Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Domains and the Intercultural: Understanding Aboriginal and Missionary Engagement at the Mornington Island Mission, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia from 1914 to 1942

  • Published:
International Journal of Historical Archaeology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The Mornington Island Mission in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, was a site of historical engagement between Aboriginal people and missionaries. In this paper, we apply the theoretical concepts of “domains” and the “intercultural” to the investigation of this engagement between 1914 and 1942, when the mission was overseen by the Reverend Robert Wilson. Through the examination of the removal of Aboriginal children, the establishment of a mission compound and Aboriginal camp and the inclusion of Aboriginal adults into the mission compound through production and economy, we show how mutually constituted domains operated. At the same time, the interaction between Aboriginal adults and children with missionaries within these domains was increasingly intercultural in nature. Thus, both “domains” and the “intercultural” are shown to have relevance to the historical case study.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Angeles, G. (2005). Fish traps: A significant part of our health and wellbeing. Medical Journal of Australia 182(10): 541–543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barry, A., Cruickshank, J., Brown-May, A., and Grimshaw, P. (eds.) (2008). Evangelists of Empire?: Missionaries in Colonial History, University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre, Melbourne. http://msp.esrc.unimelb.edu.au/shs/missions

  • Batty, P. (2005). Private politics, public strategies: White advisers and their Aboriginal subjects. Oceania 75(3): 209–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben, H. (1997a). Affidavit of Hugh Ben. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 2. Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 220–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben, H. (1997b). Affidavit of Hugh Ben. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 3. Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 304–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake, T. (1998a). Historical Report Wellesley Islands Sea Claim, Unpublished report prepared for the Carpentaria Land Council and the Claimants, Brisbane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blake, T. (1998b). Deported…At the sweet will of the government: The removal of Aborigines to reserves in Queensland 1897–1939. Aboriginal History 22:51–61.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bleakley, J. W. (1937). Aboriginal Problem in Queensland, Unpublished typescript held by The Department of Family Services and Aboriginal Affairs, Aboriginal and Islander Affairs Division, Brisbane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth, M. (1997). Affidavit of Michael Booth. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 1. Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane pp. 81–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Briscoe, G. (2003). Counting, Health and Identity: A History of Aboriginal Health and Demography in Western Australia and Queensland 1900–1940, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, D. (1997). Affidavit of Douglas Burke. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 1, Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 21–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, A., Haskins, V., and Paisley, F. (eds) (2005). Uncommon Ground: White Women in Aboriginal History, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costello,T. (2008). The Journey is Healing: How we go forward after “Sorry.” Transcript of Speech presented as Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, May 28, 2008. http://www.dunstan.org.au/events/lowitjaoration/2008.html

  • Evans, N., Martin-Chew, L., and Memmott, P. (2008). The Heart of Everything: The Art and Artists of Mornington & Bentinck Islands, McCullock and McCullock Art Books, Fitzroy, Victoria.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felton, R. (1997). Affidavit of Robyrta Felton. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 3, Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 317–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gavenor, N. (1997). Affidavit of Nelson Gavenor. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 1, Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 161–168.

  • Hall, R. (1986). Missionary Pioneer: Insights from Diaries, Letters and Articles by Robert Hall, Mornington Island, North Queensland, Australia, Wiahola, Otago, New Zealand.

  • Harrison, J. (1974). Missionaries, fisheries and government in far North Queensland 1891–1919: A study of conflict and co-operation between the Presbyterian mission stations, commercial fishing interests and the Queensland Government on matters concerning the welfare of the Aborigines in Cape York and the Torres Strait 1891–1919, Unpublished B.A.(Hons.) thesis, University of Queensland, St Lucia.

  • Hinkson, M. and Smith, B. (2005). Introduction: Conceptual moves towards an intercultural analysis. Oceania 75(3): 157–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holcombe, S. (2005). Luritja management of the State. Oceania 75(3): 222–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, R. B. (1910). Annual Report of the Chief Protector of Aboriginals for 1910, Queensland Government Printer, Brisbane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huffer, V., and with collaboration from Elsie Roughsey and other women from Mornington Island (1980). The Sweetness of the Fig: Aboriginal Women in Transition, New South Wales University Press, Sydney.

    Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) (1997). Bringing Them Home: The Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children and Their Families, Commonwealth of Australia, Sydney.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loos, N. (1982). Invasion and Resistance: Aboriginal-European Relations on the North Queensland Frontier 1861–1897, Australian National University Press, Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loos, N. (2007). White Christ, Black Cross: The Emergence of a Black Church, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lydon, J. (2005). Eye Contact: Photographing Indigenous Australians, Duke University Press, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre, J. N. (1921). Capabilities of the Gulf Country, Unpublished manuscript, Mitchell Library, Sydney.

  • McKnight, D. (1999). People, Countries and the Rainbow Serpent, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Memmott, P. (1979). Lardil Properties of Place: An Ethnological Study of Man-Environment Relations, PhD dissertation, University of Queensland, St Lucia.

  • Memmott, P. (1983). Social structure and the use of space amongst the Lardil. In Peterson, N., and Langton, M. (eds.), Aborigines, Land and Land Rights, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, pp. 33–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Memmott, P. (1998). Expert Witness Report on the Lardil and Yangkaal Sea Claim in the Wellesley Islands, Unpublished report prepared for Andrew Chalk and Associates on behalf of the Carpentaria Land Council and the Claimants, St. Lucia, Queensland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merlan, F. (1998). Caging the Rainbow: Place, Politics and Agency in a North Australian Town, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merlan, F. (2005). Explorations towards intercultural accounts of socio-cultural reproduction and change. Oceania 75(3): 167–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merlan, F. (2006). European settlement and the making and unmaking of Aboriginal identities. Australian Journal of Anthropology 17(2): 179–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, N. F. (1936). Record of Visits to Mission Stations 1936, Unpublished manuscript and original photographs held at Fryer Library, University of Queensland, Brisbane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, B. (2008). “From the influence of their parents”: Aboriginal child separations and removals in early Melbourne and Adelaide. In Barry, A., Cruickshank, J., Brown-May, A., and Grimshaw, P. (eds.), Evangelists of Empire?: Missionaries in Colonial History, University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre, Melbourne. http://msp.esrc.unimelb.edu.au/shs/missions

    Google Scholar 

  • Redmond, A. (2005). Strange relatives: Mutualities and dependencies between Aborigines and pastoralists in the Northern Kimberley. Oceania 75(3): 234–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reid, C. (1997). Affidavit of Clara Reid. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 1, Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 105–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roughsey, D. (Goobalathaldin) (1971). Moon and Rainbow: The Autobiography of an Aboriginal, Rigby Books, Brisbane.

  • Roughsey, E. (Labumore) (1984). An Aboriginal Mother Tells of the Old and the New, McPhee Gribble Publishers, Fitzroy, Victoria.

  • Rowse, T. (1992). Remote Possibilities: The Aboriginal Domain and the Administrative Imagination, North Australia Research Unit, Australian National University, Darwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saenger, P. (2005). Sweers Island: Changes over two hundred years since Flinders’ visit. In Gulf of Carpentaria Scientific Study Report, Royal Geographic Society of Queensland, Brisbane, pp. 11–22.

  • Saethre, E. (2005). Nutrition, economics and food distribution in an Australian Aboriginal community. Anthropological Forum 15(2): 151–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherlock, P. (2008). Missions, colonialism and the politics of agency. In Barry, A., Cruickshank, J., Brown-May, A., and Grimshaw, P. (eds.), Evangelists of Empire?: Missionaries in Colonial History, University of Melbourne eScholarship Research Centre, Melbourne. http://msp.esrc.unimelb.edu.au/shs/missions

  • Silburn, S. R., Zubrick, S. R., Lawrence, D. M., Mitrou, F. G., DeMaio, J. A., Blair, E., Cox, A., Dalby, R. B., Griffin, J. A., Pearson, G., and Hayward, C. (2006). The intergenerational effects of forced separation on the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children and young people. Family Matters 75: 10–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slack, M. (2002). The “Plains of Promise” revisited: A reassessment of the frontier in North Western Queensland. Journal of Australian Studies 75: 71–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, B. (2008). Still under the Act? Subjectivity and the state in Aboriginal North Queensland. Oceania 78(20):199–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J. C. (1977). Diet, health and economy: Some consequences of planned social change in an Aboriginal community. In Berndt, R. M. (ed.), Aborigines and Change, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, pp. 147–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toby, H. (1997). Affidavit of Heather Toby. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 1, Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 89–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigger, D. (1986). Blackfellas and Whitefellas: The concepts of domain and social closure in the analysis of race-relations. Mankind 16(20): 99–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigger, D. (1992). Whitefella Comin’: Aboriginal Responses to Colonialism in Northern Australia, Cambridge University Press, Sydney.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tonkinson, R. (1982). Outside the power of the Dreaming: Paternalism and permissiveness in an Aboriginal settlement. In Howard, M. C. (ed.), Power in Australian Society, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, pp. 116–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • von Sturmer, J. (1984). The Different Domains. In Aborigines and Uranium: Consolidated Report on the Social Impact of Uranium Mining on the Aborigines of the Northern Territory, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, Canberra, pp. 218–237.

  • Wharton, G. S. (2000). “Mission Time”: A Guide to Queensland Presbyterian Church Records Relating to the Gulf Missions at Aurukun, Mapoon, Mornington Island, Weipa and Thursday Island Mission Agency 1891 to 1978, Presbyterian Church Press, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, F. D. (1994). Church and State in Presbyterian Missions, Gulf of Carpentaria: 1937–1947, M.A. thesis, University of Queensland, St Lucia.

  • Williams, D. (1997). Affidavit of Dell Williams. Lardil, Kaiadilt, Yangkaal and Gangalidda Peoples v State of Queensland & Ors, [1997] Federal Court of Australia QG207, volume 2, Federal Court of Australia, Queensland District Registry, Brisbane, pp. 186–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, R. H. (1918–26). Diaries, Unpublished copies of personal diaries held at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Studies Library, Canberra.

Download references

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all Aboriginal research participants on Mornington Island between 1972 and 2009. Where requested, pseudonyms have been used. Research in this area has been greatly assisted by a grant (G2007/7292) received by Cameo Dalley from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. For encouragement to develop this article, thanks to Michael Morrison, Jeremy Ash, and Dr Jane Lydon. Thanks to two anonymous referees. For comments on an earlier draft and the compilation of Figs. 1 and 2, thanks to Dr. Sean Ulm. For assistance accessing the Nelson Collection, thanks to staff at the Fryer Library, University of Queensland, particularly Laurie McNeice and Dr Jeffrey Rickertt. Digital cleaning of the Nelson photographs accompanying this paper was completed by Martin Barry of Brisbane Digital Images.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aboriginal Environments Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, 4072, Australia

    Cameo Dalley & Paul Memmott

Authors
  1. Cameo Dalley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul Memmott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cameo Dalley.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dalley, C., Memmott, P. Domains and the Intercultural: Understanding Aboriginal and Missionary Engagement at the Mornington Island Mission, Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia from 1914 to 1942. Int J Histor Archaeol 14, 112–135 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-009-0097-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-009-0097-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation