Dear ALTRAV,

My goodness, I've left for a week and when I return your posts now seem orders of magnitude more utterly demented, deluded, drivel.

Foxy is not out to get you, we don't need saving from her, and you are not obligated to do a bloody thing!

Give it a rest.

Issy, I can put you right of the 'Bogan River picks'. In Dark Emu' Pascoe does make reference to Robert Etheridge, and it is from his 1894 account found on p110 in 'Gerritsen'. Etheridge speculates on the use of these 'hoes', and concluded that the myth that Aboriginal people had no knowledge of husbandry was a mistake based on prejudice.

The naysayers switch to an entirely different object, in a letter from Etheridge, where Etheridge gives an observation of an object, possibly from the Pacific Islands, he goes into some detail about that particular object. Later Etheridge states;

"It has been asserted on more than one occasion that the Australian Aborigines were collectively quite devoid of any knowledge of husbandry, even in the most elementary forms. This generalisation is, however, a mistake, similar to many other mistakes that have been made by writers with the view of bolstering up the old preconceived and erroneous idea that the Australian Aborigine represents one of the most, if not the most degraded variety of the human race."

The point is Etheridge believed Aboriginal people engaged in husbandry, and Europeans denied it for their own reasons. The same people are still around today.

Paul,

That really is a stupid question. The only papers in the State Archives are 'State' papers, i.e. by or relating to government agencies. If there were letters from Aboriginal people, I would gladly have typed them up.

As it happens, if you look in the indexes to each volume of the letters, on www.firstsources.info , you will find many letters from the Protector in response to Aboriginal writers.

If you think they are untruthful, etc., then you have the obligation to demonstrate that. How do you reckon you might do that ? Otherwise, prima facie, you might have to take them as truthful and accurate unless otherwise proven.

Don't waste people's time with idiocies.

Foxy, know-all,

"Officialdom will always protect itself." Yeah ? How is that relevant ? Like everybody else, you mean ?

Physician, heal thyself ....

Joe

Dear Joe,

Know it all?

Who me? Now you're beginning to sound like
ALTRAV.

No. I'm not a know it all. On the contrary. The
more I learn the more I realise how much more I
have to learn.

You should know by now because I've said it
so many times in the past that -
I certainly don't have the answers
to the big questions in life. I'm still on my
own road to discovery.

I am no pundit. I have only my own life experiences
to go on.
There may be some who criticise me for standing strong
in what I believe - but I have found that to be secure and
unafraid of speaking your own mind is the only path to
happiness. To be really all that you can be.

If your intentions are not just to win the game, then you
can feel good that you have spoken your mind without
malice and anger but just from the depths of your truth.

Physician heal thyself?

We can do that by showing tolerance, kindness, and
compassion and act with great civility towards each
other. While at the same time not forsaking our
own wisdom for fear of losing something.

What is more important? Losing your face, or losing
your integrity?

cont'd ...

Dear Joe,

I looked up the pretentious factor of your saying
and it asked - if you were to drop this quote at a
dinner party - would you get an in-unison " AWWW"
or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite
you back?

Your saying rated a 3 on a scale of 1-10.

Hi Joe,

//you will find many letters from the Protector in response to Aboriginal writers.//

Where are those Aboriginal letters? I suspect thrown out with the rest of the trash!