ETAPA 3: TERCER AVANCE

referring Aboriginal coMMunities, have been outlined in the Introduction and at the end of Chapter One.

These political and economic changes that gave

birth to the contemporary Aboriginal community were produced by, and reflected in, an ideological shift in policy emphasis. Both local and international factors combined to encourage a change of formal policy in the direction of absorption of Aborigines as individuals enjoying the same rights, and

ideally holding the same values, as other Australians (Hasluck, P. 1965:449) - the

assimilation policy - which was pursued with some discontinuities by both federal and state

governments. Although political and economic

enfranchisement was intended to be followed by the absorption of Aborigines,its most significant

"to

effect was fundamentaly^ abrogate the colonial relationship. Despite de-colonisation,the shift in policy had one fundamental flaw; Aborigines were not the same as other citizens. They remained radically different in their relationship to each other, to the land, and to the European colonisers. This has led to a continuing ambivalence in

Aboriginal relations with whites. It has never been resolved whether Aborigines constitute a separate group linked to, but distinct from, mainstream Australian society, or whether they form a sub­ group firmly within its bounds. The way they live, the groups they live in, the institutions they form to press their needs, special provisions made for them under Australian law, all of these activities can be variously interpreted as indicating a

process of de-colonisation that has led to a measure of separation and independence, or a process of group incorporation - not so much de­ colonisation as the merging of the colonised with the coloniser.

The ambivalence of post-colonial policy is particularly evident in the differing

interpretations placed upon the status of

Aboriginal communities. Aborigines in the Kimberley tend to live in their own enclaves, even in the towns. These are post-colonial residential

patterns. The aim of this chapter is to describe the variety of Aboriginal living situations in the Kimberley which today are subsumed under the term

’community’. It describes first the classic communities, station ’black camps’^ followed by mission reserves. It goes on to examine the town camps, town reserves, and village schemes that have been necessary to cope with the decline of the

first two. Refuge from settlement living is

described in the establishment of outcamps,which either remain the temporary refuge of the aged or are transformed into established reserve

settlements (see map p. xiv). The final section examines the failure to discriminate among the different experiences of Aborigines by the use of the all-embracing term ’community’.

The following history of a Djaru man of the Hall’s Creek area, now in his late ’sixties, is

illustrative of the transition from colonialism to post-colonialism. The variety of communities he has been part of covers the entire range of Aboriginal residential patterns, yet his life-story is

representative of many of his generation.

He travelled as a child with his father and mother on his mother’s country. Fleeing the vicinity of Ruby Plains station because of

massacres there, they came into the ambit of Sturt Creek pastoral venture. There,Jjabout the age of

brother. While some of the party argued it would be more convenient to shoot them on the spot, the establishment of Moola Bulla government station offered an alternative. He was sent there and

trained in stock-work. He returned to Sturt Creek where his family had settled and worked as a

stockman. Nevertheless, as a young man he recalls spending a year or so roaming the Sturt Creek, Caranya, Billiluna region with his wife and first child, avoiding the attention of whites. In later life he moved to Flora Valley and

b^ccw'V)

worked there for a number of years^recognised as a highly competent stock-worker. He drove his own car. At the end of one wet season in the late

’sixties, while loading his gear for the trip to town, the manager told him not to return the next year. He protested, but no Aborigines have lived permanently on that station since. He moved to a camp in Halls Creek,eventually taking up residence with other Flora Valley refugees at Red Hill, a

fringe reserve. In 1985,a group from Red Hill acquired an excision around Old Flora Valley homestead. He now resides at this outcamp and expresses the wish to join his brother at a similar excised outcamp on Sturt Creek station. Now entering his old age, his experience encapsulates a process that has involved thousands of Aborigines across the Kimberleys. Like many of them,his first experience of sedentary life was the station camp.

The B l a c k Camp - Cattle S t a tion Q u a r te r s .

The Aboriginal living area close to the station homestead, commonly called the black-camp, was the

first form of settlement for Aborigines. It

preceded the missions, which were established largely to offer an alternative to the perceived evils of the pastoral stations. Few now live

permanently on European-owned stations. Yet most Aborigines of the pastoral belt still refer to their station orientation as one of the primary sets of group identifiers linking them to others. In this way family, ritual, and language

groupings tend also to coalesce into named conglomerates such as ’Gordon Downs mob’ or

’that old Bedford people’, long after they have been relocated from these homelands. Given the opportunity, these groups often reform to occupy outcamps on the same station, or take over

relinquished properties. The period of fieldwork was during the culmination of two decades of change

in which the last of the station groups were pushed off while others previously dislocated were

increasingly gaining living areas away from the towns, usually close to their old station

homelands. The following description is of a way of life now almost extinct, yet still contributing to contemporary culture both white and black.

During the period 1966 to 1971) the number of Aborigines employed on stations in the Kimberley

cvkile

fell from 1455 to 940,^the number of Europeans employed in the corresponding period doubled (Scott, W.D. cited in Altman, J. & Nieuwenhuysen, J. 1979:66). By 1985,in the east Kimberley only two stations retained a black camp, Nicholson and

Margaret River. In the case of Nicholson, according to Department of Aboriginal Affairs statistics, only six people remained - all above the age of sixty. Maragaret River had seven infants, eight children under the age of fifteen, and nineteen

adults. There were no people over the age of sixty. A number of black camps remained ’over the range’

in the central Kimberley, reflecting the relatively better relations that have always characterised this district due to its late settlement. In 1985; Mt. Elizabeth had fourteen adults, three infants, and four aged persons. Gibb River’s Aboriginal profile was similar with twenty-three adults, two

infants, four children between five and fourteen years old, and one person over the age of sixty. Mt. House had only five adults and three infants while Mt. Barnett, which is now Aboriginal-owned, was not much more substantial» with twelve adults and old people and ten children of all ages. In the west Kimberley^ only Brooking Springs and Meda

Stations were recorded as having Aboriginal

populations* in the latter case most were over the age of sixty, while Meda had only five adults and their children. These figures show the extent to which European-owned stations had been depopulated

by 1985. Now the exodus is almost complete. Where Aborigines remain on stations they are either

resident some distance from the homestead, or the station has been purchased on their behalf by the Aboriginal Development Commission. These types of communities are very differentfVcm the station blackcamp community and will be described separately.

Most members of the group were affiliated to the immediate area by descent. Usually) among the older generation more women than men had traditional affiliations because the pacification policies of the turn of the century eradicated a

disproportionate number of men (see above Chapter Tw'o) . Other men came in from less harshly

pacified, and usually less fertile, areas in search of partners, beef, and a more fulfilling social life than existed in the rapidly de­

populating remote bush. Men also travelled more for stock-work and ritual pursuits and so were more likely to find themselves settling in territory other than that of their fathers. Nevertheless, station hands would be of the same language group as the historical custodians, or a closely

related language group, although there were usually one or two individuals who resided as members of the station group by accident or force of circumstances. Although they possessed no

traditionally-recognised antecedents,they tended to become incorporated by marriage and by sharing land ritual with the local group.

The black-camp was usually situated at a short distance from the homestead. It consisted

typically of some corrugated iron huts arranged in rows on the outskirts of which were makeshift shelters. Both these ’humpies’ and the shacks were used more to contain belongings and to offer

occasional shelter from sun or rain than as

living quarters. Cooking, sleeping, playing cards, making artefacts, mending motor-cars, children’s games - all these activities took place in the open. Consequently, the surroundings took on a ’lived-in’ appearance in which the distinction between rubbish and useful items was impossible to make. Old derelict cars, tin cans, pieces of wire, rag, even fire ashes were potentially useful objects ready at hand, tknd were not offensive to the people living in the midst of them. There were large numbers of dogs that could also be placed in this category. Apparently useless and in far too great numbers)they nevertheless warned of

approaching strangers, alerted people to the presence of snakes at night, and were useful for hunting goanna and sometimes kangaroo.

This form of community had no legal status as a group, nor did the people have legal rights of residence on the land they occupied. Attitudes towards the resident Aboriginal community varied considerably from station to station. The Duracks of Argyle in the East Kimberley exemplify the ideology of paternalistic obligation (Durack, M . 1983), while Noonkanbah in the West was throughout its history notorious for consistent and determined neglect (Kolig, E. 1987:43-49). There is still among some station-owners a sense of moral duty to permit certain Aborigines to reside permanently at the black-camp, though this is frequently only extended to the old people. This feeling used to be more widespread but has been eclipsed in recent years by a much stronger tendency for large land-holders and corporations to move to a purely business-like approach to the cattie industry.

Black enclaves within the enterprise have no rationale here.

Aborigines, of course, had the opposite

conception. It was clear to them daily that they demonstrated their rights and ownership in their knowledge of the land, its law, and their

history. With this developed a strong sense of rightful attachment to particular stations due to birth, residence, and work performed in building

it up. This knowledge is expressed long after groups have moved off stations to reside

elsewhere. Notions of Aboriginal right are not attenuated, and the priority of white rights not accepted. It is the power to insist upon rights

to a pastoral property that is felt to be

lacking. Along with lack of legal s t a t u s ;station

communities had little formal economic status

either. In the past, permanent members of a

station community received some form of rations irom the station store. With the extension of an Award wage to pastoral workers in 1968; rations were less freely issued to the black-camp. Instead wages were paid to the few intermittent workers

and the rest were expected to receive social

security payments. An estimate of annual income on central A u stralian stations in 1973 produces the

figure of $428 ,of which less than half was from social security payments (Stanley, 0. }cited in Altman, J. & Nieuwenhuysen, J. 1979:69). The necessary paper work for payments fell to the station manager, his wife, or bookkeeper. Although most of this income was channelled through the

station store, the procedure was felt to be an imposition on the business. This combination of factors has led to the demise of the black-camp.

The cattle industry has not thrived for many years

and most stations are now run with minimum

input. Many shut down completely during the

wet season. The presence of large groups needing

to be fed and have their social security

payments processed is a burden for the pastoralist. This latter task is a full-time activity when taken in conjunction with stocking and operating

the station store. In the early days of

pastoral expansion the local group would have

dispersed during the wet season to the

countryside for ceremonial activities. The tendency in the last two decades was for the community to disperse to the towns.where they formed temporary fringe camps on the edge of town , usually close

to Aboriginal settlements. Often the old people were left behind on the station. For pastoralists. it represented a break in the contractual relationship that need not necessarily be renewed at the start of the new season. The black-camp was always the site of a certain lively

dissension and this probably became more severe with a greater appreciation of Aboriginal rights among the occupants,coupled with much freer access to alcohol. As the older pastoral families quit the industry,there was far less tolerance for the added aggravation of the c ountry’s original

occupants. In addition?the pastoralists felt they were held accountable for the health and housing conditions of a community that was no longer seen as an integral part of the enterprise.

On stations that retained a black-camp of old people in recent years, for instance Nicholson or Sturt Creek, numbers increased at the start of the season ; with stock-workers brought in from the town or a nearby reserve. It is clear the solution to the problem Aborigines posed for

pastoralists has been to keep them close by for the purpose of recruiting casual labour

while no longer being the responsibility of the enterprise. However, there are unforeseen

consequences. Stock-workers laid off in the towns lose the habit of regular work, frequently become weak and unhealthy due to alcohol abuse and poor living conditions, tend to lose the exaggerated deference to white authority developed on stations and do not reproduce skills among the

young. Consequently, when labour is required at the end of the wet. season its procurement is usually a source of a good deal of

dissatisfaction for the pastoralist. Frequently

find

workers walk off the job, yv mutual acrimony develops over entitlement to wages and amounts ow'mü for supplies and equipment at the store. Many become unwilling to work under these new conditions and pastoralists frequently complain of a labour crisis. The present minimum level of activity leads pastoralists to engage helicopter musterers or to employ contract teams. In some cases, for instance Lamboo until 1987, Yiyili and Nicholson, these teams are operated by Aboriginal groups living at outcamps on or close to the

pastoral-property.

Aborigines have not ended their involvement in the pastoral industry, but it has dramatically changed. By the end of 1986 the Aboriginal Development

Commission, and its predecessor, the Aboriginal Land Fund, had purchased eight pastoral properties for Aboriginal groups in the Kimberley,totalling at least 17,000 sq. k m s . (see map p. xii). Stations owned by large corporations have tended to hold back on capital improvement and overstock for

immediate gain. This is possible only for a limited period. When they sell out or relinquish their

leases/often the local Aboriginal group prevails upon government to purchase the station on their behalf. Some of these, for instance Frazier Downs and Carson River, are associated with mission

settlements. In addition,Balgo and Mowanjum (Pantijan) both operate their own stations, and Lombadina had a grazing licence over part of the Dampierland Peninsular,which in 1988 was converted to a Special Purpose lease. Most Aboriginal-owned stations develop with government funding into Aboriginal community settlements of the type

described below, distinct both from the old station black camp and contemporary European stations. In

the west Kimberley the Emmanuelle family came to a unique solution to the depopulation of the black camp by voluntarily relinquishing one square mile of land from Go Go and Christmas Creek stations on which the State Housing Commission built village schemes. Residence in such communities is not open to all; it is confined to those with an historical attachment to the pastoral property. Others for whom the station of their origin cannot be

purchased have swelled the ranks of town fringe camps, established outcamps on uncontested land, or developed large communities on Aboriginal reserve 1 and .

Mission Res e r v e s - The S e l f - C o n t a i n e d Settlement

The missions - La Grange, Beagle Bay, Lombadina, Kalumburu, Oombulgari, and Balgo remain a

significant element in Kimberley Aboriginal

experience. In the post-colonial period they are in the process of secularisation and transformation into Aboriginal townships. Originally;the pattern of a mission settlement was the reverse of this. They were largely cut off from the towns as a matter of policy and the population oriented to

the surrounding bush instead as their necessary support. Most of the less-acculturated residents spent long periods of time in their homelands, coming to camp on the outskirts of the mission to visit relatives and avail themselves of some of the mission supplies. All missions were divided into a number of domains. There was a core area where the missionaries, usually whites, would have their

quarters and where dormitories and other facilities were provided. Nowadays there are substantial

houses for other ancillary staff, teachers, nurses, and police. Close to this area is usually one or more Aboriginal housing complexes. At some distance are the camps of groups who need proximity to the