The Aboriginal Volumes of the Dictionary of Western Australians

RECORDS OF THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM 79 068–074 (2011) SUPPLEMENT The Aboriginal volumes of The Dictionary of Western Australians Bob Reece Professor Emeritus in History, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia. Email: [email protected] KEYWORDS: Aboriginal biographies, Aboriginal history, archives Sylvia Hallam, together with her friend the late in the project have also been deposited in the Lois Tilbrook, made a major scholarly contribution Battye Library, together with the tape-recording of through her work on Aborigines of the Southwest interviews on which this paper is based. Region, 1829–1840, the first of four Aboriginal volumes in what later became the Bicentennial INTERVIEW WITH NEVILLE GREEN Dictionary of Western Australians series, which were initiated in the mid-1970s after a conversation In 1976 when I became a staff member of the with its general editor, Rica Erickson, and Dr Aboriginal Teacher Education Project (ATEP) at Mt Pamela Statham, editor of Volume 1 (Statham Lawley Teachers’ College (later Mt Lawley CAE) 1979). A sub-committee was subsequently formed there was considerable interest in the Aborigines to help complete the first volume and oversee of the South-West. I had completed Broken spears: Aborigines and Europeans in the southwest of Australia the production of two further volumes with (1984) and was working on Nyungar the people: funding assistance from the Australian Institute Aboriginal customs in the southwest of Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (1979). Lois Tilbrook was the anthropologist on the (AIATSIS) and a fourth volume was produced by ATEP team, developing the South-West Aboriginal Neville Green and Susan Aguiar with AIATSIS Studies (SWAS) programme with a substantial assistance. To the New Norcia volume, which grant from AIATSIS. Lois drew on a rich range was initiated by Lois Tilbrook and completed by of genealogical material, including photographs Neville Green, Sylvia also contributed an important and interviews with elders collected by Cherry analysis of the detailed Aboriginal census material Hayward, Kayleen Hayward, Clarrie Ugle and collected by Bishop Salvado (Hallam 1989). In what Liesha Kickett (now Eades), which she later used follows, Neville Green provides a brief account in her book Nyungar tradition: glimpses of Aborigines of the history of the Aboriginal volumes project of south-western Australia, 1829–1914 (Tilbrook and then both Sylvia Hallam and Neville Green 1987). Anna Haebich was Research Officer for talk about their modus operandi. Inevitably, there the programme, supervising and training the are some inconsistencies between recollections of Nyoongah research assistants. In 1981, with Lois, events for which records no longer exist, but this she produced an annotated South West Aboriginal is a minor issue in a timely and revealing account Studies Bibliography (Haebich and Tilbrook 1981) of what continues to be a unique Aboriginal and a touring exhibition of genealogical charts biographical undertaking. In addition to the four and photographs displayed at Mt Lawley, Albany, published volumes, the 31 unpublished annotated Narrogin and Bunbury. The charts were added to indexes of names extracted from specifi c primary and modifi ed over time by Nyoongah people who sources, such as The Perth Gazette and the Colonial were also tracing the history of their families. Lois Secretary’s Offi ce (CSO) fi les, now deposited with employed Toni Creed to extract Aboriginal-related AIATSIS and the Battye Library, constitute an material from Swan River Papers (despatches from invaluable set of research tools for a broad range of Governor Stirling to the Colonial Offi ce) and from studies in Aboriginal history in Western Australia, the Colonial Secretary’s correspondence during the 1829–1892. Some of the card indexes produced fi rst few years of settlement. THE DICTIONARY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIANS 69 Rica Erickson, who was then editing a major had a deadline to publish three volumes in 1988. biographical project documenting immigration Four Aboriginal biographical dictionary volumes to Western Australia in the 19th century as part were subsequently published by University of of the commemoration of the sesquicentenary of Western Australia Press as part of the Bicentennial European settlement (1829–1979), was concerned at Dictionary of Western Australians series: Aborigines the dearth of ‘ethnic’ and Aboriginal representation of the Southwest Region 1829–1840 (1989), compiled in the work in progress. Anne Atkinson was and edited by Hallam and Tilbrook, The Aborigines subsequently commissioned to edit a volume on of the Albany Region 1821–1898 (1989), compiled Asian immigrants and Lois was approached by by myself, and The Aborigines of New Norcia Rica to gather up some Aboriginal names for the 1845–1914 (1989) compiled by Tilbrook and myself. main volumes. Rica also asked me if I could fi nd Independent research of the fi les of the police and names other than Anglo-Celtic ones to add to the prisons departments as well as the Aborigines ‘Golden’ volume (1890s–1914) that she was working Department supplemented the original research for on at the time. Out of all this came the idea of an the fi nal volume, Far From Home: Aboriginal Prisoners Aboriginal biographical series. of Rottnest Island 1838–1931 (1993), compiled by Rica, Sylvia Hallam, Ken Colbung, Bob Reece, myself and Susan Moon. Unpublished volumes of Lois Tilbrook and I formed an Aboriginal names and sources for the Murchison, Pilbara and dictionary sub-committee to recruit and supervise Kimberley, compiled again by myself and Susan the research assistants. We made a successful Moon, were deposited with AIATSIS and the Battye application for AIATSIS funding for 1981–1982 to Library. support the research. The researchers were mostly In the fi rst instance, the paid research assistants History and Anthropology students from Murdoch sifted through fi les and when the AIATSIS grant University and the University of Western Australia, was not renewed after 1984 the task was continued guided by Lois and myself. The initial aim had by volunteer student researchers from Edith been to complete a South-West volume covering Cowan University as well as Murdoch University the fi rst decade, but as the research progressed and the University of Western Australia. The it became apparent that the archival sources had researchers included Lisa Smith, Jean Boladeras, been underestimated and that there was scope for Carolyn McKay, Linley Chandler, Carol West, Sarah additional volumes. Godden, Mary-Anne Jebb, Milada Zlatnik, Suzanne Later members of the committee were Anna Charteris, Rosemary Combs, Wendy Craig, Haebich, Jennifer Sabioni and Harry Taylor, while I Suzanne Hutchinson, David Moore, Annette Oates, continued to act as chair. Tilbrook, Hallam, Haebich Delys Parker, Andrew and Janette Thompson, Fiona and I made a further successful application to Watson, Susan Hunt, Rita Zuks, Katie Ward, Lynda AIATSIS for funding in 1982. This was exhausted Strawbridge, Fiona Callaghan, Alison Klauss and by 1984 but volunteers continued to work until Leonie Biggins (Stella). Mary Green and Andrea 1989. During that time, they examined the fi les of Green researched issues of the Police Gazette. the CSO for the years 1829 to 1887 and the major Typing up the carded information was the work Western Australian newspapers, 1833–1889. At that of Cynthia Munday, Janice Bryant, Isobel Stanners, stage in the history of what is now the State Record Jean Riley, Tricia Muir and Susan Moon and Offi ce of Western Australia (SROWA), the indexing others who contributed were Joyce Oakley, Wendy and cataloguing of records was incomplete and Aamodt, and Bonnie Hicks. Signifi cantly, a number the CSO letters received and reports from Resident of the research assistants went on to distinguish Magistrates and the Police Department were in themselves in honours and postgraduate work in numbered boxes. The research assistants worked Aboriginal history and archaeology. Lois Tilbrook through these boxes, examining each document and Anna Haebich both completed PhDs with and creating separate cards for each Aboriginal South-West themes and Sylvia published several name and a brief explanation of the context. Lois excellent articles about the Aboriginal men and arranged for the information on the cards to be women of Perth in the foundation years (see typed initially by Mt Lawley ATEP into what were bibliography, this volume, for a full listing). eventually to be 31 bound volumes (see Appendix). Those engaged in the project shared the belief Additional funding from AIATSIS obtained by me that work of this nature would contribute to a better in 1990 enabled my daughter, Susan Moon (now understanding of the role of Aboriginal people in Aguiar), to collate and type into three volumes the history of Western Australia. The published all the previously unpublished names contained volumes have subsequently proved to be a starting in these 31 volumes (Green and Moon 1993?, 1993, point for indigenous people engaged in family 1997). history as well as for historians and anthropologists The funding for the publication came from the undertaking Native Title research. The Rottnest Australian Bicentennial Authority, which meant we Island volume has also proved to be invaluable in 70 BOB REECE the reconciliation programme for the island. remember that the Dictionary had separate lists for ‘Bond’ and ‘Free’ [Erickson 1979a, 1979b]). ‘No, we INTERVIEW WITH SYLVIA HALLAM can’t list Aborigines along with Europeans’. ‘You should have Aborigines included’. ‘Ok, then. You Reece: Do you recall the circumstances of getting do it!’ So we were cozened into doing it and then a involved in the biographical project? committee was formed with Rica as chairwoman Hallam: Lois [Tilbrook] and I had both been and Bob Reece, Neville Green (Ken Colbung was working on lists of Aborigines at [the time of] suggested as a member but I’m not sure he ever contact without knowing that the other was doing came), Lois and myself (Anna Haebich came on to it.

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