significance

AUSTRALIAN AB0RIGINES RAPIDLY DISAPPEARING Contact with Whites Fatal In the whole of Australia it is estimated that there are 70,000 Australian blacks still living. During the past ten years, the ratio of the increase of aborigines and half-castes at Yarrabah Mission in Queensland has been greater than that of Queensland's white population. __ This is taken in some quarters as an indication that the Aboriginal race can be preserved. Mr. F. Garnett, South Australia's Chief Protector of Aborigines, does not hold that view. "In sixty years a full-blooded Australian black will be a curiosity in South Australia". he said. , 'Full bloods are decreasing to such an extent that 60 years is a conservative estimate". Statistics support Mr. Garnett. Taking official figures over a period of years the decline of ' full-bloods and -the increase of castes indicate that the 'black race is rapidly disappearing". "The Australian black is not black to the same degree as the African negro" he said, "and- the pigments that give his skin a dark, chocolate, tinge are not so deeply imbedded or strong as' the African negro. For that reason, the Australian Aboriginals quickly lose color when crossed with white blood. Most quadroons show only slight traces of black parentage and this fact will eventually wipe. the evidence of the Australian aboriginal existence." Source: The Mail, Adelaide, 31 May 1924 trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63787464

Grey Peaks is a national park in Far North Queensland, Australia, 1,374 km northwest of Brisbane. It is part of the Coastal Wet Tropics Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance for the conservation of lowland tropical rainforest birds.[1] The forests of the national park dominate are dominated by large-fruited red mahogany Eucalyptus pellita and red turpentine Syncarpia glomulifera. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Peaks_National_Park

HISTORY OF THE SETTLE- MENT Yarrabah Mission, situated approximately ten miles from Cairns by launch is conducted by the Church of England and maintained by the Board of Missions and the Government. It was established in 1892, the settlement being opened by Rev. Gribble, who died six months later. His son Rev. E. R. Gribble filled the breach caused by the death of his father, and for seventeen years did faithful service. At the time of our visit, the inhabitants numbered approximately 400. The white staff comprised eleven members, their respective duties being as follows:- Mr. S Lyon, Superintendent. Mrs Lyon, Matron of Hospital Rev. A. C. Flint, Mission Clergyman Mr. R Matthews, in charge of saw-mill. Mr. Howard in charge of cattle and teams. Mr. Thompson, storekeeper, and boys master. Miss Kent, Matron of girls' dormitory. Miss Bain, secretary Misses Howard (2), teachers Mrs Howard (residing with her husband and daughters PASSED EXPERIMENTAL STAGE Mr. Lyon is the type of missionary who evidently believes in the efficacy of teaching a man a congenial trade, and thereby keeping his mind occupied with healthy thoughts if one is to make him increase his self-respect; this, of course, is in addition to wholesome religious teachings. He put his theory into practice at Yarrabah and that it was a success is evident from the moment one steps ashore. Yarrabah has passed the experimental stage! It is now a well-organized community of highly-skilled tradesmen. The township is lit by its own electric light plant and the Houses are "larger: and' cleaner than many of the buildings called "homes" in Cairns. To trace the stages of the evolution of the native from a child of the wilderness to a highly skilled mechanic, carpenter or electrician would seem a tall order, but it means reviewing only a few years of work done at Yarrabah. Source: The Mail, Adelaide, 31 May 1924 trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63787464

Hanlon was home secretary from 17 June 1932 until 5 December 1935 when he became secretary for health and home affairs. As the minister largely responsible for the development and implementation of the A.L.P.'s welfare policies, Hanlon held assumptions and attitudes that had important consequences for the character of Queensland society. Under his administration Aborigines continued to be subjected to 'enforced population transfers, confinement to particular areas under relatively arbitrary and quite authoritarian regimes, excessive moral scrutiny, interference in intimate human relationships, supervised breeding, imposed placement and calculatedly inferior educational training for their children, control over their labour conditions, wages and personal property, and even suppression of their ''injurious" or menacing ''customs" or practices'. In these ways, Aborigines who, in their 'natural' state—according to Hanlon—were 'about 1,000,000 years behind the white race', were 'protected' by the state. Source; adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hanlon-edward-michael-ned-10411

The I Do! Wedding Stories from Queensland exhibition at the Queensland Museum is featuring never heard before stories from Djunngaal Elders and Yarrabah community members. The exhibition features a mission style basket and commissioned wedding dress designed in partnership with Djunngaal Elders, Gunggandji descendantand Yarrabah artist Simone Arnol and Cape York Peninsula, Umpila, Djabuguy, Yirrganydji man, Bernard Singleton. With strong roots in Yarrabah and over 20 years working in Indigenous law and Native Title, Arnol has been part of the arts and fashion industry for five years. "I use strong connection to family and Country as a foundation to all my works, always keeping it grassroots while respecting the Elders, our keepers of knowledge," Arnol told NIT. She said what started out as an artistic commission of, "a perspective of Indigenous weddings for a traditional wedding ceremony" soon turned into a 12-month long process of storytelling the Yarrabah Elders narrative. "Soon into consultation with the Elders of Yarrabah we found that there was a more important story to be re-told," Arnol said. The story in question would instead shed light into the dark history of prior policies of forced protection and assimilation and how this affected cultural traditions and lore. "The girls and boys when they fell in loveâ€"they couldn't come out of the dorm in the yard to be with their boyfriend or husband ... they had to stay behind the fence," Granny Hope said. "The girls were inside the fence, [while] the boys were outside the fence." In many cases mob weren't afforded the privilege of marrying someone they loved, however this wasn't the only restriction they faced. "This impacted harshly on them as it included separate education for Aboriginal children, town curfews, alcohol bans, no social security, lower wages, State guardianship of all Aboriginal children," Arnol said. "Laws that segregated Indigenous people into separate living areas, mainly on missions, special reserves outside towns or in remote areas." That's why when first asked to do the commission, Arnol was quick to establish the true purpose. "Everything we do is a voice for our Elders ... It is not going to be a pretty dress." Source: nit.com.au/09-11-2020/1512/aboriginal-designed-wedding-dr...