Settler Colonial Governance in Nineteenth-Century Aboriginal Incorporated Aboriginal History Inc. is a part of the Australian Centre for Indigenous History, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, and gratefully acknowledges the support of the School of History and the National Centre for Indigenous Studies, The Australian National University. Aboriginal History Inc. is administered by an Editorial Board which is responsible for all unsigned material. Views and opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily shared by Board members.

Contacting Aboriginal History All correspondence should be addressed to the Editors, Aboriginal History Inc., ACIH, School of History, RSSS, 9 Fellows Road (Coombs Building), Acton, ANU, 2601, or [email protected].

WARNING: Readers are notified that this publication may contain names or images of deceased persons. Settler Colonial Governance in Nineteenth-Century Victoria

Edited by Leigh Boucher and Lynette Russell Published by ANU Press and Aboriginal History Inc. The Australian National University Acton ACT 2601, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at http://press.anu.edu.au

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Title: Settler colonial governance in nineteenth century Victoria / Leigh Boucher and Lynette Russell (editors).

ISBN: 9781925022346 (paperback) 9781925022353 (ebook)

Subjects: --Victoria--Government relations--History Aboriginal Australians--Government policy--Victoria--History Aboriginal Australians, Treatment of--Victoria--History. Victoria--Politics and government--19th century.

Other Creators/Contributors: Boucher, Leigh, 1979-, editor. Russell, Lynette, editor.

Dewey Number: 994.0049915

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design by Ivo Lovric and layout by ANU Press

Printed by Griffin Press

This edition © 2015 ANU Press and Aboriginal History Inc. Contents

Maps and Illustrations...... vii Acknowledgements...... ix

Introduction: Colonial history, postcolonial theory and the ‘Aboriginal problem’ in colonial Victoria ...... 1 Leigh Boucher and Lynette Russell 1 . ‘Tickpen’, ‘Boro Boro’: Aboriginal economic engagements in early ...... 27 Lynette Russell 2 . ‘Thus have been preserved numerous interesting facts that would otherwise have been lost’: Colonisation, protection and William Thomas’s contribution to The Aborigines of Victoria. . 47 Rachel Standfield 3 . The 1869 Aborigines Protection Act: Vernacular and the governance of Aboriginal subjects . . . . 63 Leigh Boucher 4 . ‘They formed a little family as it were’: The Board for the Protection of Aborigines (1875–1883) . . . 95 Samuel Furphy 5 . Managing mission life, 1869–1886...... 117 Claire McLisky (with Lynette Russell and Leigh Boucher) 6 . Photography, authenticity and Victoria’s Aborigines Protection Act (1886) ...... 139 Jane Lydon 7 . Women, authority and power on Ramahyuck Mission, Victoria, 1880–1910...... 165 Joanna Cruickshank and Patricia Grimshaw 8 . How different was Victoria? Aboriginal ‘protection’ in a comparative context ...... 183 Jessie Mitchell and Ann Curthoys 9 . The ‘Minutes of Evidence’ project: Creating collaborative fields of engagement with the past, present and future. . . 203 Jennifer Balint, Julie Evans, Nesam McMillan, Giordano Nanni and Melodie Reynolds-Diarra