South West Aboriginal Studies Bibliography : with Annotations and Appendices

Edith Cowan University Research Online ECU Publications Pre. 2011 1981 South West Aboriginal studies bibliography : with annotations and appendices Anna Haebich Lois Tilbrook Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks Part of the Education Commons, and the History Commons Haebich, A., & Tilbrook, L. (1981). South west Aboriginal studies bibliography : with annotations and appendices. Mount Lawley, Australia: Mount Lawley College. This Book is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ecuworks/7004 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. Where the reproduction of such material is done without attribution of authorship, with false attribution of authorship or the authorship is treated in a derogatory manner, this may be a breach of the author’s moral rights contained in Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Courts have the power to impose a wide range of civil and criminal sanctions for infringement of copyright, infringement of moral rights and other offences under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. South West Aboriginal Studies Bibliography. By Anna Haebich and Lois Tilbrook. Published by Mount Lawley College 1981. ABORIGINAL E ED ducatr. on UCA Dept.TIO ot NW BAR ANCH i, 151 Ro� I St. EAST PERTH :t.�!:.-.... �.. • hone 420 4.11 1 6000 305. 899 15 HAE Cover: Annie Stokes (nee Newell) and Tommy Buddah, 1930's approximately. {SWAS collection) SOUTH WEST ABORIGINAL STUDIES BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH ANNOTATIONS AND APPENDICES BY ANNA HAEBICH AND LOIS TILBROOK . ,· ' © 1980: MOUNT LAWLEY COLLEGE The material in this book may not be reproduced in any form for commercial purposes, but normal copyright restrictions uhave been lifted for individual stdy . purposes. ISBN O 908008 09 0 (ii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This bibliography was prepared as an undertaking of the South West Aboriginal Studies Project, of the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program, Mount Lawley College, with financial support from the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. We would like to express our gratitude for the assistance given by the staff of Battye Library of Western Australian History throughout the en tire South West Aboriginal Studies project. Special thanks to Kathy Gillespie and Marge Cooke for typing this manuscript. (iii) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (ii) INTRODUCTION 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONSAND NOTES ON LOCATIONS 6 SECTION 1 - SELECTED ANDANNO TATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 9 SECTION 2 - APPENDICES 72 Appendix! : Reoords of the Administration of AboriginalMatters in Western Australia 1832-1979 (with reference to the South West of Western Australia). 73 Appendix II : Royal Conunission and Enquiries relating to AboriginalMatters 82 Appendix III : Gazettes 85 Appendix IV : Records of the Colonial Secretary's Department, Western Australia: 1828-1900. 86 Appendix V: Historical Records of Australia 87 Appendix VI : Parliamentary Papers 87 Appendix VII : Statistical Material Relating to Western Australia 1834 - 91 Appendix VIII Statutes : 1832 - 91 Appendix IX : Records of various Departments Involved in Areas Relating to Aboriginal Affairs 92 Appendix X: Newspapers 93 Appendix XI : Letters and Diaries of Early Settlers; Autobiographies and Biographies, Historical Accounts of Particular Districts and Towns a�d Photographs 94 �other and Daughter, wearing traditional skin cloaks fastened with a kangaroo bone pin, New Norcia, 1867. In the background are two girls from the Mission, wearing European-style dress. (New Norcia collection and SWAS collection) INTRODUCTION Aborigines of the South West The south west of Western Australia was the first region of the state to experience the impact of European settlement, when the Swan River Colony was founded in 1829. Yet the Aborigines of this unique area have remained largely obscured in its history for almost a full 150 years. This is ironical, as their counterparts of the Pilbara, Goldfields and Kimberleys, feature prominently in literature, and have captured the imagination of artists, writers and academic researchers alike. There are several reasons for the neglect of the original inhabi tants of the south west by observers of the day, and later by other scholars. Firstly, the number of Aborigines declined dramatically under the impact of European encroachment. Never very numerous, they achieved a population density no greater than one person to four square miles (Radcliffe-Brown 1930; Hallam 1977). In some centres in the early days of European settlement, this ratio may have increased. Aborigines became attracted to settled areas as they were made dependent on grain rations, with the usurpation of their own lands by the newcomers. Governor James Stirling estimated one person per square mile in ·· the·· 'settled' districts in 1832 (Swan River Papers 9/36-39). This trend towards a more concentrated population was shortlived, with disease the major cause of a serious population decline which convinced the Europeans that the Aborigines were 'dying out'. Social disruption caused by the clash of two cultures, with Aborigines the losers in the interchange, accelerated this process and added weight to the view that soon there would be no more Aborigines in the region. European contact in the south west was so intensive and rapid that in the short timespan of approximately 50 years, much of the traditional Aboriginal. life style had given way. This trend was hastened by the ever increasing number of people of mixed Aboriginal and European descent, as the original Aboriginal population shrunk proportionately. It seemed to many observers that there was little remaining that was identifiably 'Aboriginal', even at this early date. Secondly, a general failure to realise that Aboriginal culture could have anything to offer their society, influenced the perceptions of the early European settlers. They did not appreciate the knowledge that underpinned Aboriginal existence, and lay beneath the simplified material culture. Aboriginal tools were little valued, and the intimate understanding of the environment which was implied in their design and use, was disregarded or not understood. A few individuals realised the importance of salvqging the material vestiges of pre-European life in the south west, and others collect ed items as curios. However, this aspect of Aboriginal culture was neglected for the most part. In turn, this reinforced the impression of a dearth of cultural material in the region. -2- Third, when awareness of the Aboriginal presence in Australia became general, remote 3.nd exotic communities became the centres of attention and the south west tended to be passed over as having little appeal to popular imagination. Indeed, by the end of the nineteenth century, few traces of traditional lifestyle and material culture remained as indica tors of the rich culture of pre-European times. This was in sharp contrast to the visual excitement of the Kimberleys, with its dramatic art forms and ceremony, and to the Western Desert region which had the fascination of a harsh, arid environment. Historically, European settlement of these remote areas took place later than in the south west. Also, the spread of European influences was at a much slower rate and some places remained virtually untouched. The Aboriginal communities in these regions frequently came to epitomise the unfortunate social consequences of this expansion. Traditional life styles persisted, modified by the contingencies and restrictions inherent in the culture contact situation, and now provided a contemporary illustrati of dispossession. This was dwelt on by the medi�, often to the neglect of more positive aspects of Aboriginal life in these areas. The problems being experienced by the Aboriginal sector of the south west population, together with the positivecontributions of many individuals, lacked the colour and flavour of other parts of the country. Once again, the south west tended to be overlooked. Interest in the South West Since the earliest days of European settlement of the south west there has always been an active body of scholarly interest in the Aborigines of the region. This has been parallelled by journalistic interest, sporadic at times, and on occasion given over more to imagination than the reporting_of known facts. The Perth Gazette, the earliest paper in the Swan River Colony, published letters from explorers and observers containing much information about Aborigines, as well as regularly devoting column space to Aboriginal topics deemed newsworthy. This newspaper was the antecedent of the current West Australian, which continues the traditional interest in Aboriginal news items. Sir George Grey published his observations in 184 1 and G. F. Moore's diaries were published 43years later in 1884 , although several of his letters appeared in other sources before that date (including the Perth Gazette). Both of these writers observed Aboriginal life in the Swan River Colony in the

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