angledool aboriginal mission
A unique feature of this mission is that its interior wall murals, originally painted in the 1800s by Salinan Indians who converted to Catholicism, have never been retouched or repainted. During my stay, the manager and matron never socialised with the people, but I heard that in earlier years women would sometimes be invited to have afternoon tea with the matron and men had cricket teams which played in competitions. Those people dont often greet you in the street. near lifelong member of the Walgett community. Even today they are still suspicious and if they hear anyone talking their lingo they think they are talking about them.. Some evenings I drove people into town where dances were held on the Claypans near the river bank. Then they would rush inside their houses and peep through the doors to make sure no white official had come to take away their children. Her fourteen year old daughter, with whom I used to go fishing told me that at school she was in the top class, but all they did was build dolls houses, learn some Australian history and nature studies there were hardly any books apart from some fairy tales and school magazines. One reason was that by then, there were an increasing number of families turning Christian. WebSome discreet Aboriginal communities are continuing to observe reverse barriers, where people who dont live in the community are told to stay away to reduce infection risks. If the Mission Manager felt that anyone was making trouble on the station, everyone in that family had their rations reduced. Some photos were taken on these visits and we had long conversations. The station truck was in town, about to return to the Mission when two women on the back started arguing about some trivial matter. The mothers spent money on food, clothing, and necessities for their children and taxis. They feel they dont like a white person to see them cooking down in the ashes and near the dirt and eating their own food. This actually deprived them of the need to manage their earnings, and encouraged dependency, which after social security payments became available, perpetuated welfare dependence. Some old men and women who came to the talk and photo screening in June were children in those pictures. Everyone has a right to decide for themselves what they want to do with their money- if they want to gamble it or spend it on taxis, thats their business.. People today remember that educated Aboriginal people were seen as troublemakers and not allowed to live on the camp, but forced to live in the bush. Aboriginal missions: Aboriginal missions were created by churches or religious individuals to house Aboriginal people and train them in Christian ideals and to also prepare them for work. The women were enraged when she had said to one of them who had an appointment to see the doctor, Be sure to remember to wear clean underwear. Occasionally if someone arrived drunk at the Mission the manager would call the police, but mostly men stayed in town. But to most white people in Brewarrina the coloured people were all the same. 
[1][2], For the first Protector of Aborigines and the Aboriginal Protection Board, the problem of the large group of Aborigines camping around Brewarrina seemed to be one of the most pressing in the State. Anyone of Aboriginal descent was legally classed as Aboriginal under the NSW Aborigines Welfare Act, unless they had a Certificate of Exemption or Citizenship rights. Why not pick the best man in the place, 2 or 3 of them to organise his own mates, not to try to be better than the boss himself, but why not let them run sheep and help the man who wants to have a go. In 1897 the Board took over the mission from the Protection Association as they were making small contributions to the enterprise of the mission. Lightning Ridge Year by Year History 1900 to 1910, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Angledool&oldid=963092996, Articles incorporating text from the State Library of Queensland, Articles with dead external links from June 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 June 2020, at 19:49. On one such occasion I recorded in my diary on 10 August, 1954: Im sitting with Doreen Wright at Pipos the Greeks Caf having a milkshake. Most of the Aboriginal groups I knew in the 1950s were passionate gamblers, partly because life was so boring on the missions and there was nothing much else to do. The school never had proper teachers, and classes were taught by either the mission manager, mission managers wife, the clinic sister or even the bookkeeper. Mission San Miguel Arcngel was the 16th mission founded in the 21 mission chain, and is today a National Historic Landmark. We are on a journey going back almost fifty-nine years ago, though with the hindsight of the present. When I left Brewarrina after four months I had come to know people well and had made many friends on the Mission. A Sydney evaluation, stated that these opals had no commercial value. It was not until February 2008 that Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister delivered an apology to the Stolen Generations But for all those years, most Australians were quite ignorant of what had been happening to so many Aboriginal families through the removal of their children. Her husband, also a teacher, later accused me of causing disturbance at the school because I failed to demand respect from the children. She said this was to protect herself from the ghosts of old people who had lived there and who might be wandering in the bush. WebThe Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission was the oldest institutional-type community in the state that was still managed in 1965. They were very sensitive about how they were treated by the matron and felt insulted, when she kept calling them by their Christian names instead of Mrs So and So, as if they were children. I drove there in a battered old Singer 9 utility van, in late June 1954. WebMany of the Aboriginal people in Dirranbandi were originally from Angledool, a small town over the NSW border. Also they spoke different languages .When they talked in their own lingo it caused fights and arguments because they would be suspected of gossiping or talking about someone. Brewarrina Mission has a strong and special association for many Aboriginal people for its historical, social and cultural values and is a place of belonging to those of the Ngemba and Murwarri tribes. Although they had all grown up there originally, these families had begun to move into town in the late 1930s and early war years. Mission San Miguel Arcngel was the 16th mission founded in the 21 mission chain, and is today a National Historic Landmark. Well they can go anywhere now, but in the past they never got into white peoples ways of living. In 1873 Robert Moore, the manager of the pastoral property, Muggarie Station, later known as Angledool Station, discovered opals. The frescoes at Mission San Miguel are some of the most beautiful and best-preserved of any California mission, especially after their restoration in the early 2000s. At the 2016 census, Angledool had a population of 58 people. Some were self-employed while others worked for wages. On one of our pig-hunting outings Lilly Hall, began talking in Gamilaroi, her fathers language and said in English to the boys: You are a new generation, you dont know things that we were told by our parents She began excitedly saying different words and pointing to things and telling how proud she was to know and understanding those words. Then I played a mouth organ and sang to them. I returned to Brewarrina earlier this year to give the Brewarrina Aboriginal Museum and community a disk (and album) with a digital version of photos I had taken there in 1954. "It would have been local community members there around that area and then the government actually built or pretty much put a mission in place and some families were brought in from outlying communities such as Brewarrina, Walgett and Lightning Ridge.". When it returned you would hear the children shouting Gubby as the lorry appeared with people and their shopping, which for children was most importantly the fruit and lollies which they were expecting. Angel Island, 1846 - 1876. Though they sometimes express colour prejudice against their own relatives, they are nevertheless extremely sensitive to any such prejudice when it is directed against themselves.there is constant preoccupation with the theme of colour. She recalled: Before we played, the manager would make us clean the station and pick up all the dirt. This was an attempt on their part to become independent of the Welfare Board. As the weeks went by, I joined in many activities such as swimming in the river, fishing on the riverbank with women whom Id befriended, driving the van, with borrowed dogs and boys in the back to go hunting for wild pigs and kangaroos. WebAngledool was previously known as New Angledool when it was established in the 1870s. It was apparent back then, that there were social barriers that were put up by white people, excluding Aboriginal people, even those who had tried to assimilate, forsaken their Aboriginal identity and were indistinguishable in their life style in any way except for their skin colour or Aboriginal features. are kept with them in Canberra. [1], The community would like to further improve the condition of the cemetery as it is need of urgent repair. Its very different now, and there is much better coverage of Aboriginal news nationally on radio, television and in newspapers. The AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) had restored my old negatives, as all my field work photos/recordings etc. Most Aboriginal men could find jobs, as shearers, drovers, cooks, and station handy-men, fettlers on the railways, fencers and timber-cutters. It was no longer so in 1954. People were then expected to renounce any Aboriginal cultural ties and cease to socialise with other Aboriginal people except close family. Perhaps because local white station owners did not want any competition or loss of their work force from the Mission, there was no serious effort to develop it or provide any economic activities for the people. Historic site in New South Wales, Australia, Location of Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission Site in New South Wales, "Print Email Facebook Twitter More Brewarrina Mission open day connects past and present to Indigenous culture and heritage", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brewarrina_Aboriginal_Mission_Site&oldid=1137679098, Aboriginal communities in New South Wales, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission Site; Barwon Mission; Brewarrina Mission; Brewarrina Aboriginal Station, This page was last edited on 5 February 2023, at 22:40. No other matron ever came looking to see what we ate or spied on us, they complained. Percy Coombs, whom I quoted previously, described his time at the Mission school in the 1930s: In those days you wasnt to know nothing- you was to go to that school house and just sit down with a pencil and piece of paper and you could scribble on it all day- thats all they wanted you to know. We all thought you was the new welfare officer to replace Mrs English or The children all thought you came for them. Legal and social discrimination were still practiced in Brewarrina in 1954. The station was the oldest institutional-type community in the State that was still managed as such in 1965. Another woman, now married to a white man disowns her own son, born before, because he is dark. If there was still cultural knowledge at the Brewarrina Mission during the 1950s such knowledge, would have been kept hidden from white people, including myself, because of the prevailing attitudes. WebMany of the Aboriginal people in Dirranbandi were originally from Angledool, a small town over the NSW border. A unique feature of this mission is that its interior wall murals, originally painted in the 1800s by Salinan Indians who converted to Catholicism, have never been retouched or repainted. 
The black feels shy and ashamed of himself; the place is not good enough for a white person nor is his food good enough for white people to see. [5] Near the cemetery there are 2 small burial sites which were recently done in a reburial ceremony of returned ancestral remains. Welcome to AAB aka All about American Braids Webaboriginal life ways (which are currently experiencing resurgence among Ohlone descendants). Merv Sutherland from the Office of Environment and Heritage says the declaration marks its significance to the Lightning Ridge, Brewarrina, Goodooga and Walgett communities. After they married they usually stayed home. Charlie Dunstan in 1908 found two large opals the "Fire Queen" and "Queen of the Earth", at the Angledool diggings. Lily Hall, who was my closest friend came down to Sydney for and stayed with my parents later that year, and I was able to show her some of the sights of Sydney. They had fun with my name, calling out Miss Flink and Miss Milk while some would run up to touch me while the others laughed. [1], The Aboriginal people were required to wash in sheep dip. WebAboriginal GenealogiesThese genealogies are based on personal communication and genealogiescollected by Taylor and Jardine (1923), and Mathews (AIATSIS Reports). When I think back now to Brewarrina, there were some wonderful times, pig hunting with the children, fishing with women on the river banks, eating Cat-fish and Murray cod, sitting round a fireplace at night playing the mouth organ with men who were much better players than I was, and singing songs. 
Brewarrina Mission was the first institution formally established by the Aborigines Protection Board as part One evening at the Managers house he came partly drunk, and insisted that I did not know what I was doing and that the people would never tell me anything. Webaboriginal life ways (which are currently experiencing resurgence among Ohlone descendants). In 1873 Robert Moore, the manager of the pastoral property, Muggarie Station, later known as Angledool Station, discovered opals. Men and women just received handouts of food rations or clothing and a little spending money, but the rest was kept in trust because they were thought to be incapable of managing their earnings. They thought that if I found any signs of neglect, I would have the children sent away. Wolermeringle station near Goodooga was often talked about: Dora was one of those, who had ceased gambling because she had turned Christian. [6], Prior to World War II Angledool had a bakery, several hotels, a post office, court house and a general store. The Angledool Reserve and Cemetery became a station camp in the 19th century and the site of a major Aboriginal Reserve settlement in the early 20th century. The town hall made from locally made mud bricks is a classic example of early local architecture. Few people were able to save money, or if they did, they had to hide it, as everyone would regularly humbug them, borrowing food or money from their relatives. White people are higher ups than us.. A Sydney evaluation, stated that these opals had no commercial value. 
They were kept out of sight and only dealt with by officials employed by the Welfare Board who were I hope that Brewarrina and similar country towns are now very different from what they were like in 1954. This fear has been handed down. Recently people could put in claims for Stolen wages and many people sought compensation for money earned years ago that had remained in trust some of which was never given back to those who had earned it or their families. [1], Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission Site was listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 21 July 2006 having satisfied the following criteria.[1]. Established in 1886, Aboriginal people were relocated 10 miles east of the town on the opposite bank of the Barwon River. WebAngledool was previously known as New Angledool when it was established in the 1870s. (the curlews call might mean someone had died)They seem to be in you somehow. WebThe Brewarrina Aboriginal Mission was the oldest institutional-type community in the state that was still managed in 1965. "Also to work with the community on educating the wider public too on the significance of the site.". WebMany of the Aboriginal people in Dirranbandi were originally from Angledool, a small town over the NSW border. Remains of the rehabilitation centre are also on the site, including the concrete slab. She was a bossy woman who would use the mission handy men as messenger boys and had a habit of rushing into peoples houses to make surprise inspections. A rumour had spread that I must be the new welfare officer, and that I was there to see if they were caring for their children properly. A woman whose daughter worked at the hospital was so angry when they put her in the Aboriginal ward that she refused to pay her bill, saying the Aboriginal Welfare Board should pay for her. The last corroboree in Brewarrina was said to have been held in 1931, quite a social event which many white townspeople came to watch. They would rather see a ghost at their front door than one of the mission people. The woman took no notice so he shouted again, so loudly that everyone along the town street could hear him. (Aboriginal Settlements)[1], Only a few families lived out on the reserve in 1882 and had their homes near the river bank. Brewarrina Mission was the first institution formally established by the Aborigines Protection Board as part Men (who were non- Christian) regularly bought illegal grog, risking imprisonment though they had to drink it somewhere away from the mission. Adjoining Angledool was Yeranbah, owned by Australian Pastoral Company, while the New Zealand and Australian Land Company held Goondoobluie, Bangate" and Weilmoringle. Aboriginal people then called themselves dark people, or Blackfellows. 
Merv Sutherland from the Office of Environment and Heritage says the declaration marks its significance to the Lightning Ridge, Brewarrina, Goodooga and Walgett communities. They considered that he had been fair to them and tried to make some improvements. The hospital was segregated and though a new ward had been built for Aboriginal people, as soon as it was finished, they were given the old white ward and the new wing was kept for whites. Military installations on Angel Island. I had never known anyone Aboriginal before I came to Brewarrina, as a 22 year old anthropology graduate, sent by Professor A.P. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. WebMission life caused tremendous disruption to the way Aboriginal people lived, as european influences were imposed. Military installations on Angel Island. Aboriginal mission and reserve records may contain information about individuals and families. People smoked but I cannot recall any other drug use. He says it will allow the state government to work with the local Indigenous community to protect the area. 
WebAngledool was previously known as New Angledool when it was established in the 1870s. Places like the Brewarrina Mission kept Aboriginal people segregated and deprived them of proper education and life opportunities. If they were in there for a week or fortnight the boss (Manager) would be in after them or get the police to send them back again. They were kept out of sight and only dealt with by officials employed by the Welfare Board who were the only people who had regular contacts with them. Later she announced that she was coming around to every house to make sure people were feeding their children properly at lunch time. WebPlaces like the Brewarrina Mission kept Aboriginal people segregated and deprived them of proper education and life opportunities. People dont want to save the money as long as they get their little fun and pleasure out of what they ride in. The place retains its high integrity in its cultural, spiritual, social and historical values to many Aboriginal people across NSW. They were afraid to walk around at night, and I was often warned about ghosts. She insisted I was wrong to encourage this and she could not understand my doing so. Some girls used to sneak out at night and go to town. Moving into town, away from the Mission meant that most of these families lived in comfortable houses and led a life style quite similar to the towns white people. Twice a week meat rations were supplied from the butchers shop, the first would consist of enough to feed a family chops, lump of fat or kidney with fat, piece of liver and half a neck. However, earlier on, there had been very big gambling schools and large sums of money changed hands every weekend. I remember the Slim Dusty songs which were favourites then , such as Rusty Its Goodbye- about the lonely dog waiting for his master who was killed on the battlefield, and The Dear John Letter- about poor John who was dumped for another!,. 
Leading the Christians on the Brewarrina Mission were Blanche and Duncan Ferguson, son of William Ferguson the well-known activist for Aboriginal rights. 
During the reserve period many Aboriginal people died and were buried in the reserve cemetery. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work.