The problem with those new houses is that the builders never put the ventilation in the right place, leaving the inhabitants to have to remodel them, which they do and fast.

The policy says that the tenants are responsible for damage and they comply with that: house trashed, next?

Some claim Aboriginals were treated well. Below is a link with a historical photograph of 7 Aboriginal men in chains. The pic was taken at the Wyndham prison Western Australia in 1902. Can anyone explain what crime these men were guilty of which led to their imprisonment in chains.

http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/australian-aborigines-chains-1902/

p/s the 8th person in the photo is a white man standing over the Aboriginals, with a smirk on his face.

Hi Paul,

If you check out the Roth Royal Commission 1904, and the Moseley Royal Commission 1934, both in full on my web-site: ww.firstsources.info , on the 'Western Australian Page', you might find more details about that practice.

Chains were usually at least a yard long, weighing around half a pound, and left people's hands free. Usually men would be arrested to cattle-killing and brought in sometimes hundreds of miles, almost always by a single copper. So the journey might take up to a month.

Remember Paul, we are them, they were us. No better, no worse.

Joe

Hi Joe,

There seem to be an error in what you say; "Chains were usually at least a yard long, weighing around half a pound" Simply put in metric terms 1 metre weighing about 250g. that would be very light chain. The attached story gave a weight of 2.3kg with chain and neck iron would certainly be closer to the mark. The hands of the two front men in the photo are handcuffed, I assume all are handcuffed.

The chaining together of Aboriginal men in that manor, I do believe was harsh and discriminatory, even for 1902 standards, as white men were not treated in the same fashion and probably had not been summarily chained together since the last convicts were transported to WA in 1868. .

What did you imagine a chain gang, black or white, looked like back then? Would you have been the sole copper in charge of a number of convicts who were bound only by promises?

You are stretching credulity with your imaginings that those restraints were designed solely for indigenous criminals.

Chase up some photos of transported lags and their offences. Maybe you will be surprised. Then again, perhaps you'd ignore what doesn't suit your world view and activism.

Anyhow, this is another of your red herrings.

BTT

Hi Paul,

Well, yes, light chains. And no handcuffs - that was the point of the chains.

And the point about chaining was precisely for people to keep their hands free. Why chains at all ? With one copper, how else would he bring people in for alleged offences ? What would stop them escaping, especially if they knew the country ? If you want to bark, make sure it is up the right tree.

As for whites, no, they weren't chained, not even when out on work parties, since where could they run to ? Aboriginal prisoners were kept chained when they were out on work gangs, unless there were adequate guards. By the way, it seems that a working day on the gangs seemed to go for six to eight hours, depending on the heat.

As well as the Roth Commission evidence (1904) and the Moseley Commission evidence (1934), there was also the Wood Royal Commission of 1927, looking into what became known as the Forrest River Massacre. All three Royal Commissions went into the matter of chaining in detail. All on my web-site, www.firstsources.info, on the 'Western Australia Page'.

Incidentally, I suspect that many convicts in the earlier days weren't, and perhaps were never, chained, as in the stereotype. Some of my ancestors certainly were, but at least a couple would have been put into valuable positions early on.

Cheers,

Joe