The Aborigines Protection Board, missions, stations and reserves 1883-1909
During the late 1800s, the NSW Government’s focus shifted away from religious missions to reserves and stations. Missions were transformed into the first stations operated by the newly established Aborigines Protection Board. Reserves continued to be set aside for use by Aboriginal people.
The Aborigines Protection Board (APB) was established in 1883 (), at a time when Aboriginal people were living on both missions (SUB0549) and reserves (SUB0504). The APB followed the short-lived position of ‘Protector of the Aborigines’, a role which had been set up in 1881 (). The Protector of the Aborigines, George Thornton, became the first chairman of the APB, although resigned from his Board position shortly afterwards ().
Thornton thought land should be put aside specifically for Aboriginal people, writing
reserves of suitable land in various parts of the Colony should be set apart for the uses of the aborigines, for purposes of forming homes, cultivation and production of grain, vegetables, fruit, &c., for their own consumption; this would prove a powerful means of domesticating, civilizing, and making them comfortable (, see also ).
The APB and stations
When the APB was established, missions were managed privately by missionary societies or by the Aborigines Protection Association (APA), relying on charitable funding (see SUB0549).
In 1883, the Colonial Secretary commended the work of missions and suggested establishing stations in areas without missions. He saw these as places where Aboriginal people could be trained for employment and children could ‘receive school instruction’ ().
The APB started distributing funds to the missions () and began referring to them as ‘Mission Stations’ or ‘Stations’ (see, for example, ).
With this increased funding the missions at Maloga and Warangesda became more structured. Schools were established and housing was improved ( and ). In 1888-89, the Maloga mission was relocated to a nearby reserve and from then known as Cummeragunja. In its reporting, the APB emphasised that government assistance had enabled the development of these sites in an effort to ‘make these establishments self-supporting' ().
In 1894-95, a Local Board of Advice and Management was established for each of the mission sites and a ‘comprehensive code of regulations’ was adopted (, ).
In 1897, the APB took control of the three sites that had been overseen by the APA (Cummeragunja, Warangesda and Brewarrina which had been established in 1886) () and ‘set about converting other reserves to managed stations’ ().
A dormitory for girls was built on Warangesda Station and between 1893 and 1909 approximately 300 Aboriginal children were removed from their families and placed there (). Further information about the government’s early child removal policies can be found in SUB0038.
The APB emphasised the purpose of the stations in a Circular to Local Boards and Station Managers, stating that they were intended as ‘asylums for the aged, crippled or infirm’, for children to receive ‘schooling and instruction’ and that Aboriginal people might be able to find work ().
The Local Boards and Managers were requested to, ‘by every means in their power’, further the ‘aim of the Board, that all youths and girls should, after receiving instruction, and when of an age fit to work for a livelihood, be placed in suitable service or induced to accept it’ ().
The APB and reserves
Reserves were areas of land set aside by the government for use by Aboriginal people. While some reserves already existed (see SUB0504), the large-scale creation of Aboriginal reserves began when the APB was established ().
Between 1883 and 1891, the number of reserves increased from 25 to 78 (an increase from 3,500 to 22,242 acres) (). By 1897 there were 113 reserves, with a total area of 26,930 acres ().
The APB’s first Annual Report acknowledged that Aboriginal people had ‘successfully cultivated land reserved for them by the Government’ and that Aboriginal people are ‘in a far better condition when living in small communities, comparatively isolated, and removed from intimate contact with Europeans’ (). Later reports continued to highlight the successful cultivation of the land on reserves (, ).
The APB recommended the creation of reserves for various reasons, including reserving land where Aboriginal people were already living or responding to requests from Aboriginal people (, ).
In Walgett, a reserve was created at the Montkeila Bend on the Namoi River in 1889 () only to be revoked and moved to Gingie six years later (), because a reserve so close to the township was considered to be in ‘an objectionable location’ (). This shows that the APB was also making decisions about reserves in response to requests from settlers (, ).
Small areas of land were also reserved for single families. For example, in 1896-97, a reserve at Singleton was increased from 1 to 3 ½ acres to accommodate ‘an aboriginal widow and her children’ ().
The APB’s rapid creation of reserves occurred in a context where local authorities ‘had recognised that reserves could serve their purposes too, which were to have true segregation areas to contain Aboriginal camps out of sight but not out of reach’ ().
Why did Aboriginal people move to stations and reserves?
Some Aboriginal families were ‘obliged to move onto reserves to access schooling’ (). The Department of Public Instruction provided school teachers at each station, and parents were given inducements such as clothing and rations to send their children to school (). There were ‘27 segregated “special” schools established in New South Wales from 1883 to 1909’ ().
Other Aboriginal people lived on reserves to access rations and other resources made available through Government funding. The APB’s general approach was that assistance could only be provided to Aboriginal people who ‘were unable to support themselves’ ().
Self sufficiency
Some Aboriginal people chose to move to reserved land which was suitable for agriculture. The APB acknowledged that many of these parcels of land became successful farms. This included:
- An 80 acre reserve at Pelican Island with 30 Aboriginal residents growing maize ().
- Land reserved at Euroka Creek near the Nepean River in 1894 (, ), where an Aboriginal man kept ‘a lot of poultry’, had ‘9 acres under maize, potatoes, and vegetables’ and enclosed ’25 acres’ with fencing ().
- A reserve at Forster where ‘The Land was then a dense Scrub, and now the whole of the Reserve is cleared and securely fenced. The whole of the work of clearing and fencing have been done by the Aborigines themselves. The Aborigines have built several good cottages on this reserve, and fenced off nice gardens where they are now growing Lovely Potatoes, Cabbages, Etc’ ().
- Fattorini Island in the Macleay River was successfully farmed by the Linwood family and was set aside as a reserve in 1885 (, ). Despite their successful cultivation of the land, the family was removed from the island in 1925 ().
See SUB0299 for more information about revocation of reserves.
Reserves in the late 1890s and early 1900s
The late 1890s saw a period of economic depression and the restructuring of the pastoral industry across the country. It also saw settlers wanting land in competition for land reserved for, and used by, Aboriginal people. ()
In 1900, the Board tried to forcibly relocate residents of the La Perouse mission, threatening that the reserve would be revoked, and inducements were offered to move to Wallaga Lake (). However, although some residents moved, the plan was met with strong public opposition and the government would not take action ().
The Crown Lands Department wanted to restrict reserves to make land available for settlement () and pursued this policy ‘strenuously’ in 1907 and 1908 (, ). In July 1907 the APB agreed with the Premier that ‘more Reserves should be made available for [Aboriginal people’s] use'. (, , )
In 1909, the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) vested all reserves in the APB which was given ‘the necessary powers to control such reserves and regulate the terms upon which they shall be occupied’ (, ). This significantly increased the authority and control the APB had over the lives of people living on reserves. See SUB0367 and SUB0275).