tell-tale clues as to how they were manufactured—which may give us clues about the date of manufacture —or for lettering and other marks which may tell us who made the product where it came from and what the bottle was used for (Figure 2). Gin and Schnapps Of the many types of bottles, two in particular are universally found in all the NMP camps we have studied so far: gin and schnapps. These bottles are readily identi able archaeologically because they tend to be square and more often than not have lettering or other marks identifying the company that made them. They also tend to be dark green/black in colour and the glass is often signi cantly thicker than other bottle types. These square bottles are called ‘case bottles’ because of the method of their transport, packed neatly into rectangular wooden cases (Figure 3). It was common for manufacturers to have their names embossed on the sides of the bottle—usually on two opposite sides and sometimes with a ‘blob seal’ containing a design or their initials. For example, Figure 4 shows a gin bottle with the maker’s name ‘A Houtman & Co Schiedam’, on the side and a blob seal on the shoulder with the maker’s initials ‘A H.’. A schnapps bottle with the words ‘Aromatic Schnapps’ on one side has the place of manufacture—‘Schiedam’—on another and the maker’s name ‘Adolphus Wolfes’ on a third. Blob seals are especially helpful in identifying a manufacturer, as they often include the maker’s initials and, because they are quite thick, they usually survive well in archaeological sites. An interesting detail in regard to the blob seals on these commonly found bottles is that they both appear to have the same initials: ‘AH’. Upon closer examination, however, it is clear that the A Van Hoboken initials are not AH but AVH – the V being formed by joining the bottom of the A and H together (Figure 5). For the A Houtman bottle the letters A and H are clearly separate. Label Tools Most of the gin and schnapps brought to Australia in the 19th century was imported from Holland. Two common gin manufacturers whose bottles are found on NMP sites are A Van Hoboken and Co, Rotterdam, and A Houtman and Co, Schiedam. The Houtman distillery building, built in 1872, still stands in Holland today and is said to be a typical example of a gin distillery from the period 1850–1880. Many of the gin case bottles were large. A Van Hoboken case bottle weighed almost 1 kg when empty and could contain up to 1.5 litres of gin (over 2.6 British pints), meaning if they came in a case of 12 they would weigh a substantial 30 kg—case not included— and contain 18 litres of gin. Schnapps was often not sold as an alcoholic drink per se, but rather was promoted as a medicine, as the advertisement for Adopolphus Wolfe’s Aromatic Schnapps below— dated 1871—makes clear (Figure 6). Despite its alleged medicinal qualities, however, it was ‘sold by all wine and spirit merchants, hotels and store keepers throughout the colony’ and there is little doubt that the strong alcohol content of this ‘medicine’ was an important factor in its ‘restorative’ properties. From examining inventories and receipts of purchases of supplies by the NMP it would appear that alcohol purchases were not funded by the government, although ‘medicinal’ alcohol may have been an exception. Wine and Beer Other commonly found glass at NMP camps is associated with wine and beer bottles. One of the features of wine bottles is a distinctive and pronounced upward indentation on the base—referred to as a push up or kick up—commonly found on wine and champagne bottles today (Lindsey 2018) (Figure 7). Although kick up bases were not wholly restricted to wine bottles in the 19th century, those with very pronounced kick ups were most likely to be wine containers rather than beer. Wine bottles were most commonly olive green in colour, with beer bottles more likely to exhibit a wider range of colours, including olive green, brown/amber, black and clear. Although beer bottles sometimes had embossed lettering, wine bottles more often had paper labels, making it di cult to attribute to manufacturer, place of origin or wine type. Bottles with no markings made them eminently suitable for recycling and any given bottle could have been recycled and reused many times for totally unrelated products, making it di cult for archaeologists trying to attribute contents based on bottle type (Lindsey 2018). It is clear from contemporary newspaper advertisements that both imported and ‘colonial’ wines were available in colonial Queensland, and that ‘claret’ (a generic term for red wines from the Bordeaux region of France) and Sauternes (a sweet wine also from Bordeaux), as well as forti ed wines such as sherry and port were commonly consumed. Available beer types were advertised as ales, porter and stout, and could sometimes come in stoneware containers. These types of heavier beers had a higher Label Tools alcohol content than lighter beers such as lagers, which acted as a preservative—an important consideration before pasteurisation and the invention of the crown seal lid in 1892, and which is still common to beer bottles today (Lindsey 2018). It is clear from the amount of imported alcohol-related bottle glass found at NMP camps (in the case of gin and schnapps from as far away as Holland and wine from France, Portugal and Spain), transported overland across vast distances to some of the most remote places in the state, that alcohol was an important component of daily life for European NMP o cers on the Queensland frontier. How this a ected their performance, judgement and relationships with their Aboriginal troopers is little understood, but the e ects of heavy alcohol consumption, especially in the form of strong spirits such as gin and schnapps, would inevitably have taken a severe toll on the mental and physical health of these men over time. *From a letter by ex-Sub-Inspector Alfred Smart in 1888 attempting to reapply to the NMP after having been dismissed for drunkenness. References Anderson, K. 2015 Growth and Cycles in Australia’s Wine Industry. A Statistical Compendium, 1843 to 2013. Adelaide: University of Adelaide Press. Dingle, A.E. 1978 Drink and Drinking in Nineteenth Century Australia: A Statistical Commentary. Melbourne: Monash University Department of Economic History. Dingle, A.E. 1980 ‘The truly magni cent thirst’: an historical survey of Australian drinking habits. Historical Studies 19(75):227–249. Lindsey, B. 2018 Bottle Glossay. The Historic Glass Bottle Identi cation & Information Website. Accessed online 30 March 2018 at . Richards, J. 2008 The Secret War: A True History of Queensland’s Native Police. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press. Skinner, L.E. 1975 Police of the Pastoral Frontier: Native Police 1849-1859. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press. Cramming A large part of our project involves sifting through various sources of historical Monkies information for insights into the NMP. One of these sources is TROVE, a repository of historical Australian newspapers from every state and territory in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Searching TROVE is dangerous. Each attempt reveals a chain of interconnected events, people and places that all need to be followed up, cross-referenced and independently veri ed wherever possible. Amongst the many incidental things that TROVE reveals are various aspects of Australian life in the places and times of the NMP. One of these is a recurring reference to ‘monkeys’ in relation to the triggers for some reprisals and (presumably) massacres of Aboriginal people: "A complaint was made by some one on the station that one of these parties “looked Label Tools suspicious,” and “asked him for monkeys,” on which the police went out and shot some of them. My blacks asked “what for policeman shoot him, bail blackfellow kill whitefellow, bail take monkey, bail take ration, what for shoot him? you been yabber blackfellow budgery bail policeman shoot him.” The blacks in this neighbourhood have frequently told me the Warpahs or Nogoa blacks would kill some whitefellow for those shot at Albinia Downs" (Rockhampton Bulletin and Central Qld Advertiser 15 February 1862, p3). Edward Morris’ (1898:300) Dictionary of Austral English gives the meaning of ‘monkey’ as ‘bush slang for sheep’, citing A.C. Grant’s Bush Life in Queensland (a novel sub-titled, or, John West’s Colonial Experiences), published in 1881. Partridge and Beale (1984:748) qualify this by noting that ‘monkey’ was still in use in the 1940s. There are older references to ‘monkeys’ in newspapers, however, speci cally in relation to the repercussions of stock spearing and theft for Aboriginal people left with few other food resources because of European encroachment on traditional food and water resources. One complaint, published as an advertisement by the brothers John and Alexander Mortimer of Manumbar Station on the Burnett River and addressed to ‘the O cer in command of the Party of Native Police, who shot and wounded some Blacks on the Station of Manumbar, on Sunday, the 10th instant’, claimed: "As most of the blacks you left dead on our run were feeble old men — some of them apparently not less than 80 years of age — will you please to inform us whether these hoary sinners are the parties chie y engaged in spearing bullocks, and “cramming monkeys,” &c., or whether you just shoot them because the younger ones are too nimble for you" (Sydney Morning Herald 25 March 1861, p2). In a later letter to the editor, the Mortimers named the o cer and gave the local Aboriginal version: "Towards night some of our station blacks came up, and we inquired of them the reason why so many blacks were leaving the bunya bunya; they told us ‘That Mr. Bligh been come up, baal shoot him, and baal run him, only woolah. I believe you budgeree fellow: baal spear him bullock, and baal cram him monkey, but you been sit down good while and batter bunya, you go home and work now.'” (North Australia, Ipswich and General Advertiser 7 June 1861, p4). ‘Cramming’ (presumably taking, stealing or capturing) is an equally interesting word, especially as one of the other contemporary sources for it is the address by Frederick Walker, rst Commandant of the Qld NMP, to his troopers in 1851 (Skinner 1975:55): "I shall be quick after you, and when the charcoles in the Balonne think that will do, I shall leave my rogues with Mr. Fulford at Wondai Gumbal and take Logan and Willy’s two sections to help Mr. Marshall and Cobby’s men to cramer [take] the Island [Fraser Island]. Label Tools The word ‘cram’ in this context clearly has a slightly di erent meaning to that usually ascribed to it in contemporary slang dictionaries as a lie or deception (Hotten 1860:123). Although often noted as general slang (e.g. Paterson 1906), both ‘monkey’ and ‘cram’ were obviously also part of the Aboriginal Pidgin lexicon. The Pidgin that was used in what became Qld after Separation (post-1859) had some vocabulary inherited from NSW (such as ‘bail/baal/bael’ for ‘no’ or ‘not’ and ‘budgeree’ for ‘good’), and other words and grammatical features that were unique to di erent sectors of Qld (Dutton 1983). This is not surprising given that the squatters in inland Qld from the 1840s onwards came from southern and western NSW, often bringing Aboriginal workers with them. More interestingly, many of the earliest troopers in the NMP were also recruited from southern and western NSW, and Dutton (1983:Appendix 4) provided a long list of Pidgin English that was used speci cally by Qld Native Police troopers. Perhaps both ‘monkey’ and ‘cramming’ entered nineteenth century Qld speech in part because of the role played by the NMP in policing sheep spearing and the legacy of frontier violence that ensued. References Dutton, T. 1983 The origin and spread of Aboriginal Pidgin English in Queensland: a preliminary account. Aboriginal History 7(1):90–122. Grant, A.E. 1881 Bush Life in Queensland or, John West’s Colonial Experiences. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons. Hotten, J.C. 1860 A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words, used at the Present Day in the Streets of London. London: John Camden Hotten. Morris, E.E. 1898 Austral English: A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases and Usages with those Aboriginal-Australian and Maori Words which have become Incorporated in the Language, and the Commoner Scienti c Words that have had their Origin in Australasia. London: Macmillan. Partridge, E. and P. Beale 1984 A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English: Colloquialisms and Catch Phrases, Fossilised Jokes and Puns, General Nicknames, Vulgarisms, and Such Americanisms as have been Naturalised. 8th Ed. New York: Macmillan. Paterson, A.B. 1906 The Old Bush Songs. Sydney: Angus and Robertson. Skinner, L.E. 1975 Police of the Pastoral Frontier: Native Police 1849–59. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press Friendships The relationship between white o cers and the Aboriginal troopers who served under on the them is one of the most perplexing and elusive of all interactions within the Native Frontier: Mounted Police (NMP). What those relationships were like, the bases around which they Exploring were constructed, and how they played out day-to-day would have been as varied as relationships the histories, tempers and dispositions of the men concerned. Between Officers and Label Tools Troopers of the NMP While we know that many o cers were reprimanded or dismissed for excessive ‘discipline’, including extra-judicial killings of troopers, others claimed a strong bond, sometimes even suggesting that a form of friendship existed between them. It seems unlikely that any such ‘friendships’ were truly equal in a system that took young vulnerable men from recently paci ed areas and placed them into a military-style structure, and certainly many relationships seem to have been based more on the degree of control exerted by the o cer rather than any bond between the men. It may also be that the possibility for any such relationships changed over time as the NMP itself developed. During the 1857 and 1861 Select Committee hearings into various aspects of the force, several observers claimed that troopers responded better to ‘gentlemen’ than to those who were considered less respectable. This highlights a deep and seemingly unbridgeable class divide between the two tiers of o cers: the Lieutenants and the Sergeants. The Lieutenants — who were commissioned o cers — came from good educational and at least middle class family backgrounds, with all the social capital this gave them. In contrast, the Sergeants — the non-commissioned o cers — were often only functionally literate members of the working class. Middle class values viewed the behaviours of each completely di erently: "It was found that the men had not the slightest respect for white men in the capacity of Sergeants, who went into the huts on the stations they visited and associated with the men they found there on an equal footing. I believe that was the reason why the white Sergeants were done away with, and it was thought advisable to get respectable young men to whom the Police would look up as gentlemen, under the name of Sub- lieutenants" (Charles Archer 25 November 1856, NSW Legislative Assembly 1857 Native Police Force. Report from the Select Committee on the Native Police Force; Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence). "63. What was your reason for this recommendation? I thought that the Native Troopers would look with more respect on those who associated with gentlemen, than on those who associated with the labouring men at the stations they visited, and who were continually getting drunk and setting a bad example" (Richard Purvis Marshall 2 December 1856, NSW Legislative Assembly 1857 Native Police Force. Report from the Select Committee on the Native Police Force; Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence). John O’Connell Bligh went so far as to claim this as a basis for friendship, aligning himself more closely with his troopers than with the labouring class of Sergeants: "111. On what terms do you generally live with your troopers? On very friendly terms, I am on much more familiar terms with them then [sic] I could be with white men" (John O’Connell Bligh 8 July 1861, Qld Legislative Assembly 1861 Select Committee into the Qld Native Police: 156). One of the o cers who is often cited as having a particularly strong bond with ‘his’ troopers is Frederick Walker, the rst Commandant of the Native Police, who Label Tools established the original force in the Qld-New South Wales border country in 1849. Several squatters to the various Select Committees remarked on the closeness of this relationship: "From what I have gathered of his dealing with these natives, it would appear that Mr. Walker was extraordinarily familiar with them. He was more familiar than we should consider it right to be with servants, for instance—he treated them almost as friends" (William Forster 18 June 1858, Legislative Assembly of NSW Report from the Select Committee on Murders by Aborigines on the Dawson River: 10). In 1844 Walker had worked as a station manager in the Murrumbidgee District of NSW, a situation which enabled him to recruit men from the region whom he had sometimes known and worked with for many years: "As the natives continued hostile, we found it necessary to punish them for plundering Ross’s camp, and several Murrumbidgee men came to our assistance, John Scott, the Jackson brothers. Williams—an ex-barrister, who lived with them—Lee, and Frederick Walker, who brought with him two ne Murrumbidgee natives— Robin Hood and Marengo—who proved most useful. These two blacks afterwards accompanied Walker to Queensland when he was appointed commandant of the native police" (Sydney Mail and NSW Advertiser, 4 December 1907, p1443). "Then the Native Police Force under Mr. Walker was e cient? That section was more e cient than they have ever been since; because, when he got more to do he had to trust to others. To increase the force, he had to go away a second time to the Murrumbidgee and Lachlan, and those places. Mr. Walker had several advantages: he was a superintendent in these Southern Districts, and knew a great deal of the country, and the blacks there individually, and that enabled him to recruit successfully" (William Butler Tooth 23 June 1858, Legislative Assembly of NSW Report from the Select Committee on Murders by Aborigines on the Dawson River:26–27). Walker’s rst recruiting drive on the Murrumbidgee took place in 1848; his second in 1850. These long-established individual, personal relationships are probably the best explanation for the bond that Walker seems to have shared with his troopers, although how Walker maintained that relationship is less clear. By all accounts he was a harsh disciplinarian: "62. What is the mode of punishing them? There is none now. Under Mr. Walker they used to be ogged, with great e cacy … 64. But you have understood that he ogged them? Yes — a regular scourging — the fellow being tied up and ogged by one of his mates. 65. By the Chairman: And that had a bene cial e ect? Decidedly; it is an excellent way of appealing to the feelings of a black trooper. 66. By Mr. Cowper: The men did not abscond in consequence? No; I never heard of the men absconding in Mr. Walker’s time; he could og them, and the next moment be Label Tools friendly with them. 67. Who in icted the punishment? One of themselves. He had corporals and sergeants among them. 68. Do you know whether any form of trial was observed? Yes; he used to call them all up and tell them — “this fellow has been doing so and so—isn’t he a great rascal — hadn’t we better og him”; and then he would have him tied up and ogged. My brother has seen it" (William Archer 22 June 1858, Legislative Assembly of NSW Report from the Select Committee on Murders by Aborigines on the Dawson River:17). James Blain Reid, a squatter on the Burnett River, summed it up most succinctly: ‘‘He was very severe, more so than any other person has been since” (J.B. Reid 23 June 1858, Legislative Assembly of NSW Report from the Select Committee on Murders by Aborigines on the Dawson River: 24). Despite his harshness, there are various other pieces of evidence pointing to a signi cant bond. Although none of the troopers appear to have left the NMP immediately following Walker’s dismissal in 1854, we know that by 1861, when Walker was commissioned to search for Burke and Wills, eight former troopers went with him: Jemmy Cargara, Jingle, Coreen Jemmy, Patrick (Paddy), Rodney, Jack, Harry, and Walter. All of these men, with the exception of Jemmy Cargara, came from the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Edward rivers area, presumably enlisted on Walker’s second recruiting drive there in 1850. In traversing — and in many instances rst mapping — the country between the Nogoa River and the Gulf of Carpentaria, Walker thought enough of some of these companions to name geographical features after them, including Patrick Creek (‘I called this the Patrick, after one of my old comrades (aboriginal)’) and Mt Rodney (‘About 1 mile lower down than where we crossed the Alice, was a range on the right bank, which I named Mount Rodney, after one of my Murray men’). Walker also named a creek after Jingle, whom Walter Clark described as ‘Walker’s favorite henchman’. In remembering Walker, Clark recounted an incident that Jingle was fond of telling from the Burke and Wills expedition: "Jingle was and had been in the old corps with him. Of course a great part of the fun of the incident consisted in the dramatic e ect Jingle employed in the recital of it. According to the sergeant, Walker had taken him as escort when reconnoitreing some country on Gulf waters some distance from the camp. One afternoon when it was nearly dusk and their horses were knocked up, entering on an open plain they found a large mob of natives at a distance of about a mile away. As soon as the natives noticed them the mob began to move towards them at the double quick. The idea of being surrounded by the savages with knocked up horses didn’t suit. Walker consulted Jingle, pointing to the peril they were in. Jingle’s wit came to the rescue with a novel expedient for which Walker ought have created him a eld marshal on the spot. One of the horses Label Tools was far fresher than the other. Addressing his commander, Jingle suggested he should make his escape on the best horse, leaving Jingle to his fate. Walker replied he would not leave Jingle, but if necessary die with him. Then Jingle made a proposition, saying “I tell you, Murro-billa,” i.e., in the native vocabulary — big nose — the commandant’s native name, “we leave done- up horse, take’m good fellow, you ride murry quick ahead, Jingle run behind, bye and bye I been no more run; Jingle been ride little bit, Murro-billa been run. Then Jingle more run.” They adopted the expedient and gradually the two gained ground on their pursuers who threw up the sponge. The escapees camped that night in the bottom of a dry creek. The horse left behind was never got. The saddle they had placed in a tree and was recovered. A space round the tree was covered with tracks but the blacks had been afraid to handle it. When relating the matter to me, Jingle would yell with laughter as he mimicked Murro-billa’s running for at that time Walker was immensely corpulent" (Gympie Times and Mary River Mining Gazette, 2 June 1906, p7). Both Jingle and Coreen Jemmy had been dismissed from the NMP four years before for engaging in “conduct which could not be overlooked” (Skinner 1975:363). Along with Boney, Larry, Billy, and Coreen Neddy, they were sent packing by Edric Morisset — the man who took over from Walker as Commandant — for leaving their barracks at Wandai Gumbal to attend a corroborree with local Aboriginal people. For his part, Walker had been living on the Dawson River since 1854, operating as a successful speculator for new pastoral runs. By 1857 he was living on the station of Hornet Bank (McManus 1903), where, on the 29 October 1857, 11 members of the Frazer family were killed by Aboriginal people. Certainly both Jingle and Coreen Jemmy were with Walker by the beginning of 1858. In January of that year Andrew Scott, the owner of Hornet Bank, and his neighbour, Pollett Cardew, organised Frederick Walker, another ex-NMP o cer, Thomas Ross, and ten ex- troopers into a private police force to protect them and patrol their Dawson River runs. According to Morisset this ‘armed party’ consisted of the men he had dismissed from Wandai Gumbal (Skinner 1975:359). "60. By the Chairman: You know the late Commandant of the Native Police—Mr. Walker? Yes. 61. Where is he now? He has a small Native Force of his own about Euroombah and Hornet Bank. 62. Who employs him? I believe some of the neighbouring squatters keep him to patrol about their stations. 63. Has he many troopers? Eight or ten, I think; I do not know exactly" (E.M. Royds 22 June 1858, Legislative Assembly of NSW Report from the Select Committee on Murders by Aborigines on the Dawson River: 21). Another ex-trooper — Jemmy Sandeman — was also with Walker in late October 1857 when they were attacked near the Expedition Range by some of the same people Label Tools supposedly involved in the Hornet Bank murders (Inquirer and Commercial News, 20 January 1858, p3). We don’t know whether he was also a member of Walker’s private police force. George Dickson later claimed that this private force was still employed on stations around the Dawson and Comet Rivers in 1862–63, after the expedition in search of Burke and Wills, including on his own run, Arcadia Downs: "As Mr. Walker had no further employment for his troopers, Mr. Dickson arranged to employ them, and, with their assistance, had little trouble with the blacks, who were let in to the station" (Northern Star, 13 February 1913, p8). That these Aboriginal men continued to work and live with Walker — some of them going to him on the Dawson, and subsequently accompanying him to the Gulf — does suggest a bond beyond the customary o cer-trooper relationship, although there were no doubt other factors that a ected an ex-trooper’s choices. Frederick Walker died in 1866 at Floraville, near Normanton, at the end of another exploring trek, this time to establish a telegraph line between Cardwell and Normanton. We know that ‘four of his old troopers’ were still with him on this journey, although none of them were identi ed by name in the newspaper accounts (Wagga Wagga Express and Murrumbidgee District Advertiser, 10 February 1866, p4). These men disappear from the historical records after Walker’s death. Jonathan Richards (2005:156) has remarked on the ‘close and a ectionate relationship’ that existed between Walker and his troopers, also noting that there was little evidence of this amongst other o cers and their detachments. There seems little doubt that Walker certainly felt a ection for some of these men. When Tahiti was killed (shot by the NMP) in 1858, Walker seemed genuinely upset: "This poor lad, who was about twenty-four years of age, had been with me at various periods since 1844, had always been noted for his paci c demeanour, his integrity, sobriety, and good conduct during eight years’ service upon the river, and his only fault, for which he has been murdered, has been his strong attachment to me. So much did I value him, that when I left the police force, I left him my sword, sent to me by my mother, and which now has become the spoil of his assassins" (Moreton Bay Courier, 4 August 1858, p2). Regardless of whether or not he was a harsh disciplinarian and treated the troopers in ways that we would consider inappropriate now, some of those men followed him, and stayed with him, probably until his death. References McManus, M. 1903 Reminiscences of the Early Settlement of the Maranoa District. Richards, J. 2005 ‘A Question of Necessity’: The Native Police in Queensland. Unpublished PhD thesis, School of Arts, Media and Culture, Gri th University. From the Label Tools Horses Mouth: Today we don’t think twice about travelling vast distances by car at great speed, so it’s Horses and hard to imagine what life was like before the invention of the internal combustion the NMP engine. The First Fleet that arrived in southeast Australia in 1788 included horses, and by the time colonists began pushing into Qld there were more than 150,000 in the country (Dobbie et al. 1993; Kennedy 1986). Initially bullocks were the most important animal for colonial transport of goods using drays (not to mention camels later in the nineteenth century in the desert country and parts of far north Qld), but for personal needs horses were the primary mode of transport for everyone across Australia. It was recognised very early on that each NMP o cer and trooper would require at least two horses to do their work: "… [Francis Nichols] had also sent his best horses to the Dawson some months since, and he could not, under any emergency, e ectually mount above ve troopers; for it has been satisfactorily proved that two horses are indispensable to enable each man satisfactorily to perform his duty." (North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser, 8 September 1857, p2) "The native police districts are excessively large—200 miles and even more in length and width. For each district one patrol party is thought to be su cient, and this consists usually of one European o cer with six boys, provided with arms and ammunition, besides 12 to 14 pack and saddle horses." (Sydney Morning Herald 16 October 1880, p7) And, as Uschi Artym discussed in an earlier post on the layout of NMP camps, the availability of feed and water for horses was a critical element in the decision of where to locate NMP camps. Despite the best e orts, however, sometimes these decisions were later found to be wanting. For instance, John O’Connell Bligh, writing to the Colonial Secretary in October 1862, noted: "… I proceeded to Sandgate – Second Lieutenant Wheeler being absent on patrol I could only inspect that part of his detachment which remained and I found the men very backward in their drill and the horses nearly dying from starvation. There is no feed for horses in the neighbourhood of the Sandgate Barracks – the place is surrounded by small farmers and the season has been very bad – I opine that it will become necessary to remove that detachment from Sandgate ere long or else to supply forage for the horses." (QSA846764_1862_Letter from John O’Connell Bligh to Colonial Secretary 8 October, In letter 62/2512, M lm 2512) Likewise, in 1888 Archibald Mosman complained to Ernest Carr about the lack of water at the Moonah Creek NMP barracks in the northwest of the state: "I have the honor to inform you that as all the surface water had dried up here, I was compelled to engage two men to put down 64 feet of troughing in the sand so that the horses could get a drink. For some time previous myself and the Troopers had been Label Tools throwing out the sand to deepen the waterhole but had to give it up at last. Rochedale station have had to put down troughing also, and there is no surface water t to drink between here and Carandotta, a distance 50 miles, and none up the creek for the same distance, where Rochedale have most of their cattle." (QSA290289_1888_46_Letter from Archibald Mosman to Ernest Carr 31 December, Moonah Creek Native Police Camp le) And when grass wasn’t locally available for horses, the cost of buying in fodder was a cause for concern in the ever-scrimping NMP. For instance, Hervey Fitzgerald in his 1880 report to the Commissioner of Police noted that at the Eight Mile NMP camp: "… hitherto a very heavy expenditure in forage has been occasioned by the miserable grass in the former paddock and absence, in the latter portions of the year of “fresh water” ". (QSA289940_1880_ 2 to 8_Report from Hervey Fitzgerald to Commissioner of Police 10 March, Cooktown Police Station le) In 1897 the Eight Mile NMP camp had 25 horses, and feeding and watering them was a concern according to a report on the camp by James Lamond: "Horses – serviceable 6, Unserviceable 3, In Cooktown 3, At Highbury 1, At Coen 1 (draught), En route from Mareeba 9, Inspector’s Transferred Port Douglas 1, Cairns 1, Total 25. Owing to unprecedented drought the water has given out at the 8 Mile & the horses have to be take 2 & 3 miles to water – such a thing was never before known. The grass in consequence of such dryness is very bad & if rain does not fall soon the horses will have to receive hay – So far the horses have been kept in very fair order on 9 lbs corn daily …" (QSA290298_1897_44 to 46_Report on Inspection of 8 Mile Police Station 6 October, Eight Mile Police Station le) Despite a near total reliance on horses, the NMP did not breed their own. Instead they purchased them, sometimes locally, sometimes further a eld, and such purchases generated much correspondence between o cers and their superiors. For example, John O’Connell Bligh described the arrival of Edric Morisset at Head Quarters in 1861, “bringing with him thirty three horses which he had purchased in Brisbane for the Force” (QSA846746, In letter 61/1492, M lm Z5601). The following year, Bligh provided more information about this essential business: "Second Lieutenant Wheeler has purchased nine remount horses at an average price of £20 per head. I have not yet had an opportunity of inspecting; and cannot therefore yet report on their tness for the service—he has also caused four cast horses to be sold, which only realised an average price of £6.10.0—his number of Troop horses is now complete…. Since the commencement of the year 16 Troop horses have been cast as unserviceable and sold at Rockhampton—the average price realised is about £12.10.0 per head after deducting the auctioneer’s charges the proceeds have been forwarded to the Treasury. To replace these, fteen horses have been purchased averaging exactly £18.11.4 in price. I do myself the honor to request that I may be allowed to send an o cer or go Label Tools myself to the Clarence and New England to purchase fty horses which will be required to mount the new detachments and to ll existing vacancies. Suitable horses cannot be procured here in su cient numbers at anything like such low prices as in the Districts I have mentioned." (QSA846762_1862_Letter from John O’Connell Bligh to Colonial Secretary 26 May 1862, In letter 62/2123, M lm Z5607) As contemporary author A.W. Stirling (1884:97) noted, "horses, especially draft horses, were in great demand ... and large pro ts were made by the wise men who Brough up batches from New South Wales". The outlay of funds for the purchase of horses was a constant requirement, and both the cost and quality of mounts was on occasion subject to complaint in the media: "The native police have returned from their search after the murderers of Probert. We understand that they tracked the blacks from the Springs to the Belyando country, where heavy thunder storms overtook them and caused them some trouble. We were glad to notice that the men were mounted on new horses that did not display the same venerable aspect that usually characterises the chargers of our cavalry. On making inquiries of the o cer in charge how, when, and where these hordes had been obtained, we were met with a reserve we were unable to penetrate. But by means of inquiries elsewhere, and information obtained from the southern papers, we found out that they had been purchased in Brisbane at a cost of £17 a head. It was interesting to know, that when horses could be bought here for local use, they were bought in the capital 800 or 900 miles away; but it was still more interesting to know that whilst equally good or better horses could have been bought in Clermont for from £6 to £8 per head, these were bought in Brisbane at more than double the price. The cost of bringing them up alone must have equalled their value when they got here, so that £17 a head was dispensed by a liberal and open-handed somebody to somebody else who had secured this fruitful contract. Unfortunately it was public money." (Brisbane Courier, 24 December 1870, p6) It was a particularly common complaint that detachments were often prevented from doing their duties because their horses were “knocked up” or of such poor quality they were unsuited to the tasks at hand (Figure 1). For example, R Kellet, writing from Natal Downs for assistance in 1865 after two murders in the district, complained: "… on nding what had happened I at once started as necessary to the police camp on the Bowen River a distance of 130 miles our nearest protective force requesting the o cers above to start and the answer I got back was that the horses were all knocked up, but that they hoped to be up here in a fortnight." (QSA846794_1865_Letter from R. Kellett to Colonial Secretary 26 January, In letter 65/499, M lm Z6410) A year later, the same problem persisted: Label Tools "Mr. Lamb, the superintendent of Imbill station, informs us that since the murder at Mooloolah, of Mr. Stephens, the travelling botanist for the Government, the blacks have accumulated in great numbers on the Imbill run, and have slaughtered two heifers, and threaten further destruction. Mr. Lamb says that, though that part of the district swarms with blacks, the squatters are left utterly without protection. Sub-inspector Freudenthal called at the station last week with black troopers, but their horses were all knocked up, and they were not able to perform any other service than to recruit and return to Maryborough. We would remind Mr. Commissioner Seymour that the object the country has in submitting to be taxed to support a police force is to obtain some protection to life and property, and a force that, through false economy, is ine cient to compass this purpose, is worse than no force at all. What is the use of sending men after blacks or bushrangers on horses which he must know beforehand will not carry a trooper more than two or three days without breaking down. A good mount is as essential to a trooper as a good weapon." (Brisbane Courier, 26 March 1866, p3). But there were suggestions that perhaps the treatment that o cers and troopers dished out to horses wasn’t always conducive to getting the best out of them: "I have frequently impressed upon the Native Police o cers the necessity for constant Patrols and the evil results of waiting for requisitions and then hurrying and over riding their horses with the e ect, generally, of arriving too late to be of any use, their horses knocked up, and un t for further work without a spell after which the same course is repeated." (QSA847000_1879_Copy of instructions given to Inspector Stuart, In letter 79/382, M lm 94583). [From DT Seymour] In any case, it wasn’t solely the poor quality of horses, or a lack of care, that was the problem: the rough nature of the country they had to travel, and the constant patrols would wear down even the most expensive mounts. As Inspector Hervey Fitzgerald noted with regard to north Qld: "The additional horses six (6) purchased @ £6 per head have been of good service but I must still represent the great di culty there is in the west season to patrol the Murray and Tully Rivers by land – it simply cripples horse esh – as the country is a veritable quagmire." (QSA290322_1897_21 to 22_Inspection of Kirtleton Native Police Station 29 January, Kirtleton or Fairmead NP Camp le). Good horsemanship and/or experience working with horses was often a quality emphasised by potential o cers in their application letters, such as that by William Arundel in 1882 (QSA562911). Despite his horsemanship, Arundel was ironically killed by a fall and a kick from his horse on the road near Watsonville in 1890 . Likewise, in 1881 John Fanning, in his letter of application, referred to the fact that he was “well accustomed to horses, and can ride very well” (QSA563436). The following year Fanning took a severe fall from his horse whilst on duty, though in this case he survived, although there was an investigation into whether he was drunk at the time Label Tools (QSA563436). Horsemanship amongst the men was also remarked upon by their commanding o cers, such as Hervey Fitzgerald’s assessment of William Dawes in 1883 as a “good horseman” (QSA563346) and Charles Marrett’s assessment of Alfred Brennan in 1898 as a “poor horseman” (QSA564850). The Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser of 19 April 1902 said of Sergeant Michael Portley that he “has had years of experience in the native police, is a splendid horseman, can track is well as an aboriginal, and may be said to have been reared in the saddle”. In fact, Joseph Needham, stationed as a camp keeper at the Carl Creek NMP barracks in the late 1880s, was such an excellent horseman that after he left the Force he became a professional jockey (Letter to the Editor, Northern Miner, 4 June 1904, p6). Of course the NMP didn’t only employ men who were good with horses – several o cers appear to have been employed as camp keepers speci cally because of their skills as blacksmiths generally, or as farriers in particular (Figure 2). Joseph Needham, the camp keeper who went on to become a jockey, was also mentioned by Inspector Alexander Douglas to the Commissioner of Police in 1888 because of his blacksmith skills: "I would also suggest Const Needham camp keeper and blacksmith at Carl Creek be stationed at Corinda with a portable forge to do the shoeing of all the Police horses which will be kept in the Corinda Paddock. There is no farrier at present in this district though I believe a man is likely to start soon in Burke Town; but the price will be high and by providing shoes &c with our own farrier a saving of at least 5s per set will be e ected." (QSA290307_1888_32 to 34_Letter from Alexander Douglas to Commissioner of Police 28 August, Carl Creek Police Station le) Constable Peter Egan also served as a farrier for the Nigger Creek camp, doing “all the police farriery of that portion of the district” (QSA290286). In 1897 Egan requested an allowance for his services on top of his regular pay, noting: "The Constable shoes the Troops horses at Nigger Creek, Herberton, Atherton, Irvinebank, Montalbion and all other Troop Horses travelling through the district, a mountainous country which the Troop Horses have to travel over. They require to be newly shod every three weeks or a month. With regards to the Constables capability as Farrier, his Inspector can testify to it. The Constable further states it costs a good deal extra to supply himself with the required clothes for the Blacksmiths shop as it is Very rough on clothing." (QSA563570_1897_40 to 43_Request for farrier allowance Peter Egan) With 15 horses at Nigger Creek, 3 at Atherton, 7 at Herberton, 1 at Irvinebank and a further 3 at Montalbion, Egan had quite a lot of work to do. Lamond suggested this was Label Tools saving the NMP “over £5 a month for the 4 stations exclusive of Nigger Creek” (QSA563570). Although Lamond was supportive of the request, Commanding O cer John Stuart denied Egan’s request on the grounds that “This Constable draws a salary of £132 PA and with 6 d per diem Ration allowance and Free quarters in which is good pay for the work he has to do” (QSA563570). Farriers were seemingly few and far between in colonial Qld, and it was di cult to entice them to outside places, so an NMP o cer’s skills in this area were apparently more important than their service record or drinking habits. For example, in 1899 Constable James Walsh was charged with drunkenness whilst on duty and in charge of two troopers bound for the Turn O Lagoon camp. Initially his Commanding O cer James Lamond recommended he be dismissed, but then had a change of heart, stating: "I believe Walsh will now reform & be a good man & hope you will give him another chance as he appears to give satisfaction as a camp keeper – can shoe horses – mend saddlery &c and am afraid it would be a di cult matter to get a good man to be contented at such an outlandish hole—in fact very few capable men would live at such a place." (QSA564643_1899_Letter from James Lamond to Commissioner of Police 7 September, James Walsh Police Sta le) James Walsh wasn’t the only farrier who liked a drink whilst on duty; similar charges were laid against Andrew Allen in charge of the McIvor detachment in 1893: "The present man in charge of the McIvor detachment—Constable Allan —is most unsuitable for the position – he is a farrier and has had no experience in the bush. Further he is addicted to drink and when I inspected his camp on the 9th Inst he was then under suspension for being drunk in Cooktown on the 25th ult. As he pleaded guilty and was required for duty I relieved him from suspension which I trust will under the circumstances meet with your approval." (QSA290072_1893_84 to 86_Letter from John Stuart to Commissioner of Police 12 December, Laura Police Station le). The various accoutrements for the horses, including saddlery and forage, as well as a forge, also had to be accommodated at NMP camps – yards were particularly important so that the horses could be easily found when required (Figure 3). Stables were less common, however. In a letter headed “Nigger Creek stables in ruins” penned in 1892, Sub-Inspector James Lamond complained to Inspector Hervey Fitzgerald that: "… the stabling at Nigger Creek is in ruins & dangerous for anything be near same, as all the post slabs etc near the ground is [sic] perfectly rotten & the whole building liable to fall at any time. As all the horses there are fed out of nosebags I see no necessity for stabling at all, with your permission will have the whole fabric pulled down & a horse shed put up in its place." (QSA290286_1892_61_Letter from James Lamond to Hervey Fitzgerald 11 February, Nigger Creek Police Station File) Label Tools Nigger Creek was one of only two NMP camps which we are aware of that had dedicated stable buildings (the other was Frome on the Palmer River), despite the fact that horses were so valuable and vital to the work of the Force. Why this should be is not clear, although it may simply be another consequence of the thrift so constantly in play at each and every NMP camp across Queensland. References Dobbie, W.R., D.M. Berman and M.L. Braysher 1993 Managing Vertebrate Pests: Feral Horse. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. Kennedy, M.J. 1986 The Role and Signi cance of Bullocks and Horses in the Development of Eastern Australia 1788 to 1900. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Melbourne, Melbourne. Stirling, A.W. 1884 The Never Never Land: A Ride in North Queensland. London: Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington. Men in Blue "[The Native Police] are clothed in a uniform of blue with scarlet relief, armed with (and Red): A Snider ri es, drilled in semi-military fashion" (Brisbane Courier, 15 June 1878, p3). Brief History of the Qld From the start of the Native Mounted Police (NMP), the uniforms worn by o cers and NMP troopers were a central element of their structure and presence. The lure of a uniform Uniform was thought to be one of the key attractions for Aboriginal men to join the Force, although more often than not this was seen as vanity by white observers: "Mr. Clohesy has found some eight men, all new to the service, and has rigged them out in the uniform of the troopers of which they are evidently not a little proud" (Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser 15 February 1872, p2). In giving evidence to the 1857 Select Committee enquiry into the deaths of the 11 members of the Fraser family and their employees on the Dawson River, William Foster thought that the troopers, "… seem to be a better race than the wild men they were taken from. The vanity of each individual is a ected by having an uniform, and being made a soldier of, and an esprit de corps is formed among them" (Legislative Assembly of NSW 1858:11). It is more likely that the uniforms were seen by Aboriginal men as a visible symbol of a labour agreement between themselves and Europeans. Given how important reciprocal (exchange) relationships were in Aboriginal society, the guns, hats, boots, uniforms and rations that were exchanged for their labour were critical ‘proof’ of a European promise. Failure to deliver could result in dissatisfaction or even desertion, as was the case in 1853 when three recruits from the Macintyre River—“Herbert”, “Luke” and “Owen”— deserted because ‘they had been for six months kept at drill, without uniforms, saddlery, or arms, and consequently without anything to gratify their feelings of pride, or self respect’ (Moreton Bay Courier, 29 January 1853, p.3). Eight recruits deserted from Rockhampton in 1862 for the same reason, suggesting that the Native Police’s supply Label Tools chain had not improved in the intervening 10 years: "It was reported to me on my return that eight Recruits had been sent from Moreton Bay to Head Quarters by Lieutnt Wheeler but that they had all deserted a fortnight after their arrival here; the men had been led to expect a full supply of Clothing, Arms and Accoutrements and deserted in consequence of their disappointment" (QSA846765_1862_John O’Connell Bligh to the Colonial Secretary 15 December, In letter 62/2994, M lm Z5623). Supplies were often hard to get on the frontier, and the system of distributing uniforms from far-distant centres meant that camps could go without for long periods. Scarcity also created frugality, and it was not uncommon to recycle uniform components between successive troopers. Lieutenant George Fulford, for example, noted that a collection of clothing sent to Wondai Gumbal from the Dawson included several torn and useless items, including one jacket that appeared "to have been worn for some length of time and has the name “Ralph” in it" (Fulford to Commandant 5 August 1855). All we know of “Ralph” was that he had been a trooper in the Clarence/Macleay region of NSW in 1854. The troopers’ uniform of the 1850s consisted of a dark blue cloth jacket, a choice of blue or white trousers, a shirt, boots and a forage cap (QSA86141 Native Police Work Downs Maranoa 1849-1857). The 6th and 8th sections, who were posted to Wondai Gumbal (between Dalby and Surat) and Yabba (between Nambour and Kingaroy), respectively, were also issued with a cloak. Edric Morisset, the second Commandant of the NMP, thought that little change needed to be made to the uniform in 1861 other than to increase its durability and introduce a full dress outer jacket: "[R.R.Mackenzie] Would you suggest any di erence in the clothing? [Morisset] It might be made of much more lasting material, but it would add considerably to the expense; that is why the clothing is at present made of colonial tweed. [R.R.Mackenzie] Do you think those blue jumpers they wear are good? [Morisset] Yes, for the bush. [R.R.Mackenzie] And you believe they are not expensive? [Morisset] No, very cheap. [R.R.Mackenzie] Do you think there should be jackets for the men to appear in parade in? [Morisset] Yes." (Qld Legislative Assembly 1861:149) Like their arms, ammunition, swords and badges, these uniforms would have been supplied by the NSW Government (QSA846738 60/2100), since the rst explicitly Queensland police uniform was not introduced until 1864. The rst ordinary, or ‘undress’, Queensland uniform was very similar to its predecessors, consisting of a dark blue jacket (also called a ‘jumper’) and shirt, a forage cap and dark blue trousers, with the option of white or drab cord breeches (Qld Police nd). For the Native Police the trousers were further accented by red stripes ‘strapped’ down the outside of the leg, the jackets with red cord (Queensland Government 1867:261) and the shirts with red Label Tools facings (Moreton Bay Courier 18 December 1860, p3). These red accents were only added around 1861, since Frederick Carr, when questioned by the 1861 Select Committee, thought it was ‘a very good idea they are acting on—that of getting blue shirts, striped, with a red facing ‘ (Qld Legislative Assembly 1861:135). The uniform appears to have remained fairly consistent throughout the 1860s, 70s and 80s. The full dress uniform was di erent, of course, but was also only worn on ceremonial occasions (Figure 2). Amongst the o cers status distinctions were maintained through the number of cords in the sleeve ornament (one for a sub-inspector, two for an inspector and three for the Commissioner) (Qld Government 1867:261). The sword that accompanied it was also only for display, even though troopers were usually still drilled in it, and often became very pro cient (Qld Legislative Assembly 1861:157). "Full dress Jacket—Dark blue cloth, Garibaldi pattern; standing collar, rounded in front, and edged all round with round gold cord; two rows of round gold cord down the front; one- quarter inch apart; Austrian knot of round gold cord on sleeve; round gold cord shoulder-straps. Trousers—Dark blue cloth, with two strips of gold lace, oak leaf pattern, half an inch wide and quarter an inch apart, down outer seam. Boots—Wellington Spurs—Steel, crane neck Sword—Light cavalry, scabbard steel Sword-knot—Gold cord, with acorn end Sword-belt—Cavalry pattern, pale Russia leather, snake clasp Pouch-belt—Pale Russia leather, two and a-half inches wide Pouch-box—Pale Russia leather, Q.P. in gilt on ap Sabretache and three slings—Pale Russia leather, Q.P. in gilt Gloves—white leather Head Dress—Blue cloth forage cap, with black oak leaf band, Q.P in gilt in front, straight peak. Undress Jacket—Same as for full dress, except that red cord is substituted for gold Trousers—Dark blue cloth, with two stripes of red cloth, half an inch wide, quarter an inch apart, on outer seam Or Pantaloons—Drab cord Boots—With trousers, Wellington boots, with box spurs, steel crane neck; with pantaloons, Napoleon boots and hunting spurs Sword-knot—Black leather Sabretache—None Head-dress—Same as full dress Label Tools Gloves—White leather" (Queensland Government 1867:261). The 1866 Rules for the General Government and Discipline of the NMP Force required that ‘the men at out stations, when in quarters, will, invariably, parade on Sundays in full dress’. It is di cult to imagine the detachments at some of the furthest- ung NMP camps complying, even though many of them seemed to have been organised around open central spaces that probably did serve as parade grounds. When in town the troopers were not to ‘appear in the streets unless dressed strictly according to order’ and were ‘at all times … expected to be smart and clean’ (Qld Government 1867:260). The red and blue colour scheme of the NMP uniform became a distinctive part of their identity. In 1861 Charles B. Dutton disparagingly referred to troopers who came on to his run as ‘bluemen’ (Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser 8 February 1862, p6) and a series of rare 19th century drawings by a young Aboriginal man from north Qld known only as “Oscar” captured the vivid colours as the essential markers of a trooper. Oscar was ‘obtained’ by Augustus Henry ‘Gus’ Glissan, the manager of Rocklands Station, near Camooweal, in 1887, when he was only 9 or 10 years old. It is likely that his family were killed, since he was handed over to Glissan by the NMP, who were renowned for kidnapping women and children following ‘dispersals’ across the frontier. Oscar came from the Palmer River area, and nearly half of his drawings describe activities and people on the Palmer River or in Cooktown, the Palmer River’s main port. Several of his sketches depict groups of troopers dressed in full uniform, including boots and caps (Figure 3). Oscar was a keen observer, including details such as slashes of red on the troopers’ shoulders, down the fronts of their jackets (and possibly also on their breast pockets), both sides of their trousers, and across their caps. For Oscar, these were obviously crucial identifying markings, highlighting the red facings on the jackets, the red shoulder marks and the trouser stripes that are also very distinctive in the reproduction trooper’s uniform on display in the Police Museum in Brisbane (Figure 4). These red accents echo the uniform of the third incarnation of the Victorian Native Police, who operated in Victoria between 1842 and 1849. Their colour was green rather than blue, but their uniform maintained the distinguishing red contrasts on cap, trousers and jacket for both troopers and o cers (Figure 5). The earliest photographs of members of the Qld NMP date from the 1860s, apart from one isolated image from the 1850s. Interestingly, they show that the dominant form of headgear for both o cers and troopers seems to be the kepi, rather than the forage cap (Figure 6). The kepi was typical of most 19th century police and military, and was issued to the NMP with a removable ‘Havelock’ sun shade that could be tted over the cap to protect the back of the neck (Lamond 1949:32). Label Tools Apart from the Havelock, none of the elements of the uniform seem particularly suited to the Qld climate, particularly as settlement spread further west and north. It was only toward the end of the century that uniforms were changed, including introducing helmets, supposedly as better protection against the sun (Qld Police n.d.). While the non-dress uniforms of the mid-19th century showed only subtle distinctions between o cers and troopers, in 1896 Commissioner William Parry-Okeden introduced two further changes: a looser tunic in khaki and a soft felt hat for ‘bush duty’ (Qld Police n.d.; Figure 7). The adoption of Parry-Okeden’s uniform seems to have resulted in two parallel systems operating within NMP camps. At Coen in 1900 these were described as ‘Blue and khaki’ and at Eight Mile in 1902 as ‘khaki and N. Police’ (Report on Inspection of 8 Mile Police Station 2 December 1901, QSA290298 Police Stations –Durhan, Eight Mile, Highbury). In other words, while the o cers adopted the new khaki, along with the ‘bush’ hat, the regulation for troopers remained the blue tunic with blue or white trousers and kepi. What this means is that the original emphasis on dark blue with red accents for the Aboriginal troopers remained essentially unchanged throughout the second half of the 19th century and was even carried over into the 20th century through the trackers’ uniforms (Figure 8). While the image of o cers changed to re ect wider changes in the nature of policing, this doesn’t seem to have been the case for the Aboriginal members of the force. References Fulford, George to Commandant 5 August 1855, QSA86141 Native Police Work Darling Downs, Lower Condamine and Maranoa 1849–1857. Haydon, A.L. 1911 The Trooper Police of Australia. A Record of Mounted Police Work in the Commonwealth from the Earliest Days of Settlement to the Present Time. London: Andrew Melrose. Lamond, H. 1949 Native mounted police. Walkabout November 1:31–32. Legislative Assembly of NSW 1858 Report from the Select Committee on Murders by the Aborigines on the Dawson River; Together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence and Appendix. Sydney: William Hanson, Government Printer. Queensland Legislative Assembly 1861 Report from the Select Committee on the Native Police Force and the Condition of the Aborigines Generally together with the Proceedings of the Committee and Minutes of Evidence. Brisbane: Fairfax and Belbridge. Queensland Government 1867 Rules for the General Government and Discipline of the Native Mounted Police Force. Queensland Government Gazette 7(28):258–261. Queensland Police n.d. A brief history of the Queensland Police uniform. Police Bulletin 342:32–36. Whittington, A. 1965 The Queensland Native Mounted Police. Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland 7(3):508–520. The Label Tools Unwanted Arm: This blog tells the story of a weapon purchased in 1867 speci cally for the Native Westley Mounted Police (NMP): the Westley Richards breech-loading, double-barrelled, 20 bore, Richards Lefaucheux-action, pin re carbine (Figure 1). This weapon possessed a number of 20g Double advantages over the percussion single- and double-barrel, muzzle-loading carbines the Barrel Pinfire NMP were using at the time. Yet, within two years of the weapon’s arrival in Qld only a Carbine handful had been distributed to the NMP. The government decided they were of no use to the colony and made arrangements to dispose of half of the original quantity received. What happened? Rewinding the clock to 1859, Qld had separated from New South Wales and acquired control of the NMP, who by this time had become notorious for the brutal manner in which they dealt with Aboriginal peoples (Richards 2008). By 1861, as a result of continuing complaints concerning the activities of the NMP, the Qld Parliament appointed a Select Committee to enquire into its organisation and management, as well as the general condition of Aboriginal peoples (Qld Legislative Assembly 1861). During the enquiry the Select Committee questioned the then Commandant, Edric Morisset, and Acting Commandant, John O’Connell Bligh, seeking suggestions to improve the e ciency of the NMP. They recommended that the most appropriate measure would be to supply all NMP personnel with a single weapon—the double- barrelled, muzzle-loading carbine currently issued to some troopers (Qld Legislative Assembly 1861:140–143, 148–150, 157, 158). Understandably, the e ciency of a force is improved if its members are all issued with the same weapon, minimising the requirement to obtain a selection of ammunition and facilitating the prompt repair or replacement of arms. The Government took heed of the recommendation, although perhaps not in the best possible way. In late 1862 the Agents to Qld, Messrs. Mangles and Co. of London, arranged the supply of 50 double-barrelled carbines, the same as the percussion muzzle-loading weapons currently on hand. Following this purchase the records indicate that there were no further purchases of carbines for the NMP until 1867. Through the intervening ve year period, developments in small arms and ammunition capability advanced at a rapid pace. By the end of it muzzle-loaders were antiquated and breech-loaders were now employing self-contained pin re, needle and centre re cartridges. It is unclear who instigated the recommendation to re-arm the NMP, but the impetus was probably determined by their continued need to be armed with modern, accurate, reliable, and quicker to reload weapons. The decision on which arm to purchase was left with the new Crown Agent, W.C. Sargeaunt. Unsure of the exact purpose for the arm, Sargeaunt sought clari cation from the Qld Government Emigration Agent in London, Henry Jordan, and former Colonial Secretary, R.G.W. Herbert*, con rming the weapons were for the mounted NMP force. Sargeaunt sought further expert advice before making his nal decision. A letter dated 19 June 1867 from Sargeaunt to the Qld Label Tools Colonial Secretary, Robert Mackenzie, with an annexed letter from Westley Richards & Co. dated 12 November 1866, provides an explanation for his decision to replace the muzzle-loaders with the Westley Richards breech-loading, double-barrelled, 20 bore, Lefaucheux-action, pin re carbine. The latter were more expensive, but Sargeaunt had been convinced their advantages justi ed the additional cost: In your deciding upon ordering these arms to the breach loaders we think you get a greater advantage for the extra cost.First the arms if taken in warfare or meeting cannot not be turned against the force after the usual number of service rounds issued have been expended[,] 2ndly the ammunition cases can be loaded 2 or 3 times and it can also be lled with shot instead of Ball making the arm a very good “Birding Gun”[,] 3rdly the arms when on … other duty, can be loaded and unloaded as often as necessary without discharging … whereas in muzzle loaders if once loaded, then the arm must either be discharged or withdrawn at a waste, for if allowed to remain in the barrel it corrodes. (QSA846849 In letter 67/1982) How this arm di ered from the older muzzle-loading carbines requires some explanation. In 1836 Casimir Lefaucheux of France patented a breech-loading drop barrel for shotguns, along with the speci cally designed pin re cartridge. The drop barrel meant the barrel and stock were hinged at the breech allowing the barrel to pivot downward. The cartridge could then be easily loaded and unloaded into the breech. The cartridge itself was a simple cardboard tube with a metal head. Protruding from the side of the head, however, was a pin that extended into the cartridge to a percussion cap set inside the head. With the cartridge in the closed breech, the pin remained exposed and, when struck by the falling hammer, detonated the percussion cap and powder to discharge a bullet (Carrington and Baker 2011:17; Hoyem 2005:117). Following several design improvements to the cartridge William Thomas Eley took out a patent to manufacture pin re shotgun cartridges in April 1861 (Harding 2006:50). The Westley Richards pin re carbine had two barrels side by side and each barrel was 20 bore**. The pin re carbine in modern terms is a 20 gauge shotgun with a smaller diameter barrel and less recoil than the commonly seen 12 gauge shotguns of today. Coupled with the advantages listed by Westley Richards in the quote above, the ability for the dropping breech to be loaded and unloaded while on horseback, and its reduced weight, it was a far superior weapon to the double-barrel muzzle-loaders. Once Sargeaunt had decided on the weapon the other necessary equipment for their function was nalised. Annexed to the letter from Sargeaunt to the Colonial Secretary is an invoice dated 18 April 1867 from Westley Richards & Co. detailing the nal items ordered (QSA846849 In letter 67/1982): Label Tools #1 to 10. 200 double breechloading Carbines, 25in barrel Lefaucheux action with loop for sling and cartridge extractor in tin lined cases. #11. 200 sets patent leather police belts with brass snake furniture and twenty round cartridge pouches set in 1 case lined with tin. # 12 &13. 2,000 rounds of best quality ball cartridges in two cases. #14. 5000 best cartridges cases 20 gauge in steel case lined with tin. #15. 15,000 felt wads, 15,000 cloth wads, 15,000 caps for recapping, 100 bullet moulds, 200 cartridge extractors, 10 re-capping instruments, 20 cartridge llers, 20 cartridge turners and 12 patch cutters in steel case lined with tin. A second invoice was attached to the le from Westley Richards &Co. dated 20 May 1867 (QSA846849 In letter 67/1982). Listed on this invoice is: #16. 10,000 metal lined cartridge cases 20g steal [sic] case lined with tin. J. & A.B. Freeland (Ship and Insurance Brokers and Commission Merchants of London) facilitated the transport of the carbines to Qld aboard the Salweenon 25 April 1867. However, cases 12 and 13, containing the 2000 rounds of best quality ball cartridges, were included on a bill of lading that had subsequently been crossed out. Case 16, containing 10,000 metal lined 20 g cartridge cases, was listed on the bill of lading to be shipped but it is unclear if case 16 was originally included or added after cases 12 and 13 were removed (QSA846849 In letter 67/1982). Sargeaunt, in correspondence with the Colonial Secretary dated 17 June 1867, con rmed the shipping of the 200 carbines, accoutrements, and cartridge cases and speci ed that cases 12 and 13 were to follow on the next ship*** (QSA846849 In letter 67/1981). An explanation for this may be that the loaded cartridges were still in production and not available at the time the Salweenset sail, so they simply missed the boat and were crossed o the docket. While the ability for arms manufacturers to supply arms in a timely manner was important, the supply of carbines could not have been expedited, as the manufacture of small arms in Britain was at capacity (QSA846849 In letter 67/1981). The rst and very eagerly awaited breech-loading centre re Snider ri es and carbines had been delivered in August 1866 (Skennerton 2003:129) and cartridge manufacturer Eley Bros, who held the patent for the production of pin re cartridges, were busy producing 8 million Snider centre re cartridges for the British army (Harding 2006:50,55; Temple 1977:10,19). As a result they only had the capacity to supply the components for the cartridges to the Qld authorities, who then had to arrange the production of bullets to load the 15,000 cartridge cases themselves. One can speculate that this possibly did not sit well: having purchased an expensive arm there was further delay in deploying it, and the carbines weren’t sent to the NMP until 1868 (Robinson 1997:36). There are no records to ascertain which arm was issued to a particular trooper. However, Robinson (1997:36) identi ed that during 1868, of the 200 pin re carbines received, police were issued with nine at St Helena, six at Gympie and four at Roma. The distribution of the carbines to the NMP may be further gleaned from newspapers, letters and the archaeological evidence recovered from NMP camps and activity areas. Label Tools The archaeological material recovered to date includes 19 spent 20 bore pin re cartridge heads. These have been collected from three NMP camps: Boralga (12) near Laura on Cape York Peninsula, Eyre Creek (6) near Bedourie in the west, and Mistake Creek (1) near Clermont in central Qld. Although the paper pin re cartridge tubes have disintegrated over time, leaving bent or distorted cartridge heads, the cartridge head survives and is generally stamped with various symbols, numbers, letters or words that can identify the manufacturer, a date range and the caliber (Barnes 2016:13). Examination of the cartridge heads from the three NMP camps reveals they all have ‘Eley Bros’ or ‘EB’ and the number ‘20’ in raised lettering on the headstamp. Eley Bros commenced production of cartridges with the embossed headstamps ‘Eley Bros’ and ‘EB’ from 11 March 1866 until 1874 (Harding 2006:61,149). The NMP pin re cartridge heads found to date were therefore all produced during this period. The recovered artefacts cannot tell us how many or which carbines were used to discharge the shot, only that they were present at the site. The carbines may have been issued to troopers posted to the camp or possessed by NMP troopers or non-NMP individuals visiting the sites. Given that the pin re carbines and cartridges had a number of advantages over the older muzzle-loading arms, it is unclear why their distribution was not continued. On 9 March 1869, less than two years after receiving the rst pin re carbines, the Clerk in Charge of Colonial Stores forwarded a letter to the Colonial Secretary, Arthur Hodgson. The letter stated that there was no use for the pin re carbines and suggested they be forwarded to Sydney and Melbourne for disposal: Sir, I have the honor, by your direction, to report upon certain Needle Guns, now in store, sent to the Government by the Crown Agent for the Colonies, and call attention to the fact, that with the exemption of a few we have no means of making use of them in the Colony; fty have been marked with the broad arrow and the letters QG underneath for the intended purpose of issue to the warders and turnkeys of H.M. Gaols , Water Police and Penal Settlement; a few unnumbered have already been issued, and I would suggest that they be recalled and the branded ones sent in their place. The Gaols are at present issued with the Double Barrel’d Native Police Carbine, which are heavy to carry and tted for horseback use with steel guard and travelling ring; they would be most useful to use for the purpose of issuing to the Native Mounted Police. With regard to the remainder of the Needle Guns, I would respectfully suggest that as there is no market for any quantity of these articles in Queensland, that they be sent proportionately to both Sydney and Melbourne to respectable and well known Firms who would be willing to put them on commission, or perhaps take a number of them upon valuation, on their account; I do not see any other way of making use of them unless they could be returned to the Crown Agents and exchanged for a more useful weapon. (QSA846849 In letter 69/842). Label Tools Frustratingly, the letter does not explain why there was limited use for these weapons. The most probable factor a ecting their future in general was the development of the Snider ri e and shotguns by 1869, which used a modern, self-contained centre re cartridge (Hoyem 1982:37–38). The high regard for the pin re carbines is evident in the presentation of one of these weapons to the Commissioner of Police, David T. Seymour, in 1868 (Robinson 1997:36) and also re ected in the comments by ex Sub-Inspector Robert Arthur Johnstone in ‘Spinifex and Wattle’ published in the Queenslanderon 1 October 1904. Johnstone was the o cer in charge of 13 NMP troopers on George Dalrymple’s expedition to Cooktown in 1873. He described the arm as a ‘most useful and serviceable weapon’, and noted they were still in use 40 years later (at the time of the article). Johnstone also referred to the NMP troopers in 1873 as ‘armed with Snider carbines’, suggesting that the pin re arms were simply superseded by the arrival of the rst Snider carbines in May 1870. The Westley Richards double-barrel pin re carbines were by all accounts an ideal and superior weapon purchased speci cally for the NMP. We can only speculate why they were not distributed as intended and remained unwanted by the Qld authorities. _____ * Interestingly, Jordan and Herbert had a turbulent working relationship, but that is another story (Lack 1965:83). ** The bore (aka ‘gauge’) refers to the diameter of the barrel (Gunther and Gunther 1935:6). *** The Winterthur at the end of August 1867 (Robinson 1997:36). References Barnes, F.C. (edited by W.T. Woodard) 2016 Cartridges of the World. Iola: Krause Publications. Bottoms, T. 2013 Conspiracy of Silence: Queensland’s Frontier Killing Times. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin. Carrington, I.M. and D.J. Baker 2011 The British Shotgun: Volume One 1850– 1870. Shrewsbury: Quiller Press. Gunther, J. and C. Gunther 1935The Identi cation of Firearms. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. Harding, C.W. 2006 Eley Cartridges: A History of the Silversmiths and Ammunition Manufacturers. Shrewsbury: Quiller Press. Hoyem, G. 1982 The History and Development of Small Arms Ammunition: Volume Two. Tacoma: Armory Publications. Hoyem, G. 2005 The History and Development of Small Arms Ammunition: Volume One – Martial lLong Arms, Flintlock through Rim re. Montana: Armory Publications. Lack, C. 1996 Colonial representation in the nineteenth century: part II some Queensland and other Australian agents-general. Retrieved on 9 December 2018 from <https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/data/UQ_212777/s00855804_1965_1966_8_1_81.pdf>. Label Tools Qld Legislative Assembly 1861 Report from the Select Committee on the Native Police Force and the Condition of the Aborigines Generally Together with the Proceedings of the Committee and Minutes of Evidence. Richards, J. 2004 The Secret War: A True History of Queensland’s Native Police. St Lucia: Queensland University Press. Robinson, J. 1997 Arms in the Service of Queensland. Kedron: J.S. Robinson. Skennerton, I. 1975 Australian Service Longarms. Margate: I.D. Skennerton. Skennerton, I. 2003 .577 Snider-En eld Ri es and Carbines. British Service Longarms 1866–1880. Labrador: I.D. Skennerton. Temple, B.A. 1977 The Boxer Cartridge in the British Service. Wynnum Central: B.A. Temple. Waterson, D.B. 1972 Hodgson, Sir Arthur (1818–1902): Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved on 8 December 2018 from <http://abd.anu.au/biograpghy/hodgson-sir-arthur- 1155/text5963>. Who Were In a previous blog we discussed the project’s online database, which holds both the the Officers archaeological and documentary evidence that has been collected and will be of the NMP? accessible to the public later in 2019. One database category that is explored in more detail in this post is the NMP o cers. At present (April 2019) we have entries for 466 o cers in the database. This information is drawn from dispersed sources of varying quality, as most individuals do not have police les in the QSA from their time in the NMP. For some we only have their name and rank mentioned in o cial correspondence, while for others there is more complete biographical information. When we have a name and location, we have cross- checked these with a range of sources such as birth, death and marriage records, obituaries or other accounts in newspapers, online genealogical databases and prior research, to help compile as much accurate evidence as possible. Obviously, this is a work in progress — as we go on with our research we continue to input new information as we come across it. While we’ve looked at individual o cers such as Thomas Coward, Stanhope O’Connor, Wentworth D’Arcy Uhr and Hubert Durham in detail, it is also interesting to pull together the information we’ve collected in the database to date to form a general pro le of the group. Who were the o cers? Where did they come from? Did they have experience in the military or other police forces? Do the data con rm or challenge what we know about them? Origins The NMP was a paramilitary* body and all NMP o cers were working for, and subjects of, the British Empire, though not all were British born. While o cers are generically referred to as ‘white’ and authors such as the historian Jonathan Richards (2008) refer to them collectively as ‘European’, examining their individual birthplaces can provide an insight into the socio-economic and cultural di erences amongst the cohort. Label Tools Of the 466 o cers in the database, so far we have identi ed birthplace details for 172 (about 37%). As shown in Figure 1, of these, most were born in Ireland (n=54). Within this group, ve speci ed Northern Ireland, and another four we know are from the Anglo-Irish ascendency, including David Seymour, who became Qld Police Commissioner after 1864. The next largest group is the English (n=44), followed by those born in the Australian colonies (n=40, with 9 born in Qld, 7 in Victoria, 2 in Tasmania, and 22 in NSW). Two other men were born in the colonies of India and Indonesia to English parents. There is one man from each of the countries Greece, Italy, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Belgium and France, and these constitute a particularly interesting bunch. For example, Evgenio Genatas, from Corfu, was one of the rst Greeks to live in Australia. When his commanding o cer was asked about him at the 1861 inquiry into the NMP he replied that Genatas was ‘very zealous, and particularly steady; the only thing against him is his imperfect knowledge of the language’ (Edric Morisset 6 July 1861, Qld Legislative Assembly 1861 Select Committee into the Qld Native Police, p147). Genatas resigned from the NMP after two years because ‘he felt himself un tted for so harassing a life’ (QSA846762 1862 Report from John O’Connell Bligh to Colonial Secretary 26 May, In letter 62/2123, M lm Z5607). In contrast, Carl Hansen, from Copenhagen, had two stints in the force. Interestingly he was transferred to another post due to his Danish background, with Sub-Inspector James Lamond in 1891 stating that ‘all the Danes in this district intend to do all they can to injure Hansen and have him charged’ (QSA A/38828). So while the o cers were divided by rank, there were also likely to be cultural, even language, di erences amongst some of them. The extent of the ‘Irishness’ of the o cers and indeed, the NMP, is noteworthy, as Richards (2008) has previously noted. Sir George Bowen (1821–1899), the rst Governor of Qld and an English Liberal-Conservative, was also born in Ireland. Bowen established the police in Qld based on the model of the Royal Irish Constabulary (c.1822–1922). Indeed, the ranking structure of the NMP were based in the Irish model, which also had a paramilitary ethos, with barracks, rearms, uniforms, and a marked distinction between men: "From 1836, every county was supervised by a county inspector and counties were subdivided into a number of districts, each commanded by a district inspector. There were 1,400 police barracks around the country" (http://royalirishconstabularyincountymayo.weebly.com/origins.html). The RIC was run by the Anglo-Irish, but was made up of over 80% Irish Catholics in the lower ranks. Most of these were sons of tenant farmers or rural labourers, who undoubtedly sought work in the Force in the famine years due to the stable wages and pensions the job a orded. Joining the NMP in colonial Qld would likely have been an attractive (and not unfamiliar) job for Irish men for similar reasons. Some of the Irish- Label Tools born o cers were actually in the RIC prior to the NMP, including Francis Faulkner, who resigned from his post in the RIC at Antrim to emigrate to Qld and joined the NMP with letters of recommendation from his superiors (QSA563375 1865 Letter of recommendation for Francis Faulkner 22 August, Francis Faulkner Police Sta le). Two clay pipe bowls excavated from the NMP camps at Boralga (Laura) (Figure 2) and Boulia (Figure 3) show uniquely Irish iconography. The bowl from Boralga shows an Irish harp, or the Brian Boru (which was also the symbol used by the RIC, and often used to convey ‘Irishness’), and that from Boulia shows a possibly hand-etched harp with the insignia “CORK”. It’s hard to imagine an English o cer smoking from one of these. Before the introduction of the cigarette in the 20th century it was common for both men and women to smoke from clay pipes. These were often manufactured in places such as Scotland and imported to Australia. In the Irish tradition, long-stemmed pipes were commonly passed around at wakes and consequently became known as ‘Lord ha’ mercy’ pipes. The short-stemmed pipe was favoured by the working class as it was short and light, and is the type we have found fragments from at many NMP sites. These were known as ‘dúidíns’ in Ireland, ‘cuttys’ in Scotland and ‘nose warmers’ in parts of England. The clay bowl was often decorated and used to express political or social allegiance – being decorated with the Irish national emblems, the harp and shamrock (see https://www.galwaycitymuseum.ie/clay-pipes). We do know Irish o cer Daniel Whelan was at Boulia (possibly along with Peter Fahey and Michael Green, though no birth records have been con rmed for these men). Irishmen Ned O’Brien, William O’Reagan and John Kenny were posted to Boralga, and it is possible these items belonged to any one of these men, though they may equally have been the property of any of the troopers or their family members. We also know there was occasional Protestant-Catholic and English-Irish tension. For example, Constable Thomas Lonergan reported to Inspector John Marlow in 1871 on the ‘abuse and ill treatment’ that he received from Sub-Inspector Thomas Coward while stationed at Cashmere. He writes of the insults he received, including that ‘he was worse than the greatest Myall in the Bush’ and was ‘an Irish Buggar’. James Kenny was dismissed (discipline) for ‘making an o ensive and insubordinate reference concerning Inspector Malone’. The memo to Thomas Clines read: "Dear Tom I am sorry you are going to such a place as the Mossman but it could be worse we are well surrounded with Micks now and up starts at that I will be the next on the go he has me set since he came the Irish W" (QSA563740 1907 Memorandum from James Kenny to Thomas Clines, Registrar S D Court Mareeba 19 February, James Kenny Police Sta le). Family Life In terms of family, we also have marriage records for 156 o cers. As shown in Figure 4, these records show that 31 were married before they entered the NMP and signi cantly, that 89 married during their service. In other words, at least 120 o cers (ca 25%) were married while on active duty. This contrasts with the o cial service records that have been located, as there are only 14 ‘applications for leave to marry’ in Label Tools police les. Only one man, Sydney Scott Reed, a cadet at Barron River, was dismissed for marrying without permission (QSA847048 81/3069). It is also clear that most of these men also had children, many of whom were born while their fathers were posted to NMP camps. So, while it could be assumed that the NMP o cers were young, single men due to the nature of the job and the living conditions, this was not always the case. Further, any women associated (and especially living) with the NMP are usually assumed to be Indigenous. While some of the o cers’ wives and children were undoubtedly living in towns near to where their husbands were posted, there is evidence that many wives lived with their husbands at various camps, such as Adria Sta ord, wife of Brabazon Sta ord, Mary Ann Armit (wife of William Armit), or Maria Johnstone (wife of Robert Johnstone). There were also several sets of brothers and fathers-sons in the NMP, for example, Frank Blakeney and his son Charles; brothers Arthur and John and their father Robert Kyle Little; brothers William and Wallace Bayly, grandsons of William Lawson a founder of NSW; Frederick and Ernest Carr; William and Cecil Hill; George and Edwin Townsend; Wentworth and Reginald Uhr; Frederick and Edward Wheeler, the Murray brothers, Frederick, George, John and Robert; Aulaire, Rudolph and Edric Morisset, sons of Lt. Col. Morisset superintendent of Norfolk Island; and brothers William, John and Charles Nutting, nephews of John O’Connell Bligh. Having a family connection to the NMP (or senior government o cials) was sometimes an expedient route to recruitment and promotion in the force. Former Experience It was the rule to appoint only well-educated British army men whose past record was without reproach; men accustomed to command and be obeyed, and who hesitated not in the face of whatever odds, to do their duty (Longreach Leader, 15 December 1943, p25). In contrast to many recollections about the NMP, few of them were in fact ‘British army men’. Richards (2008:84) pointed out that four of the highest ranked o cers had served in the military: Henry John Browne and David Seymour in the British Army, Thomas Barron in the Indian Navy, and Alexander Douglas in the Royal Navy in China[1]. Of the remaining o cers so far, 29 appear to have some kind of military training or background, and their ranks and service vary. English-born Edmund Lockyer had served with the 57th Foot Soldiers in Taunton, Canada; two fought in Crimea, six with the British Army in India, and two with the Bengal Infantry, two each in the Indian and Royal Navy, four in the Imperial forces, and the remainder in the British army. Ten o cers were in the RIC prior to the NMP. Thus, rather than attracting a group of highly trained and experienced military men, the NMP was made of both men willing to learn on the job, and men with military and Label Tools previous policing experience, like Wentworth D’Arcy Uhr, whose situation we explored in a recent post. One o cer, Edward Briggs Kennedy, from London, was appointed a Sub-Inspector in 1864 in the Nogoa district, and later returned to England and wrote extensively on his time in Qld. A piece on Kennedy’s time in the NMP by the Townsville Daily Bulletin (15 April 1952, p5) stated: "… there were no examinations nor any preparatory training before applying for a post in this force. As long as a man could ride well, could understand the use of rearms, and bore a satisfactory record, he was an eligible recruit. Though Kennedy was posted to di erent barracks for longer or shorter periods he never saw much drill (beyond a few simple forms) nor any red tape. It would have been of no practical use. The true drill belonged to the troopers and, in fact, to all blacks who, from the time that they can walk, are naturally drilled by members of their tribe to track, indulge in mimic warfare and, above all, to scout so as to get in rst with a spear, waddy or boomerang." The details of many men’s experiences prior to and during the NMP are scarce. Often the police sta les have little information, but sometimes mention that an o cer was a former pastoralist or had previous experience being out with NMP o cers as a station manager – clearly these men would have known exactly what the duties of an o cer would be. Many went in and out of the NMP with more than one service period (including quite a few who were dismissed and then reappointed). There are dismissal records for 88 o cers. Of these, no reason is given for 20, 23 are for drunkenness, 10 for violence, 13 for discipline, 6 for incompetence, 7 for nancial irregularities, 3 for neglect of duty, 2 ‘services dispensed with’ and 4 for ‘reduction in the force’. There are records of 142 resignations, 62 retirements and 12 suicides. At least 31 o cers were also Freemasons, 29 were Inspectors of Slaughterhouses, 30 were Clerk of Petty Sessions, and at least 14 went on to become Police Magistrates. Overall, the pro le of NMP o cers is emerging to be that of a diverse group of men with varying levels of training and education. Many were Irish, English or locally born, many were married with children, and with di ering levels of personal wealth. What was common, however, was that as part of the NMP they were all part of the colonial force whose role was to dispossess Indigenous Queenslanders from their land. References Richards, J. 2008 The Secret War. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press. Footnotes [1] Henry John Browne, born Brea y, Mayo, Ireland, served 18th Prince of Wales Regiment (Qld Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser, 2 June 1863, p3, Richards 2008:226; David Thompson Seymour born Ballymore, Galway, Ireland, served as lieutenant 12th Su olk Regiment 1856-1858; Thomas Henry Bowman Barron, born Exeter, Devon England, served Indian Navy (Richards 2005:109–11); Alexander Douglas Douglas, born St Heliers, Channel Islands, entered the Royal Navy as a naval cadet in 1857. Served in the English Channel, the West Indies, Hong Kong, Japan, the Taiping Label Tools Rebellion and the Tientsin campaign (Kirkman 1984:76; Telegraph, 23 June 1905, p5; Week, 30 June 1905, p22) * Thanks Nigel Casson for correcting us on the terminology used here Documents 20 / 265 entries Title Text File Tools Andrew Murray's diary [Transcript of ANDREW MURRAY'S 1860 DIARY from (unpublished) 1860 http://www.cqhistory.com/wiki/pmwiki.php/People/AndrewMurray. The original is held in the University of New England and Regional Archives, Heritage Centre, A0440] Saturday, December 31st, 1859 I started with my outfit and three horses, all young, sound and quite. My intention was to go through to Uralla that night which would be a distance of 27 miles. First starts from home are seldom early. Before I had all ready, mid day was past and after bidding all goodbye, it was well into afternoon. Leading two spare horses, unused to leading, prevented me going fast with the result that I had to stay at Rambanda for the night, a distance of about 12 miles. I had known Mrs. Stitt since I was six years old and she was very kind and hospitable, nevertheless I would have been glad if time had permitted and my horses had led better, to have reached my destination. A Mrs. Davis, sister of Mrs James Starr of Zion House, Armidale, was staying here and she, having come from the North of Ireland, had a wish to see the old year out and the new year in, with a bright fire, which however pleasant in the depth of winter in Ireland, was not a necessity on a warm night in Australia. So, leaving the company to enjoy Hogmanay, I went to bed, but not to sleep. What with the rattling of dishes and the telling of stories of the time kept up in Ireland, little peace was possible until past the hour of 12. If I had known to what extent our ideas differed, I would have traveled until 12 o'clock to reach my destination at Uralla Sunday 1st January, 1860. Started and went on quietly, reaching Uralla early, a distance of 15 miles. Accepted the kind hospitality of Mrs. George McKay at whose hotel I stayed when in Uralla, until all were ready for a start. Mrs McKay was a kind and motherly lady and as I had known them all for years and Johnny, Hugh & Vinney and their sons being all here, I was quite at home. Johnny had been working on the Title Text File Tools diggings for some time, where a great deal of gold had been found since its discovery in 1852 and was still being obtained. Monday 2nd January, 1860 On calling on Mr. John McCrossin to ascertain when he thought he would be able to start, he said that unfortunately he would be detained through some case to be heard at the Court House in Armidale. Had I known sooner, I need not have come so soon. Mr. McKay proposed that we ride over to Mihi Creek and see the people there. I had been at the station when a small boy about 21 years ago and had all the surroundings indelibly impressed on my mind. A Mr. Roderick McLennan, shipmate of my father, was managing there for the owner, a Mr. Jenkins, I think. The custom of the times when old acquaintances met, was to have a glass of rum or any substitute procurable. On this occasion it was hop beer. I remember the frothy head and the inviting look it had. When indulging in liquor, real or only a substitute, people get kind and generous. I must have a nip too. What a disappointment it was, the first beer I had seen and instead of being as I expected, a nice sweet drink, it was bitter as if brewed from bitter wood. Drink that? No! No! It was twenty five years after that dose that I took kindly to beer. I was only learning to walk in those days and I feel I did not get groggy on that beer. Father carried me most of the way home from Salisbury and I heard my mother say I slept well that night. The Mihi beer and a few other things about the place are still on my mind. So on a second visit we were most kindly entertained by Mrs John Gordon and her two fine daughters, Misses Jessie and Kate. Misses Jessie and Kate who did all they could to entertain us with all the anecdotes and jokes they could think of. I well remembered the old house still in a good state of repair, nicely fixed up with paper pictures and all the little fancy ornaments, a great improvement on the old bachelors bare slab walls of 1840, and what was better, a nice cup of tea and a tasty meal instead of that hop beer and milk. Many new outhouses had been put up since my first visit and the fine, long native pampas grass that grew along the course of the creek with its downy featherlike white tops was all gone, not a trace of it now, the cattle and horses had cropped it all down, it was gone, little by little, unnoticed by those living there all along those years since I first saw it. Not so with me, although only there a few hours and away for 21 years, seemed as though I had only been away a few days. The land and water appearance was all comparatively thick and I think if killed, much undergrowth will show up rock formation slate. In the morning a proposal was made to go out to the Mihi Creek Falls. The horses were brought in and noticing that Miss Kate's was not a choice Title Text File Tools riding hack for a lady, I exchanged with her, giving one that was a little better, a stock rather than a side saddle hack and I rode her pony. The distance to the falls was about six miles and did not take long to get over. The creek is small but in time of flood, would be a considerable stream. I do not know the height of the falls, but over two hundred feet I would think. We threw some stones over and saw white cockatoos flying among the trees growing on the narrow banks of the creek below. After having a look at the gully from different angles we went back to the slate rock formation of the falls. Having a cup of tea and an early lunch, we then started back to Uralla. From there I went down to Cameron's sheep station where my old mate, Donald Cameron, was staying, with his wife Kate. Spent one night here among the kind old acquaintances and back to Uralla. Thinking I might be better of a 4th horse, as all except McCrossin had only two each, I returned to Haning and bargained with my uncle, John Blair, for a black horse he called "Rainbow" He thought he was fast and thought a great deal of him. He was by Loche Star, a big stallion we had and he had a strain of Arab in him, quiet tempered and a useful animal. (Unfortunately, while cantering over snow, he slipped and broke his thigh and had to be shot). Returning to Uralla, the time drew near for a start. I now had four fairly good horses. Cameron, Muldoon and I, thought it would be well before starting, to call a meeting to arrange in a rough way, to define our respective duties on the coming journey. Where there are eight to cook for during many months journey, a good deal of friction can be avoided by a mutual understanding as to our respective duties. Most of us, especially Cameron, Muldoon and myself, knew roughly how to prepare a meal, an almost inherent accomplishment of those who follow diggings, stock- droving, carrying etc. When the arrangement of cooking week about was proposed, Mr. McCrossin objected to doing his weeks cooking. The matter could have been got over easily. He was the organizer and leader of the expedition and had a right to all due consideration. He was willing to assist, but not to be bound, was one of the best types of the human race. Kind, just and strict, but too liberal, all admired him and wished him success. The result of the meeting was barren. Nothing was fixed definitely, further than each one was to provide an equal share in purchase of necessary rations, ammunition and general outfit. We were all to share in any division of any country we might find and each member to dispose of his interest as he chose. When all got together we numbered seven white men and a black boy named Duke, who was a son of King Brandy and Queen Marry Anne's, born at Salisbury, 7th October, 1839. Title Text File Tools MR JOHN McCROSSIN, who organized the party and was its chief supporter, was a native of the North of Ireland. With his father, mother, sisters and brothers, he arrived in this country in the early 1840's. The whole family were strictly honest in all their dealings. When he started out on this trip he had a fine up to date store and was doing good business. He found and maintained the black boy, Duke, in horses and saddles and took with him fourteen horses. MR JOHN McKAY, a native of Inverness, Scotland, came to this country in the 1850's. He wrote a good hand. Kept a journal and bought much of our provisions, with money contributed from time to time as requested by the party. He had two horses, one for saddle and one for packing. He had, he said, been educated for a sea faring life and before starting, had been like thousands of other young men, at the Rocky River diggings at Maitland Point, near Uralla, NSW. MR. DONALD CAMERON, a native of Inverness shire, Scotland, came to this country in the early 1850's and was a neighbour of ours whilst managing for Mr. R. Pringle's station at Retreat. I knew him well there and also as a digger on the Rocky River at Maitland Point. A fine, able man, about 6ft high, active and strong. He had two horses. HAMILTON ROBISON, was a native of the Hunter River. He and his people were highly respected by all who knew them. He had two horses, a pack and a saddle horse. JOHN MULDOON a native of the North of Ireland, followed mining pursuits and was a mate of Cameron on the Rocky River diggings, had two horses. JOVANNA BARBRA (JOHN BARBARA) was an Italian by birth, by trade a carpenter, quiet and unassuming. He seemed out of his element a little. He had a pack and saddle horse. MYSELF (ANDREW MURRAY) a native of Whabra, on the MacLeay River, N.S.W. was carried on to New England when very young, had followed pastoral and station work all my life and had four horses. THE START Monday, January 16th, 1860 Started from Uralla and had some trouble with the horses. McKay, Robison and Duke stayed behind at Saumarez Ponds. Unfortunately, I lost the barrels of my gun. Messrs. John McCrossin, Cameron, Muldoon, Barbra and I went on. Mr. McCrossin had some law business to attend to. Tuesday, January 17th, 1860. I bought a new gun, double barrel, in Armidale for &3.10.0. After many little delays we left in the afternoon, about 2.30. Passed Title Text File Tools Tilbusta about four miles further and camped on a creek. Night cold, timber box and stringybark. Wednesday, January 18th, 1860. Started at 8 o'clock, crossed over to the pinch. Had dinner on a small plain near Guyra. Had a tin of sardines and oiled my boots. Country thickly grassed, basaltic rock formation. Went on to Falkoner, bought a cheese from a Mrs. Cameron. She, her husband and family were shipmates of Donald Cameron. Went on and camped near Ben Lomond head station. Timber, peppermint, patches of red soil. Thursday, January 19th 1860. Started early, wishing to see the Glen Innes races. On topping Ben Lomond, we saw the tents in the distance on the racecourse on Beardy Plains. The distance deceiving. After travelling until about 4 o'clock and making several further attempts to cross the Beardy (being stopped each time by the boggy nature of the country) we got along to where the road crossed as the people were leaving the course, so went past Glen Innes about 11/2 miles and camped about a mile from the town. I managed to shoot a plains turkey. Took it onto the camp. After tea the whole party except myself and Duke went back to the town. The night was very dark. I took the inside out of the turkey, carried it to a small muddy waterhole, plastered it over with mud and put it in a big fire to cook, gathering up all the wood I could get to try to steam it. After a length of time I took it out, the mud and the feathers came off in flakes but it was not cooked so had to cut it up and put on to stew in a billy can. Later on the party returned in small detachments. They had been amongst a rowdy lot settling up at the races. A constable said Muldoon had struck him and they were apprehended and had to be bailed out and were to appear at court next day. Friday January 20th 1860. My travelling companions returned to town. Mr J.A. McGuiness J.P. heard the case at one of the hotels. All were let off, as the constable, if struck, had made a mistake and had arrested the wrong man. Started in the afternoon along the Tenterfield Rd and camped at Ogg's Creek Country poor and granite formation. Much stringybark, blackbutt, little grass to be seen and of poor quality. Saturday January, 21st, 1860. Started at 7 o'clock and passed Dundee and thence over a somewhat better class of country. Timber, peppermint. After a few miles the country much improved. Timber changes to yellow