FRONTIER CONFLICT AND THE NATIVE MOUNTED POLICE IN QUEENSLAND Gregory, Augustus Charles [Associated individual] Name Gregory, Augustus Charles Role/status/position Surveyor Notes/comments Gave evidence at the 1861 Inquiry into the NMP, primarily about the situation with Police and Aboriginal people in Western Australia From his Australian Dictionary of Biography entry by D.B. Waterson (http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gregory- sir-augustus-charles-3663): "Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1819-1905), explorer and surveyor-general, was born on 1 August 1819 at Farns eld, Nottinghamshire, England, the second of ve sons of Joshua Gregory (1790-1838), lieutenant in the 78th Regiment, and his wife Frances, née Churchman. His father had been wounded and in lieu of a pension accepted a land grant in the new Swan River settlement where in 1829 the family arrived in the Lotus. Aided by a neighbour, Surveyor-General John Roe, Augustus became a cadet in his department in 1841 and was soon promoted an assistant surveyor. He worked mainly in the country, marking out roads and town sites and issuing pastoral licences, often with his brothers as his chainmen. He also designed an apparatus to operate the rst revolving light installed on Rottnest Island. Gregory's resource, bushcraft, facility for invention and technical expertise won him the con dence of his Default superiors and in 1846 he was given command of his rst expedition. In seven weeks with his brothers Francis and Henry Churchman (1823-1869) he travelled north of Perth, and returned in December to report good grazing land and a promising coal seam on the Irwin River. Impressed by his enterprise a group of colonists invited him in 1848 to lead a settlers' expedition to map the Gascoigne River and seek more pastoral land. Although repelled by dense scrub the party charted part of the Murchison River and found traces of lead which led to the opening of the Champion Bay district centred on Geraldton. Gregory continued to mark out roads and stockroutes and look for grazing land and minerals until 1854 when Governor Charles Fitzgerald reported to the Colonial O ce in glowing terms of his skill and ability to abide by instructions. The imperial government had already decided to sponsor a scienti c exploration across the north of Australia and Gregory was chosen to lead it. With eighteen men, including his brother Henry, Ferdinand von Mueller and other scientists he sailed from Moreton Bay in August 1855 and in September reached the estuary of the Victoria River. After initial set-backs Gregory led several forays up the Victoria River and traced Sturt's Creek for 300 miles (483 km) until it disappeared in desert. Turning east the party explored the Elsey, Roper and Macarthur Rivers, crossed and named the Leichhardt and then travelled to Brisbane by way of the Flinders, Burdekin, Fitzroy and Burnett Rivers. In sixteen months the expedition had journeyed over 2000 miles (3219 km) by sea and 5000 (8047 km) by land. The natural resources discovered did not measure up to expectations, but Gregory was awarded the gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society and his report later stimulated much pastoral settlement. Although Gregory attributed his success to 'the protection of that Providence without which we are powerless', the smooth passage and thorough scienti c investigations of the expedition owed much to his leadership. Paradoxically it was too successful to be recognized as one of the most signi cant journeys led by one of the few unquestionably great Australian explorers. Modest, unromantic and resolute in following instructions, he did not dramatize his report, boasted no triumphs and sought no honours despite his admirable Aboriginal policy and meticulous organization. He excelled as a surveyor and manager of men, horses and equipment, and invented improvements for pack-saddles and pocket compasses. His seasonal knowledge and bushcraft were unparalleled and he was the rst to note the sequence of weather patterns in Australia from west to east. Gregory's qualities were again displayed in 1858 when he led an expedition for the New South Wales government in search of Ludwig Leichhardt. From Juandah station he went west, crossed the Warrego and Barcoo Rivers but after nding traces of the lost explorer was forced by drought to abandon the search and travel south to Adelaide. This was his last major expedition. He marked the southern boundary of the new colony of Queensland and in 1859 became its rst commissioner for crown lands and surveyor-general. He relinquished lands in 1863, on 12 March 1875 was replaced as surveyor-general by William Tully, and became geological surveyor. Gregory had the most onerous duties in the new government for land was the colony's greatest resource. He was responsible for classifying and controlling an area of 670,000 square miles (1,700,000 km²) inhabited by only 12,000 people with di ering concepts of land alienation and use. Widely divergent physical and climatic conditions, haphazard records and a sta lacking in both quality and quantity, made his task unenviable and later unpopular. Although he worked with speed and e ciency, his 'qualities as an explorer were not matched by his ability to institute and oversee a large, complicated and important Government department'. He had little patience for administrative process but relied on a combination of practical experience, technical skill and a network of intimates which included squatters, bushmen, explorers and surveyors. His social and political ties with the 'Pure Merinos' coloured his judgment and in uenced his administration of land law. The most powerful civil servant in Queensland, he rarely hesitated to translate his own in exible views into administrative action. His memorandum of 17 August 1867, which gave much of the best land on the Darling Downs to the pastoralists, was Queensland's greatest concession to the squatters since the 1847 Order in Council. Although personally incorruptible, Gregory had little interest in smallholding and in 1868 his statement to the Legislative Council openly revealed that he had no con dence in the main principles of agricultural selection and in the ideological and social assumptions that lay behind it. He must be held culpable for condoning abuses of which he had ample proof, and much legal trouble ensued later from his deliberate laxity, secrecy and determination to remain dictator of his department. Yet justi cation can be pleaded. Not only did he have to translate the complex and often contradictory proposals of raw, factious politicians into reality but he also had to cope with continuous pastoral expansion. That he neglected the interests of the smallholder is true but equally valid is the record of his great services to a new colony struggling with immense problems. Gregory was appointed to the Legislative Council on 10 November 1882. Always a critic of the government, he opposed all radical legislation and social reform and allied himself with the most reactionary squatting group in the House. He spoke more often than most members and his advice was freely sought and given, particularly on land and technical matters. He joined the Freemasons in 1855 and was grand superintendent of the Royal Arch Lodge in 1891. In 1863-1905 he was district grand master of Queensland lodges operating under the English Constitution. He was also a staunch Anglican and won repute for his private charity. He maintained his scienti c interests and associations. A trustee of the Queensland Museum in 1876-99 and member of the Aborigines commission in 1876-83, he was elected president of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science in 1895. In local government at Toowong he served as president of the divisional board and in 1902 became rst mayor. For his public services he was made C.M.G. in 1874 and K.C.M.G. in 1903 for his contribution to Australian exploration. He died unmarried at Rainworth, his Brisbane home, on 25 June 1905 and was buried in Toowong cemetery. In Brisbane Gregory published ve geological reports on southern Queensland and such signi cant pamphlets in 1878 as The Real Property Act of 1877, Meridian Line and Laying out Lines of Latitude on the Ground and the Supply of Water to the City of Brisbane. His report to the British government, 'Papers Relating to an Expedition Undertaken for the Purpose of Exploring the Northern Portion of Australia' was printed by the House of Commons in 1857, and his collected papers and records and those of his brother Francis were published in 1884 by the Queensland government as Journals of Australian Explorations; this laconic chronicle seldom does justice to his many qualities and achievements. A portrait by Ugo Catani in 1891 is in the Masonic Museum, Ann Street, Brisbane. His brother Francis Thomas, born on 19 October 1821, became a cadet in Western Australia, assistant in 1847 and a sta surveyor in 1849. His eld-work ranged wide and included the streets of Fremantle and the harbour at King George Sound. Under Augustus in 1852 he supervised the road-building by convicts with tickets-of-leave but resented the time wasted on accounts, correspondence and inquiries, and claimed that hired labour was much less expensive. On a routine survey of the Murchison River in 1857 he explored its upper reaches and for his initiative was given command of an expedition to the Gascoyne River in 1858. After covering 2000 miles (3219 km) in 107 days he reported guardedly against settlement before a port was opened in Exmouth Gulf. In 1859 he declined a lucrative post in Victoria because he had to visit England. There he joined others in urging the government and the Royal Geographical Society to found a colony on the north-west coast of Australia with all the necessary equipment and 'a large body of Asiatic labourers'. A grant of £2000 was o ered subject to an equal subsidy from the colonial chest. Although Surveyor-General Roe modi ed the proposal and settlement was postponed, Gregory went to Nicol Bay in 1861 and traced many northern rivers. For these explorations he was awarded the founder's medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1863. His report became a handbook for northern settlement by pastoralists and pearlers. He also collected many botanical and geological specimens which were later housed in Charles Nicolay's museum at Fremantle. He moved to Queensland in 1862 where in 1864 he married Marion Scott, daughter of Alexander Hume; they had ve sons and one daughter. Gregory was appointed commissioner of crown lands in the Toowoomba district and to the Legislative Council in 1874. He was postmaster-general in 1883 and led the opponents to payment of council members in 1886. He died at Brisbane on 23 October 1888. Known as Frank, he was ambitious and less imperturbable than Augustus and was once described as 'a smooth, not altogether trustworthy fellow'. He and his brother were called 'the squatting proconsuls of the Darling Downs', but their contribution to Australian exploration remains unchallengeable. The family name is commemorated at widely scattered points on the continent, and not least by the Andansonia gregorii, a baobab found and named by von Mueller on the Victoria River." Title Text File Tools Courier, 17 January 1863, p2 THE COMMISSION OF THE PEACE The new Commission of the Peace for the colony of Queensland, for the year just commenced, was issued on the 1st January, in a Supplement to the Government Gazette. The list of Magistrates is as follows:— Abbott, Henry Palmer, Brisbane Adams, George, Gwambegwine Aldred, Samuel William, Warwick Alexander, Robert, Gayndah Allport, Henry Curzon, Mitchell District Anderson, Peter Dalgarius, Gigoomgan, Wide Bay Anslow, William Warner, Broad Sound Antill, John, Picton, Kennedy District Archer, Colin, Gracemere, Rockhampton Armstrong, William, Warwick Atkins, James B, Moonie River Atkinson. William, Peak Downs, Leichhardt Austin, Robert, Brisbane Barker, Bryce Thomson, Nanango Barker, the Honorable William, Brisbane Barker, David, Nanango Barton, A. P., Moolbooluman, Wide Bay Bassett, William Frederick, Bowen, Kennedy Bassett, William, Maranoa Beit, William, Drayton Bell, Thomas, Ipswich 5 entries Documents Title Text File Tools Bell, Joshua Peter, Jimbour, Dalby Bennett, Robert, Maranoa Bernays, Lewis Adolphus, Brisbane Biddulph. J. L., Commissioner of Crown Lands, Albert District, New South Wales Bigge, the Honorable Francis Edward, Mount Brisbane, Ipswich Birkbeck, Samuel B., Glenmore, Rockhampton Black, John Melton, Janning River, Kennedy Black, John Richard, Dunmore, Dalby Blakeney, Charles, Coonambula, Wide Bay Bligh, John O'Connoll, Commandant Native Police, Rockhampton Bloom eld, Edwin Cordeaux, Port Curtis Bloom eld, Robert, Pike's Creek, Warwick Bode, Frederick Joseph, Strathdon, Kennedy Borton, Frederick, Banana, Rockhampton Bonar, John, Burmandoo, Gladstone Broadbent, John, Rawbell, Gayndah Brock, Osmond de Prior, Wetheron, Gayndah Broughton, Alfred Delves, Rockhampton Brown, the Honorable Alfred Henry, Gladstone Brown, William Anthony, Sheri , Brisbane Brown, Samuel, Moonie River Brown, Arthur, Wide Bay Brown, John Evans, Maranoa Brown, William John, Rockhampton Buchanan, A. B., Cairdbaigin, Leichhardt Buchanan, Alexander, Rockhampton Buchanan, D. Chinchilla, Dalby Buchanan, Nathaniel, Mitchell District Buckland, James Warwick, Rosenthal, Warwick Buckley, Henry, Auditor-General, Brisbane Burne, Henry, Peak Downs Burnett, Thomas, Mount Cecil, Kennedy Buttanshaw, Henry Reginald, Brisbane Byerley, Frederick, Saltwater, Kennedy Callaghan, William, Rockhampton Cameron, Archibald, Coonambula, Wide Bay Campbell, Edwin John, Redbank, Ipswich Cannan, Kearsey, Brisbane Cardell, Henry, Maranoa Cardew, Pollett, Euroombah, Dawson Carr, Frederick Wm., Lieutenant Native Police, Title Text File Tools Maranoa Caswell, Henry D., Gayndah Challinor, Henry, Ipswich Charters, William Skelton Ewbank Melbourne, Commandant Mounted Police, Maranoa Clapperton, George, Tarong, Nanango Clarke, Charles, Talgai, Warwick Clarke, Charles James, Port Curtis Clarke, John Ker, Leichhardt District Clarke, Duncan, Leichhardt District Clayton, Octavius Plater, Boomba, Maranoa Cobham, Richard, Peak Downs Cockburn, Henry Montague, Ipswich Collins, James Carden, Coochin, Ipswich Compigne, the Honorable Alfred William, Nindooimbah, Albert River Conolly, Francis Glynn, Gayndah Connor, Daniel, Collaroy, Rockton Cor eld, Henry Cox, Staunton, Harcourt, Wide Bay Cowper, Thomas, Police Magistrate, Tenter eld (N.S.W.) Cox, Charles Clarendon, Windah, Leichhardt Coxen, Charles, Brisbane Coxen, Honry William, Condamine Crawford, Robert, Consuelo, Leichhardt Cribb, Robert, Brisbane Cribb, Benjamin, Ipswich Cudmore, Daniel, Argyle, Kennedy Cunningham, Michael William, Molonglong, Kennedy Cunningham, Edward, Molonglong, Kennedy Dalrymple, George Elphinstone, Kennedy Dangar, Thomas Gordon, Maranoa Darby, Arthur Swift, Warkon, Maranoa Darvall, Frederick Orme, Brisbane Daveney, Charles Beevor, Warwick Davidson, William Montgomerie, Maryborough Davidson, Gilbert, Canning Downs, Warwick Davidson, Walter, Canning Downs, Warwick Davis, Sydney Beavan, Peak Downs Davis, Samuel, Brisbane Day, Edward Denny, Police Magistrate, Maitland, New South Wales Title Text File Tools Deedes, Julius, Maranoa De Satge, Oscar, Gordon Downs, Marlborough Deuchar, John, Glengallan, Warwick Dillon, John Moore, Moorsland, Kennedy Dorsey, William Mac Taggart, Ipswich Douglas, Robert, Brisbane Douglas, John, Rockhampton Dowling, Vincent, Mitchell District Dowzer, James, Maryborough Drew, W. L. G., Brisbane Drury, Edward Robert, Brisbane Dutton, Charles Boydell, Eingindah, Leichhardt Easton, Frederick Charles, Jarawinabah, Callandoon Easton, Henry Edward, Billa Billa, Callandoon Edmondstone, George, Brisbane Edwards, John, Ban Ban, Gayndah Edwards, Charles, Fort Bourke, New South Wales Eliott, the Honorable Gilbert, Speaker of Legislative Assembly Eliott, Gilbert William, Gayndah Elliott, Thomas, Tilpal, Rockton Ellis, Henry, Deepwater, Maranoa Faircloth, George, Ipswich Fattorini, Charles Lamonnerie dit, Ipswich Feez, Albrecht, Rockhampton Ferguson, Archibald, Wallan Ferrett, John, Wallan, Condamine Fitz, the Honorable Henry Bates, Pilton, Drayton Fitzsimmons, Charles, Rockhampton Fleming, Joseph, Ipswich Flood, Edward, Maranoa Flood, Edward, jun., Maranoa Forbes, George Edward, Colinton, Ipswich Forbes, Frederick Augustus, Ipswich Forsyth, John, Gladstone Frazer, John, Kooingal, Leichhardt Gaden, William Henry, Canoona Galloway, the Honorable John James, Brisbane Geary, Wlliam Henry, Brisbane Geary, Edward Montague, Jimbour, Dalby George, Isaac Arrot, Ipswich Title Text File Tools Gibson, James, Chinchilla, Condamine Gillespie, Thomas, Warwick Glen, John, Nullalbin Golden, George Lewis, Juandah, Dawson Gore, St. George Richard, Warwick Gorry, Christopher, Ipswich Graham, Dugald, Wigton Graham, Charles Stewart, Tambourine, Logan River Grant, Alexander Ogilvie, Dalgangall, Gayndah Gray, George Johnstone, Leichhardt Gray, Charles George, Police Magistrate, Ipswich Green, Charles Henry. Mondure, Nanango Green, William, Mondure, Nanango Gregory, Augustus Charles, Brisbane Gregory, Henry Churchman, Palm-tree Creek, Taroom Gregory, Charles Frederick, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Leichhardt Gregory, Francis Thomas, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Maranoa Gregory, Edward, Goondiwindi Gregson, Jesse, Rainsworth, Leichhardt Haege, Henry, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Darling Downs. Halloran, Arthur Edward, Police Magistrate, Warwick Haly, Charles Robert, Taabinga, Gayndah Hammond, Henry, Fort Bourke, New South Wales Hanmer, Thomas, Talgai, Warwick Hardie, John, Fassifern, ipswich Harris, the Honorable George, Brisbane Harriett, Thomas Waire, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Warrego, New South Wales Hay, James Leith, Kennedy Hay, Honston Stewart Dalrymple, Macintyre Brook Haynes, Michael, Police Magistrate, Gayndah Heath, George Poynter, Brisbane Henderson, Andrew Inglis, Jimboomba, Logan River Hendren, William, Ipswich Title Text File Tools Henning, Edward Biddulph, Rockhampton Henry, Ernest, Mount M'Connell, Kennedy Herbert, the Honorable Robert George Wyndham, Brisbane Herbert, Arthur Orpen, Brisbane Hill, Thomas, Eurabbah, Narran River Hil ing, Emilius, Havilah, Kennedy Hilliard, William Edward, Gladstone Hobbs, the Honorable William, Brisbane Holt, William Harvey, Kalargo, Gayndah Hood, James Low, Peak Downs Hooke, James, Rochdale, Dawson Hope, the Honorable Louis, Kilcoy, Ipswich Hovell, William Hilton, Goulburn, New South Wales Hughes, Robert Maurice, Fort Bourke Hunter, William, Maranoa Hunter, Hobart Miller, Rockhampton Hutchinson, Frederick R., Widgee Widgee, Maryborough Isaac, Frederick Neville, Gowrie; Darling Downs Jackson, James Watkin, Warwick Jamison, Robert Thomas, Callandoon Jardine, John, Police Magistrate, Rockhampton Joiner, Philip, Capo River, Kennedy Jones, Thomas, Barambah, Nanango Jones, Thomas Hayes, Ipswich Jones, David Maunder, Boonara, Gayndah Jopp, Alexander, Hawkswood, Gayndah Kelman, William, Ghinghinda, Leichhardt Kelman, John, Melton Downs, Leichhardt Kellett. Robert, Kennedy District Kemball, Arthur Clark, Brisbane Kennedy, William Francis, Tieryboo, Condamine Kent, William jun., Rosalie Plains, Dalby Ker Claudius Augustus, Leichhardt King, Henry Edward, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Mitchell District King, Charles Macarthur, Ipswich Lack, Edward, jun., Wigton, Gayndah Lamb, Edward William, Ipswich Lamotte, Frederick Charles, Fennigering, Gayndah Title Text File Tools Landsborough, James, Gladstone Landsborough, the Honorable William, Rockhampton Larnach, John Alexander, Rockhampton Lawless, Clement, Boombingan, Gayndah Lawless, Paul, Boombingan, Gayndah Lawson, Robert, Gayndah Lester, Leonard Edward, Marilla Creek, Surat. Lethbridge, Christopher, Condamine Living, John, Port Curtis Livingstone, John, Gayndah Loader, William, Dareel, Moonie River Long, William, Bungaban, Dawson Low, Jacob, Callandoon Lyons, Charles Bernard, Brisbane Macalister, the Honorable Arthur, Brisbane Macdonald, Campbell Livingstone, Logan River Macarthur, Patrick, Maranoa Macintosh, Peter, Rio, Leichhardt District Macdonald, Peter Fitzallan, Yaamba MacCartney, John Arthur, Glenmore, Rockhampton Mackay, Colin Campbell, Rockhampton Mackenzie, Robert Ramsay, Brisbane M'Connell, the Honorable John, Cressbrook, Ipswich M'Connell, David, Cressbrook, Ipswich M'Donald, John Graham, Dalrymple, Kennedy Manning, Arthur Wilcox, Brisbane Mans eld, Percival Douglas, Rockhampton Mant, George, Gigoomgan, Wide Bay Marsh, Charles William, Maryland Marshall, Richard Purvis, Callandoon Marshall, Lampson, Callandoon Massie, Robert George, Tulburra, Warwick Massie, Hugh Hamon, Police Magistrate, Maryborough Master, Francis Robert Chester, Brisbane Mayne, John Colburn, Weranga, Dalby McArthur, John, Glenelg, Warwick McCarthy, J. E. D., Moonie River McDonald, John Macpherson, Callandoon McDougall, the Honorable John Frederick, Brisbane Title Text File Tools McDougall, Donald Norris, Texas, Severn River McKay, Hugh, Surat McLean, John Donald, Westbrook, Drayton McLerie, John, Inspector-General of Police, New South Wales Miller, Robert, Kinnoull, Leichhardt District Mills, Michael, Cleveland, Kennedy District Mo att, Honorable Thomas de Lacy, Brisbane Mo att, Samuel, Maranoa Moreton, the Honorable Basil Berkley, Wetheron, Gayndah Moreton, the Honorable Seymour, Wetheron, Gayndah Moreton, Frederick, Kalide, Port Curtis Morey, Edward, Maranoa Moriarty, Abram Orpen, Sydney Morisset, Ethic Norfolk Vaux, New South Wales Morisset, Rudolph, Lieutenant Native Police Mort, Henry, Sydney, New South Wales Morton, Frederick, Gladstone Monro, A. P. Hale, Headington, Leichhardt Murray, George P. M., Lieutenant Native Police Murphy, John, Ipswich Myles, William, Dulacca, Condamine Mylne, Graham, Eatanswill, Clarence River, New South Wales. Nicol, Henry Hedger, Ballandine, Warwick Norman, William Henry, Melbourne, Victoria North, Francis, Ipswich North, Joseph, Ipswich North, William, Ipswich North, Samuel, Water Police Magistrate, Sydney, New South Wales Norton, Albert, Gladstone O'Connell, the Honorable Maurice Charles, President of the Legislative Assembly Okeden, David Parry, Burrandowan, Gayndah Owen, Alfred Charles, Yandilla, Drayton Palmer, Arthur Hunter, Bungil, Maranoa Palmer, Henry, Maryborough Palmer, Richard Edward, Gladstone Palmer, John, Rockhampton Panton, John, Ipswich Patton, Robert, Albinia Downs, Leichhardt Title Text File Tools Petrie, John, Brisbane Peyton, Nicholson, Mundubbera, Gayndah Pickering, William, Brisbane Pigott, Peter, Gayndah Pitt, Henry Dowdeswell, Captain Royal Artillery, Brisbane Plews, Henry Taylor, Rockhampton Powell, Frederick John, Lieutenant Native Police Price, Edmund H, Narang Creek Prior, Thomas Lodge Murray, Brisbane Rae, Arthur J., Tieryboo, Condamine Ra , George, Brisbane Ra , Alexander, Brisbane Ramsay, John Bonar Peter, Rockhampton Ranken, John, Ipswich Ranken, George, jun., Rockhampton Rawlins, Frederick, Police Magistrate, Drayton Rawnsley, Henry C., Brisbane Rawson, William, Rosewood, Ipswich Reid, James Blane, Maryborough Reid, James, Camboon, Leichhardt Richards, Henry, Brisbane Richards, William, Springsure, Leichhardt Riley, Alexander Reiby, Tenter eld, New South Wales Robison, Hugh, Rockhampton Roche, Frederick William, Dalby Rogers, William, Chinchilla Rolleston, Christopher, Sydney, New South Wales Roope, William, Cullenaringo, Leichhardt Ross, James Haldon, Toowoomba Rowlands, Thomas, Ipswich Royds, Charles James, Juandah, Dawson Royds, Edmund Molyneux, Juandah, Dawson Rule, John, Mitchell District Rundle, William S., Rockhampton Russell, Henry Stuart, Sydney, New South Wales Rutherford, John, Fort Bourke Sachse, Otto, Toowoomba Sandeman, Gordon, Burrandowan, Gayndah Sandeman, Alfred, Felton, Drayton Scott, Richard, Port Donison Title Text File Tools Scott, John, Palm-tree Creek, Leichhardt Scott, David Charles Frederick, Police Magistrate, Sydney, New South Wales Scott, James Hall, Warwick Sharpe, Edward, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Albert District, New South Wales Shea e, William Lempriere Frederick, Commissioner of Crown Lands, Kennedy Selheim, Phillip Alexander, Strathmore, Kennedy Serocold, George Pearce, Kennedy Sheridan, Richard Bingham, Maryborough Sheridan, Brinsley George, Lotus Creek, Leichhardt Sinclair, Duncan Macdiarmid, Police Magistrate, Dalby Slack, John Richard, Coolabarbor, Maranoa Smith, Richard Joseph, Ipswich Smith, Shepherd, Brisbane Stacey, John Edward, Toowoomba Stenhouse, William, Allandale, Kennedy Stephens, Thomas Blackett, Brisbane Stevenson, William Hercules, Gayndah Stewart, William R., Peak Downs, Rockhampton St. George, Howard, Rockhampton St. Jean, Ernest de, Gowrie, Drayton Strathdee, Robert, Gayndah Taylor, James, Toowoomba Thomas, Alfred Cayley, Dykehead, Gayndah Thompson, William, Orion Downs, Leichhardt Thomson, William, Nundubbermere, Warwick Thomson, Archibald McMurdo, Taroom Thorn, George, Ipswich Thornton, William, Brisbane Tom, Henry, Ulebah, Maranoa Tom, Charles, Gayndah Travis, Robert, Maryborough Turner, William, Helidon, Ipswich Turner, John Sargeant, Brisbane Tymons, James Blood, Gayndah Uhr, Edmund Blucher, Wide Bay Vignoles, Francis Durell, Western Creek, Drayton Vickery, Thomas W., Canoona, Rockhampton Title Text File Tools Warry, Thomas Symes, Brisbane Watts, John, Eton Vale, Drayton Webb, George Dudley, Brisbane Whitchurch, John Samuel, Felton, Drayton White, the Honorable William Duckett, Beaudesert, Logan River White, James Charles, Maryborough White, Robert Hoddle Dryberg, Toowoomba Wienholt, Arnold, Maryvale, Warwick Wienholt, Edward, Rosalie Plains, Dalby Wills, Thomas W, Cullingaringo, Leichhardt Wilson, John Kerr, Maranoa Wilson, George Henry, Ipswich Wilson, Robert Kerr, Maranoa Wiseman, William Henry Wood, Arthur Francis, Rockhampton Wood, Edward, Lake Victoria, Leichhardt Woore, John P., Commissioner of Crown Lands, Warrego District, New South Wales Yaldwyn, the Honorable William Henry, Taroom Yaldwyn, John, Humboldt Creek, Leichhardt Courier, 23 July 1861, p2 TUESDAY, JULY 23 1861. THE Select Committee on the Native Police Force report that in their opinion "any change in the organization of this force by the substitution of white troopers for natives would destroy its e ciency." Probably our ideas of e ciency are di erent from those entertained by the Select Committee. We are aware that there exist individuals who can only nd one standard by which to try the e ciency of the force— namely, the degree of terror it inspires. This is not our standard. We hold it to be an important element in e ciency— for it would be a farce to maintain aforce which inspired no dread ; but something more is necessary. Lieutenaut WHEELER is of opinion that, the blacks "do not understand anything but shooting them down." From another portion of his evidence it would appear that their gins understand nothing but ogging. He says he Title Text File Tools has had to get up in the middle of the night to og the gins o , who are so much in love with the native police, that, they understand no gentler hint. "The gins will follow the men; and I have sometimes nothing to do but og them o ." "We generally have to og them o ." But on this point his evidence is emphatically contradicted by the intimate knowledge of DAVIES, who lived fourteen years with the blacks, and never saw a white man. DAVIES would not believe that any gin would follow a native policeman, unless she was acquainted with him. Hence, a doubt arises whether gins are so dull that they can take no gentler hint; and another doubt whether the men are so dull that they can understand nothing but being shot. But let us look fairly at the evidence which has led the committee to this opinion, and we shall probably discover what they mean by e ciency. Lieutenant WHEELER says, "I act on my own discretion, and my own responsibility ;" the Inspector-General "never interferes with anything that I do." Further, he states that he knows of only two or three warrants against blackfellows for particular o ences ; that he tries to execute a warrant, and if he fails, sends it back to the Inspector General; that he has only received two warrants, and that there is very little chance of his meeting with the o ender. Further, he considers that if he follows up a tribe, identifying them by following their tracks, against whom he has heard a complaint of spearing cattle, &c., he is justi ed in shooting them down. He does not summon them, either three times or once, to surrender in the Queen's name, because if he did so, he could never keep them in sight. This would appear to be a military force without military discipline. Lieutenant WHEELER elsewhere represents it as next to impossible to take a blackfellow alive in a scrub, but he is of opinion that black troopers are "not useless" in scrubs. Being asked his opinion of a white Title Text File Tools force with black trackers, he says: —"A single blackfellow would bring a number of white police on a track, hut, when they came to a scrub, the white men could not go into after them." Of twenty-one witnesses examined as to their opinion about a total or partial substitution of white troopers for native, the majority appear to be averse to the employment of whites. Mr. JACOB LOWE, on the authority of Messrs. MARSHALL and FULFORD, "thinks that white men would be little good to follow blacks in the scrub." Captain COLEY thinks that a mixed force would be "ine cient altogether as far as protection goes;" he "should say a white man would not be equal to a black in scrubs." Mr. COMIPGNE believes that dissensions would arise between black troopers and white, if joined in one force, and that "the blacks would be the only e cient part of the force." This gentleman would not have a tribe punished same time after the o ence, unless the guilty parties could be identi ed, but he is also of opinion that often o enders could not be apprehended, in consequence of the impossibility of identifying them. At the same time he disapproves of their being shot indiscriminately. DAVIES, who knows the blacks, whatever his knowledge of the military may amount to, opines that to send the latter after the former would be as wise as to "send an old sh woman after them". Messrs. RODE and ZILLMAN are of opinion that white men would be of less service than blacks, because of their being less able to bear exposure, and comparative nicely as to their comforts. They also think that the employment of white troopers would lead to the blacks retaliating upon white settlers. Mr. CARDEN COLLINS could not say he thought white men would be "even more cruel than the blacks," but thinks that even near Ipswich, where some scrubs are to be found, a Native Force should be maintained. He states that it is when the Title Text File Tools black troopers enter the scrubs that their o cers lose proper control over them. Mr. J. R WILSON is unable to suggest any change in the force that would be an improvement, unless it were to be placed on a military basis, which would leave the magistrates at liberty to sanction the acts which as the force is at, present a civil force merely, are illegal. Mr. HALY has tried to follow blacks himself, and knows from his own experience that white men cannot follow them long. Messrs. LESTER and CARDEW are also opposed to any substitution of white troopers. Mr. PARKINSON takes an adverse view of any such substitution. To close the list, or nearly so, Mr. MORRISETT and Lieutenants CARR and BLIGH believe that white men would be comparatively ine cient. Possibly, if the list were closed at this point, the opinion expressed in the report might be held to be substantiated by the evidence; but this is not the whole of the evidence taken on this point. Mr. JOHN FRAZER does not think white police would be able to follow blacks up in scrubby country, "without assistance from blacks." Dr. CHALLINOR is still of opinion that the force should consist of white men and black trackers, and should be su ciently numerous to deter from the commission of crime. Mr. ALFRED HENRY BROWN says—"I do not think white police could follow blacks through the scrubs, but I think, at the same time, that the force might be so organized that any pursuit of the blacks would be rendered almost needless." "I think the force should be principally worked by Europeans, but in case of emergency I think there should be a black force to follow the natives into the scrubs." "I would go upon the broad principle, and do away with the Native Police Force altogether;" and so forth, the whole of this gentlemen's evidence tending to the same point. Mr. ALFRED BROWN thinks the Force should be constituted with two black trackers to four white troopers, and one o cer, excepting in Title Text File Tools certain districts, where two additional [sic] blacks should be at command. Mr. SHERIDAN thinks a white force should be employed in the settled districts; that it would be an advantage to establish such a force ; and the in uence of white police over the blacks is very great. He does not think white men could catch depredators in the scrub ; neither does he think that the present force could do so. Mr. GREGORY believes the force would be much improved by introducing into it a greater proportion of whites. He recommends the joining two blacks to one white trooper as was done in Western Australia, a force which worked more satisfactorily than any force he ever heard of in Australia. Mr. PETRIE thinks a white force would be ine cient, but that a force comprised of whites and blacks would agree very well together. Mr. SNEYD'S evidence goes to show that white men have done bush police work e ciently. He upsets all the arguments about white troopers being unable to nd subsistence in the bush, by stating that he had tracked bushrangers, and taken a month's provisions with him. He is of opinion that a force similar to the old Mounted Police would be better than the present. He does not think white men would be as e cient as blacks in dense scrubs, but quite as e cient in forestland or open country. Lastly, Captain O'CONNELL gives the fullest evidence against the e ciency of the present force, and is of opinion that the force should consist of white men and black trackers. Here we must leave the subject for the present, reserving for a future occasion the remarks we have to make upon the report itself. Queenslander, 5 June 1880, p722 The Aboriginal Commission. IN May, 1876, the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, appointed ve gentlemen commissioners for the purpose of enquiring into and ameliorating the condition of the aborigines. These gentlemen were Title Text File Tools Bishop Hale, and Messrs. A. C. Gregory, W. L. G. Drew, C. J. Graham, and W. Landsborough. Their duties, as speci ed in the commission, were to "enquire into and investigate the condition of the aboriginal inhabitants of our said colony, and to report from time to time to our Governor aforesaid upon the best means to be adopted — by legislative enactment or otherwise — for improving the condition of the said aboriginal in-habitants." They were given full power to summon and examine witnesses. In the letter accompanying the commission from the then Colonial Secretary, the following clause occurs: — "It is considered desirable that the commission should have, for the present at least, continuing powers; and that the attention of the commissioners should be given to the best means of reclaiming and bene ting the aborigines, not only at Mackay, but throughout the colony." The commission went to work. As a starting point there was in existence at Mackay a large reserve of 10,000 acres, on which Mr. Bridgman had persuaded the blacks of that district; to congregate — at least to make it their head quarters — and where he had succeeded in establishing a bene cial in uence over them. Working on this foundation, they recommended the establishment of a school on the Mackay Reserve, for which a grant of money was made by Parliament. Mr. Bridgman having induced the blacks to undertake a certain amount of work, substantial school buildings and quarters for the protector were erected at a total cost of £90. Mr. MacGroarty, who was sent in June, 1878, to report on the school by the Department of Public Instruction, found that about twenty three boys, of an average age of 9 or 10, had reached the standard of attainment of the two lowest classes in the primary schools. When it is remembered that they had to be taught the language in which instruction was conveyed to them, speaking only the usual "nigger English" when rst Title Text File Tools brought to school, this progress may be regarded as very satisfactory. The general plan of the reserve system was adapted to reclaiming the blacks gradually, and without too violent a change from their natural habits. They were induced to work a little, and gradually weaned from their purposeless shiftless tribal life. Produce was raised on the reserve by the labors of the blacks for their own use, and they were also allowed and encouraged to engage in contracts for the neighboring sugar planters. It was desired in the rst place to create a taste among them for a more settled and orderly life, so that a foundation might be laid for the inculcation of moral and religious sentiments. But the reserve was not a missionary establishment. With the young a di erent system was adopted. They were induced to attend school, with the results noticed above. Other reserves were formed. At Bribie a little group of the blacks of Moreton Bay were established and cared for under the supervision of Mr. Thomas Petrie. Near Bowen and Townsville other centres for instruction in the rudiments of civilisation were established under the supervision of local committees. In these places the experiment promised well, but it was not permitted to have much chance of success. The commission, seeing from the facts that had come under their observation that it was possible to ameliorate to a considerable extent the condition of the coast blacks, made recommendations to the Government involving the expenditure of an increased sum of money. In September, 1878, the Premier moved in committee a grant of £1600. The motion was rejected without division, and almost without discussion, the ground alleged, by those who spoke against it, for their opposition being that an expiring Parliament should not enter on what was practically a new undertaking. The commission were thus left without funds, and obliged to abandon their