Edward M. Curr and the Tide of History Samuel Furphy Edward M. Curr and the Tide of History Samuel Furphy Published by ANU E Press The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200, Australia Email: [email protected] This title is also available online at http://epress.anu.edu.au National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Furphy, Samuel. Title: Edward M. Curr and the tide of history / Samuel Furphy. ISBN: 9781922144706 (pbk.) 9781922144713 (ebook) Series: Aboriginal history monograph ; no. 26. Notes: Includes bibliographical references. Subjects: Curr, Edward M. (Edward Micklethwaite), 1820-1889 Authors, Australian--Biography. Frontier and pioneer life--Victoria Aboriginal Australians--Land tenure. Native title (Australia) Yorta Yorta (Australian people) Dewey Number: 994.54 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 images: Map of the Runs of the late Edward Curr, of St Heliers, from Edward M. Curr, 1883, Recollections of Squatting in Victoria (Melbourne: G. Robertson); Edward M. Curr (c.1880), photograph courtesy of Ian G. Curr; Edward M. Curr’s Map of Bangerang territory, from Edward M. Curr, 1886, The Australian Race (Melbourne: John Ferres, Govt. Printer), vol III, 566. Aboriginal History 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 RSSS 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. The Committee of Management and the Editorial Board Peter Read (Chair), Rani Kerin (Monographs Editor), Maria Nugent and Shino Konishi (Journal Editors), Robert Paton (Treasurer and Public Officer), Ann McGrath (Deputy Chair), Isabel McBryde, Niel Gunson, Luise Hercus, Harold Koch, Tikka Wilson, Geoff Gray, Dave Johnson, Ingereth Macfarlane, Brian Egloff, Lorena Kanellopoulos, Richard Baker, Peter Radoll. WARNING: Readers are notified that this publication may contain names or images of deceased persons. Contacting Aboriginal History All correspondence should be addressed to the Editors, Aboriginal History, ACIH, School of History, RSSS, Coombs Building (9) ANU, ACT, 0200, or [email protected]. Sales and orders for journals and monographs, and journal subscriptions: Thelma Sims, email: [email protected], tel or fax: +61 2 6125 3269, www.aboriginalhistory.org Printed by Griffin Press This edition © 2013 ANU E Press Contents Illustrations . vii Acknowledgments . ix Prologue: ‘Claim sunk by pen of a swordsman’ . xi 1. From Sheffield to Van Diemen’s Land . 1 2 . ‘Troubles of a Beginner’ . 23 3 . ‘A Station Formed at Tongala’ . 37 4 . Claiming the Moira . 57 5. Decline and Fall . 75 6 . Rebuilding a Reputation . 93 7 . Recollections of Squatting . 109 8 . ‘The native is a child’ . 127 9 . The Australian Race . 145 10 . Ethnographic Rivalries . 157 11 . ‘My sable neighbours’ . 173 12 . The Tide of History . 185 Epilogue: ‘The Ghost of Edward Curr’ . 201 Bibliography . 207 Index . 223 v Illustrations Figure 1: Edward M. Curr. Engraving. State Library of Victoria, xii H15062. Figure 2: John Curr’s rails and corves. John Curr, 1797, The Coal 2 Viewer and Engine Builder’s Practical Companion (Sheffield: John Northall). Gale, Cengage Learning, The Making of the Modern World, 2012. Figure 3: Van Diemen’s Land Company’s establishment at Circular 8 Head. John Arrowsmith. Lithograph. James Bischoff, 1832,Sketch of the History of Van Diemen’s Land (London: J. Richardson). Australian National Maritime Museum, 00048295. Figure 4: Van Diemen’s Land. Map by Peter Johnson. 9 Figure 5: Elizabeth Curr (c.1850). Photograph courtesy of Ian G. Curr. 14 Figure 6: Highfield, Circular Head. William Purser. Watercolour. 21 National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an4911681. Figure 7: Port Phillip District. Map by Peter Johnson. 33 Figure 8: Edward M. Curr’s Map of Bangerang territory. Edward M. 38 Curr, 1886, The Australian Race (Melbourne: John Ferres, Govt. Printer), vol III, 566. Figure 9: Map of the Runs of the Late Edward Curr, of St Heliers. 42 Edward M. Curr, 1883, Recollections of Squatting in Victoria (Melbourne: G. Robertson). Figure 10: Aboriginal Fishing Camp on the River Murray, Near Lake 59 Moira (1872). Samuel Calvert. Engraving. State Library of Victoria, IAN21/05/72/117. Figure 11: Warrie. William Thomas [?]. Sketch. State Library of 69 Victoria, R. Brough Smyth papers, MS 8781 Box 1176/7(a). Figure 12: Edward M. Curr’s Mediterranean tour. Map by 78 Peter Johnson. Figure 13: New Zealand. Map by Peter Johnson. 84 Figure 14: Eastern Australia. Map by Peter Johnson. 90 Figure 15: E.M. Curr (1872). Thomas Foster Chuck. Photograph. 104 State Library of Victoria, H5056/235. Figure 16: Edward M. Curr. Painting. Edward M. Curr, 1965, 123 Recollections of Squatting in Victoria, edited by Harley W. Forster. Abridged (Carlton, Vic.: Melbourne University Press). Figure 17: The Aboriginal Settlement at Coranderrk (1865). 128 Charles Walter. Engraving. State Library of Victoria, H4082. vii Edward M . Curr and the Tide of History Figure 18: Mr. John Green (1865). Charles Walter. Engraving. 129 State Library of Victoria, IAN25/08/65/13. Figure 19: Albert Le Souëf (1872). Thomas Foster Chuck. 130 Photograph. State Library of Victoria, H5056/567. Figure 20: William Barak (1876). Photograph. National Archives of 135 Australia, A1200, L22062. Figure 21: General view of Aboriginal Mission Station, Coranderrk 138 (1880). Fred Kruger. Photograph. State Library of Victoria, H2006.123/9. Figure 22: Extract from a vocabulary of the Kamilaroi, Leichardt 146 River, supplied by Montagu Curr. Edward M. Curr, 1886, The Australian Race (Melbourne: John Ferres, Govt. Printer), vol. II, 320. Figure 23: Title Page of The Australian Race signed by Edward M. 150 Curr. Menzies Library, The Australian National University. Figure 24: R. Brough Smyth (c.1880). George Gordon McCrae. 158 Drawing. National Library of Australia, nla.pic-an6312205. Figure 25: R. Brough Smyth’s ‘fish-hook’. Edward M. Curr, 1886, 159 The Australian Race (Melbourne: John Ferres, Govt. Printer), vol I, 146-47. Figure 26: James Dawson (1892). Johnstone, O’Shannessy & Co. 161 Photograph. State Library of Victoria, H2998/84. Figure 27: A.W. Howitt (1895). Johnstone, O’Shannessy & Co. 167 Photograph. State Library of Victoria, IAN01/08/95/4. Figure 28: Edward M. Curr (c.1880). Photograph courtesy of 202 Ian G. Curr. viii Acknowledgments This book began its life as a doctoral thesis in the School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne. I was extremely fortunate to be supervised by Patricia Grimshaw; her dedication to mentoring is renowned and her support, advice and encouragement were crucially important. My two associate supervisors – the late David Philips, and Ann Genovese from the Faculty of Law – also deserve particular thanks. I am indebted to the many other staff members and fellow students who helped shape the project with their comments and support, including Joanna Cruickshank, Fiona Davis, Penny Edmonds, Julie Evans, Don Garden, Felicity Jensz, Rob McArthur, Claire McClisky, Erica Millar, Marg Stephens, Shurlee Swain, Patrick Wolfe and Bart Ziino. My more recent colleagues in the School of History, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, provided a highly stimulating intellectual environment that helped me transform my thesis into a book. The school is home to both the National Centre of Biography and the Australian Centre for Indigenous History, both leading centres in disciplines so closely associated with my topic. Particular thanks must go to Nicholas Brown, Karen Fox, Paul Irish, Rani Kerin, Shino Konishi, Ann McGrath, Melanie Nolan, Maria Nugent and Martin Thomas. I received valuable assistance from the staff of numerous research libraries, including the State Library of Victoria, the State Library of New South Wales, the National Library of Australia, the British Library, the Baillieu Library, and the ANU Library. I also owe a debt to the Public Record Office of Victoria, the National Archives of Australia, the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, and the National Archives of the UK. I thank warmly Wayne Atkinson, a Yorta Yorta elder, and playwright Andrea James, both of whom generously offered their views on the significance of Edward Curr to their people. I was also privileged to meet several of Curr’s descendants, who shared their thoughts and their family archive, including Pamela Curr, Ian and Elinor Curr, and Andrew and Belinda Curr. To the board of Aboriginal History, and in particular to the monographs editor Rani Kerin, I offer my sincere thanks for recognising the value of my work and agreeing to publish it. Thank you also to the reviewers of my manuscript, Ann Curthoys and Russell McGregor, whose insightful comments were crucial to the completion of the book. Rebecca Bennett and Erica Millar did a wonderful job proofreading my thesis, and I thank Geoff Hunt for his thorough work on the book manuscript. For ix Edward M . Curr and the Tide of History assistance with images I am indebted to the various institutions acknowledged in the text, to Christine Fernon and Maxim Korolev, and to Peter Johnson, who designed the maps. For cover design and production I am grateful to the staff of ANU E Press, particularly Lorena Kanellopoulos and Duncan Beard. Publication of this book was also supported by a subsidy from The Australian National University. My family and friends have been unerringly supportive of this project over a long period, particularly my parents, Cate and Clem Furphy, but none more so than my wife, Rebecca, to whom I offer my most profound thanks.