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| indigenous_australians [2026/01/30 21:24] – judith | indigenous_australians [2026/01/30 21:25] (current) – judith |
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| There are a number of cautions about this material. The first is language: this material was written down (at time of writing) some 150 years ago. Some meanings of words have changed and some which were commonplace then are offensive now. While appreciating the sensitivities I have not distorted the text, and the context it was written in, by censorship. The second is that the context always was that Rosa could ask for clarification - or that, with her shared knowledge, she didn't need clarification that a modern reader might. The third caution is that it was based on memory, always a slippery function and best understood as fragments which have been reassembled and interpreted with hindsight. The fourth is that we can only have the vaguest idea of the events he describes from the viewpoint of the Indigenous people he mentions. \\ | There are a number of cautions about this material. The first is language: this material was written down (at time of writing) some 150 years ago. Some meanings of words have changed and some which were commonplace then are offensive now. While appreciating the sensitivities I have not distorted the text, and the context it was written in, by censorship. The second is that the context always was that Rosa could ask for clarification - or that, with her shared knowledge, she didn't need clarification that a modern reader might. The third caution is that it was based on memory, always a slippery function and best understood as fragments which have been reassembled and interpreted with hindsight. The fourth is that we can only have the vaguest idea of the events he describes from the viewpoint of the Indigenous people he mentions. \\ |
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| Regarding the sections on Indigenous Australians, TLM-P's memories are a fascinating mixture of brute power and respect; ignorance and at least an attempt to learn Indigenous customs. TLM-P gave numerous examples of Pidgin speech, and described Indigenous people (almost all men, there is little reference to the women) as having acute powers of sight and observation, a 'great aptitude on concealing themselves' in the bush, a talent for mimicry, and a deep-seated sense of humour. His description of the acute observation of Indigenous Australians was not just relevant to the natural landscape but extended to detecting subtle differences in rank amongst white people. In one case TLM-P recounted that a man was riding in the distance but he could not see him clearly to know who it was. An unnamed 'black boy' was asked and (correctly) identified him as a 'gentleman bullock driver'. It turned out to be a neighbouring squatter who had driven his bullock team some 150 miles in drought conditions. As TLM-P commented, 'a less shrewd observer might have been pardoned for not at once detecting his position in society'.\\ | Regarding the sections on Indigenous Australians, TLM-P's memories are a fascinating mixture of brute power and respect; ignorance and at least an attempt to learn Indigenous customs. TLM-P gave numerous examples of Pidgin speech, and described Indigenous people (almost all men, there is little reference to the women) as having acute powers of sight and observation, a 'great aptitude on concealing themselves' in the bush, a talent for mimicry, and a strong sense of humour. His description of the acute observation of Indigenous Australians was not just relevant to the natural landscape but extended to detecting subtle differences in rank amongst white people. In one case TLM-P recounted that a man was riding in the distance but he could not see him clearly to know who it was. An unnamed 'black boy' was asked and (correctly) identified him as a 'gentleman bullock driver'. It turned out to be a neighbouring squatter who had driven his bullock team some 150 miles in drought conditions. As TLM-P commented, 'a less shrewd observer might have been pardoned for not at once detecting his position in society'.\\ |
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| In earlier decades, TLM-P was a young man determined to make good in the colony. His focus was on rural success and, like other colonists, he did not comprehend the rights of Indigenous owners. TLM-P communicated in Pidgin and used English names for the Indigenous people he knew. As outlined earlier in [[gaining_colonial_experience_early_properties|Gaining Colonial Experience]], while at //Hawkwood// station he had no compunction about taking part in a murderous reprisal after the Hornet Bank massacre. Yet the story of colonial conquest is nuanced. When first acquiring //Hawkwood//, he rode long distances with an Indigenous boy ('Johnny') when he was scouting the land. He described Johny as'about 13 years old ... a nice, smart lad, full of fun'. TLM-P admired bushcraft and physical toughness and perhaps largely because of those qualities, he seems to have had good relationships with a number of young Indigenous boys. He commented that, in his experience, 'Black boys are very much attached to any one they are with. They have plenty of conversation, are intelligent & make capital companions'.((Rosa Praed papers, Box 3, 8370, packet 3/1/1/ - in this case 'boys' probably referred to adolescents not men)) \\ | In earlier decades, TLM-P was a young man determined to make good in the colony. His focus was on rural success and, like other colonists, he did not comprehend the rights of Indigenous owners. TLM-P communicated in Pidgin and used English names for the Indigenous people he knew. As outlined earlier in [[gaining_colonial_experience_early_properties|Gaining Colonial Experience]], while at //Hawkwood// station he had no compunction about taking part in a murderous reprisal after the Hornet Bank massacre. Yet the story of colonial conquest is nuanced. When first acquiring //Hawkwood//, he rode long distances with an Indigenous boy ('Johnny') when he was scouting the land. He described Johny as'about 13 years old ... a nice, smart lad, full of fun'. TLM-P admired bushcraft and physical toughness and perhaps largely because of those qualities, he seems to have had good relationships with a number of young Indigenous boys. He commented that, in his experience, 'Black boys are very much attached to any one they are with. They have plenty of conversation, are intelligent & make capital companions'.((Rosa Praed papers, Box 3, 8370, packet 3/1/1/ - in this case 'boys' probably referred to adolescents not men)) \\ |