Digitised by AIATSIS Library 2008 - www.aiatsis.gov.au/library Annual Report of the Chief Protector of Aborigines. The Honourable the Chief Secretary. In compliance with Section 64 (6) of "The out the State as at 30th June last. Summarised, the Aborigines Act, 1905," I beg to submit herewith my position is said to be as follows:— Report on the condition and welfare of the aborigines 30th June, 30th June, and the transactions of the Department throughout 1935. 1936. Full-bloods 12,197 12,036 the State for the year ended 30th June, 1936. Half-castes deemed to be aborigines ... 3,422 3,690 The condition of the natives from a health point Half-castes not deemed of view cannot fail to be undergoing improvement in to be aborigines ... 823 583 4,245 4,273 view of the active measures now being taken to ascer­ Aborigines outside the tain the incidence of sickness and the facilities influence of civilisa­ afforded for its treatment, reference to which will tion ... 10,000 10,000 appear later in this Report. 26,442 26,309 The same cannot be said, I fear, in regard to the The foregoing shows that there has been a decrease means available to enable the native people to secure of 133 in the numbers as compared with the previous sustenance, since the drought conditions have seriously year. A decrease of 161 amongst the full-bloods is affected employment and depleted the supply of set-off by an increase of 28 in the half-castes. Of the native game. The returns show that indigence has 98 stations reporting, 33 show decreases and 65 indi­ increased while employment decreased, but they do cate that the position is normal or that there are not indicate the extent to which this became apparent slight increases. towards the end of the year, by which time a consider­ able number of natives had been paid off the pastoral I confess that the figures supplied do not appear properties pending the breaking of the drought. to me to be very conclusive, mainly because the in­ crease amongst the half-castes is, in my view, less From time to time the question of the ultimate fate than the normal increase over a period of years. The of the aborigines is discussed and the theory is some­ explanation, I think, lies in the fact that towards the end of the year there was considerable movement times postulated that our coloured people must amongst the people, particularly in the Eastern sec­ eventually merge into the white race. Various authori­ tion of the Southern part of the State where large ties support this view, which I share, but it is some­ tribal gatherings had been arranged, with the result times asked "Who would marry one of these coloured that many of these people, being missing from their people?" I have had occasion to make a cursory ex­ districts, were not at the time included in the returns. amination of the position in this regard and, without pretending that the figures are at all complete, it is Dividing the State into three sections for the pur­ within my knowledge that in this State there are at pose of comparison, it will be found that there were least 70 white men legally married to half-caste or 6,190 natives in the Kimberleys, 4,640 in the North- aboriginal wives, there being 60 of the former and 10 West and Murchison, and 5,479 on the Goldfields and of the latter, while the children of these unions num­ in the South-West, including South coastal districts. The figures quoted in this paragraph are exclusive of ber at least 209. In one or two cases we are aware those natives outside the confines of civilisation still that the marriages have resulted disastrously but that estimated to be in the region of 10,000. appears to be the exception rather than the rule and I am told that the half-caste girls make good wives. RESERVES. The total acreage embraced in reserves for aborigines was increased during the year by POPULATION. 1,064,628 acres to 24,722,099 acres. All of the re­ The statement at pages 20 and 21 supplies details serves included in this increase have not yet been of the distribution of the native population through­ declared under the Aborigines Act. Digitised by AIATSIS Library 2008 - www.aiatsis.gov.au/library 4 In July, 1935, a request was received from Pro- never been declared a reserve for aborigines, and lessor Cleland, Chairman of the Anthropological there is another reserve known as Karamara, situated Board, University of Adelaide, for permission for a five miles to the west of Moora, which in many re­ scieutific party to enter Reserve 17614 in the spects is considered the more suitable as a camp­ vicinity of the Warburton Ranges, which party I was ing ground for natives not immediately in employ­ invited to accompany but owing to pressure of busi­ ment. The views of the Moora Road Board and the ness was unable to do so. The usual bond was entered Department regarding the use of Walebing reserve into and permission given accordingly. Subsequently as a camping ground for natives do not coincide, I received a visit from Dr. Hackett who accompanied while many varying opinions have been expressed by the expedition and he was able to supply me with settlers. From a departmental point of view it is some useful information respecting the condition of quite clear that unless conditions improve in the very the natives met with on the Reserve, from which it near future, in the interests of the natives themselves, appeared that the health of these people was generally it will become imperative to prevent them occupying fairly good. The Doctor had expected to find cases this area. This end can be effected by declaring it a of Framboesia (Yaws) and took with him certain prohibited area in accordance with Section 39 of the drugs in case he should be in a position to administer Aborigines Act. An additional reason for such action any treatment. Fortunately he found but little evi- lies in the fact that there is no permanent water dence of the existence of this disease, though he supply on this area, and natives are obliged to get nevertheless seemed to think that it might be preva­ water from neighbouring properties, and their pre­ lent amongst these people. The Doctor had with him sence for this purpose is not always welcomed. On an extraordinarily interesting series of photographs, the contrary, at Karamara reserve there is an ample taken during the expedition. supply of good water available. The Rev. Dr. H. Nekes, a German anthropologist An area situated within a radius of fifteen miles visiting this State under the auspices of Bishop of the centre of the township of Bamboo Creek, Raible of Broome, was accorded permission to enter Marble Bar district, was declared a prohibited area native reserves to pursue his scientific investigations. on the 22nd day of August, 1935. This action was taken to prevent the natives, quite numerous in this Miss Phyllis Kaberry, M.A., working under the district, from congregating in and about this mining auspices of the. Anthropological Committee of the centre where conditions in respect to association be­ National Research Council, with the concurrence of tween natives and whites were fast becoming diffi­ the Department, continued her investigations in the cult. Kimberleys during the year. RELIEF. The boundaries of Reserve 13873, Marndoc, near The total number of natives receiving rations Wyndham, within which lies the lease held by the throughout the State at the 30th June last was 2,776, Forrest River Mission, were amended to include an being an increase of 119 in excess of the number area of 200,000 acres, formerly known as Nulla Nulla being supplied at the 30th June in the previous Station, while another area lying along the King year. The monthly average throughout (vide state­ River, which also formed portion of the Nulla Nulla ment at pages 22 and 23) was 1,954, indicating a leases, totalling 214,550 acres was declared a reserve decrease of 17. The figures show that towards the for aborigines, No. 21422. The future disposition of end of the year indigence increased. It is quite clear these reserves depends upon the result of negotiations that during the later months of the year, as the re­ now pending with the Anglican Church authorities sult of drought conditions many employees were respecting the proposed transfer of Forrest River forced, temporarily, at all events, to leave their places Mission to a new site. of employment, and some of them naturally appealed to the Department for help, but others were provided In May last a reserve of 32 acres at Wyndham for to some extent by their employers. was gazetted as a site for the new native hospital. Later the boundaries of this reserve were amended so There was a definite increase in the cost of rations, that the area might be increased to about 92 acres. involving the Department in the additional expendi­ ture of £1,240 l1s. 2d. Possibly for similar reasons PROHIBITED AREAS. the numbers maintained by missions decreased from Consequent upon the re-organisation of the Kar- 729 the previous year to 664 in the year under re­ onie Feeding Depot by the appointment of an officer- view, a difference of 65. in-charge, it was decided to declare the towns of Blankets available for distribution totalled 2,258, Kalgoorlie and Boulder prohibited areas for aborig­ an increase of 165 over the previous year.