Protector of Aborigines
Encyclopedia
The role of Protectors of Aborigines resulted from a recommendation of the report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons
on Aborigines (British Settlements). On 31 January 1838, Lord Glenelg
, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
sent Governor Gipps
the report.
The report recommended that Protectors of Aborigines should be engaged. They would be required to learn the Aboriginal language
and their duties would be to watch over the rights of Aborigines
, guard against encroachment on their property and to protect them from acts of cruelty, oppression and injustice. The Port Phillip Protectorate
was established with George Augustus Robinson
as chief protector and four full-time protectors.
While the role was nominally to protect Aborigines, particularly in remote areas, it has been suggested that the role included social control up to the point of controlling whom individuals were able to marry and where they lived and managing their financial affairs.
As well as Robinson, A. O. Neville
and Edward John Eyre
were notable Protectors of Aborigines.
Matthew Moorhouse
was the first Protector of Aborigines in South Australia
.
Aborigines Welfare Board in New South Wales
was abolished in 1969. By then all states & territories had repealed the legislation allowing for the removal of Aboriginal children under the policy of 'protection'.
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
on Aborigines (British Settlements). On 31 January 1838, Lord Glenelg
Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg
Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg PC FRS was a Scottish politician and colonial administrator.-Background and education:...
, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
The Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was a British cabinet level position responsible for the army and the British colonies . The Department was created in 1801...
sent Governor Gipps
George Gipps
Sir George Gipps was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was administered as part of New South Wales for much of this...
the report.
The report recommended that Protectors of Aborigines should be engaged. They would be required to learn the Aboriginal language
Australian Aboriginal languages
The Australian Aboriginal languages comprise several language families and isolates native to the Australian Aborigines of Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding the languages of Tasmania and the Torres Strait Islanders...
and their duties would be to watch over the rights of Aborigines
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
, guard against encroachment on their property and to protect them from acts of cruelty, oppression and injustice. The Port Phillip Protectorate
Port Phillip Protectorate
The Port Phillip Protectorate was created by the British House of Commons at the instigation of Lord Glenelg. The primary directives of the Protectors was to protect the Aboriginal people in their districts and to 'civilise' them, in other words to minimize conflicts between European settlers and...
was established with George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson
George Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
as chief protector and four full-time protectors.
While the role was nominally to protect Aborigines, particularly in remote areas, it has been suggested that the role included social control up to the point of controlling whom individuals were able to marry and where they lived and managing their financial affairs.
As well as Robinson, A. O. Neville
A. O. Neville
Auber Octavius Neville was a public servant, notably Chief Protector of Aborigines, in Western Australia.-Early career:...
and Edward John Eyre
Edward John Eyre
Edward John Eyre was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and a controversial Governor of Jamaica....
were notable Protectors of Aborigines.
Matthew Moorhouse
Matthew Moorhouse
Matthew Moorhouse pioneer in Australia, Protector of Aborigines, pastoralist and politician in South Australia.Moorhouse studied medicine and obtained the degree of M.R.C.S. in 1836. He practiced medicine in Hanley, Staffordshire when the Crown appointed him protector of aborigines. He arrived in...
was the first Protector of Aborigines in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
.
Aborigines Welfare Board in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
was abolished in 1969. By then all states & territories had repealed the legislation allowing for the removal of Aboriginal children under the policy of 'protection'.
Protectors of Aborigines
Protectors of Aborigines around Australia included:- Victoria (Port Phillip ProtectoratePort Phillip ProtectorateThe Port Phillip Protectorate was created by the British House of Commons at the instigation of Lord Glenelg. The primary directives of the Protectors was to protect the Aboriginal people in their districts and to 'civilise' them, in other words to minimize conflicts between European settlers and...
, 1839–1849)- George Augustus RobinsonGeorge Augustus RobinsonGeorge Augustus Robinson was a builder and untrained preacher. He was the Chief Protector of Aborigines in Port Phillip District from 1839 to 1849...
- William ThomasWilliam Thomas (Australian settler)William Thomas represented Aboriginal people in various roles in the Port Phillip district during his lifetime.-Various official roles:...
, (Assistant Protector) 1839-1849 - Edward Stone ParkerEdward Stone ParkerEdward Stone Parker was a Methodist preacher and assistant Protector of Aborigines in the Aboriginal Protectorate established in the Port Philip District of colonial New South Wales under George Augustus Robinson in 1838...
, (Assistant Protector) Loddon and Northwest District, 1839–1849
- George Augustus Robinson
- Victoria
- William Thomas, Guardian of Aborigines in the counties of Bourke, Mornington and Evelyn
- South Australia
- Matthew MoorhouseMatthew MoorhouseMatthew Moorhouse pioneer in Australia, Protector of Aborigines, pastoralist and politician in South Australia.Moorhouse studied medicine and obtained the degree of M.R.C.S. in 1836. He practiced medicine in Hanley, Staffordshire when the Crown appointed him protector of aborigines. He arrived in...
- William WyattWilliam WyattWilliam Wyatt was a pioneer settler and philanthropist in Australia.-Early life:Wyatt was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, the son of Richard Wyatt. He was apprenticed at 16 years of age to a Plymouth surgeon, Thomas Stewart. Wyatt continued to study medicine and obtained the qualification of...
, 1837- - Daisy BatesDaisy Bates (Australia)Daisy May Bates, CBE was an Irish Australian journalist, welfare worker and lifelong student of Australian Aboriginal culture and society. She was known among the native people as 'Kabbarli' .-Early life:...
- Edward John EyreEdward John EyreEdward John Eyre was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and a controversial Governor of Jamaica....
- Matthew Moorhouse
- Northern Territory (part of South Australia until 1911)
- Walter Baldwin SpencerWalter Baldwin SpencerSir Walter Baldwin Spencer KCMG was a British-Australian biologist and anthropologist.Baldwin was born in Stretford, Lancashire. His father, Reuben Spencer, who had come from Derbyshire in his youth, obtained a position with Rylands and Sons, cotton manufacturers, and rose to be chairman of its...
- Francis James GillenFrancis James GillenFrancis James Gillen was an early Australian anthropologist and ethnologist.Gillen was born at Little Para South Australia. He entered the public service in 1867, and was employed as a postal messenger at Clare. He was transferred to Adelaide in 1871 where his duties also included telegraph...
, 1892- - William Edward HarneyWilliam Edward HarneyWilliam Edward Harney , also well-known as Bill Harney, was a largely self-educated Australian writer. Most of his early life was an itinerant one of poverty and hardship, punctuated by tragedy, spent mainly in the outback...
, 1940 to 1947 - Xavier HerbertXavier HerbertXavier Herbert was an Australian writer best known for his Miles Franklin Award-winning novel Poor Fellow My Country . He is considered one of the elder statesmen of Australian literature...
- Cecil Cook
- Walter Baldwin Spencer
- Queensland
- Walter RothWalter RothWalter Edmund Roth was an English anthropologist and physician, active in Australia. He and his brother, Henry Ling Roth, are the subject of The Roth Family, Anthropology, and Colonial Administration....
, 1898–1904, - Archibald MestonArchibald MestonArchibald Meston was an Australian politician, civil servant, journalist, naturalist and explorer.-Personal Life:Archibald Meston was born 26 March 1851 at Towie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander Meston....
, 1898 to 1903 - Patrick Killoran, 1963 to 1986
- Walter Roth
- Western Australia
- A. O. NevilleA. O. NevilleAuber Octavius Neville was a public servant, notably Chief Protector of Aborigines, in Western Australia.-Early career:...
, see also the Moseley Royal CommissionMoseley Royal CommissionThe Moseley Royal Commission, officially titled the Royal Commission Appointed to Investigate, Report and Advise Upon Matters in Relation to the Condition and Treatment of Aborigines was a Government of Western Australia Royal Commission established in 1934 to hear evidence regarding the treatment...
- A. O. Neville
External links
- An Index to the Chief Protector of Aborigines (Western Australia) Files 1898 - 1908 [PDF])
- Black Robinson: Protector of Aborigines. Vivienne Rae-Ellis. A controversial study of George ('Black') Robinson, first Chief Protector of Aborigines in Australia Melbourne University Press
- George Augustus Robinson, was a NSW Chief Protector of Aborigines in the early 1800s, George Augustus Robinson
- NSW State Library Protector of Aborigines Heritage Collection - the journals and papers of George Augustus Robinson (1791-1866)
- Public Record Office Victoria online catalogue "VPRS 2895 Chief Protector of Aborigines: Outward Letter Book 1848–1850 ... VPRS 4399 Duplicate Annual Reports for the Chief Protector of Aborigines 1845– ..."