Holidaying in Lakes Entrance at the moment and found out Lake Tyers was the first successful land rights claim by an Aboriginal group in Australia.

Very bloody history in these parts though.

"The blacks are very quiet here now, poor wretches. No wild beast of the forest was ever hunted down with such unsparing perseverance as they are. Men, women and children are shot whenever they can be met with… I have protested against it at every station I have been in Gippsland, in the strongest language, but these things are kept very secret as the penalty would certainly be hanging… For myself, if I caught a black actually killing my sheep, I would shoot him with as little remorse as I would a wild dog, but no consideration on earth would induce me to ride into a camp and fire on them indiscriminately, as is the custom whenever the smoke is seen. They [the Aborigines] will very shortly be extinct. It is impossible to say how many have been shot, but I am convinced that not less than 450 have been murdered altogether."
Gippsland squatter Henry Meyrick

Is Mise,

You asked me for evidence I suggested
you get hold of Bruce Pascoe's book,
"Dark Emu," which if you don't want to
buy is available at any local library.
Pascoe provides evidence that you can
follow up. Also I gave a link to Pascoe's
lecture at the State Library of Victoria.
There is a transcript of the talk that is
provided that you can click onto and read.
Again - evidence is given that you can
follow up. He talks about housing, and
agriculture - and gives place, names,
descriptions. All you have to do is read.

I can't be clearer. Here's the link again:

http://www.slv.gov/asset/video/4633

I gave that and another link to Joe.
He of course did not bother with it.

See you on another discussion. I'm done here.

cont'd ...

Is Mise,

My apologies, I left out a bit of the link.
Here it is again:

http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/asset/video/4633

Hi Banjo,

In the early days in SA, land was granted (a very misunderstood term) to pastoralists on annual licences, renewable each year. Probably before 1849, I think leases were issued which may have been for 7 years, then for 14, then 30, and eventually for 42 years. A pastoralist could hold several licences as well as leases. Pastoral leases were formalised by legislation in 1850 and all re-negotiated.

Farming blocks were sold freehold or as 'perpetual leases' or on other terms. Those farmers owned the land under British and local law. Pastoralists didn't.

John Morphett held a great number of these, as well as buying many city blocks for farming (or for simply holding until the price went up). W. H. Gray also held many pastoral leases, licences and city blocks (all the land around Light Square, for example) - he bought up almost the land between what is now Port Road and Anzac Highway, extending halfway across where the airport is now. When SA took over administrative responsibility for the NT, he took up huge leases around Daly River, as well as something like half of all town blocks in Darwin itself.

When the Pt McLeay Mission was approved in 1859, the licence holder of much of the land issued, John Baker (president of the Legislative Council) was in the UK, and when he returned, he immediately pulled on a 'Select Committee into the Aborigines' with the obvious intention of closing down the Mission. The missionary, George Taplin, was grilled for days as the key witness to the Committee. Fortunately he won. All on my website: www.firstsources.info , on the 'Conferences & Royal Commissions' page, and 'Pt McLeay' page, respectively. Fascinating.

Cheers,

Joe

Fascinating: Bill Gammage's video starts out with a pan over his book cover, a painting of Aboriginal people hunting kangaroos. Strange, I couldn't see anybody in the background, farming, or doing anything which might, at a stretch, resembling farming.

So does Bill ever mention in his book, anything about what ordinarily passes for farming ? Of course, people set fire to the bush in order to flush out animals: they were hunters, after all. But did Bill cite any evidence whatsoever of Aboriginal farming ?

No rush.

Joe

Foxy,

No, I won't bother with Pascoe's stuff. I'm not interested in fourth-hand writings, interpretations of interpretations of interpretations of what someone may have written. 'Stooping', for example i.e. at the best interpretation, 'gathering'.

So give me just some reason to take notice of you and your claims of Aboriginal farming - please, no fourth-hand interpretations, no distortions, no massive re-definitions, just evidence.

Otherwise, I'm done with this ridiculous topic.

Joe