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| employees_stores [2025/11/18 17:33] – [Chinese/Indian Indentured Labourers] judith | employees_stores [2026/01/25 10:28] (current) – [Employees at Bugrooperia Station 1848-1849] judith |
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| Ezra married Mary Ann Langdon in England in 1857 on her 21st birthday. They emigrated to Morton Bay,arriving 16 February 1858. Ezra worked on Maroon when it was owned by James Collins. One of their children, Jain Harvey, was reputedly the first white child born on Maroon. In 1870, Eliza was one of the first selectors of blocks carved from //Maroon// with he, Mary Ann and their children living in a slab hut with an earthen floor. Between 1858-78, they had 11 children, three of whom died in childhood. Mary Ann died on 10 February 1884 from heat exhaustion after she and Ezra had ridden from Maroon to Tamrookum Creek to visit her brother george Langdon and his family who were newly arrived emigrants.(( Information from display at The Rathdowney Visitor Information Centre and Historical Museum, April 2025; Harvey Family re-union. From England to Australia (Booklet) 1984, courtesy Ross Drynan.)) | Ezra married Mary Ann Langdon in England in 1857 on her 21st birthday. They emigrated to Morton Bay,arriving 16 February 1858. Ezra worked on Maroon when it was owned by James Collins. One of their children, Jain Harvey, was reputedly the first white child born on Maroon. In 1870, Eliza was one of the first selectors of blocks carved from //Maroon// with he, Mary Ann and their children living in a slab hut with an earthen floor. Between 1858-78, they had 11 children, three of whom died in childhood. Mary Ann died on 10 February 1884 from heat exhaustion after she and Ezra had ridden from Maroon to Tamrookum Creek to visit her brother george Langdon and his family who were newly arrived emigrants.(( Information from display at The Rathdowney Visitor Information Centre and Historical Museum, April 2025; Harvey Family re-union. From England to Australia (Booklet) 1984, courtesy Ross Drynan.)) |
| ===== Indigenous workers ===== | ===== Indigenous workers ===== |
| {{:ml_undated.jpg?300|}} This photo of a group of Aboriginal men (stockmen?) in the Murray-Prior papers (ML PXB661) has no attached information. It is a reminder of the huge gaps in our knowledge about the past, not the least from the Aboriginal viewpoint. The photo, faded and damaged as it is, gives context to TLM-P's criticism of depictions of 'Australians' and other indigenous groups at the [[wp>The_Crystal_Palace|Crystal Palace]] in England in 1882. He thought they were presented as 'miserable looking specimens' and 'very unlike those [Aboriginal people] I have seen'.((TLM-P, Diary, 29 June 1882, ML.)) One of the few references to Indigenous workers by TLM-P is in a later reminiscence for his daughter Rosa, when he recalled that one of his workers at //Bromelton// was an indigenous 'boy' he called Charlie, who stayed with him for years.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no.8, p.98 citing Rosa Praed papers, Box 3, 8370, packet 3/1/1/.)) When dictating these reminiscences for Rosa, he showed a degree of familiarity with, and respect for, Indigenous Australians by including some translations and notes regarding Indigenous language and the comment that, in his experience, Aboriginal Australians with exposure to white culture made good companions.((Andrew Darbyshire, A Fair Slice of St Lucia. Thomas Lodge Murray-Prior, St Lucia History Group research paper no. 8, p.98 citing Rosa Praed papers, Box 3, 8370, packet 3/1/1/.)) This is not to suggest, however, that he or any of his compatriots rose above his culture's assumption of the superiority of British people.\\ | {{:ml_undated.jpg?300|}} This photo of a group of Aboriginal men (stockmen?) in the Murray-Prior papers (ML PXB661) has no attached information. It is a reminder of the huge gaps in our knowledge about the past, not the least from the Aboriginal viewpoint. The photo, faded and damaged as it is, gives context to TLM-P's criticism of depictions of 'Australians' and other indigenous groups at the [[wp>The_Crystal_Palace|Crystal Palace]] in England in 1882. He thought they were presented as 'miserable looking specimens' and 'very unlike those [Aboriginal people] I have seen'.((TLM-P, Diary, 29 June 1882, ML.)) \\ |
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| | One of the few references to Indigenous workers by TLM-P is in a later reminiscence for his daughter Rosa Praed to use in her books. TLM-P gave examples of pidgin and Indigenous speech, and depiction his Indigenous workers as people with acute powers of sight and observation, a talent for mimicry, and a deep-seated sense of humour. He recalled one boy who he called 'Johnny' who rode with him to inspect the land after he had bought Hawkwood. He recalled that one of his Indigenous workers at //Bromelton// was one he called 'Charlie'. 'Charlie' had been a potential outcast due to strict Indigenous marriage laws: he had married 'Sallie' despite it being forbidden for him to marry into her tribal group. TLM-P said he persuaded the tribe to accept the transgression, and that Charlie (perhaps largely exiled from his extended family) stayed with him 'for years'. Charlie was either forgiven or eventually allowed back into tribal life. Like many Indigenous workers, he juggled seasonal obligations as a station worker with traditional obligations. 'Charlie' told TLM-P he had been ordered to attend a corroboree and that he 'must go'. He did, but got sick and died. TLM-P later learnt that Charlie had tried to send a message to TLM-P asking him to take a dray to collect him and ensure he would not die. 'Poor Charlie - had I got the message I should certainly have gone'. This is not to suggest, however, that he or any of his compatriots rose above his culture's assumption of the superiority of British people and one incident he described frightening Charlie for allowing a one remaining good horse to be 'broken down' by pretending he would hang and kill him - hardly a prank given how easily he could do so without legal consequences.((Rosa Praed papers, 8370/Box 3, packet 3/1/1/.)) TLM-P commented that, in his experience, Aboriginal Australians with exposure to white culture made good companions.(( Rosa Praed papers, Box 3, 8370, packet 3/1/1/.))\\ |
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| The ledger books that have survived from TLM-P's various properties indicate the lack of power and oppression experienced by Indigenous workers like 'Charlie'. It appears that they were not employed on a regular basis but rather paid on an occasional and casual basis, perhaps fitting in with their obligations as much as TLM-P's needs. Typically, Indigenous workers are not named (and certainly not given their Indigenous name) and any payments are very low. //Hawkwood//'s ledger simply refers to 'Black Boys' giving no names. In //Maroon//'s ledger for 1867-68, for example, an entry under Tom de M. M-P, simply notes that in May 1860 he paid 'Blackboy' 5 shillings.((MLMSS 3117/box 8)) Similarly there is a reference in 1879 of one of the employed stockman paying 'Hughie Black Boy’ 17 shillings.((MLMSS 3117 Box 10, Item 2, pp.6-7)) Note that these payments were made in cash, the only option as it is unlikely an irregularly paid Indigenous worker would be able to open a bank account.\\ | The ledger books that have survived from TLM-P's various properties indicate the lack of power and oppression experienced by Indigenous workers like 'Charlie'. It appears that they were not employed on a regular basis but rather paid on an occasional and casual basis, perhaps fitting in with their obligations as much as TLM-P's needs. Typically, Indigenous workers are not named (and certainly not given their Indigenous name) and any payments are very low. //Hawkwood//'s ledger simply refers to 'Black Boys' giving no names. In //Maroon//'s ledger for 1867-68, for example, an entry under Tom de M. M-P, simply notes that in May 1860 he paid 'Blackboy' 5 shillings.((MLMSS 3117/box 8)) Similarly there is a reference in 1879 of one of the employed stockman paying 'Hughie Black Boy’ 17 shillings.((MLMSS 3117 Box 10, Item 2, pp.6-7)) Note that these payments were made in cash, the only option as it is unlikely an irregularly paid Indigenous worker would be able to open a bank account.\\ |
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| ==== Chinese/Indian Indentured Labourers === | ==== Chinese/Indian Indentured Labourers === |
| With labour scarce in the more isolated parts of Queensland, squatters like TLM-P supported schemes to employ cheap labour. They urged the renewal of convict transportation((Helen Gregory, 'Squatters, selectors and - dare I say it - speculators', //Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland//, XI:4, 1983, p.83.)) and encouraged migration of potential workers. The prevailing racism meant that Asian and Pacific Islander labourers could be treated more like slaves than employees.((Ray Kerkhove and Frank Uhr, //The Battle of One Tree Hill//, Boolarong Press, Tingalpa (Qld), 2019, p.191)) \\ | With labour scarce in the more isolated parts of Queensland, squatters like TLM-P supported schemes to employ cheap labour. They urged the renewal of convict transportation((Helen Gregory, 'Squatters, selectors and - dare I say it - speculators', //Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland//, XI:4, 1983, p.83.)) and encouraged migration of potential workers. As with Indigenous workers, Asian and Pacific Islander labourers had little access to rights; consequently their employers could treat them harshly under unfair binding contracts with little fear of consequences.((Ray Kerkhove and Frank Uhr, //The Battle of One Tree Hill//, Boolarong Press, Tingalpa (Qld), 2019, p.191)) \\ |
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| Maxine Darnell has compiled a list of Chinese indentured labourers, those brought to Australia to work on a fixed contract. She points out that she has been able to identify only a minority of these men, and that one source - court records - means an over-representation of those who fell foul of the legal system. Her list was published in La Trobe University's Research Online(( decommissioned in April 2023)). TLM-P is listed as the employer of 17 Chinese men between December 1848 and May 1857 at //Bugrooperia// (//Bromelton//) and //Hawkwood Stations//. For more information about these employees, click on [[Darnell list]]. \\ | Maxine Darnell has compiled a list of Chinese indentured labourers, those brought to Australia to work on a fixed contract. She points out that she has been able to identify only a minority of these men, and that one source - court records - means an over-representation of those who fell foul of the legal system. Her list was published in La Trobe University's Research Online(( decommissioned in April 2023)). TLM-P is listed as the employer of 17 Chinese men between December 1848 and May 1857 at //Bugrooperia// (//Bromelton//) and //Hawkwood Stations//. For more information about these employees, click on [[Darnell list]]. \\ |
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| ==== Rosewood Station 1843-44 ==== | ==== Rosewood Station 1843-44 ==== |
| TLM-P started an account book (ledger) for his first station, //Rosewood//, on 23 June 1843 ((MLMSS3117/box 6/item 4. Though it is catalogued as from 24 June, the first entry is for the 23rd)). On its first page he recorded items he bought at a Brisbane sale on 23 June. These items include necessities such as fustian trousers, blankets, guns and knives, but also indicates that he aspired to gentility with silk handkerchiefs and two tablecloths.\\ | TLM-P started an account book (ledger) for his first station, //Rosewood//, on 23 June 1843 ((MLMSS3117/box 6/item 4. Though it is catalogued as from 24 June, the first entry is for the 23rd)). For information about its contents including employees, see entry for Rosewood under [[Gaining Colonial Experience & Early Properties]] |
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| One page of his accounts reveals the co-dependence of neighbouring squatters. The 2-page spread lists items borrowed and lent from and to other stations, particularly from a neighbour E.B. Uhr. As well, among his list of expenses for August 1843, TLM-P notes he paid Uhr £20 'for his run [land] at Laidley Creek'. This was Edmund Blucher Uhr who features in David Marr's chilling book, //Killing For Country// (Black Inc., 2023). The co-dependence does not mean lack of conflict. Another entry in the Rosewood accounts is a payment of £26 to settle a boundary dispute with Uhr.\\ | |
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| Employees included current and former convicts as well as others:\\ | |
| 1 **Robert Scolis**[?] was an assigned servant of J Bell Esq. but worked for TLM-P from April 1844.((list of cheques)) TLM-P increased his wage to £25 pa for ‘being a most excellent shepherd’. \\ | |
| 2 **John Moore** had a ticket of leave and was employed as a general servant from 21 July 1843. His contract was for 12 months at £23pa. \\ | |
| 3 **Patrick Flannery** was another former convict, 'free by servitude'. He was employed from 1 July 1843 as a shepherd at £26 pa but just for 3 months. \\ | |
| 4 **Thomas Moore** (check p.16)\\ | |
| 5 **Edward Walker** was also 'free by servitude'. On 1 July 1843, TLM-P hired him as a general servant for three months at 10/- per week for 3 months. Walker was then re-hired to shear sheep and kept on for a year less '2 days’. He was paid £43.13.1, but bought goods from TLM-P’s store so received £18.10.6½ as the balance of his wages. TLM-P noted that the “Agreement & wages cancelled by the Court.” \\ | |
| 6 **James Johnson** was another 'free by servitude'. He was employed on 18 August 1843 as a general servant at 10/- per week but discharged on 1 Oct 1843. He had luxurious tastes as the stores he bought from TLM-P included 3 silk handkerchiefs. It is possible he was the same James Johnson who Tom de M. M-P paid by cheque £1 to in May 1868 for shoeing horses on //Maroon//.\\ | |
| 7 **Timothy Shea** employed in February 1844 to take change of sheep at £104pa. He bought a large number of goods then was paid out 'to settle a dispute' in July 1845. A later entry (pp32-33) has him employed for 14 weeks and 1 day at £2 per week. Shea was an unsatisfactory employee though he was given a number of chances. TLM-P apparently deducted money from Shea's wages for not mixing flocks (£4); allowing rams to be with flock and presumably mucking up the breeding program (£5); and losing a Carbine rifle (£3.10.0). \\ | |
| 8 **John Townsend** was hired on 4 May 1843 to use his own horse to ride to Moreton Bay to look after stock. He was paid £30pa but just for 3 months. He was later employed as a hutkeeper until 28 February 1844. The rate of pay is unclear, perhaps£9 per month. When he was on leave in 1844 he apparently decided he needed a new horse, but was convicted 'for horse stealing by Captain Wickham' who was the police magistrate at Moreton Bay. See [[https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/wickham-john-clements-2790|ADB entry]].\\ | |
| 9 **Dennis Kahill** was hired on 23 December 1844 at £20 pa and later paid an extra 10/- for shepherding.\\ | |
| 10,11 **James Stanley and his wife**. It was seen as worth noting that the couple were 'free' emigrants rather than former convicts. They arrived in Sydney possibly on 6 January [the date is hard to decipher] and at //Rosewood// on 1 October 1843. He was hired as a general servant and his wife as a laundress and hutkeeper at a combined wage of £20 pa. TLM-P agreed to pay their passage 'if they conduct themselves properly. One half to be deducted after 6 months the reminder at end of 12 months.' With such a low wage, it was difficult to save so in Sept 1844 TLM-P advanced them £7 to travel to Brisbane and for sundry expenses. Possibly this was the same James Stanley who was employed on //Maroon// in April 1865 as a stockman for £1 per week for 4 weeks, then re-engaged\\ | |
| 12 **Cornelius? Hughes** hired as as shepherd, hutkeeper and stockman at £10 pa. This amount was doubled to £20 pa due to 'good conduct'. \\ | |
| 13 **Jeremiah? McCarthy** hired as general servant and possibly shepherd (the word is unclear) on 10 August 1843 at £18 pa. He was discharged in January 1844.\\ | |
| 14 **Florence McCarthy** hired as general servant on 23 October 1842 for 2 years at £20 pa. This period was reduced to 1 year then in January 1844 she was discharged.\\ | |
| 15 **John Clarke** in an unknown capacity from 10 December 1844 with wages of £25 pa. [check is this entry for Bromelton? p.31]\\ | |
| ==== Employees at Bugrooperia Station 1848-1849 ==== | ==== Employees at Bugrooperia Station 1848-1849 ==== |
| A Ledger for Bugrooperia station, Logan River, Queensland, May 1848-1849((MLMSS 3117/Box 6/Item 5)) lists his employees. His male European employees were generally paid much more and more precisely identified than Indigenous, Asian or female employees. Note that, as with the other ledgers, the names are often hard to decipher. Though there is little evidence of personal expenses or his domestic life in these ledgers, he had married in 1846. His first son was born in January 1848 and his second son August 1849 (dying 5 months later). \\ | A Ledger for Bugrooperia station, Logan River, Queensland, May 1848-1849((MLMSS 3117/Box 6/Item 5)) lists his employees. His male European employees were generally paid much more and more precisely identified than Indigenous, Asian or female employees. Note that, as with the other ledgers, the names are often hard to decipher. Though there is little evidence of personal expenses or his domestic life in these ledgers, he had married in 1846. His first son was born in January 1848 and his second son in August 1849 (dying 5 months later). \\ |
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| 1 **J. Richardson** employed from 25 April 1848 to at least 4 December 1848 (p.1); \\ | 1 **J. Richardson** employed from 25 April 1848 to at least 4 December 1848 (p.1); \\ |
| 8 **Patrick C. Sullivan** employed as a builder and servant in 1848 for three months at 12/- week;\\ | 8 **Patrick C. Sullivan** employed as a builder and servant in 1848 for three months at 12/- week;\\ |
| 9 **Dennis** (no other name given) employed at £20 pa in August 1849.\\ | 9 **Dennis** (no other name given) employed at £20 pa in August 1849.\\ |
| 10 **Tinko** 1848, see above under Chinese indentured labourers (Darnell list)\\ | 10 **Tinko** 1848, see above under Chinese indentured labourers (Darnell list). It would be good to know more about Tinko, and why specifically TLM-P remembered him as 'a very fine fellow.'((Rosa Praed papers, 8370/Box 3, packet 3/1/1/.))\\ |
| 11 **Eunti** 1848, see above under Chinese indentured labourers (Darnell list)\\ | 11 **Eunti** 1848, see above under Chinese indentured labourers (Darnell list)\\ |
| | 12 **Charlie** see above under Indigenous workers. |
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| The ledger also shows that he paid accounts to T.S. Mort (e.g. p.2); dairymen Harris & Price (providing butter, cheese etc (e.g. p.2); sold cattle to John McDougal (p.8); and had various transactions with his brother-in-law William Barker (e.g. p.8) as well as J. McConnel Esq; Benjamin Samuda; E. Walker & Jones; A.W. Compeigne. Travellers bought stores from him including D. Graham and Francis Clarke Kerry(?) of nearby Albert River, as well as Watson & Worley, possibly sawyers (loggers). He also owned a one third share of cattle with Captain Collins, worth £46.9.6.\\ | The ledger also shows that he paid accounts to T.S. Mort (e.g. p.2); dairymen Harris & Price (providing butter, cheese etc (e.g. p.2); sold cattle to John McDougal (p.8); and had various transactions with his brother-in-law William Barker (e.g. p.8) as well as J. McConnel Esq; Benjamin Samuda; E. Walker & Jones; A.W. Compeigne. Travellers bought stores from him including D. Graham and Francis Clarke Kerry(?) of nearby Albert River, as well as Watson & Worley, possibly sawyers (loggers). He also owned a one third share of cattle with Captain Collins, worth £46.9.6.\\ |