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TH E P A R L IA M E N T O F T H E C O M M O N W E A L T H O F A U S T R A L IA

1973— Parliamentary Paper N o. 138

ABORIGINAL LAND RIGHTS COMMISSION

FIRST REPORT JULY 1973

Presented by C om m and 22 A ugust 1973

Ordered to be printed 11 Septem ber 1973

T H E G O V E R N M E N T P R IN T E R O F A U S T R A L IA C A N B E R R A 1973

A B O R IG IN A L L A N D R IG H T S C O M M ISSIO N F IR S T R E P O R T

H is Excellency the R ig h t H o n o u rab le Sir Paul M eernaa C aedw alla H asluck, P.C., G.C.M .G., G.C.V.O., K.St.J., G overnor-G eneral o£

A ustralia.

Y our Excellency,

(i) By L etters P a te n t d ated the E ig h th day of F ebruary, 1973, you issued to m e a C om m ission re q u irin g a n d au th o risin g m e to in q u ire in to anti

re p o rt u p o n th e follow ing m atter, nam ely:

‘T h e a p p ro p ria te m eans to recognise a n d establish the tra d itio n a l

rights a n d interests of the A borigines in an d in relatio n to land, an d

to satisfy in o th e r ways the reasonable aspirations of the A borigines to rights in o r in relatio n to land, and, in p articu lar, b u t w ith o u t in any

way dero g atin g from the generality of the foregoing:

(a) arrangem ents for vesting title to lan d in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry

of A u stralia now reserved for the use an d benefit of the A bo­

rig in al in h a b ita n ts of th a t T errito ry , in clu d in g rights in m inerals an d tim ber, in an a p p ro p ria te body o r bodies, an d for g ran tin g

rights in or in re la tio n to th a t lan d to the A boriginal groups or

com m unities concerned w ith th a t land;

(b) the desirability of establishing suitable procedures for th e exam ­ in a tio n o f claims to A boriginal tra d itio n a l rights and interests in or in relatio n to la n d in areas in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry of A ust­

ralia outside A boriginal reserves or of establishing altern ativ e ways of m eetin g effectively the needs for la n d of A boriginal groups or com m unities living outside those reserves;

(c) the effect of already existing com m itm ents, w hether in the n atu re of C row n leases, G overnm ent contracts, m in in g rights o r otherw ise, on the a tta in m e n t of the objects of recognising and establishing A boriginal tra d itio n a l rights and interests in or in relatio n to

land;

(d) the changes in legislation req u ired to give effect to the recom ­

m endations arising from (a), (b) a n d (c) above; and

(e) such o th er m atters relatin g to rights an d interests of the A bo­

rigines in or in relatio n to lan d as m ay be referred to the A bo­

riginal L an d R ig h ts Com m ission by the M inister for A boriginal Affairs’.

(ii) O n th e 18th clay of July, 1973 I received a reference from the

H o n o u ra b le the M inister for A bo rig in al Affairs, in accordance w ith sub­ p a ra g ra p h (e) of my Com m ission, on the follow ing m atter, nam ely:

‘possible arrangem ents for vesting title to lan d in the ad jo in in g Abo­ rig in al reserves in S outh A u stralia (N o rth W est Reserve), Western A u stralia (C en tral A u stralian , W a rb u rto n a n d B alw ina Reserves) and the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry (R eserve No. R1028, com prising the reserves know n as the P eterm an n , H aasts Bluff an d Lake M ackay Reserves) in an a p p ro p ria te body or bodies a n d for g ra n tin g rig h ts in o r in relation

to th a t la n d to the A b o rig in al gro u p s or com m unities concerned with th at lan d , taking in to account ex isting legislation in those two States'.

(iii) I have th o u g h t it best to co n d u ct this in q u iry w ith the m inim um

of form ality, p articu larly because I believed th a t discussions w ith the A boriginal people on th e ir hom e g ro u n d w ould be m ore useful a n d in­ form ative th an form al p u b lic hearings. A ccordingly the only a p p o in t­ m ents w hich have been m ade to assist the work of the C om m ission have

been:

R esearch Officer — D r N. Peterson Ph.D. Secretary — Miss D. D. G oodm an LL.B.

(iv) N o form al sittings have been held, b u t a g reat deal of factual

m aterial has been obtained, m any w ritten subm issions have been re­

ceived an d discussions have been h eld not only w ith rep resen tativ es of m any A b o rig in al com m unities b u t also w ith a n u m b e r of o th e r interested persons.

(v) F u rth e r subm issions have yet to be received a n d m an y m ore discus­ sions held. In deed a substan tial p a rt of the C om m ission’s w ork is still

to be done. Some form al sittings m ay prove to be desirable.

(vi) How ever, for reasons set o u t in m ore detail in my re p o rt, I have

th o u g h t it necessary to m ake this first in terim re p o rt in o rd e r to record

some findings of fact, to draw a tte n tio n to problem s already identified, to m ake some tentative suggestions as to th eir so lu tio n , a n d to invite

greater p u blic p a rticip atio n in th e ir solution, p a rtic u la rly fro m the

A boriginal people of the N o rth e rn T errito ry .

(vii) I therefore subm it the follow ing rep o rt to Y our Excellency.

D ated this 19th day of July, 1973.

(signed) A. E. W oodw ard

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Contents

Pnragra pits

I N T R O D U C T I O N ........................................................................ 1-16

T H E FA CTS

1. A borigines and th e ir la n d . . 17-65

2. A boriginal reserves a n d missions . 66-73

3. A borigines on cattle stations . 74-93

4. A borigines in towns . . . 94-98

5. A boriginal tribes an d eth n ic blocs . 99

T H E PR O B LEM S . . . . 100

1. A boriginal reserves . . . 101

(a) T h e vesting of title . . 102-121

(b) Existing rights . . . 122-132

2. O th er reserves a n d C row n lands . 133-140

3. Pastoral leases . . . . 141-153

4. City an d tow n dwellers . . 154-164

5. In co rp o ratio n . . . . 165-184

6. F unds . . . . .

7. L a n d usage

185-188

(a) G razing a n d ag riculture . 189-198

(b) Forestry . . . . 199-204

(c) Fisheries . . . . 205-207

(d) T o u rists a n d visitors . . 208-215

(e) Services — roads, w ater, schools, hospitals etc. . 216-233

(f) C onservation . . . 234-241

8. M ineral rights . . . . 242-259

R E C O M M E N D A T IO N S A N D SU G G E ST IO N S

1. R egional C ouncils . . . 260-276

2. A id to sm aller groups . . 277-279

3. In co rp o ratio n . . . . 280

4. V esting of title . . . . 281-301

5. F u rth e r subm issions . . . 302-305

S U M M A R Y ......................................................................

A PPE N D IX E S

I A boriginal reserves . . . . .

II D escriptive notes of some A boriginal com m unities

B athurst and M elville Islands . . .

G roote E ylandt . . . . . .

Y irrkala . . . . . . .

M ilingim bi . . . . . .

M aningrida . . . . . .

H erm annsburg . . . . . .

Santa T eresa . . . . . .

Y uendum u . . . . . .

Pages

S1-S5

A1

B1-B6 B7-B8 B9-B11 B I2-B 13 B14-B15 B16-B17 B18-B20 B21-B22

v

P a p u n y a . . . . . .

D ocker R iv er . . . . .

W illo w ra . . . . .

I I I Surveys of A borigines on cattle stations .

IV D escriptions of tribes and. eth n ic blocs

T h e T iw i. . . . . .

T h e A n intilyaugw a a n d N u n g g u p u y u .

T h e M u rn g in . . . . .

T h e A ra n d a . . . . .

T h e K u k a tja /L u ritja . . .

T h e W a lp iri . . . . .

T h e P in tu p i . . . . .

T h e P itja n tja tja ra . . . .

Pages

B23-B24 B25-B26 B27-B28

C1-C5

D1-D2 D3-D4 D5-D7 D8-D9

DIO

D 11-D13 D I4

D 15-D16

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Introduction

1. T h e P rim e M in ister’s announcem ent, last Decem ber, of his govern­ m e n t’s in te n tio n to establish a ju d icial in q u iry in to A b o rig in al lan d

rights, received w idespread publicity.

2. Soon after this C om m ission was set u p on the 8th of F ebruary, ad ­

vertisem ents in v itin g subm issions were inserted an d repeated in all m ajo r m o rn in g new spapers. T h ese set o u t the C om m ission’s term s of reference, w hich stressed the subject of A boriginal lan d rights in the N o rth e rn

T errito ry .

3. In these circum stances it is significant that, am ong letters and sub­

missions from the N o rth e rn T errito ry , I have received very few from

A borigines, alth o u g h th ere have been several from m ission societies and others w an tin g to p u t a case on behalf of A borigines. T h e letters from

A borigines were m ain ly from secretaries of com m unity councils asking m e to visit them for talks. In fairness to the D ep artm en t of A boriginal

Affairs, I should say th a t it offered to stim u late an interest am ong A bo­ rigines in the C om m ission’s work, b u t I declined this offer because of the risk th at the response m ig h t n o t th en rep resen t a tru ly A boriginal p o in t of view.

4. T h e general lack of response does n o t suggest any lack of in terest in the subject of lan d rights. I t is m erely evidence of a lack of contact and

inform ation. T h is has been partly overcome by my going to A boriginal com m unities in the T e rrito ry seeking in fo rm atio n an d opinions. So far I have visited some tw enty different centres of A boriginal p o p u latio n and h eld discussions w ith th e spokesm en for the m ajority of A borigines living

on reserves. T h e re are only four m ajor com m unities on reserves w ith w hich I have not yet h ad some contact. I have also had a n u m b er of

m eetings w ith A borigines living in Alice Springs and D arw in, b u t little contact w ith the sm aller com m unities living on cattle stations.

5. In the case of each com m unity on a reserve I gave the com m unity

council some weeks’ notice in w riting of the m atters I was interested in an d m ade it clear th a t I wished to hear an ything else th at the people h ad to say.

6. W ith o u t exception, I have been received w ith great courtesy and

friendliness by all the A boriginal people I have m et. T h e resulting dis­ cussions have been lengthy, detailed an d very helpful to m e in u n d er­ standing A boriginal attitu d es to land.

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7. In spite of this I have becom e very m uch aw are of the difficulty of

A borigines in com ing to grips w ith the new situ a tio n in w hich they find themselves. In one sense, discussion of lan d ow nership seems to them unnecessary. T h e y know w hich A borigines own w hich tract of lan d by A b o rig in al law, w h eth er it is now p a rt of an A bo rig in al reserve or of a

cattle station.

8. In a n o th e r sense they need to u n d e rsta n d th e ir present opportunities to consolidate o r re-establish rig h ts in land. I believe th a t in m ost cases they still have only an im perfect u n d e rsta n d in g of the choices w hich are open to them anti to the governm ent. T h ey need in d e p e n d e n t advice;

they need tim e to th in k an d to confer.

9. I have also felt very strongly the lack of any cohesive organisation

lin k in g these various peoples to w hom I have spoken. T h e re is no body o r council w hich can speak for the A borigines of the T e rrito ry as a whole. T h e y have, w ith one exception, h a d no professional assistance in p u ttin g a case to the Com m ission. T h e y have no m eans by w hich they can for­

m u late a generally su pported claim o r m ake th e ir voices h e a rd in a way likely to influence u ltim ate decisions.

10. I am convinced th at an im posed solution to the p ro b lem of recog­

nising tra d itio n a l A boriginal lan d rights is unlikely to be a good o r last­ in g solution. A lth o u g h a resu lt reached, so far as possible, by a process of co n sultation an d agreem ent w ill u n d o u b ted ly take longer to achieve, it is far m ore likely to be generally acceptable a n d to have p erm a n e n t

effect.

11. A borigines have w aited m any years for some practical recognition of th eir title to land. In th a t tim e m uch has occurred w hich m akes the

present task difficult. I th in k it sh o u ld n o t be a m atte r for concern if

the finding of the best solution takes a year or m ore to achieve; provided th a t it is m ade q u ite clear th a t an agreed solution is b ein g actively

sought.

12. It is w ith these thoughts in m in d th at I have decided to m ake this

first report. In it I set o u t a n u m b e r of relevant facts w hich have to be

b o rne in m in d w hile ex am ining possible steps to be taken. T h ese state­ m ents of fact are based upon the m aterial so far available to m e. T hey

may req u ire some qualification in the light of later evidence.

13. In this connection I should a d d th at a n u m b er of subm issions, of­

fered or invited, have not yet been received. In o th e r cases, only p re­

lim inary subm issions have been m ade and these w ill later be ex p an d ed e ith er orally or in w riting. I am conscious of these facts b u t even m ore

conscious of the need, as a m a tte r of urgency, to m obilise A boriginal

op in io n . H ence the necessity for this report.

14. H ow ever, this prelim in ary re p o rt will not in any way reduce the

value of those fu rth e r subm issions when they are received. Indeed 1

believe it w ill considerably increase th eir value. All those w ho have al­ ready m ade su b stan tial subm issions will be supplied w ith a copy of this re p o rt an d asked to com m ent fu rth e r if they wish to do so.

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15. T h is re p o rt also records some of the op in io n s w hich have been

expressed to m e an d goes on to m ake some ten tativ e proposals as to the courses of action w hich ap p e a r to be open. I stress th a t these are p u t

forw ard n o t as recom m endations, b u t m erely as a basis for discussions. I also m ake some firm recom m endations as to how A boriginal o p inion in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry and ad jo in in g state reserves can be form ed

a n d given p ro p e r expression.

16. I t is my hope th at, w hen th a t o p in io n can m ake itself h e a rd effec­

tively, A borigines w ill be able to play a full p a rt in arriv in g at solutions w hich are acceptable b o th to them an d to the rest of the A u stralian

com m unity.

3

The Facts

1. Aborigines and their land

17. W h en the in te n tio n to set u p this C om m ission was a n n o u n ced by

the P rim e M inister, he m ade it clear th a t I was n o t concerned w ith

w h eth er A borigines should be g ra n te d rights in lan d , since the govern­ m en t h a d already decided th a t they should. My task was sim ply to advise on how such rights should be g ran ted . In these w ords the P rim e M inister stated explicitly w h at is im p licit in the Com m ission itself.

18. It is therefore unnecessary for m e to exam ine the stren g th of A bo­

rig in al claim s to la n d in this country. O n the o th e r h a n d , I do need to

consider the n a tu re of those claim s and, for th a t purpose, a few basic

po in ts need to be m ade.

19. Some of w hat follows m ay be open to d isp u te am ong ex p erts and

there w ill necessarily be some oversim plifying of com plex situ atio n s. I believe it to be a fair sum m ary for present purposes.

20. In the first place, it is accepted that, w herever else m a n m ay have

evolved, it was n o t on this co n tin en t. T h e A borigines cam e h ere from

the n o rth an d came to an u n in h a b ite d land.

21. T h e origins of these people w ho fo u n d th eir way here are obscure.

B u t they m ust have come, over a perio d of tim e, by way of w h a t are now Indonesia a n d New G uinea. In doing so, they m ust have covered at

least forty m iles of w ater in w h at can only have been b a rk canoes.

22. W h at is clear is th a t the A borigines are genetically a u n iq u e people a n d th a t they have been here for a very long tim e. T h e sm all parties

w hich lan d ed in itially m ust have tak en m any hun d red s of years to spread, as they did, over the m ain lan d . I n spite of some dissim ilarities betw een the T asm an ian A borigines an d those of the m ain lan d , there seems to be no cogent evidence to suggest th a t the A borigines of A u stralia d id not have a com m on origin.

23. As to the length of tim e over w hich A borigines occupied A ustralia before 1788, it can only be said th a t recent archaeological w ork has estab­ lished a perio d of upw ards of 30,000 years.

24. T h e A borigines lived entirely by food g ath erin g an d h u n tin g . T hey ten d ed no herds a n d p lan ted no crops. In good seasons they lived well; in bad years they suffered.

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25. A nthropologists are agreed th a t different groups of A borigines

claim ed identifiable areas of lan d as th eir ow n. T h e re was no p a rt of the co n tin e n t left unclaim ed, a lth o u g h h ig h er m o u n tain o u s regions may have been seldom visited.

26. I t has been estim ated th a t, in 1788, the A b o rig in al p o p u la tio n of

A ustralia m ay have been in the o rd er of 300,000. So far as the N o rth ern T e rrito ry is concerned, it has been suggested th a t a typical p o p u latio n density for sem i-desert country w ould have been one person to th irty or forty square miles. In the m ore productive areas closer to the coast, six

o r eight square miles per person w ould have been m ore likely.

27. T h is th en is the b ackground against w hich the social org an isatio n

of the A borigines m u st be considered, an d in p articu lar, m ean in g given to the ‘tra d itio n a l rig h ts an d interests of the A borigines, in a n d in rela­ tio n to la n d ’. O n enquiry, it soon becomes clear th a t the social org an i­

sation of the A b o rig in al people is highly com plex. T h e pro b lem of

u n d e rsta n d in g it is m ade worse by a n u m b er of factors. T h ese include, firstly, the d iE cu lty of expressing m any A boriginal ideas an d arran g e­ m ents in E nglish term s. Even sim ple words such as ‘ow ner’ a n d ‘trib e ’ can be m isleading. Some w ords used by anthropologists such as ‘h o rd e ’,

‘clan ’, a n d ‘b a n d ’ have been given m ore precise m eanings in th e ir w ritings on the subject, b u t they have n o t always been used in the same way an d so req u ire definition each tim e they are used.

28. F u rth er, some A b o rig in al concepts related to land-ow ning have no p arallel in E u ro p ean law. T h e m ost im p o rta n t an d w idespread of the

rights in lan d th a t lie outside E u ro p ean arrangem ents is the m anagerial in terest of a nephew in the country of his m atern al uncle. Everyw here the religious rites ow ned by a clan were the ‘title deeds’ to the la n d an d could only be celebrated by clan m em bers. Such rites, how ever, could

n o t be held w ith o u t th e assistance of the m anagers whose essential task it was to prep are the ritu a l p arap h ern alia, decorate the celebrants and conduct the rite. T h e agreem ent of m anagers had to be secured for the

ex p lo itatio n of specialised local resources such as ochre an d flint de­ posits and for visits by the clan owners to th e ir own sacred sites.

29. Yet an o th er diE cu lty arises from disagreem ent am ong a n th ro p o lo ­ gists as to the exact n a tu re of the relatio n sh ip betw een A boriginal o r­

ganisation for lan d h o ld in g a n d for lan d usage. T hese disagreem ents m ay be m ainly m atters of em phasis, b u t they are still quite im p o rtan t.

30. I t m ay be th a t m uch of this professional disagreem ent stems from the lack of reliable in fo rm atio n as to the situ atio n w hich existed before w hite contact. In alm ost every case, detailed study by tra in e d a n th ro ­ pologists has occurred a n u m b er of years after A boriginal ways of life

have been influenced, if n o t radically changed, by contact w ith E u ro ­ peans. M uch recorded in fo rm atio n comes from older m en an d women talk in g of the past, often at some distance from the scene of the events

being discussed.

31. A fu rth e r diE cu lty arises from the fact th at A boriginal social o r­

ganisation differs from one area to another. W h at is true of north-east

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A rnhem L a n d m ay n o t even be tru e of the D aly R iv er area so u th of

D arw in, let alo n e the M acd o n n ell R anges, W estern A u stralia or Queens­ land.

32. I n spite of the difficulties referred to, the follow ing statem ents can be m ade w ith some confidence th a t they are generally tru e of the N or­

th e rn T e rrito ry an d likely to be tru e of m any o th e r parts of Australia.

33. I t is com m on to speak of A b o rig in al ‘trib es’ a n d this is a useful

description of people such as the A ra n d a an d P itja n tja tja ra . T h e dis­

tinguishing m arks of such a g ro u p are a com m on language, a commonly used nam e for th a t language a n d thus for the people speaking it, an d an

identifiable tra c t of country w here those people live o r used to live.

34. T h e term has also been used for a group of related peoples, speak­

in g different languages b u t liv in g in ad jacen t areas. H ow ever, to avoid confusion, I shall refer to such a g ro u p in g as an eth n ic bloc.

35. In n e ith e r of these cases — the trib e or the eth n ic bloc — is there

any a tte m p t to achieve p o litical or social unity. T h e rela tio n sh ip be­

tw een the different segments of a trib e are often no closer th a n those

betw een such segm ents an d groups from o ther tribes. In no sense can

the trib e be regarded as th e basis of A boriginal social organisation.

Sm aller groupings have to be identified for this purpose.

36. T h e sub-divisions of a trib e can usually be id entified by dialectic

variations. A lth o u g h sharing a com m on language, some w ords w ill be different, sentence construction m ay n o t be the same a n d differences in p ro n u n c ia tio n w ill usually be noticeable also.

37. In some cases this dialect g ro u p w ith in the trib e does rep resen t the

key social u n it. In o th e r cases this is to be found one step low er down

the scale, at the level of the clan. I use this expression to m ean a local

descent g ro u p : a sub-division of a dialect group larger than a fam ily but based on fam ily links th ro u g h a com m on m ale ancestry, a lth o u g h those links may be back beyond liv in g m em ory.

38. Since the clan appears to be m ore com m only the key u n it, I now

tu rn to consider it in m ore detail.

39. M em bership of such a clan is d eterm ined at b irth , since, for la n d ­

ow ning purposes, the child au to m atically becomes a m em ber of the

father's clan. (T h e w ord ‘fa th e r’ is used th ro u g h o u t alth o u g h it w ould be m ore correct to speak of the m o th e r’s husband. T h is p resented no

problem s to the A borigine because conception was believed to be the w ork of spirits.)

40. M other and fa th e r will come from different d a n s, for a child can­

not m arry w ith in the clan, b u t m ust m arry a m em ber of a n o th e r clan.

T h e rules or preferences w hich decide th a t clan vary from place to place, b u t can be q u ite strict. T hey have h a d to be relaxed in some areas as

clans have dw indled in size or disappeared.

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41. T h e m em bers of a clan re ta in th at m em bership th ro u g h o u t th eir

lives and, indeed, th ereafter. T h e link betw een an A borigine's sp irit

a n d his lan d is regarded as being timeless. T h e land-ow ning clan is

m erely a g ro u p of people w ho share the same links w ith the same land.

42. T h u s these clans have close sp iritu al associations w ith p a rtic u la r

tracts of land. T h e ir religion or m ythology teaches them th a t p a rtic u la r areas were given to them , or claim ed on th e ir behalf, by th e ir sp irit

ancestors in the D ream tim e. F or this reason there are specific stories, songs and cerem onies lin k in g these sp irit ancestors w ith p a rtic u la r places. T h e m ore im p o rta n t the place is to the legend, the m ore sacred it is.

43. T hese sp irit ancestors were in some cases p a rt anim al, b ird , insect

o r p lan t. T h e y could also, for exam ple, be related to rain, w ind o r stars. B ut in all cases they h ad h u m an characteristics, w hatever th eir o u tw ard form may have been.

44. Some country, because of these legends or of its n a tu ra l resources (w hich are freq u en tly lin k ed together) is m ore im p o rta n t th a n other

country. B ut, alth o u g h b o u ndaries may be b lu rred , all country is of

some im portance and is identified w ith some clan or o ther grouping.

45. T h e sp iritu a l connection betw een a clan an d its lan d involves both rig h ts and duties. T h e rights are to the unrestricted use of its n atu ral

products; the duties are of a cerem onial k in d — to ten d the lan d by the

perform ance of ritu a l dances, songs and cerem onies at the p ro p e r times an d places.

46. O ne fu rth e r p o in t rem ains to be m ade. I t is a p p a re n t th a t a clan,

being of only m oderate size, can die out. T h is m ust have h ap p en ed on

occasions even in the days before w hite contact. W ith the com ing of the w hite m an, such instances m ust have occurred m ore frequently even in the N o rth e rn T errito ry . Since the produce of all lan d is im p o rta n t and, in A boriginal belief, good seasons depend u p o n ritu a l observances, it was

n orm al for the sacred objects a n d cerem onies of th a t clan to be taken

over or cared for by an o th er closely related clan. Since, as I have said,

the connection of A borigines w ith th eir lan d is timeless, com m encing before b irth an d co n tin u in g after death, this taking over should be seen as a form of trusteeship ra th e r th a n a transfer of rights.

47. All th a t has been said above about the clan is equally tru e of the

dialect group referred to earlier except that, being larger, m arriage w ith ­ in the group is likely to be q u ite com m on. It will still be governed by

strict rules as to kinship w hich w ill determ ine w hich m em bers are accept­ able as spouses.

48. It may h elp to clarify the com plicated position I have been des­

cribing if the situ atio n is considered from the p o in t of view of a typical A borigine of A rnhem L an d in the years before w hite contact.

49. Let us assume the case of a m atu re m an. H is im m ediate fam ily

consists of one or m ore wives an d th eir respective children together, in all probability, w ith some older people; perhaps one of his or his w ife’s

7

paren ts or a n eld er b ro th e r o r brother-in-law . E ven w hen food is scarce, this fam ily u n it is likely to be ad d ed to by relatives o r friends. T h e

fa th e r a n d his c h ild ren , of course, belong to one clan along w ith his

fath er, b ro th ers an d sisters (w ho m ay n o t be in the group).

50. T h e wife o r wives come from , a n d still belong to, a different clan.

If there are several wives, they m ay n o t belong to the one clan, although it is q u ite likely th a t they will. T h e m other, if she is present, w ill al­

m ost certainly belong to a th ird clan. Because of the in tric a te kinship

systems observed, it is un u su al for a m an to take a w ife from his m other's clan. F rien d s an d o th e r relatives could com e from any one of a group

of n eig h b o u rin g clans w ith w hich there are friendly relations. In the

g ro u p the dialect of the central clan w ill p red o m in ate, b u t o th e r clans

w ill use th e ir ow n dialects a n d w ill be understood.

51. T h e o th e r m em bers of the cen tral clan in this exam ple w ill be

scattered am ong a n u m b er of sim ilar fam ily groups. T h e y w ill all be

related by p a trilin e a l descent b u t the exact re latio n sh ip m ay have been forgotten w ith the passage of tim e. In several o th e r cases, as in this one, the clan w ill p rovide the nucleus o f the group. In o th e r instances, some o th e r clan w ill p rovide the nucleus a n d m em bers of this clan w ill be

present as wives, relatives or guests. T h e total m em b ersh ip of the clan

— m en, w om en a n d ch ild ren — m ay be a b o u t 30 to 50.

52. T h e fam ily g ro u p w hich has been described m ay m ove a b o u t by

itself, or, p artic u la rly w hen food is relatively p le n tifu l, m ay jo in w ith

o th er groups to co n stitu te q u ite a large band; p erh ap s 30 o r 40 people.

W h eth er large or sm all, this b a n d constitutes the h u n tin g a n d food g a th e r­ ing social u n it. I t moves over the co u n try in a p red ictab le b u t n o t rigid

p a tte rn w hich depends on the av ailab ility of food resources a t p a rtic u la r places an d p a rtic u la r times. I t varies in num bers as g roups o r in d iv id ­

uals jo in an d leave. In doing so, it w ill pro b ab ly spend a good deal of

tim e on the co untry w hich is h eld by the clan, b u t th e h e a d of th e fam ­

ily w ill certainly expect to be welcom e in the co u n try of his m o th e r’s

clan. H e w ill also visit freely his wife's co u ntry o r th a t of an y o ther

m em ber of his group. In deed he m ay decide to go to any of th e n eig h ­

bo u rin g areas except, perhaps, those w here some ill-feeling has arisen o r is tra d itio n a l betw een his clan a n d the local la n d h o ld in g g ro u p .

53. T h e tro u b le he takes to o b ta in express or tacit perm ission w ill de­

pen d u p o n the strength of his claim to hospitality, arisin g fro m personal ties of relatio n sh ip , tra d itio n a l clan affiliations or totem ic relatio n sh ip s (which are ex p lain ed below).

54. W here the b a n d is a large one, it may be difficult to say th a t it has

any one clan as a nucleus. T h is is p articu larly tru e w hen large groups

gath er at a special tim e an d place for m ajo r cerem onies of ritu a l songs

and dances. O n these occasions several related clans w ill have special responsibilities to perform or to m anage the cerem onies, b u t m any o th er clans w ill also be represented.

55. T h e h ead of the fam ily w ill know exactly w here his cla n ’s la n d be­

gins and ends. If circum stances take h im away from it for any len g th of

8

tim e, he w ill m ake a p o in t of re tu rn in g for m ajo r cerem onies if and

w hen he can and, in p artic u la r, for the in itia tio n of his sons.

56. T h is is his country in the clearest sense of th a t term . H e may how ­

ever speak of some o th e r place o r places as being his country, e ith er be­ cause he was b o rn there, or because his m o th er first becam e aw are of

h er pregnancy there a n d so believed th a t the spirits conceived h im there, or because the place is associated in m ythology w ith a totem ic or sp irit figure w hich is e ith er his personal totem also or the totem of his clan.

T h e clan, for exam ple, may have the b an d ico o t as a totem ic figure, b u t the head of this fam ily may have been b o rn at a ‘honey-bee D ream ing' place, w hich is im bued w ith the sp irit essence of a m ythical honey-bee m an. H e w ill then have a special re latio n sh ip w ith o th er A borigines

sharing the same totem ic figures. Each of his relationships w ith these sp irit ancestors will be su b stan tiated by stories a n d songs w hich include th e ir doings in the D ream tim e on the clan ’s lan d a n d at the place of his

b irth .

57. T h e pictu re so far p ain te d is, I believe, accurate for N o rth E astern

A rnhem L and. Even here there is some d o u b t as to ju st how m u ch tim e, before w hite contact, a typical clan m em ber spent on his own land.

58. In o th e r parts of the N o rth e rn T errito ry , some different considera­ tions apply. T h u s on M elville and B ath u rst Islands the T iw i people,

largely cu t off from outside contact, developed some rules of th eir ow n . In some p arts of the T e rrito ry , clan social m em bership was in h erited

from the m other, alth o u g h land-holding seems always to be in h erited from the father. In others, w here the land-holding clans or dialect groups were larger an d th eir country m ore extensive, they seem to have lived alm ost en tirely on th e ir ow n lan d except in tim es of severe drought.

Even so, th eir wives h a d to come from o th e r groups and this led to a

good deal of visiting, som etim es for p ro tracted periods.

59. U p to this p o in t I have concentrated on the situ atio n w hich exis­

ted before w hite contact. In those days of in tim ate association betw een m en and th e ir lan d there w ould, I believe, have been no difficulty ex­

perienced in recording the allocation of country betw een lan d -holding clans or dialect groups. T o d ay the degree of difficulty w ill vary from

place to place.

60. Because of the sp iritu al beliefs of the A borigine about his land, his connection w ith it is n o t broken by the fact th a t he may have lived away from it for m any years. C ertainly trad itio n a l ways of life have, to vary­

ing extents in different places, been d ep arted from. Missions an d settle­ m ents, w ith th e ir assured food supplies, m edical a tten tio n an d o ther

m aterial advantages, have attracted A borigines to settle, m ore or less perm anently, in one place. Very often this is miles from th eir ow n coun­ try and, as older m en die, accurate in fo rm atio n becomes h a rd e r to ob­ tain. R itu als are observed less often and n o t at the trad itio n a l sites.

61. For the present-day en q uirer, the problem is m ade m uch worse by the fact th a t A borigines had no need, in the past, to be specific in th eir

use of nam es for clans o r o ther groups. P erhaps the m ost com m only used

9

description was the nam e of the language o r dialect spoken by a par­

ticu lar people. H ow ever, as 1 have said, it seems clear th a t the larger

language g ro u p was never a social or political u n it a n d so never a land­

h o ld in g gro u p . In some cases the dialect g ro u p w ould co n stitu te the

lan d -h o ld in g u n it a n d in o th e r cases la n d w ould be held by a sub-div­

ision of th a t dialect group: a clan. In e ith er case its m em bership was

d eterm in ed by com m on p a trilin e a l descent.

62. B u t even if the lan d -h o ld in g g ro u p was id en tical w itli the dialect

gro u p , it was n o t in its capacity as a dialect g ro u p th a t it held the land.

It d id so as a descent g ro u p and, usually, by a n o th e r nam e. T h is name

m ig h t well be the sam e as, or derived from , the p a rtic u la r totem of the

group. In fact th ere could be several different nam es, some of them

sacred an d used only in cerem onies, for the same people.

63. C om m on usage com plicated the position fu rth e r because the people them selves w ould have little use for a g ro u p nam e, speaking only of ‘us'; an d n e ig h b o u rin g groups m ig h t refer to them by reference to totem ic

relationships or to the nam e of a lead in g figure in the g ro u p or to a

p a rtic u la r place freq u en ted by the group. In deed in some cases it is hard to discover w h eth er a sub-group of a p a rtic u la r dialect g ro u p hold a

piece of co u n try to the exclusion of the o th e r sub-group, or w h e th e r they are m erely specially associated w ith th a t area, w hich is nevertheless held by the w hole group.

64. A borigines fu rth e r afield m ig h t well g ro u p a n u m b e r of clans to­

geth er an d refer to them as ‘the people of the n o rth ’ o r ‘th e peo p le of

the desert’. Such a description could easily be m istaken for a trib a l name.

65. I have no d o u b t th at, even today, the necessary in fo rm a tio n is avail­ able to divide m uch, if n o t all, of the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry in to dialect

g ro u p or clan regions. If the rig h t people could be tak en o u t to th e right

places, to dem onstrate the position on the g round, I believe th a t there

w ould be little disagreem ent. I have so far come across no case in which ow nership of lan d has been d isp u ted am ong full-blooded A borigines. B ut the task of o b ta in in g the necessary in fo rm atio n from d ifferen t in fo r­ m ants, having different degrees of know ledge, a n d th en co n v ertin g it into clear term s for record purposes, could u n d o u b te d ly be a very long and difficult one. Since d etailed surveying w ould be necessary, the job w ould certainly take a n u m b er of years an d the expense w o u ld be very great.

10

2. Aboriginal reserves and missions

66. I t is n o t necessary lor present purposes to survey the history of A bo­ rig in al reserves in the N o rth e rn T errito ry . I t is sufficient to say th at

they were established lo r the pro tectio n ot A borigines. T h e larger

reserves consisted of lan d w hich was e ith er u n su itab le or n o t then re­

q u ire d for w hite settlem ent. T h e sm all reserves were established to m eet p a rtic u la r needs.

67. In m ost cases there has been a com plicated history oi p roclam a­

tions, revocations, fresh proclam ations, resum ptions of p a rt for o th e r p u r­ poses an d so on. In some cases doubts have arisen as to the b o undaries or legal status of reserves. H ow ever there seems to be no p o in t in ex p lo rin g these problem s. P rovided A borigines are finally given title to la n d des­

cribed by geographic b o u n d aries an d n o t by past history, no difficulties should arise.

68. A full list of reserves, show ing date of first pro clam atio n of the

m ajo r part, area and ap p ro x im ate A boriginal p o p u latio n , is attach ed as A p p en d ix I. By way of illu stratio n , some com m unities on reserves are described in m ore detail in A p pendix II.

69. I t w ill be seen from these sum m aries th a t reserves vary greatly in

size, density of p o p u latio n , p o te n tia l value for com m ercial purposes and tra d itio n a l significance. T h e com m unities established on them vary in hom ogeneity, m ain ten an ce of trad itio n s an d degree of attach m en t to su rro u n d in g land.

70. So far as the various missions are concerned, some hold leases of

su b stan tial areas of lan d a n d others hold sm aller leases w ith in A boriginal reserves. Some leases have expired and not been renew ed.

71. H ow ever the ex ten t and status of such leases is probably n o t a

m a tte r of im portance for, so far as I am aw are, there is no objection on

the p a rt of any m ission to h a n d in g over to A borigines title to all areas

of la n d now controlled by it.

72. If there are any exceptions to this position, or if any m ission has

any reservations about areas now occupied by, for exam ple, churches or houses of m ission staff, it is im p o rtan t th at such m atters be b ro u g h t to

notice.

73. References to certain mission leases an d com m unities will be found in A p pendix II.

11

3. Aborigines on cattle stations

74. A com prehensive re p o rt on ‘the situ a tio n o£ A borigines on pastoral p ro p erties in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry ’ was m ade in D ecem ber 1971 by a C om m ittee u n d er the c h airm an sh ip of Professor C. A. G ibb. T h is Com ­ m ittee was m ad e u p o f m en h a v in g a w ide range of know ledge a n d ex­

perience of th e ir subject an d so f do n o t a tte m p t to traverse the same

g ro u n d w hich they covered in estab lish in g the relev an t facts. It is suf­

ficient for my purposes to q u o te several passages from th eir findings:

7 5 . ■ ■ ■ even from the m ost o p tim istic sta n d p o in t the pastoral in d u stry in the

N o rth ern T e rrito ry can never be regarded as a labour-intensive in d u stry .’ (p. 7)

7 5 . ‘In p a rts of C entral A ustralia it seem ed clear from in form ation sup p lied to us

th a t the in tro d u c tio n of A w ard rates of pay, together w ith the change in drinking laws (10 D ecem ber 1964) had a serious effect on the general a ttitu d e of pastoral- ists tow ards em ploym ent of A borigines. Some had replaced A borigines w ith

E uropean stockm en and in at least one case the A boriginal com m unity had

been “encouraged" to move off the p a sto ra l pro p erty a lto g e th e r.’ (pp. 10 a n d II)

77. ‘B oth in the C entre and in the N o rth A borigines will need to a d a p t to changing

req u irem en ts and add to th eir skill in horsem anship a n d stockwork such skills

as truck driving, heavy m achinery a n d m o to r m aintenance, yard b u ild in g and

b u ild in g construction work, fence, bore a n d w indm ill m aintenance, bookkeeping etc., and also skills in o th er secondary aspects of the industry such as abattoirs.

As has already been explained changes in the industry will take place only

slowly a n d p ro bably a t a pace w hich A borigines can com fortably accom m odate provided a p p ro p ria te vocational tra in in g o p p o rtu n ities are offered early enough to encourage and enable them to acquire the relevant skills.’ (p. 12)

78. ‘W hile th e lab o u r com ponent m ay change in k ind it is unlikely to increase sig­

nificantly in size and the prospects for absorbing a grow ing lab o u r force are

negligible.

79. M uch p ro p e rty developm ent a n d im provem ent has already been in itiate d in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry over the last decade a lth o u g h in the sem i-arid areas with

an n u al ra in fa ll average below 25 inches the scope of fu tu re beef cattle develop­ m ent is lim ited by the n a tu re of the native botanical species. W ith c u rre n t tech­

nology there a p p ea r to be no species th a t can be in troduced to im prove the

quality or q u a n tity of feed. Research a n d p roperty m anagem ent in these areas

are therefore directed towards giving protection against seasonal h azard a n d in ­ creasing yield per beast area ra th e r th a n tow ards sup p o rtin g a d d itio n al num bers. Changes of this kind w ill probably never call for increased la b o u r b u t will u n ­

doubtedly call for a g ra d u al im provem ent in the levels of knowledge a n d tech n i­ cal ability of p ro p e rty m anagers a n d the lab o u r force alike.

8 0 . In h igher ra in fa ll areas changes in m anagem ent techniques to im prove herd

num bers a n d productivity have involved fairly high levels of capital investm ent to install a d d itio n al fencing, im proved w ater and h a ndling facilities for cattle

together w ith the in tro d u c tio n of im proved breeding, pasture im provem ent and supplem entary feeding. However intensive m anagem ent techniques can only de­ velop slowly because of the high capital outlay required for pasture im provem ent and for the im p o rta tio n of the necessary a d d itio n al breeding stock to build herd num bers. R e tu rn s on such high investm ents are slow and levels of investm ent

m ust therefore depend on the security of fu tu re m arket prospects. Nevertheless developm ents in these areas arc likely to call increasingly for m ore highly de­

veloped skills w ith in the existing w ork force together w ith lim ited additional

num bers of employees to handle a g radually increasing n u m b e r of cattle.' ip. 8)

12

81.

A borigines resident on Aborigines on

A boriginal pastoral P.P.S as % of

Date pop u la tio n properties total

31.12.56 17,042 5,393 32

31.12.61 18,677 5,727 31

(In fo rm atio n n o t available for interv en in g years)

31.12.65 19,681 4,676 24

31.12.67 20,549 4,212 21

31.12.69 21,394 4,305 20

8 2 . T h o u g h num bers on pastoral properties have dropped over the years b o th abso­ lutely a n d as a percentage of the total po p u latio n of A borigines in the N o rth ern

T errito ry , they still co nstitute a sizable and im p o rta n t segm ent of th a t p opulation.

D istribution 8 3 . T h e d istrib u tio n of groups of A borigines over pastoral properties d u rin g 1969­ 70 was of the follow ing order:

Size of group of resident A borigines

N il

N u m b e r of pastoral properties

39

1 less th an 20 77

20 „ „ 40 41

40 „ „ 60 15

60 „ „ 80 6

80 „ „ 100 5

100 „ „ 120 3

120 „ „ 140 —

140 „ „ 160 —

160 „ „ 180 2

180 „ „ 200 1

T o ta l 189 ’ (p. 34)

‘N ote: T h is total of 189 excludes 20 p astoral properties in respect of which

reports w ere not received and includes five outstations of m ain pastoral

properties. T h e outstations were treated separately in those cases w here it is

trad itio n a l for A borigines to reside at those locations independently of the

pastoral p roperty hom estead area.

84. T h u s it w ill be seen th a t there are six pastoral properties w hich account for 20%

of the total num ber; 26 fu rth e r properties which have sizable groups; 74 which have sm all b u t im p o rta n t groups; and 44 w ith m erely a handful. Some of the

groups com prise A borigines from one or perhaps two tribal groups only, w hilst others com prise m em bers of a n um ber of different tribes.

,85. A borigines reside on pastoral properties th ro u g h o u t the whole of the T errito ry . T h e p astoral area w ith the sm allest num bers is in the area to the south and

south-west of Alice Springs. T h e largest concentrations arc in the V ictoria River and the Sandover R iver areas.

Com position 8 6 . A t 31.12.69, 37% of the A borigines on pastoral properties were u n d e r sixteen

years of age. T h is is an indication of a relatively young and an expanding p o p u ­ lation. However, it is significantly different from the population on Mission and G overnm ent settlem ents w here 49% is u nder sixteen years of age.

8 7 . In 1956 it is likely th a t the A boriginal pop u latio n on pastoral properties was

growing by n a tu ra l increase only very slowly, if at all. T h is appears to have

changed over the past fourteen years and the present population appears to

possess the potential for substantial if not ra p id grow th.' (p. 35)

13

8 8 . ‘T h e C om m ittee was interested to find d u rin g visits both to the C entre and to

the N o rth a w ide variety of arra n g e m e n ts betw een A boriginal com m unities and station m anagem ent. N um erically these ranged from stations such as Yambah n ear Alice Springs w ith a sm all p e rm a n e n t A boriginal c om m unity of no more

th an e ig h t to ten people to stations like N appcrby in the C en tre and Victoria

R iver Dow ns in the N orth w ith p e rm a n e n t com m unities to ta llin g a ro u n d 130 to 140 A borigines. Some of these sta tio n com m unities have trad itio n a l links with the su rro u n d in g land areas and have been on a p a rtic u la r station for generations w hile others, for exam ple m ost of the A borigines on M ary vale sta tio n , have come

to the area only com paratively recently and have developed new ties. It did seem clear from o u r observations a n d discussions th a t in a t least several instances the relatio n sh ip betw een the A boriginal com m unity and pastoral m anagem ent was affected as m uch by the com m unity a ttitu d e to the m an ag er as the reverse and

we w ere told of instances w here in the past A boriginal groups had followed a

p a rticu la rly w ell-respected ‘boss’ w ell outside the lim it of th e ir tra d itio n a l tribal preserves. O n the o th er h a n d a t L ake N ash the m anager told us th a t employ­

m ent h a d v irtu a lly ceased d u rin g 1970 and th a t m ost A borigines h a d left the

station due to a clash w ith the previous m anager. T h e com m unity w hich cur­

ren tly totals a ro u n d 140 and represents a fairly stable g ro u p in g had returned

pro m p tly as soon as there was a change in m anagers. It is clear th a t in this kind

of p e rm a n e n t com m unity situ atio n there are often strong ties betw een manage­ m ent a n d the A boriginal c om m unity a n d we received indications th a t at least

some pastoralists felt an o bligation to find em ploym ent for a ll the able-bodied

m en w ho belonged to th e ir own sta tio n com m unity.

89. O utside this situ atio n there is evidence (especially in the C entre) of station

owners a n d m anagers cuttin g p e rm a n e n t em ploym ent of A borigines dow n to a m in im u m or nothing. M any are now follow ing the practice of em ploying a team of A boriginal stock workers on a tem porary basis as single em ployees in the

m ustering season and lettin g them go back to centres such as the Aboriginal

com m unity a t Finke o r to G overnm ent a n d Mission settlem ents w hen the work is finished. In a d d itio n , there are indications th ro u g h o u t the territo ry th a t many A borigines (m ostly am ong the younger generation) feel m ore m obile a n d are

p re p are d to travel greater distances — a t least for a sh o rt tim e — to find em ploy­ m en t.’ (p. 43)

90. ‘R epeatedly d u rin g o u r to u r we were told of the u n re liab ility of A boriginal em ­ ployees a n d of c u ltu ra l factors lim itin g th eir usefulness a n d of the additional

costs n o t recognised by the A w ard of providing for th e ir m edical and social care. W e are persuaded th a t these claims are not based on racial g ro u n d s b u t on the

experience of those concerned. O ften A borigines do n o t w ork as well o r as con­ sistently as w hites and they re q u ire m u ch m ore supervision. T h e average prod­ uctivity of A boriginal lab o u r is below th a t of w hite lab o u r.’ (p. 16)

9 1 . O f the 4,305 living on pastoral pro p erties a t 31.12.69 (m id-period date) , there

were 2,733 adults, of w hom 1,481 (1,029 m ales and 452 females) h a d been em ­ ployed for some p eriod d u rin g the year. T h e period of em ploym ent of many

of the m ales is know n to have been short, b u t exact figures are not available

. . . It is likely th a t this figure w ill be held for several years because the a p p a r­

ently increasing ra te of n a tu ra l increase should not be m ore th an offset by the

likely loss of num bers resulting from fu rth e r disem ploym ent of A borigines in the industry, w hich over the next few years should not be g re at.’ (p. 36)

92. T h e way in w hich tribes are d iv id ed betw een cattle stations is well

illu strated by figures taken from surveys carried o u t in 1967-8 in two

different areas, one north-east of Alice Springs, the o th e r in the R oper River. T h e results are sum m arised in A p p en d ix III.

93. R ecent figures available to m e show the largest num bers of A bo­

rigines on cattle stations as follows:

W ave H ill . . . . . 364

B ru n ette Downs . . . . 154

M u d g in b erri . . . . 123

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R o ck h am p to n Downs . . . 120

B anka B anka . . . . 116

V ictoria R iv er Downs . . . 115

R o p e r Valley . . . . 109

M ain o ru . . . . . 108

Lake N a s h ............................................................230

M acdonald Downs . . . 211

U to p ia . . . . . 155

W i l l o w r a ............................................................ 139

(purchased for A borigines) N ap p erb y . . . . . 136

T e a T r e e ............................................................ 126

N e u tra l J u n c tio n . . . . 120

4. Aborigines in towns

94. T h e 1971 Census revealed a total A boriginal p o p u latio n in the N o r­ th e rn T e rrito ry of 23,253 A borigines. For the purposes of the B ureau of Census an d Statistics ‘A borigines’ m eant those who were so described to the census takers by the persons supplying the inform ation.

95. O f these, 2,374 lived in G reater D arw in, 1,369 in Alice Springs, 174 in K ath erin e an d 119 in T e n n a n t Creek; a total of ju st over 4,000.

96. O f the D arw in A borigines, some 450-500 norm ally live at the Bagot Reserve an d there is a sm all group cam ped at K ulaluk and a larger group at B errim ah.

97. In Alice Springs th ere are about 250 people living 9 m iles from

Alice Springs at the A m oonguna Reserve a n d there are several p erm a­ n e n t an d sem i-perm anent camps on the T o d d an d Charles Rivers w hich w ould betw een them probably account for as m any more. O ne of these groups has lived in an old works cam p area for some years an d two

o th er areas are in the process of having p erm an en t toilet and w ashing

facilities provided.

98. O nly a very small percentage of city and tow n dwellers could estab­ lish a trad itio n a l claim to the areas where they now live.

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5. Aboriginal tribes and ethnic blocs

99. In A p p e n d ix IV are set o u t sum m aries ol the past an d presen t posi­

tions of a n u m b e r of tribes an d e th n ic blocs. T hese are pro v id ed as

illu stratio n s of the over-all situ a tio n . H ere again it w ill be seen th at it

is very difficult to generalise as to present-day strengths, cohesion or

m ain ten an ce o f tra d itio n a l links w ith land.

The Problems

100. T h is leads me conveniently to an o u tlin e of the m ajo r problem s

w hich seem to m e to arise in giving recognition to trad itio n a l A boriginal rights in land.

1. Aboriginal reserves

101. T h e term s of reference m ake it clear th a t the governm ent wishes to vest title to these lands in an ap p ro p ria te body or bodies, to ensure

th a t a p p ro p ria te m ineral a n d tim b er rights go w ith the lan d a n d to see

to it th a t A boriginal groups or com m unities have p ro p er rights over th a t land.

(a) T H E V E S T IN G O F T IT L E

102. T h e re are several ways in w hich these goals could be achieved. In the first place the title to all reserve lands could be h an d ed over to a

council set u p for the purpose. N o d o u b t all the m em bers of such a body w ould be A borigines. A v ariatio n w ould be to establish m ore th a n one such body and perhaps even a separate body for each reserve. In any

event the lan d w ould belong to these bodies w hich w ould certainly have power to lease, an d perhaps to transfer title, to A boriginal groups or

com m unities.

103. A second possibility w ould be to do w ith o u t such overall control a n d to h a n d over sm aller areas of land to p artic u la r com m unities. In

the case of the sm aller reserves this could produce the same result as the first possibility because there m ight be only one com m unity on the res­ erve. B ut in the case of A rnhem L and, for exam ple, the reserve w ould

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be divided in to a n u m b e r of regions ow ned by the d ifferen t communities now existing and, perhaps, by new com m unities to be established.

104. T h e th ird m a jo r possibility w ould be to h a n d such lands over to

tra d itio n a l lan d -h o ld in g groups.

105. B efore considering each of these suggestions in m ore detail, the

p o in t should be m ade th a t these are n o t three clear-cut anti q u ite dif­

feren t approaches. T h ey are cap ab le of m odification so th a t a final

scheme could co n tain elem ents of any two or all three. T h e only basic

distin ctio n betw een them lies in w h eth er the actual legal ow nership is h eld by statu to ry councils, co m m u n ities or clans.

106. In the case of the statu to ry councils (I shall assum e m ore th an one

sim ply for ease of reference) this has the advantage th a t legal title to

reserve lands could be given to such councils q u ite sim ply and quickly. T h e same legislation w hich established the councils could g ra n t the land to them and it w ould only re m a in to m ake the necessary appointm ents

to them o r h o ld the necessary elections as th o u g h t fit. It w ould not be

difficult to supply such councils w ith the necessary ad m in istrativ e assis­ tance a n d ex p ert advice to enab le them to carry o u t th e ir tasks.

107. O n the o th er h a n d it m ig h t be th o u g h t th at such an ap p ro ach was

too im personal, too rem ote from the people living on the land, a n d that it p u t too m uch pow er in to a few hands. Such objections could be met

in p a rt by lim itin g the powers of th e councils a n d p ro v id in g in the legis­ lation for p ro tectio n of the rights of com m unities or clans to occupy

an d use th e ir tra d itio n a l lands.

108. T h e com m unity has some obvious advantages as a land-ow ning u n it because it is the basic p o litical an d social g ro u p in g for A borigines in m odern society. M ost such com m unities have, in recen t years, become used to electing th e ir ow n councils an d a tten d in g general m eetings of the com m unity to decide m atters of com m on interest. I t is tru e that

living arrangem ents w ithin the com m unity will often be organised in such a way as to reflect clan o r dialect g ro u p affiliations b u t, for most -

purposes, the com m unity fu n ctions as a whole. A gain it should not

prove too difficult to arrange ad m in istrativ e su p p o rt an d ind ep en d en t advice for such com m unities, p ro v id ed th a t there was no general ten d en ­ cy for them to sub-divide them selves in to small isolated groups. T here is some evidence of such a trend.

109. D isadvantages of the com m unity approach w ould in clu d e the

possible difficulty of draw ing d iv id in g lines betw een co m m u n ity areas. Since the same clans or dialect groups m ay be represented in two or

m ore com m unities it w ould n o t always be easy to draw lines betw een

com m unities based on tra d itio n a l relationships to land. T h e m em bership of a p a rtic u la r com m unity could also present problem s in some cases, be­ cause inter-com m unity m ovem ent is com m on. T hese w ould probably “ have to be solved finally by a system of registration — each A borigine registering him self, and his fam ily, at his com m unity of choice — the com m unity no d o u b t having the pow er to accept transferees after initial registration.

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110. A n o th er problem w hich w ould som etim es arise, b o th at the o u t­ set an d later, w ould be the establishm ent of new com m unities a t some distance from the old. In some cases, the residents at such out-stations (as they are presently called) m ig h t be co n ten t to rem ain p a rt of the

larger com m unity. In others, they w ould pro b ab ly w ant com plete in ­ dependence. Some practical way of resolving such problem s w ould have to be found.

111. T h e m eth o d of allocation w hich m ig h t well a ttra c t m ost su p p o rt

at first sight is th a t w hich w ould give the lan d to tra d itio n a l land-holding groups. T h is w ould have the advantage of m ost closely ap p ro x im atin g A boriginal law. F u rth e r, m em bership of clans and clan b o undaries

sh o u ld always be capable of precise definition; though n o t w ith o u t long an d p ain stak in g en quiry in some instances. Such a system has been sup­ p o rte d by m ost anthropologists w ho have responded to my request for in fo rm atio n an d opinions.

112. O n the o th er h a n d th ere are some very real difficulties in this a p ­

proach. In the first place, such divisions of lan d were evolved for a

food-collecting an d h u n tin g life system in w hich the use of la n d was

shared betw een n eig h b o u rin g groups. T h e areas of lan d involved are som etim es q u ite sm all as, for exam ple, in cases w here a single h ill or

beach is held by one clan, at some distance from its m ain area, an d en ­

tirely su rro u n d ed by the lan d of an o th er clan. A rnhem L and, for ex­

am ple, m ight have to be divided in to alm ost 200 clan units.

113. Even w here areas are larger, divisions along these lines w ould have no regard to present or fu tu re productivity or needs. A sm all group

m ig h t well be e n title d to a large an d fertile area and m uch larger groups m ig h t find th a t th eir country, w hich produced only sparsely for food- gatherers, was q u ite useless for m odern food p ro d u ctio n or any other econom ic purpose. M ajor groups in some well-established com m unities

w ould find th a t they h ad no legal claim to the reserve lands on w hich

th a t com m unity h a d been established. Even u n d er trad itio n al A borig­ inal custom they w ould have been able to share w ith the land-holding groups the fruits and w ild life of the region. So if A boriginal title were

converted directly into some form of m odern title, some groups w ould get m ore an d others less th a n they enjoyed u n d e r the old system.

114. A n other way in w hich this w ould occur is th at one group or clan

may ow n a large area of land, b u t as I have p o in ted o u t earlier, o ther

groups have recognised rights an d duties as the m anagers or workers for the ow nership cerem onies relatin g to th a t land. T h e re w ould be no legal recognition of such rights if lan d were divided u p betw een clans.

115. T h e re w ould also be very real practical difficulties in adm in ister­ ing an ow nership system w here, as often happens, the rig h tfu l owners belong to several fam ily groups living in com m unities hundreds of miles ap art. T h u s I was inform ed th a t the three senior owners of one tract

of lan d in the P eterm an n Ranges lived respectively at L averton (630

miles west by road) W a rb u rto n (260 miles west) and Alice Springs (450 m iles east). It w ould obviously create difficulties to register th a t tract of lan d in the nam es of those m en and th eir fam ilies (who could be even m ore widely scattered).

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116. Also rele v a n t to this p o in t is the I.L .O . C o n v en tio n No. 107 of

1957 d ealin g w ith In d ig en o u s a n d T rib a l P o p u latio n s. It is im p o rtan t

th a t no action be taken w hich could p reju d ice ev entual A u stralian rati­ fication of th a t C onvention, w hich em phasises the claim s of indigenous peoples actually occupying tra d itio n a l lands.

117. T o vest title to large areas of la n d in larger trib a l groups would

solve some of the problem s referred to, b u t the tribes w ould still be

w idely scattered a n d this w o u ld assign to the trib e a social anti political u n ity w hich it d id n o t possess trad itio n ally . O n th e o th e r h a n d it is

tru e th a t m o d ern tra n sp o rt has m ade it possible for A borigines to make a n d re ta in trib a l contacts w hich w o u ld n o t have been possible w hen all m ovem ent was on foot.

118. A ll these are m atters w hich the A boriginal people them selves must carefully consider. O ne possible answ er w ould be a b len d of com m unity an d clan o r trib a l ow nership as fo u n d a p p ro p ria te in different places.

119. O ne th in g w hich seems q u ite clear so far as reserve lands are

concerned is th a t ow nership, in the first instance, m u st be com m unal.

C om m unities w ill no d o u b t w ish to give leases to in d iv id u als in some

cases and, a t some tim e in the fu tu re , in d iv id u al title to la n d m ay be­

come a p p ro p riate. H ow ever, in a lie n a b le com m unal title is q u ite basic to the A b o rig in al system an d so seems to provide the only possible way of d ealing w ith reserve lands in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry today. T his

appears to be the view of all the com m unities I have so far visited.

120. Some form of in co rp o ratio n for A boriginal groups will thus be

necessary for land-ow ning purposes, a n d if it is sufficiently flexible to cover b o th com m unities an d clans, it m ay well be p racticable for differ­ e n t A b o rig in al people to organise them selves as they see fit. If a clan

o r dialect g ro u p basis is favoured, 1 have already said th a t I w o u ld not

expect any final difficulty in resolving areas of ow nership, alth o u g h the process w ould be very in tricate a n d tim e-consum ing. Sim ilarly, if only com m unities were involved, I w ould expect the A b o rig in al peo p le them ­ selves to be able to resolve areas of responsibility. A ny c o n tin u in g dis­

p u te coidd be settled by arb itra to rs acceptable to b o th sides or, in the

last resort, an au th o rity prescribed by the legislation.

121. T h e same m eth o d of solution could be ap p lied to a d isp u te be­

tween a com m unity an d a clan, b u t here the guidelines w ould be h ard er to establish an d the w hole task m u ch m ore difficult. Such disputes w ould also be m ore likely to occur, because there is m ore scope for a conflict

of interest arising from ov erlap p in g claims.

(b) E X IS T IN G R IG H T S

122. O ne special pro b lem w hich w ill have to be considered is the exis­ tence of o th er rights over lan d in A bo rig in al reserves. T hese rights in­ clude cu rre n t m ission leases, such rights as may exist u n d e r expired

m ission leases, existing special-purpose leases to A borigines a n d others, possible agreem ents to en ter in to special-purpose leases w ith A borigines or others, an d m in in g leases and ex p lo ratio n perm its.

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123. I have already in d icated th a t no real difficulties are an tic ip a te d in re la tio n to m ission leases. So far as o th e r com m itm ents are concerned, the p o in t has been m ad e to me by several A boriginal com m unities th at they w ere n o t party, in any legal or practical sense, to certain of these

agreem ents, all of w hich proceeded on the assum ption th a t A borigines h a d no recognisable rights in land.

124. O n the o th er h a n d , such agreem ents have been en tered into in

good faith by the lessees or perm itees who, in some cases, have sp en t large sums of m oney o n cap ital works.

125. O ne possible ap p ro ach to this pro b lem w ould be as follows; I set

it o u t in o rd er to in vite com m ent from those affected:

126. A ll existing rights should, to begin w ith, be preserved by the leg­ islation w hich gives la n d title to A borigines. O nce the A b o rig in al clans o r com m unities have been in co rp o rated an d the b o undaries of th eir

la n d fixed, they should becom e en title d to all ren ts a n d fees payable in respect of any agreem ents, leases or perm its affecting th eir land. T h ey sh o u ld th en review all such arrangem ents. If they decide to approve

them they should co n tin u e to receive, as ow ners of the land, the rents

a n d fees provided for. If they do n o t approve any arran g em en t an at­

tem p t should be m ade to re-negotiate it on term s acceptable to the

A borigines.

127. If such re-negotiation should prove unsuccessful, consideration could th e n be given by the governm ent to the com pulsory acquisition of the rights concerned on term s of ju st com pensation. T h e legislation w hich preserved existing rights w ould have to provide for this co n tin ­

gency. Each case w ould have to be d ealt w ith on its m erits an d the final decision w ould dep en d u p o n considerations of possible benefit to the A b o rig in al com m unity, possible d etrim en t to o th er parties a n d cost to the governm ent.

128. In cases involving m inerals, any re-negotiation should aw ait the establishm ent of rules for fu tu re exp lo ratio n and p ro duction, against w hich existing arrangem ents could be m easured.

129. I have been careful, in d ealin g w ith existing rights, to speak of

rents and fees because obviously m in eral royalties create a different

problem . H ere the governm ent has already annou n ced an in terim con­ tin u a tio n of the policy w hereby 2.5% of the value of m inerals recov­

ered on reserve lands goes to the A borigines Benefits T ru st F u n d , and of this 10% goes to the com m unity directly concerned.

130. Several com m unities have suggested to m e th a t the figure of 10% is n o t high enough an d I re tu rn to this subject later. C ertainly it seems

em inently reasonable th a t a significant p a rt of such royalties should go to regional, T erritory-w ide or nation-w ide organisations of A borigines a n d the balance should be retain ed by the land-ow ning group, w hatever it m ay be. I t is only fair th a t it should get special consideration because

its lan d is being in terfered w ith. Perhaps the clans m ost affected should, in tu rn , get special consideration from the land-ow ning group.

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131. O n the o th e r h a n d it w ould seem u n fo rtu n a te th a t some groups

of A borigines, w hich m ig h t be q u ite sm all, should becom e extrem ely w ealthy w hile others are com paratively poor, the difference being repre­ sented by the presence on th e ir la n d of a m etal or fluid w hich had

p ro b ab ly no significance at all in tra d itio n a l A b o rig in al society.

132. T h e qu estio n of forest p ro d u cts will also have to be considered

in this co n n ectio n b u t m ight w ell re q u ire different tre a tm e n t since the

local claim s based on tra d itio n a l gro u n d s w ould be stronger an d the

sums involved m uch sm aller.

2. Other public reserves and Crown land

133. T h e types of p u b lic reserves w hich are m ost relev an t for present

purposes are N a tio n a l Parks a n d w ildlife reserves. T h ese are d ealt with in m ore detail later u n d e r the h ead in g of ‘L an d usage’ an d the respec­

tive sub-headings of ‘T o u rists an d visitors’ an d ‘C o n serv atio n ’, although clearly these topics overlap.

134. I t w ould be p rem atu re at this stage to m ake any firm suggestions

as to how such reserves should be d e a lt w ith, b u t several g en eral com­ m ents can perh ap s be m ade.

135. In the first place, conservationists properly argue th a t some n at­

u ra l h a b itats of w ild life an d p lan ts should be preserved at all costs.

T h e y urge th a t in some circum stances the local interests of m an , even

of A b o rig in al m an, should be su b o rd in a te d to those of o th e r form s of

life.

136. C ertainly A boriginal m an lived in eq u ilib riu m w ith his en v iron­ m ent for thousands of years. B ut if he were to use m o d ern h u n tin g

e q u ip m en t or in tro d u ce extensive to u rist or pastoral activities to certain areas, the p ictu re could quickly change.

137. Secondly, it should prove generally feasible to em ploy A borigines as rangers an d guides in protected areas. T h is is already being done in

some places.

138. It seems th a t the problem w ill be to identify areas th a t need and

are w orthy of special p rotection, a n d th e n to try to reconcile A boriginal interests w ith those of conservation in those areas. I t may be th a t a

scheme of A boriginal title, com bined w ith N atio n al Park status and

jo in t m anagem ent, w ould prove acceptable to all interests.

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139. T h e re seems to be no general reason why vacant C row n lands

should n o t be included in a p p ro p ria te grants of title to A boriginal com ­ m u n ities in cases w here a tra d itio n a l claim is established.

140. H ow ever there could well be cases, in areas of p o ten tial tow n d e­ velopm ent, w here A boriginal claim s w ould have to be w eighed against b ro ad tow n-planning req u irem en ts. O th er p a rtic u la r argum ents against such grants may be available in o th er instances.

3. Pastoral leases

141. O ne of the C om m ission’s term s of reference requires me to con­ sider ‘the desirability of establishing suitable procedures for the ex am in a­ tio n of claim s to A boriginal tra d itio n a l rights and interests in or in

relatio n to la n d in areas in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry of A ustralia outside

A boriginal reserves or of establishing altern ativ e ways of m eeting effec­ tively the needs for la n d of A boriginal groups or com m unities living

outside those reserves’.

142. T h is obviously raises some difficult a n d controversial problem s so far as existing pastoral leases are concerned. T hese leases cover a large p a rt of the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry and have been g ran ted for varying p eri­ ods of tim e. W ith the rights of renew al they co n tain they give su b stan tial

security of title to existing holders, provided th a t the conditions of the lease are observed by the lessees. T h e cattle stations w hich have been established u n d e r these leases vary greatly in size an d value. T h e re are some in the centre w hich barely su p p o rt — or even fail to su p p o rt —

one m an a n d his fam ily. T h e re are others fu rth e r n o rth w hich carry

huge herds of cattle a n d represent vast corporate investm ents.

143. As to the relatio n sh ip betw een A boriginal lan d rights an d these

properties, it is to be n o ted th a t the governm ent has already purchased two such properties for the use of A borigines. T hese are W illow ra and K ildurk. O thers are available for purchase if suitable terms could be

agreed upon. B ut there w ould no d o ubt be m any w hich are n o t for sale a t all.

144. W ith regard to these properties it is necessary to bear in m in d the

findings of the G ibb C om m ittee, referred to earlier. A t Page 74 of th at R ep o rt, the C om m ittee recom m ended, am ong o ther things,

‘a. th at in a p p ro p riate areas land be obtained by excision, or by sub-lease from the pastoralists for A boriginal com m unities for lim ited village, econom ic a n d rec­ reational purposes to enable A borigines to preserve traditional c u ltu ra l ties,

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a n d obligations a n d to provide the com m unity w ith a m easure of autonom y;

such lan d n a tu ra lly needs access to ad eq u a te w ater supplies b u t in a d d itio n it

should be of such an area a n d such a q u a lity th a t some su p p le m e n tary activities m ay be encouraged upon it, e.g., pig, p o u ltry and fishing, g a rd en in g and a rti­

fact m aking, etc.; (pp. 45 and 46) ,

b. w here it is in a p p ro p ria te to excise o r sublease lan d for an A boriginal com­

m u n ity some a rran g em en t be m ade betw een pastoral m anagem ent, p erh ap s in co-operation w ith G overnm ent to develop a village com m unity a n d to provide A borigines w ith an increasing say in m anagem ent of the tillag e area; the

arra n g e m e n t should be the subject of re g u la r review to enable m ore responsi­ bility to devolve upon the A boriginal com m unity, (p. 46) ’

145. T hese recom m endations are su p p o rte d today by the N o rth e rn T e r­ rito ry C attle P ro d u cers’ C ouncil. H ow ever it m ust be rem em b ered that they were m ad e in the context of 1971. I have no way of know ing if the

C om m ittee w ould have reached the sam e conclusions in the co ntext of tin express reco g n itio n of A b o riginal title to reserve lands.

146. As in d icated earlier, I have so fa r h a d very little contact w ith A bo­ rigines living on cattle stations. H ow ever, in a n u m b e r of instances, A bo­ rigines living on reserves have referred to n e ig h b o u rin g cattle stations. O ften reference has been to the exercise of the rig h t co n tain ed in leases

for A borigines to w an d er and h u n t over cattle statio n land. I t seems

th a t this rig h t has som etim es been denied, or its exercise discouraged, by p ro p erty ow ners or m anagers fearing interference w ith livestock.

147. O n this p o in t it seems th a t there has been concern expressed at

tim es a b o u t A b o rig in al dogs accom panying th eir ow ners an d d istu rb in g cattle. O th er com plaints have re la te d to the in d iscrim in ate use of fire­ arm s an d to a failu re to give any w a rn in g or notice of the presence of

a h u n tin g o r cam ping p arty on the lan d .

148. From w h at I have h eard so far I do n o t have the im pression th at

this is a m a jo r cause of concern e ith e r to A borigines or cattle stations.

B u t it may be tim e to review th e very an cien t provisions now applying

to see if they need refram in g to m eet m o d ern requirem ents,

149. A n o th er source of A boriginal concern is the p ro tectio n of sacred sites on p astoral leases. T h e suggestion was m ade on several occasions th a t p a rtic u la r sites should be fenced off a n d p ro tected by notices. T h e only com m ents I wish to m ake at this stage on this topic are, firstly, th at

the w hole q u estion of id en tify in g a n d p ro tectin g sacred sites is u n d er

review by the A u stralian In stitu te of A boriginal Studies a n d secondly that, in some instances, draw ing the a tte n tio n of the general p u b lic to

A boriginal sacred sites could be h a rm fu l. It m ight lead to inquisitive

investigation in spite of fences or w arn in g notices.

150. A borigines, p articu larly o lder m en, have also o ften in d icated in discussions a desire to set u p a m ore or less p erm an en t cam p beside some w aterhole or soakage w hich is significant to them . In m any cases cattle have so fouled w aterholes by co n stan t use over years th a t they are u n ­

recognisable as the p leasant places they m ust once have been. In o th er cases extensive use of bores has so altered the w ater table th at soakages w ill no longer su p p o rt life in the dry season. B ut there are still some

24

sites w hich are attractiv e to A boriginal people as living areas, w h eth er or n o t they are associated w ith em ploym ent o p p o rtu n ities.

151. I have set o u t the im pressions so far gained of the interest of A bo­

rigines in lan d the subject of pastoral leases. H ow ever this is one of the

areas in w hich I feel the greatest need of in d e p e n d e n t advice to the A bo­ rig in al people to enable them to form ulate a p p ro p ria te claims.

152. I do n o t wish to a n ticip ate the form those claim s m ight take, b u t

m atters re q u irin g co n sideration w ill include:

(a) p lan n ed purchases or acquisitions of lan d on w hich to estab­ lish A boriginal cattle ventures or sim ilar activities;

(b) excision from leases of areas of lan d for A boriginal living

purposes;

(c) rights of access of A borigines to pastoral properties;

(d) the p ro tectio n of sacred sites on p astoral leases, and

(e) the recognition of lan d rights by the div ertin g of lease pay­

m ents or m in in g royalties from th e C row n to a p p ro p ria te

A b o rig in al groups.

153. Since several subm issions m ade to m e have referred to possible

financial com pensation for la n d taken from A borigines in the past, I

should p o in t o u t th at no questions of financial com pensation in place of rights to lan d are raised by my term s of reference.

4. City and town dwellers

154. T h e reg u lar residents at the Bagot Reserve at D arw in have m ade it p la in to m e th a t th eir only concern is to o b tain title to the Reserve so

th a t they can develop it as an attractive an d useful com m unity living

area. T hey foresee a m ix tu re of houses an d flats, including high-rise

hats, w ith special provision for old-age pensioners. In due tim e they

w ould expect to see the su rro u n d in g fence come down and all residents m aking use of outside schools, hospitals an d o ther public facilities.

155. A necessary pre-condition to achieving such aims is the accom m o­ d a tio n elsewhere of all the transients and o th e r tem porary residents now found at Bagot. T h ere seems to be no hope of any substantial develop­ m en t at Bagot w hile th e area has to provide for these people, some of

w hom cause trouble by refusing to observe the rules of the A boriginal council. M any, of course, are in D arw in for a special purpose an d merely re q u ire hostel-type accom m odation.

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156. B eyond expressing my sym pathy w ith the objectives of the Bagot C ouncil I do n o t feel th a t th ere is m uch th at I can do o r say to assist

the detailed w o rk in g o u t of th e ir plans. T h e ir ap p ro ach , w hich I have

o u tlin ed , raises questions of tow n p la n n in g a n d u rb a n developm ent

ra th e r th a n of the reco g n itio n of tra d itio n a l lan d rights. W h atev er gen­ eral system is finally adopted, I see no difficulty in vesting title to the

B agot Reserve in a pro p erly elected a n d in co rp o rated com m ittee of resi­ dents. I w ould, how ever, advise cau tio n in ap p ro ach in g the question of ten u re for in d iv id u a l occupiers of houses or flats. I u n d e rsta n d th a t the C ouncil contem plates in d iv id u a l o w nership in at least some cases. Sub­ ject to any fu rth e r subm issions b ein g p u t, I w ould have th o u g h t th at a

lease for a term of years w ould be m ore ap p ro p riate, at least for the time being.

157. A m ore difficult q u estion is raised by the few re m a in in g members of the L a rra k ia trib e who, in discussions w ith me, have laid claim par­

ticularly to an area of w aterfro n t la n d betw een B agot an d Nightcliff

w hich they call K ulaluk. W h e n I m et them I was told th a t there

are some 18 m em bers of the trib e now left. L ater in fo rm atio n suggests th a t fewer th a n this n u m b er can trace p a te rn a l descent from the L arra­ kia, b u t there are m ore who id en tify themselves as L a rra k ia because of m atern al links. T h ey have told m e th a t the w hole of D arw in is b u ilt on

L arrak ia co u n try a n d w ritten claim s su b m itted on th e ir b e h a lf include claim s to several p arts of the city, the L arrakeyah Reserve of 14 square m iles south of D arw in an d 660 acres of lan d in D arw in to replace land

excised from the B agot Reserve in 1965.

158. O th e r A b o rig in al groups in D arw in have asked for areas of land

at K nuckey’s L agoon, B errim ah a n d O ne M ile D am , Francis Bay where they are presently cam ping, to be set aside for th em as h o u sin g areas.

T hese again raise no direct questions of tra d itio n a l rights, alth o u g h some of these people are descended from neig h b o u rin g tribes a n d th e ir fore­ bears w ould, no d o u b t, have h a d some contact w ith the L a rra k ia people a n d th eir country. A lth o u g h such com m unity developm ents deserve sym­ p ath etic consideration, there seems to be no sound reason w hy such

people should be tre a te d any differently from o th er A borigines com ing from fu rth e r afield an d w ishing to live in the D arw in area.

159. T h e L a rra k ia g ro u p raise some special problem s. C learly they are en title d to consideration as a g ro u p w anting to live as a sm all com m unity an d to do so on some p a rt of the tra d itio n a l lands of th e ir tribe.

160. W h eth er they should be free to choose the p a rtic u la r site in a de­

veloping city such as D arw in raises different questions. O ne qu estio n is the length an d ex ten t of th eir atta c h m e n t to the area in question; it may

have belonged to a different clan of th eir tribe. A n o th er is the effect of

tow n p la n n in g considerations an d a th ird is the possible effect of rights of o th er persons acq u ired in good faith.

161. I do n o t feel able to take this m a tte r any fu rth e r at this stage and

w ould welcome fu rth e r subm issions on the questions of p rin cip le in ­ volved. F u rth e r factual m aterial m ay also prove helpful.

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162. So far as Alice Springs is concerned, the only groups of A borigines living outside reserves of w hom I have know ledge are those cam ped on the T o d d R iver an d its trib u taries.

163. It m ay be th a t some of these could trace th eir descent from the

p a rtic u la r clans of the E astern A ran d a people w ho trad itio n ally ow ned those areas w here they are cam ped. If so, I have no evidence of it, and

unless such a claim is m ade, the problem seems to me to be ag ain one

of social w elfare a n d u rb a n developm ent ra th e r th a n of tra d itio n a l lan d rights. T h e fact th a t some people cam ped th ere are of the A ran d a tribe

w ould give them no m ore rights th a n o th er n e ig h b o u rin g tribes. T h e ir ow n lan d could be 100-200 m iles away.

164. I should m ake it clear th a t in saying th a t such problem s relate to

social w elfare a n d u rb a n developm ent I do n o t suggest th a t they are u n ­ im p o rta n t or less urg en t th a n tra d itio n a l lan d rig h t problem s. I merely m ean th a t they are different problem s, as to w hich I have so far received no direct submissions.

5. Incorporation

165. It is obvious th at, w hatever form the recognition of A boriginal

la n d rights may take, th ere m ust be provision for title to be vested in

groups or com m unities of A borigines. A nd, w hen it comes to usin g the lan d , there m ust be provision for the o p eratio n of A boriginal businesses.

166. Since u n in co rp o rated associations, co-operatives an d trustee arran g e­ m ents all have clear defects in the A boriginal situ atio n there is an

obvious need for provisions for in corporation. F u rth er, laws relatin g to in co rp o ratio n u n d er the Com panies Acts are in a p p ro p ria te for most

A boriginal purposes.

167. I have no d o u b t th a t w hat is req u ired is a special system of incor­

p o ratio n of A boriginal groups. T h is will req u ire a system of registration w hich autom atically leads to the group registered becom ing a n incor­ p o rated body.

168. It seems to me th a t the system adopted should be sufficiently flex­ ible to p erm it the in co rp o ratio n of:

(a) local land-ow ning bodies

(b) regional land-ow ning bodies

(c) tow n councils having a local governm ent role

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(cl) business enterprises of a w hole com m unity, a n d probably

(e) business enterprises of g roups w ith in a com m unity.

169. T h e re sh o u ld also be pro v isio n for co m b in atio n of these functions w here a p p ro p ria te a n d for one A bo rig in al co rp o ratio n to be a member of a n o th e r in some cases — as fo r exam ple w here several land-ow ning corp o ratio n s jo in in a business en terp rise.

170. A p a rt from technical problem s of m em bership, m anagem ent, pow­ ers an d co ntrol of such in co rp o ratio n s, there are two p relim in ary ques­ tions w hich seem to m e to call fo r com m ent.

171. T h e first of these is the risk of p ro life ra tio n of such incorporations in an A bo rig in al com m unity. Som e com m unities m ay already have:

(a) a com m unity council fo r the discussion of A boriginal ques­

tions a n d for purposes of fostering A b o rig in al developm ent,

(b) a tow n council for purposes of local governm ent,

(c) a progress association o r social club for d evelopm ent of recrea­ tio n al an d o th e r co m m u n ity facilities,

(d) a h o u sing association, a n d

(e) one o r m ore com panies in co rp o rated for com m ercial purposes.

172. O bviously if o th e r in co rp o rated bodies were ad ded to such a list,

there could be m uch confusion an d a w asteful o v erlap p in g of functions.

173. O n the o th e r h a n d there w ould be disadvantages in a single, pow­ erful, m u lti-purpose corporation. T h e need is for flexibility an d freedom of choice in this area.

174. A n o th er q u estion w hich arises is w hether, if an A b o rig in al com­ m u n ity wishes it, persons o th er th a n A borigines sh o u ld be ad m itte d to m em bership of any of the co rp o ratio n s envisaged. T h e two types of body w hich m ig h t len d themselves to such m em bership are tow n councils and progress associations. In eith er of these cases a m in o rity of non-A borig­ in al m em bers m ig h t be desired by an A boriginal com m unity. In some cases w hich involve the ru n n in g of a store or licensed prem ises, tax atio n or o th er legal req u irem en ts m ig h t m ake it necessary th a t all persons

using the facilities should be m em bers of the organisation ru n n in g it.

175. Clearly no non-A borigine should share in the ow nership of Abo­ riginal lan d or the u ltim a te co n tro l of enterprises carried o u t on that

land.

176. So far as technical m atters are concerned, it w ill be necessary to

have sim ple a n d flexible provisions for the a p p o in tm e n t of boards and com m ittees. Precisely defined m em bership of the g ro u p being incor­ p o rated w oidd pro b ab ly only be im p o rta n t in those cases w here divi­

dends were payable or where m em bership was not based on residence.

177. In view of the large am ounts re q u ire d to be spent on com m unity

projects in the foreseeable future, there w ould seem to be little o r no

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im m ediate need for d etailed rules p ro tecting in d iv id u al rights. H ow ever, in those cases w here royalty receipts are su b stan tial, the need could soon arise.

178. It is suggested th a t the im m ediate re q u ire m e n t is for sim ple legis­ latio n , allow ing a good deal of adm in istrativ e discretion. D etailed rules for different types of c o rp o ratio n could perh ap s be provided for by reg u ­ latio n , so th a t the clearly u rg en t land-ow ning provisions, for exam ple,

need n o t be delayed by the m ore intricate tra d in g provisions.

179. It is envisaged th a t a body w ould be in co rp o rated p u rsu a n t to one o r m ore p arts of the en ab lin g Act, each p a rt having its own req u irem en ts as to the rules to be ad o p ted before inco rp o ratio n . M em bership w ould be defined by residence in some cases an d by registered list in o th e r cases.

180. In the case of land-ow ning corporations it is q u ite likely th a t d if­

feren t com m unities m ay w ish for different types of governing bodies. T h e ir preferred m ethods of a p p o in tm e n t m ay also depend on a process o th e r th an election; discussion, con su ltatio n an d deference to the views of elders are n a tu ra l to A borigines. Elections are a recent innovation.

181. In these circum stances it w ould seem ap p ro p ria te to req u ire merely th a t the R eg istrar should satisfy him self th a t the people n o m in ated to

h im have been duly chosen by the com m unity or g ro u p as th e ir re p re ­

sentatives for th e relev an t purpose. T h e m eth o d chosen by the R eg istrar to so satisfy him self, w h eth er by affidavits, certified pu b lic m eeting, rig h t of challenge after p u b licatio n or otherw ise, could also perhaps be left to his discretion.

182. Some au th o rity should have pow er in case of alleged co rru p tio n or serious m ism anagem ent to suspend or dismiss a governing body and a p p o in t a m anager or m anagers. T h e whole system should be u n d e r the co ntrol of the Suprem e C o u rt of the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry or some o ther

a p p ro p ria te C ourt.

183. I should conclude this section by saying th at I have hesitated to

express firm views on any d etailed aspect of this subject of in co rp o ratio n because it is one on w hich I have received very few submissions a n d there m ay be pitfalls w hich I have n o t foreseen.

184. T h u s one question w hich w ill have to be carefully considered is

any possible incidence of tax a tio n of A boriginal corporations. Should, for exam ple, com m unity corporations carrying on business enterprises, the profits of w hich go to com m unity developm ent, be subject to tax? A n d even if they d istrib u te dividends, should any com pany tax be pay­

able? Presum ably no tax w ould be payable on com m unity incom e from leases, perm its or royalties.

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6. Funds

185. O ne p ro b lem w hich will have to be faced is the allo catio n of funds to lan d o w n in g a n d land-using bodies in clu d in g regional lan d councils (w hich are discussed below). In all cases, m oney w ill be necessary for

pu rely a d m in istrativ e purposes: p ro v id in g ad eq u ate office space, office eq u ip m e n t, secretarial services, m an ag em en t salaries, reim b u rsem en t of fares to a tte n d m eetings and sim ilar expenses. W h ere the o rganisation is concerned w ith lan d usage — p asto ral activities, forestry, fishing o r tour­

ism for ex am ple — m uch heavier expenses w ill be in cu rred . C onsidera­ tio n will obviously have to be given to the d esirab ility of m ak in g regular gran ts e ith e r to all such bodies o r a t least to all those h av in g no signifi­

can t present incom e.

186. I t w ill also be necessary to consider the ap p ro p riaten ess of present m ethods of fu n d in g A b o riginal enterprises. I have n o t en co u n tered any significant criticism of the w o rk in g of the A borigines Benefits T ru st

F u n d . C ertainly allocation of av ailable m onies on ap p licatio n a n d ac­ cording to need is a reasonable ap p ro ach . H ow ever the view has been

expressed o n several occasions th a t all m oderate earnings — from leases, e x p lo ratio n licences o r tim b er royalties, for exam ple — sh o u ld rem ain w here they are earned. O nly m a jo r earnings from m in erals sh o u ld be

m ore w idely d istrib u ted .

187. A n o th er possible view is th a t all or p a rt of funds available for de­

velopm ent should be d istrib u te d to com m unities on a basis of p o p u latio n .

188. C ertainly all these questions w ill req u ire reco n sid eratio n in the

lig h t of decisions reached as to la n d ow nership.

7. Land usage

(a) G R A Z IN G A N D A G R IC U L T U R E

189. I t has been p u t to the Com m ission th at the A borigine should have the same rig h t of choice as the w hite la n d h o ld e r in selecting the form of en terp rise (if any) w hich he wishes to pursue on his lan d ; b u t he should also be subject to the same oblig atio n n o t to dam age o r p erm an en tly

destroy any of the n a tu ra l resources of the land.

190. T h e fact th a t this obligation has som etim es not been observed by

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p astoral lessees, or enforced, does n o t d etra c t from the validity of the

argum ent. Such an o b lig atio n is receiving everw idening reco g n itio n and the largely un d ev elo p ed A boriginal reserves provide an excellent o p p o r­ tu n ity for its ap p licatio n , p articu larly since they w ould necessarily be developed, in m ost cases, by use of pu b lic m onies.

191. If this view were adopted, it w ould involve A boriginal co m m u n i­ ties seeking a n d accepting the best available advice before developing grazing o r a g ricu ltu ral activities. I t m ig h t also m ean th a t they w ould

have to su b m it to some restrictions as to the n a tu re an d ex ten t of those

activities, over an d above the obvious legal controls directed, for exam ple, against any spread of cattle disease.

192. U n fo rtu n ately the grou n d w o rk w hich w ould enable so u n d advice to be given an d ju st restrictions to be im posed has been done in very few areas. D etailed studies have been carried o u t on C roker Islan d an d in

the W ag ait Reserve. G eneral Surveys have been m ade in the B ulm an

R iver, P o rt Keats and H aasts Bluff regions. N o t all of these rep o rts have yet been pub lish ed and, in any event, they rep resen t only a very sm all

p a rt of the to tal areas having pastoral or a g ricu ltu ral p o ten tial in A bo­ rig in a l reserves. It therefore becomes necessary to suggest some p relim ­ inary m easures w hich should be observed in app ro ach in g such develop­ m ent.

193. In the first place it should be said th a t such activities as m ark et

g ard en in g and dairy farm in g present no problem s once expert advice has established th e ir likely success in an area. N o r could the ex p lo itatio n of w ild cattle or buffalo already in an area do any possible harm .

194. T h e sort of activities w hich call for closer a tte n tio n are those such as sorghum or m aize grow ing an d the establishm ent of new cattle p ro ­ jects, especially if they involve the clearing of existing vegetation from any substan tial area of land.

195. I t seems desirable th a t an area should be fixed beyond w hich clear­ ing w ill n o t be p erm itte d w ith o u t express au th o rity , follow ing an a p p ro ­ p riate survey of the area. M axim um stocking rates m ay also have to be fixed, eith er for regions or for specific ventures.

196. So far as pastoral m anagem ent is concerned, it is clear th a t few, if any, A borigines have been train ed or have acquired the skills necessary to enable them to m anage cattle enterprises w ith o u t considerable assis­ tance. T h e skills of a stockm an, w hich m any A borigines undo u b ted ly

possess, are obviously very different from the skills of a m anager. T h u s such assistance m ust be provided for them , an d I regard it as v ital th at

su bstantial salaries be paid to secure the rig h t m en for the jobs; having b o th the necessary skills an d experience an d also an interest in the b ro ad ­ er im plications of th eir work an d a w illingness and ability to train

A borigines to take over from them in due course. A p p ro p riate contrac­ tu al arrangem ents w ould have to be m ade, taking effect perhaps after a trial period, to secure the legitim ate interests of the employee m anager w ith o u t in frin g in g the u ltim ate rig h t of the A boriginal owners to con­

trol th eir own enterprise.

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197. A lthough, as I have said, A b o rig in al pastoral v entures sh o u ld have the best m an ag em en t available, it does n o t follow from this th a t com m er­ cial profits sh o u ld be the test of success or failu re in such schemes. I t may well be th a t a v en tu re w ill give a reasonable living sta n d a rd an d useful

a n d p leasan t w ork to a n u m b e r of A borigines w ith o u t being able to show a financial profit. T h is need n o t m a tte r, so long as p ro d u c tio n is m ain­

tain e d a t a reasonable level an d no h a rm is done to the land.

198. O ne qu estio n w hich needs co n sid eratio n is w h eth er cattle stations p u rchased for A b o rig in al use sh o u ld be subject to the same form of A bo­ rig in a l ten u re as reserve lands. In p artic u la r, should the governm ent

have any d irect co n tro l over the situ a tio n if the p ro p erty is being allowed to ru n down? If the purchase has been m ade for the benefit of trad i­

tio n al ow ners of th e lan d it w ould be difficult to d istin g u ish the case

from th a t of reserve lands h av in g p asto ral value. If no tra d itio n a l claims w ere involved, the situ a tio n m ig h t be different.

(b) F O R E S T R Y

199. Since 1961 it has been g o v ern m en t policy to investigate and de­

velop forest resources on A b o rig in al reserves. Royalties, after deduction of 50% for developm ental costs, have been paid to the A borigines B ene­ fits T ru s t F u n d in accordance w ith Section 21 of the N o r th e r n Territory (A d m in istra tio n ) A c t 1910-1968.

200. Some 3,700 acres of p la n ta tio n have been established on M elville Islan d an d alto g eth er some 700,000 acres of native forests have been

designated for p ro tectio n an d m an agem ent. O ver six m illio n acres of

forest in A rnhem L an d , M elville Isla n d a n d the D aly R iv er area have

been identified as su itab le for forestry projects.

201. T h e re are cu rre n t tim b er rem oval o p erations a t L ake Evella, Elcho Island, M an ingrida, M elville Islan d , B ath u rst Island, M u rg an ella and the W agait Reserve. A n n u al e x p e n d itu re on forestry w ith in A boriginal reserves is in the vicinity of $ lm .

202. O bvious advantages to A borigines from forest developm ents in­ clude profits from forestry and saw -m illing enterprises a n d em ploym ent in such work. O n the o th er h a n d some types of forest op eratio n s such

as w ood-chip in d u stry o r the d evelopm ent of pine p lan tatio n s, w ould greatly change the face of the country.

203. I am n o t aw are of any o b jection to A borigines hav in g control of

forestry o p erations on reserves; provided, as w ith all o th e r com m ercial ventures, th a t com petent m anagers are em ployed an d norm al legal re­ qu irem en ts an d sound business practices observed. T h e control of bush- fires w ould presen t some special problem s, p articu larly in view of tra d i­ tio n al A b o rig in al practices in the use of fire.

204. O th er problem s req u irin g consideration w ould be those of con­

servation (see below) and the fu tu re of royalty paym ents: should all N o r­ th e rn T e rrito ry A borigines share in the benefits from forest resources and, if so, at w hat rate? C u rren t royalty levels in m ore rem ote regions

32

range from 10 cents to 20 cents per h u n d re d su p er feet. T h e re w ould

seem to be an arg u m en t in favour of all earnings from forestry ventures re m a in in g in the area w here they are earned.

(c) F IS H E R IE S

205. A n u m b er of A b o rig in al com m unities in the N orth have raised

w ith me questions of fishing rights. T h ey p o in t to th eir tra d itio n a l de­

pendence on fish, turtles, shellfish, dugong a n d o th er forms of sea life

a n d they ask w h eth er th e ir lan d rights w ill ex ten d o u t to sea an d , if so,

how far. I t seems clear th a t A boriginal clans generally regard estuaries, bays an d w aters im m ediately ad jacen t to the shore line as being p a rt of th e ir land. So also are the waters betw een the coastline a n d offshore

islands belonging to the same clan.

206. Some of the com m unities w hich spoke to m e were not concerned m erely w ith th e ir tra d itio n a l m ethods of food g ath erin g because, looking ahead, they see the developm ent of fishing ventures as one form of com ­ m ercial activity h o ld in g prom ise for them , a n d they fear th a t some of the

best areas m ay be fished o u t before they can p u t such ideas in to practice.

207. in the absence of any clear-cut claims on this subject I do no m ore

th a n draw a tte n tio n to it as a m a tte r re q u irin g careful consideration.

(d) T O U R IS T S A N D V IS IT O R S

208. O ne q u estion to be determ in ed by different A boriginal com m uni­ ties is w hether they wish to encourage tourists to visit or stay. Even in

areas to w hich few tourists could be attracted , because of the costs an d tim e involved in gettin g there, A borigines w ill need to consider p ro ­

cedures for reg u latin g visitors.

209. I t has been m ade clear to me th at m ost com m unities w ill wish to

reg u late the visits of non-A borigines to th e ir areas an d a n u m b e r of

them are n o t at all interested in encouraging tourists. O thers, p a rtic u ­ larly some com m unities in the C entre, see tourism and the sale of artifacts as a significant source of incom e and w ill probably wish to encourage visits.

210. E xcept in the case of existing N atio n al Parks w hich m ight be h a n ­ ded over to A boriginal ow nership, there seems to be no cogent reason why A boriginal people should n o t decide for themselves w hether they w an t tourists or other visitors on th eir land. It m ust be rem em bered

how ever th a t any bans m ight include n o t only holiday m akers b u t also scientists, in clu d in g anthropologists, archaeologists, zoologists a n d b o t­ anists.

211. Clearly there m ust be some overriding au th o rity to enter on A bo­ rig in al la n d in the case of police investigating serious crime, auditors, governm ent inspectors, teachers an d a w hole range of o th er persons on official business. I note in passing th a t some com m unities w ould like to

have the pow er to deal w ith m in o r crim e themselves.

212. A p art from persons having legitim ate business w ith A boriginal com m unitities, there w ill no d o u b t be m any o ther visitors who w oidd be

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welcome. I t w ill therefore be necessary to devise some p e rm it system

w hich does n o t cause unnecessary w ork or undue delays. P erhaps each com m unity could delegate to the D e p a rtm e n t of A b o rig in al Affairs in D arw in o r A lice Springs the discretio n ary pow er to issue perm its in stated

cases, in clu d in g p erh ap s all cases inv o lv in g visits of less th a n 24 hours. O nly those cases w hich seem to p resen t a pro b lem need th en be referred to the com m unity. T h e arran g em en ts could be review ed from tim e to

tim e to ensure th a t they w ere w orking to the satisfaction of the com­

m unity.

213. I have m en tio n e d above th e existing N atio n al Parks. T h e Park

w hich incorporates Ayers Rock a n d M t O lga is one the m an agem ent of w hich involves large sums of m oney a n d m any difficult decisions. It is presently ru n at a substan tial loss w hich is, no d o u b t, off-set to some ex­ ten t by profits earn ed in Alice Springs an d elsew here as a resu lt ol the

tourist-d raw in g pow er of th at N a tio n a l Park.

214. T h e go v ern m en t has already in d icated a w illingness to re tu rn that P ark to A bo rig in al control. A t this stage I m erely wish to record the

fact th a t th ere are some financial a n d m anagem ent p roblem s w hich need to be resolved if this course is to be taken.

215. O th er N atio n al Parks, w hich raise sim ilar b u t less acute problem s, include

(e) SERVICES: RO ADS, W A T E R , SC H O O L S, H O S P IT A L S E T C .

216. T h e governm ent has established a policy of access-road construc­ tion and m ain ten an ce for the benefit of ru ra l in d u stries in the N o rth ern T errito ry . T hese are low -standard, dry-w eather roads. C o n sid eratio n is now being given to im proving stan d ard s so th a t heavy vehicles can use such roads in the dry season. If the im proved sta n d a rd is ad o p ted , the

costs of construction in fu tu re w o u ld be $1,500-2,000 p er m ile a n d m ain ­ tenance w ould add a fu rth e r $100-200 p er m ile per year. T h e costs of

any b etter stan d ard of road, giving all-year access to the m ain ro a d n et­ work, are expected to be b o rne by the enterprise re q u irin g it. These

could be very h ig h indeed.

217. In m any cases, p articu larly in A rnhem L and, if ro ad access were

to be provided to a rem ote industry, the road w ould necessarily pass

th ro u g h the country of a n u m b er of A boriginal clans w hich h a d no con­ nection w ith the en terprise being served. Q uestions of conservation of w ilderness areas w ould also arise. T h e re w ould obviously be a need for careful consultation before any steps were taken.

218. Such co n su ltatio n w ould also be necessary w henever an extension of the m ain ro ad netw ork, such as an A rnhem L and H ighw ay, was u n der consideration.

F inke G orge (Palm Valley) Sim psons G ap . .

K ath erin e G orge .

O rm isto n G orge .

177 sq. m iles 120 sq. miles 88 sq. miles

18 sq. miles

Roads:

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219. O ne qu estio n w hich w ill have to be decided w ill be the rig h t, il

any, of A b o rig in al land-ow ners to d eterm in e the existence or th e ro u te of roads in ten d ed to pass th ro u g h th e ir country.

W ater:

220. W a te r supply w ill be of vital im portance to the fu tu re develop­

m en t of m any A boriginal com m unities in the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry and m ore p a rticu larly in C en tral A ustralia.

221. In the arid central zone, average an n u a l rain fall varies from ab o u t 6 to 15 inches, m oving from south to n o rth . Surface supplies are gen­

erally u n reliab le an d bore w ater is relied u p o n for dom estic, a g ricu ltu ral a n d p astoral purposes. W a te r fit for h u m an con su m p tio n is often difficult to find and m any thousands of dollars have been spent by the governm ent

in searching for w ater on A boriginal reserves. W ater shortages are still serious for several com m unities.

222. Even in A rnhem L a n d large tracts of country are q u ite dry for

m any m o n th s of the year.

223. T h u s w ater supply could prove to be a lim itin g factor for m any

p o te n tia l settlem ents a n d com m ercial ventures. It w ill be im p o rta n t to ensure th a t the av ailability of w ater is fully determ in ed before any

su b stan tial com m itm ents are m ade or m uch m oney is spent o n such

developm ents.

224. F rom the view points of h ea lth an d fair d istrib u tio n of available

supplies, p a rtic u la r A boriginal com m unities m ay have to subm it to some restrictions on the way in w hich w ater is used an d on activities w hich

could affect the quality or supply of w ater or cause erosion. T h u s it will be necessary to consider the relatio n sh ip betw een the g ran tin g of A bo­ rig in a l lan d rights and the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry C o ntrol of W aters O rd ­ inance.

225. T h e W a te r Supplies D evelopm ent O rd in an ce w hich presently

provides for assistance in developing or im proving w ater supplies for pastoral or ag ricu ltu ral p ro d u ctio n w ill also req u ire some re-considera­ tio n in the lig h t of A boriginal req u irem ents follow ing the g ran tin g of la n d rights.

Schools, hospitals and other public buildings:

226. I t is beyond the scope of the Com m ission to exam ine the adequacy of eith er h o spital and n u rsin g or teaching facilities available to A borig­ in al com m unities.

227. T h e re are, however, two problem s w hich occur to me in this area w hich do relate to the recognition of A boriginal land rights. T h e first is w h eth er relevant governm ent departm ents w ill seek to have any special provision m ade for lan d on w hich public buildings or other structures

are erected. T hese m ig h t include, for exam ple, schools, hospitals, post offices, w ater storages, sewerage treatm en t plants, generating stations, com m unication towers an d lighthouses.

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228. A p re lim in a ry q u estion, rele v a n t in some cases, w o u ld be w hether the A b o rig in al co m m u n ity w ished to co n tro l a facility such as a water

storage or to have the service p ro v id ed by governm ent.

229. T h e reactio n of all co m m unities to w hich I p u t such questions was th at, p ro v id ed the service was for th e ir benefit an d p a rtic u la rly if tiie

area of la n d was sm all and was agreed, there w ould be no problem s. I

do n o t m yself see this question as raisin g any serious difficulties, b u t it does need consideration.

230. T h e o th e r question, w hich could raise g reater problem s, arises

from the expressed in te n tio n of m an y trib al or clan groups to m ove away from existing settlem ents an d back to th e ir ow n country.

231. T h e n u m b e r of out-stations serviced by settlem ents has been grow­ in g recently a n d re-aw akened in terest in tra d itio n a l lands is a d d in g to

o th e r pressures in favour of such m oves; some existing com m unities are clearly unco m fo rtab ly large by A b o rig in al standards.

232. H ow ever, the establishm ent of new, sm all co m m unities in rem ote areas, chosen perh ap s for tra d itio n a l ra th e r th a n p ractical reasons, must pose some problem s in the pro v isio n o f services. W h a t is the govern­

m e n t’s o b lig atio n to provide h e alth , ed u catio n al or o th e r services in such cases? H ow large an d how stable does a g ro u p have to be before it be­

comes e n title d to such services? T o w h at ex te n t are the leaders of such a gro u p e n title d to decide for th e ir fam ilies th a t they do n o t need school­ in g or h ealth services?

233. Once again I do n o t d o u b t th a t answers can be fo u n d to all such

questions, b u t they do have to be rem em bered w hen decisions are m ade a b o u t the level at w hich lan d rig h ts should be vested in A boriginal

com m unities o r groups, the m eth o d by w hich they sh o u ld receive finan­ cial su p p o rt a n d the prio rities of governm ent ex p en d itu re.

(f) C O N S E R V A T IO N

W ildlife sanctuaries:

234. A t presen t alm ost 19,000 sq uare m iles of the N o rth e rn T errito ry

are declared as w ildlife sanctuaries. T hese are areas of reserved o r u n ­ occupied C row n L a n d and, once they have been declared, a p erm it is

necessary to en ter them . T h e m a jo r sanctuaries are W oolw onga, M ur- ganella and D aly R iver, all of w hich are on A boriginal reserves, a n d the C ohourg P en in su la an d T an arn i Desert in both of w hich A borigines

have a considerable interest.

W ildlife protected areas:

235. T h e re are 91,000 square m iles of country in w hich w ildlife is de­

clared to be p rotected an d it is an offence for anyone o th e r th a n an A bo­ rig in e to carry a firearm or trap. T h is area is alm ost entirely m ade up

of A boriginal reserves, w hich are autom atically pro tected areas.

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Flora and fa una reserves:

236. T h ese are areas reserved for the conservation, preservation an d

co n tro l of the env iro n m en t. T h e y are im m une from all m in in g activity. T h e m ain areas so reserved are the C obourg P en in su la (also a w ildlife sanctuary, see above) a n d P alm Valley, west of Alice Springs.

237. It w ill be seen from these descriptions th a t the areas of the N o r­

th e rn T e rrito ry w hich are of greatest im m ediate in terest to A borigines are also of p rim ary im p o rtan ce for conservation purposes.

238. In p articu lar, the n o rth e rn w ildlife sanctuaries are vitally im p o r­ ta n t as breed in g grounds, feeding areas a n d dry season refuges for w ater birds, especially the m agpie goose. It seems th a t the p o p u la tio n of this im p o rta n t species has steadily declined since E u ro p ean settlem ent com ­ m enced a n d is still declining. T h is has been a ttrib u te d to several fac­

tors: dam age to h a b ita ts by w ild buffalo, a series of adverse seasons,

increased shooting by w eek-end an d holiday shooters a n d extensive egg collection by A borigines, b o th for food an d for sale.

239. C oncern for the fu tu re of these and o th e r forms of w ildlife has led to suggestions in some q u arters th a t A borigines, w ho now use cars an d rifles for h u n tin g , should n o t be exem pt from provisions p ro tectin g some rare or d eclining species.

240. Such suggestions have been opposed on the g ro u n d th a t n a tu ra l

foods are still an im p o rta n t p a rt of the d iet of m any A borigines. For

some they are vital. I t is also p o in ted o u t th a t in some cases h u n tin g is

an im p o rta n t p a rt of ritu a l observances and, in any event, evidence of

A boriginal responsibility for p o p u latio n decline is n o t very strong.

241. A t all events, possible conflict betw een A boriginal wishes an d con­ servation req u irem en ts needs fu rth e r consideration.

8. Mineral rights

242. T h e term s of reference refer to the vesting of rights in reserved

lands ‘in clu d in g rights in m inerals and tim b e r’ in an a p p ro p riate body or bodies.

243. I assume th at ‘m in erals’ in this context include oil an d gas, al­

though it is d o u b tfu l if existing legislation relatin g to royalty paym ents for the benefit of A borigines in respect of ‘m in in g ’ w ould be so in te r­ preted.

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244. T h e A u stra lia n M in in g In d u stry C ouncil has p o in te d o u t that

rig h ts in m in erals can take several different forms.

245. In the first place it could m ean th a t the land-ow ner also h a d full

ow nership of the m inerals, in w hich case the ow ner could determ ine

w h eth er an d on w h at term s the m in erals cotdd be looked for an d m ined.

246. Secondly it could involve an arra n g e m en t w hereby the land-ow ner was e n title d to take up a p a rt share in any m in in g e n terp rise resulting

from successful ex p lo ratio n .

247. T h ird ly the ph rase could refer to an e n title m e n t to royalty pay­

m ents.

248. F ull o w nership of m inerals by A borigines has been advocated in

some subm issions m ade to the C om m ission. T h is w otdd p u t the A bo­ rig in a l land-ow ners in a position to d eterm in e w h eth er m in erals should be looked for an d , if found, m ined. O n the o th e r h a n d the same controls could be exercised w ith o u t actual o w nership of m inerals being vested in A borigines an d there could be some disadvantages in such fu ll ow nership.

249. F rom the p o in t of view of the A u stralian com m unity, the A ust­

ra lia n M in in g In d u stry C ouncil has suggested th a t th ere could be dangers in any in d iv id u a l o r g ro u p being able to lock u p a m in eral w hich it

w ould be in th e n a tio n a l in terest to exploit. U n d e r ex istin g m in in g

legislation no-one is able to do so. T h e governm ent is free to p e rm it ex­ p lo ra tio n an d developm ent on C row n or priv ate lands as it sees fit. T h e m in in g in d u stry argues th a t this situ a tio n should rem ain . F rom the A bo­ rig in al view point, an un so p h isticated com m unity w o u ld obviously not be able to develop a m a jo r asset itself an d it m ig h t be persu ad ed by an

unscru p u lo u s o p e ra to r to en ter in to an agreem ent w hich was n o t in its

best interest. Even an honest com pany w ould find it difficult to nego­

tiate term s of a com plex m in in g ag reem ent w ith an A b o rig in al com m u­ nity, an d any in d e p e n d e n t advisers to such a com m unity w ould also

find themselves in a difficult situ a tio n w here very large sums of m oney were involved.

250. T h e re m u st also be a stro n g arg u m en t for saying th a t earnings

from m inerals — w hich are likely to exceed greatly any o th e r source of com m ercial incom e for A boriginal com m unities — sh o u ld to some ex ten t be shared am ong all such com m unities. T h is is the effect of the existing practice at G roote E y lan d t and N h u lu n b u y and it appears to be gen­

erally acceptable to A borigines in the T errito ry .

251. O ne basic q u estion w hich w ill have to be decided is the role w hich the governm ent in ten d s to play in m in eral ex p lo ratio n . If the govern­

m en t wishes or is w illing to u n d e rta k e a detailed survey of m in eral re­

sources on A b o rig in al land, th at w ould open u p some possibilities w hich w ould n o t a p p e a r to apply to ex p lo ratio n by priv ate enterprise. I have

in m ind, for exam ple, the calling of tenders for developm ent of pros­

pective areas. Presum ably such surveys w ould be m ade only after consul­ tatio n w ith A b o rig in al land-ow ners. W h e th e r those land-ow ners w ould have any pow er to veto eith er the surveys or resulting m in eral develop­ m ents is a m a tte r for fu rth e r consideration.

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252. If, on the o th er h an d , all e x p lo ratio n is to be left to p riv ate e n te r­

prise th en one scheme w hich A borigines a n d o th e r in terested parties

should consider in co n nection w ith m in eral rights is the follow ing. T h e A b o rig in al la n d councils (referred to below), together w ith th e govern­ m e n t an d the m in in g industry, should agree o n e x p lo ratio n p e rm it pay­ m ents an d a p p ro p ria te royalty paym ents for the different m in erals likely

to be en co untered, w hich w ould apply generally o n A boriginal lands in the T e rrito ry . N o d o u b t the governm ent w ould w ish to consult w ith

A boriginal groups in the States, because of the precedent involved.

253. T hese paym ents should be generous from an A boriginal view point b u t w ould have to be realistic having regard to am ounts payable else­

w here, otherw ise there m ig h t be insufficient incentive for the industry to explore or m ine A b o rig in al lands. A specified p a rt of these royalties w ould go to the local com m unity an d the balance to o ther A boriginal

com m unities. W h a t p ro p o rtio n should go to the local com m unity and w hich o th e r com m unities should benefit w ould be m atters fo r careful consideration.

254. T h e g ra n t or refusal of an ex p lo ratio n licence w ould be a m atter,

at least in the first place, for the A boriginal land-ow ners. O n one view

this decision should be subject to the rig h t of the governm ent to state

th a t the n atio n a l in terest req u ired the ex p lo ratio n of a n am ed area

w here perm ission was being refused, and to g ran t a p erm it accordingly. T h e o th er view is th a t the land-ow ners should have the final say on the

m a tte r because, to them , this w ould be the u ltim ate test of th e reality

of th eir lan d rights.

255. In n eg o tiatin g for the g ra n t of a perm it, paym ents w ould n o t be

in issue because these w ould have been fixed generally. H ow ever such m atters as the p ro tectio n of sacred sites, the en title m e n t to a p a rt share

in any resu ltin g m in in g o p eratio n and the em ploym ent of A boriginal workers, should be the subject of n eg o tiatio n before a p erm it was g ra n ­ ted. In these negotiations the A boriginal com m unity w ould have avail­ able to it advice on legal an d m in in g questions eith er from governm ental

or in d ep en d en t sources, w hichever the com m unity preferred. I assume that, unless o th e r funds were available, any p a rt share in a m in in g e n te r­ prise w ould be purchased o u t of royalty paym ents or m onies le n t against the security of fu tu re royalty paym ents.

256. T h e costs of ex p lo ratio n are such th a t I believe it m u st follow

th a t an ex p lo ratio n p erm it w ould involve the rig h t to produce any m in ­ erals discovered. T h is w ould be subject only to the protection of sacred sites, and consultation as to em ploym ent o p p o rtu n ities and any plans involving lan d use for m ineral processing or for housing. A ny reason­

able req u irem ents of the A boriginal com m unity on such m atters w ould have to be m et and a m eth o d of a rb itra tio n established to deal w ith pos­ sible disputes as to w h at was reasonable.

257. A scheme along these lines w ould seem to provide one reasonable m ethod of solving m in eral rights problem s w here the project is a m ajor one and the m in in g com pany is solely responsible for the developm ent.

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258. W here the p ro ject is a sm all one, such th a t it can be en tirely run

by the com m unity, I see no problem s. In this case I see no reason why

the e n tire profits of the v e n tu re sh o u ld n o t go to the A b o rig in al com­

m u n ity involved; o r if the co m m u n ity has allow ed an A b o rig in al group to ru n the v e n tu re in its own interest, th en to th a t gro u p . T h e arrange­

m ents a b o u t royalties could p ro v id e th a t they are only payable on pro­

d u c tio n above a specified value.

259. A n area in w hich I see m any p o te n tia l problem s is th a t of the jo in t

v en tu re betw een A borigines a n d others. Some provision w ould be nec­ essary to ensure th a t A borigines w ere n o t ex ploited o r otherw ise fair

arran g em en ts circum vented by such m eans. In the absence of any rele­ v an t subm issions I am u n w illin g to take this qu estio n fu rth e r at this

stage. In d eed fu rth e r subm issions are in v ited on the w hole q u estion of m in eral rights, in c lu d in g the schem e suggested above.

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Recommendations and Suggestions

1. Regional councils

260. I t is recom m ended th a t two A boriginal lan d councils be set u p in

the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry : one for the central region, based on Alice

Springs, an d the o th er for the n o rth e rn region, based on D arw in.

261. I have given careful consideration to the question w h eth er these

regions should be sm aller or larger th an I have proposed. T h e argum ents against a larger region, covering the w hole of the N o rth e rn T errito ry , are:

(a) if all com m unities are to be represented such a council w ould be too large an d unw ieldy;

(b) practical difficulties of travelling arrangem ents and accom m o­ d a tio n w ould be increased;

(c) because of clim atic differences, there are dissim ilarities in the p o p u latio n density and, to some extent, in the social structures as betw een n o rth and south. T h is could lead to some differen­ ces in solutions of lan d rights problem s;

(d) there is a convenient dividing line w hich can be d raw n betw een larger com m unities having th eir interests in C entral A ustralia and those h aving th eir interests in the N o rth . T h e only large

com m unities w hich app ear to occupy the m iddle g ro u n d (H ook­ er C reek an d W arrab ri) are b o th clearly southw ard-looking in th eir affiliations. I have assum ed th a t the people at W attie

Creek-W ave H ill w ould also p refer to be represented on the

C entral L an d Council b u t they should choose w hichever they prefer.

262. T h e disadvantages of establishing sm aller land council regions are:

(a) the extrem e difficulty in draw ing satisfactory dividing lines be­ tw een com m unities w hen trib al groups are divided betw een several different com m unities, and

(b) the difficulty of providing adequate in d ep en d en t advice and su p p o rt for a n um ber of regions at the same time.

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263. F or these reasons I have no d o u b t th a t two sep arate regions should be established in the first instance. H ow ever there is no reason why those councils sh o u ld n o t in the fu tu re am algam ate, o r p ro m o te the establish­ m en t of o th e r sep arate regions if they see fit to do so. In o th e r w ords the

establishm ent of these councils sh o u ld n o t be' seen as being incap ab le of a m en d m en t by the A b o rig in al p eo p le themselves.

264. As to the com position of these councils, there is an obvious pro b ­

lem of reconciling w ide rep re se n ta tio n w ith m anageable num bers. I

believe th a t rep re se n ta tio n sh o u ld be d eterm in ed by the councils them ­ selves, b u t unless an d u n til th e councils decide otherw ise, I would

recom m end as follows:

Central L a n d Council

O ne rep resen tativ e each from :

N ote: T h e reference from the M inister for A boriginal Affairs e x te n d in g m y field of e n q u iry to include some reserves in S outh A ustralia and W estern A ustralia, arrived too late to enable consultation w ith those States before this re p o rt was w ritten.

R elevant com m unities have been inclu d ed in this list of C entral L an d C ouncil m em ­ bers b u t there are a n u m b er of o th e r p o in ts in the re p o rt w here references to the

N o rth e rn T e rrito ry should now be re ad as in clu d in g those State reserves.

N o r th e r n L a n d Council

O ne rep resen tativ e each from :

A m oonguna Jay Creek H o o k er Creek W a rra b ri Y uen d u m u P ap u n y a H aasts Bluff A reyonga

H erm an n sb u rg D ocker R iver Santa T eresa M acdonald Downs U topia T e a T re e

N ap p erb y W illow ra L ake N ash N e u tra l Ju n ctio n W a ttie Creek-W ave H ill A m ata E rn ab ella Fregon In d u lk a n a E v erard P ark Balgo W a rb u rto n

P in tu p i at P a p u n y a a n d Yayayi

T o d d R iv er cam ps

B ath u rst Island M elville Islan d (Snake Bay O enpelli Beswick

P o rt Keats Daly R iver Bagot Delissaville B orroloola M ainoru M u d g in b erri R o p er Valley V ictoria R iver Downs R ock h am p to n Downs

an d G ard en P oint) C roker Island G o u lb u rn Island M an in g rid a K opanga M ilingim bi G aliw inku (Elcho Island) L ake Evella Y irrkala A n gurugu

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N o rth e rn L a n d Council (continued)

U m b ak u m b a N u m b u lw ar N g u k u rr

B anka Banka B ru n ette Downs

265. It is to be n o ted th a t such a re p resen tatio n m akes no allow ance

for the nu m b ers in th e various com m unities.

266. I t is th o u g h t th a t m u ltip le rep resen tatio n for larger com m unities w ould b rin g already large councils to an unw orkable size an d , in any

event, there w ill be several representatives of m ost m ajo r tribes and

eth n ic blocs.

267. T h e first m eeting of each council should be convened, as soon as

practicable, by the D e p a rtm e n t of A boriginal Affairs. R epresentatives of each com m unity should be chosen by the respective com m unity councils. In those cases w here th ere is no such council, the representatives should be n o m in ated by the D ep artm en t of A boriginal Affairs after consultation

w ith m em bers of the com m unity concerned.

268. It is envisaged th a t the first m eeting of each council w ould cover a perio d of several days, perhaps even a week, d u rin g w hich there w ould be a full o p p o rtu n ity for discussions, questions, advice an d decisions. T h e D ep artm en t of A b o rig in al Affairs should supply ad m inistrative as­

sistance unless and u n til the council chooses to engage its ow n staff. In p articu lar, a suitable person, n o t necessarily from the D ep artm en t, should be ap p o in ted to take m inutes in the form of a sum m ary of discussions. T hese should be circulated prom ptly an d in q u an tity to all com m unities

represented at the discussions. A n ap p ro p ria te experienced officer of the D ep artm en t should also be available d u rin g m eeting times for consulta­ tio n if req u ired .

269. It is essential th a t each council should have access to in d ep en d en t advice. In the first place this w ould be legal advice, b u t other consultants w ould probably be re q u ire d later in fields such as accountancy an d busi­ ness m anagem ent. So far as legal advice is concerned, it is recom m ended

th a t the A ttorney-G eneral’s D ep artm en t be asked to retain in d ep en d en t senior an d ju n io r counsel to advise each council d u rin g its m eetings and a t o th er tim es as req uired. I t w ould obviously be an advantage if such

counsel h ad h a d experience in A boriginal affairs or, failing that, in

Papua-N ew G u in ea o r Pacific Islands affairs.

270. T h e briefing of b o th senior and ju n io r counsel is recom m ended in o rd er to provide necessary flexibility an d co n tinuity over tim e. T hey need not b o th be involved at all times.

271. T h e A ttorney-G eneral’s D ep artm en t should also be asked to n o m ­ in ate two firms of solicitors to instruct counsel for these purposes.

272. T h e councils should, of course, be free to change th eir legal ad ­

visers at any tim e, the only provision being th at, so long as they are being p aid from public m onies, counsel retain ed should be adm itted to prac­

43

tise in the H ig h C o u rt a n d th a t the firm of solicitors be a reasonably sub­ stan tial one, h av in g all necessary facilities, and h av in g no conflict of

in terest by reason of its acting for m in in g o r grazing interests in the N or­ th e rn T e rrito ry o r otherw ise.

273. T h e firms of solicitors re ta in e d w ould have to be p re p a re d to take

on ad d itio n a l staff, if necessary, to p ro v id e the re q u ire d service. D arw in a n d Alice Springs agents m ig h t have to be em ployed for some purposes.

274. I t is envisaged th a t all legal expenses, at least u n til the councils

h a d su b stan tial funds of th eir own, w ould be b o rne by the governm ent

on the basis of reasonable solicitor a n d client costs.

275. I t m ay be th at, in tim e, a com prehensive system of legal aid for

N o rth e rn T e rrito ry A borigines w ill m ake ad hoc arran g em en ts such as I have recom m ended unnecessary. I n the m eantim e, I believe th a t such arrangem ents are essential b o th for the p ro p e r carrying o u t of m y task

a n d for fu rth e r dealings w hich m ay be necessary betw een the A borigines an d the governm ent.

276. In o th e r fields, such as ag ricu ltu re, forestry a n d fishing it is not, in

m y view, im p o rta n t th a t advice sh o u ld be in d e p e n d e n t of governm ent sources. I t m ay well be th a t the best advice available o n such subjects

w ould be fo u n d w ith in governm ent d ep artm en ts or in stru m en talities.

2. Aid to smaller groups

277. I have specifically recom m ended legal aid for tw o su b stan tial lan d councils, b u t this does n o t m ean th a t aid should n o t also be available to sm aller groups in a p p ro p ria te cases.

278. I t w ould be n e ith e r practical n o r h e lp fu l for all com m unities to be separately represented. H ow ever any com m unity or g ro u p w hich has a special p o in t to raise an d does n o t w ish to in stru ct o th e r solicitors, should in fo rm the solicitors reta in e d for the relev an t lan d council (whose nam es m ust be w idely p u b lish ed for this purpose).

279. If it is fo u n d th a t the special m a tte r can be d ealt w ith by the legal

advisers to the la n d council, w ith o u t any conflict of in terest w ith the

council itself, there w ill be no problem . If it is fo u n d th a t there is a con­

flict of in terest or if for some o ther reason separate advice is desired, then a request for special legal aid should be m ade to this Com m ission, setting o u t the circum stances in w hich it is felt to be necessary. T h is course

w ill also be a p p ro p ria te for any com m unity or gro u p w hich disagrees

44

w ith the views finally ad o p ted by the relev an t lan d council a n d wishes to p u t a different view.

3. Incorporation

280. It is recom m ended th a t the D ep artm en t of A b o rig in al Affairs

should proceed w ith plans to draw up a system of in co rp o ratio n for A b o ­ rig in al com m unities a n d groups. N o d o u b t the D ep artm en t w ill have

reg ard to the suggestions m ade in p aragraphs 165-184 above a n d to any com m ents on those suggestions w hich it m ay receive. A ction on this m a t­ ter should n o t be delayed by aw aiting the final rep o rt of this Com m ission.

4. Vesting of title

281. I have earlier set o u t the choices open to A borigines in considering w hat arrangem ents for A boriginal ow nership w ould best suit th e ir needs. H aving now discussed these questions w ith m any different com m unities,

I believe I have been able to detect a fairly clear consensus of A boriginal o p in io n on the subject.

282. I therefore th in k it w ould be h elp fu l to fu rth e r consideration of it

if I were to set o u t the outlines of a scheme w hich could be the subject

of fu rth e r discussions am ong A borigines. I believe it to be entirely in

accordance w ith A boriginal views p u t to me.

283. 1 stress however th at this is p u t forw ard only as a suggestion and

th a t lan d councils, com m unities, an d o th er A boriginal groups are invited to propose am endm ents to it or, if they wish, to urge the ad o p tio n of

some qu ite different approach.

284. 1 suggest th at title to A boriginal lands should generally be vested in com m unity land boards. T hese boards w ould consist of rep resen ta­ tives chosen by a com m unity, or by several com m unities jointly, for the purpose and w ould be incorporated under special legislation. It w otdd be for each com m unity to decide w hether the board w ould be identical

45

w ith its com m unity council a n d w h e th e r it should exercise any local

governm ent pow ers or co nduct any business enterprises on the land.

T h ese decisions w ould d eterm in e u n d e r w hich p a rt o r p arts of the in­

c o rp o ratin g act the b o a rd w ould be registered a n d w h at rules it w ould

have to observe.

285. It is suggested, however, th a t each co m m u n ity o u g h t to try to

achieve a balance of o lder an d y o u n g er people on its b o ard a n d give a t­

te n tio n to rep resen tatio n from the different clans h o ld in g lan d in the

com m unity area.

286. B efore seeking title to a defined area of lan d , the co m m u n ity w ould have to negotiate w ith existing n eig h b o u rin g com m unities to secure their consent to its proposed boundaries. T h ese bou n d aries sh o u ld consist, so far as possible, of straig h t lines on a m ap. In some cases, n eig h b o u rin g

com m unities m ay wish to jo in to g eth er for land-ow ning purposes.

287. A ny disagreem ents should, so far as possible, be iro n ed o u t by fu r­ th e r negotiations. I t is an tic ip a te d th a t agreem ent w ill be reached in

m ost if n o t all cases, p artic u la rly since n e ith e r com m unity w ill be able to secure title to its la n d u n til such ag reem ent has been reached.

288. If provision is to be m ade for the comjDulsory settlem en t of b o u n ­ dary disputes, it w ould take the form of a specially co n stitu ted trib u n a l, arran g em en ts for p riv ate a rb itra tio n , o r a decision by the regional lan d council.

289. I suggest th a t all such m atters sh o u ld go to the la n d council in the

first place, w ith an ap p eal lying to a special trib u n a l a t least in some

cases; for exam ple, those in w hich the la n d council is itself in terested or w here a den ial of n a tu ra l justice is alleged.

290. I t is suggested th a t any areas w hich can n o t pro p erly be claim ed by an existing com m unity (such as v acan t reserves an d p erh ap s some parts of the C entral reserves) should be vested in the a p p ro p ria te regional

la n d council. T h e same could apply to areas w hich can n o t for a tim e be vested in com m unities because of delay in agreem ent as to boundaries. F or exam ple, it m ig h t be convenient to vest the w hole of the A rnhem

L a n d Reserve in the N o rth e rn L a n d C ouncil in the first instance.

291. T h e system w ould have to p rovide for transfer of title from a lan d

council to a com m unity bo ard a n d from one com m unity b o ard to a n ­

o ther. T h e typical case in w hich a transfer betw een com m unities could occur w ould be one in w hich a m ore recently established com m unity

w ished to become in d ep en d en t of a p a re n t com m unity. I t is suggested th a t title should only be gran ted to firm ly established com m unities.

292. T h e q u estion already o u tlin ed as to the best m eth o d of settling-

disputes arises again in the case of a d isp u te betw een a new an d an old

com m unity a b o u t the rig h t of the new com m unity to separate title.

293. It is assum ed th a t the system of com m unity titles, suggested to

satisfy the req u irem en ts of both E u ro p ean and A boriginal law, w ould

46

n o t cut across A b o rig in al respect for the views of the ow ners an d m a n a ­ gers of any p a rtic u la r piece of la n d as to the use of th a t land.

294. As to the form w hich title should take, it has been u rged on me

in a n u m b er of subm issions th a t it should n o t be different from th a t

generally available to o th e r A ustralians. In the case of the N o rth e rn

T e rrito ry , this w ould m ean some form of leasehold title.

295. H ow ever I am satisfied th a t this is n o t a w orkable solution. A lease for a term of years w ould n o t satisfy eith er the an n o u n ced in ten tio n s of the governm ent or th e expectations of the A borigines. F u rth e r, the

I.L .O . C onvention No. 107 of 1957 speaks in term s of ‘the rig h t of

ow n ersh ip ’. I can see no advantage in a p erp e tu a l lease a n d it w ould

certainly be a confusing concept for A borigines.

296. O n the o th er h a n d it does n o t seem to me, as at present advised, to

be a p p ro p ria te to speak of freehold title. In the first place, it seems th a t

title m ust be com m unal a n d incapable of sale or m ortgage. I t m ust,

however, be capable of volu n tary transfer betw een com m unities. P ro ­ vision for unw illin g tran sfer w ould also seem to be necessary w here one com m unity establishes a b etter claim th an a n o th er to a p a rtic u la r piece of land. P erhaps regional la n d councils should have power to resum e

disp u ted areas.

297. T hese considerations seem to p o in t to the need for a special system of lan d -holding by reg istratio n w hich could perhaps be know n as A bo­ rig in al T itle . T h e rig h ts an d duties attach in g to it w ould be set o u t in

the Act w hich provided for such registration. T h is could be done partly in term s an d partly by reference to p a rtic u la r Acts an d O rdinances w hich w ould apply to such ow nership. In this w'ay, any doubts as to the applic­ ability of laws relatin g to w ater control or bushfire prevention, for ex­

am ple, could be resolved, along w ith all questions affecting rig h t of entry.

298. I envisage th at title w ould be given in the first instance by a g ran t

from the C row n of a defined area of lan d to an incorporated A boriginal council or com m unity. T h e g ra n t w ould be registered by an officer a p ­ p o in ted for the purpose as registrar of A boriginal titles. H e could

perhaps be the same person as the registrar of A boriginal corporations. T h ereafter, any transfers betw een corporations w ould req u ire registra­ tio n to be effective. T h e registrar w ould have to satisfy him self th a t the pro p er consents to such transfers had been ob tain ed or, in the event of

dispute, th a t the m atter h ad been ru led u p o n by the proper authority.

T h e w hole system w ould be u n der the control of an a p p ro p riate Federal C ourt. Perhaps leases should be sim ilarly registered and controlled.

299. C om m unities h o ld in g A boriginal title to lan d w ould presum ably be free to give leases over p a rt of th a t lan d to A borigines or A boriginal groups. It is suggested th at such leases should be p erm itted only for

lim ited periods b u t renew able by agreem ent. O therw ise there is a danger th a t m istakes m ight be m ade in early years, due to inexperience, w hich w ould n o t be rem ediable for a long time.

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300. I t w ill have to be decided w h e th e r leases w ill in fu tu re be p e rm it­

ted to non-A borigines o r to com panies o r p a rtn e rsh ip s in w hich non­

A borigines are involved. If so, th ere w ould seem to be a case fo r some

supervision to ensure th a t a b o ard, in ex p erien ced in such m atters, is not en terin g in to an u n fav o u rab le b arg ain . T h e re could be a req u irem en t

of ap proval by, for exam ple, the reg io n al lan d board.

301. I t is suggested th a t there sh o u ld be no rig h t for any individual,

o r any g ro u p n o t established as a sep arate com m unity, to o b ta in any

title b etter th a n a lease. If a d ifferen t view is taken in the fu tu re , legis­

latio n could th en be in tro d u ced to p rovide for it.

5. Further submissions

302. I t has already been m ade clear th a t the m ain purpose of this re­

p o rt has been to stim u late co n sid eratio n a n d discussion of, a n d invite

subm issions on, the issues to w hich th e re p o rt draws a tte n tio n .

303. In o rd er th a t the work of the C om m ission should n o t be unneces­

sarily delayed, it is asked th a t all fu rth e r w ritten subm issions a n d requests for an o p p o rtu n ity to m ake oral subm issions, should be in the han d s of

the Com m ission by 30 S eptem ber next.

304. T h is does n o t apply to A b o rig in al la n d councils o r com m unities, w ho could n o t be expected to m eet th a t tim e lim it.

305. In view of the tim e w hich w ill necessarily be tak en in retain in g

legal advisers a n d arra n g in g m eetings I do n o t feel able to lay dow n any tim e lim it for such subm issions. N o d o u b t the councils a n d com m unities w ill themselves see the advantages in concluding the w ork of this C om ­ m ission as soon as possible.

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Summary

T h is sum m ary is w ritte n m ainly for the A boriginal people of th e N o r­ th e rn T errito ry . I hope th a t it w ill be tran slated in to A boriginal lang­

uages and th a t all m em bers of com m unity councils w ill see copies of it.

1. I recom m end to the governm ent th a t it should set u p two A bo­

rig in al lan d councils for the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry . T h e N o rth e rn L and

C ouncil should m eet in D arw in a n d the C en tral L an d C ouncil should

m eet in Alice Springs.

2. A fter th e ir first m eetings, the councils should decide for th em ­

selves w here th e ir m em bers should come from , alth o u g h they should try n o t to have too m any m em bers. F or the first m eetings there should be

one representative from each of

N o rth e rn L a n d Council

B ath u rst Island M elville Island (Snake Bay a n d G ard en P oint) C roker Island

G o u lb u rn Island M an ingrida K opanga M ilingim bi

G aliw inku (Elcho Island) Lake Evella Y irrkala A ngurugu

U m bakum ba N um bulw ar N g u k u rr O enpelli

Beswick P ort Keats Daly R iver Bagot

Delissaville B orroloola

follow ing places:

Central L a n d Council

A m oonguna Jay Creek H ooker Creek W a rra b ri

Y uendum u P apunya H aasts Bluff Areyonga

H erm annsburg Docker River Santa T eresa M acdonald Downs

U to p ia T ea T ree N apperby

W illow ra Lake N ash N eu tral ju n c tio n W attie Creek-W ave H ill A m ata

E rnabella Fregon

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N o rth e rn L a n d Council (c o n tin u e d )

Central L a n d Council (continued)

M ain o ru M u d g in b erri R o p er Valley V ictoria R iver Downs R o ck h am p to n Downs B anka B anka B ru n e tte Downs

In d u lk a n a E verard P ark Balgo W a rb u rto n P in tu p i at P apu n y a

a n d Yayayi T o d d R iv er cam ps

3. I recom m end th a t the go v ern m en t arrange a n d pay for in d ep en ­

d e n t legal advice for each lan d council.

4. Each council, w hen it m eets, sh o u ld th in k an d talk a b o u t the

suggestions a n d questions w hich are w ritte n dow n in this sum m ary. Care­ ful notes of the talks should be tak en so th a t each A b o riginal com m unity w ill know all a b o u t the m eetings.

5. W h en th e council m em bers have reached agreem ent on the m at­ ters they are talk in g ab o u t, they sh o u ld ask th e ir lawyers to tell this Com ­ m ission or the governm ent w h at they w ould like to see done. Some

things w ould be for this C om m ission to h e a r and o th er things m ig h t be for the go v ern m en t to hear.

6. If any co m m unity does n o t agree w ith the things the la n d coun­

cils decide, its council should say so an d , if it w ants to have advice from a lawyer of its own, it should ask this Com m ission for help.

7. T h e suggestions I m ake a b o u t la n d rights are, I believe, in line

w ith the wishes of th e A boriginal people of the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry . But if I am w rong a b o u t this it is im p o rta n t for the lan d councils to say so.

8. I suggest th a t A boriginal la n d should be ow ned by the different

A boriginal com m unities. T h is seems clearly to be the rig h t answ er for places like Y uendum u, H erm an n sb u rg , A m oonguna, W a rra b ri a n d the T iw i people of B ath u rst an d M elville Islands.

9. In o th e r cases, p a rticu larly in A rn h em L an d a n d in the C entral

Reserves, I suggest th a t representatives of the different com m unities now begin talk in g to o th er n eig h b o u rin g com m unities — as they are already d o ing in some places — ab o u t b o u n d ary lines. W here necessary, the D e­ p a rtm e n t of A boriginal Affairs sh o u ld arran g e tran sp o rt for this purpose.

10. I t seems likely th a t in some cases two or three com m unities will w an t to be together for land-ow ning purposes. T h is is som ething for the com m unities to decide for themselves.

11. In the case of any A boriginal lan d w hich is unoccupied, or

w here it is h a rd to decide on boundaries, I suggest th a t a n A boriginal

la n d council (either N o rth e rn or C entral) should be the ow ner to begin w ith.

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12. O nly the older a n d stronger com m unities should be land-ow ners a t first. As new com m unities becom e stronger they should be able to ask for a n d ow n th e ir ow n land.

13. Any difficulties a b o u t boundaries should be discussed a t lan d

council m eetings. B oundaries should follow the general lines of the

co u n try ow ned by the clans living in each com m unity, b u t they should be draw n as straig h t lines on a m ap, or follow rivers, as far as possible.

14. Each com m unity or group of com m unities should choose leaders to be a la n d b o ard for th e ir land. I suggest th a t there should be some

younger people an d some o lder people on these boards an d th a t the dif­ feren t clans should be fairly represented. Each com m unity should decide w h eth er it w ants its la n d b o ard to be the same as its com m unity council or separate.

15. I suggest that, w hen they have been set u p an d the lan d has been

h a n d e d over to them , the lan d boards should decide all questions ab o u t tourists an d visitors, m in in g exp lo ratio n , leases for A borigines a n d p er­ m ission for forestry or cattle grazing or farm ing. W h eth er the boards

should actually be in charge of any business o n the land, such as m arket gardening, cattle grazing, forestry or fishing, w ould be a m atter for each com m unity to decide.

16. I expect th a t each bo ard w ould talk to the clan ow ners and

m anagers of a p articu lar piece of lan d before m aking any decision affect­ ing it. In m ost cases one or m ore of those ow ners w ould be on the bo ard anyway.

17. So far as m in in g leases and royalties are concerned, I suggest

th a t the governm ent a n d the lan d councils an d the m ining industry

should agree on the am ounts to be p aid in all cases for ex p lo ratio n

licences an d by way of royalties if m in in g takes places. T h e la n d coun­ cils should consider w h at p ro p o rtio n of royalties should go to the local com m unity a n d how the rest should be d istrib u ted .

18. Each lan d b o ard w ould be free to discuss, w ith any com pany

w an tin g to explore or m ine its land, questions of em ploym ent of A bo­ rigines, having a share in the m in in g ven tu re and the p rotection of sac­ red sites.

19. U nless the governm ent decides th a t it m ust m ake the final de­

cision, each lan d bo ard w ould be free to refuse perm ission for m in in g com panies to look for m inerals. B ut if a lan d board gave perm ission for ex p loration, it w ould have to agree to m in in g if m inerals were found. It could m ake agreem ents for the protection of sacred sites an d ab o u t the

place w here any houses or factories should be built.

20. T h e two land councils should, as soon as possible, consider w hat they th in k o u ght to be done ab o u t

(a) leasing of A boriginal land to non-Aborigines;

(b) unoccupied C row n lands;

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(c) p u b lic reserves o th e r th a n A b o rig in al reserves;

(cl) p asto ral leases;

(e) fishing rights.

21. So far as p astoral leases are concerned, the councils should think ab o u t

(a) the go v ern m en t buying some cattle stations for A borigines;

(b) the go v ern m en t a rra n g in g for A borigines to have th e ir own la n d on some o th e r cattle stations;

(c) the rights of A borigines to visit and h u n t on cattle stations;

(d) the pay m en t of cattle station lease m oneys to A borigines,

an d

(e) the p ro tectio n of sacred sites on cattle stations.

22. T h e la n d councils should also discuss the w hole q u estion of land rights for A borigines living in towns.

23. In this sum m ary I have set o u t only the m ost u rg e n t a n d im p o r­

ta n t m atters for A b o rig in al com m unities a n d lan d councils to consider. I rely on com m unity councillors, legal advisers, oEcers of the D ep artm en t of A b o rig in al Affairs a n d m ission staffs to draw a tte n tio n to o th e r m at­

ters in the body of this rep o rt w hich m ay be relevant in p a rtic u la r cases.

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Appendix I

Aboriginal Reserves

Date of first proclamation of Present major part area Population

W O N G O A K (B athurst Island) 1912 800 sq miles 869

M E L V IL L E ISLA N D , B U C H A N A N ISLA N D and o th e r islands w ith in 3 n autical miles of M elville Island . . 1941 2,200 sq miles 353

B A G O T . . . . 1938 57 acres 466

W O O L W O N G A (new) . . 1968 195 sq miles N il

W A N G IT E S (W agait) . . 1963 550 sq miles N il

DALY R IV E R (including P ero n Islands) . . . 1963 5,200 sq miles 738

M A R A N B O Y . . . 1923 6 acres

A R N H E M LAND . . 1931 37,100 sq miles 6,630

BESW ICK . . . . 1953 1,315 sq miles 517

C A T F IS H (H ooker Creek) . 1948 845 sq miles 407

W A R R A B R I . . . I960 170 sq miles 629

Y U E N D U M U . . . 1952 850 sq miles 886

JAY GREEK . . . 1945 116 sq miles 178

A M O O N G U N A . . . 1961 1,210 acres 258

S O U T H W E S T E R N RESERVE (R. 1028) (P eterm ann Ranges Area, H aasts Bluff Reserve and

Papunya) . . . . 1920 44,800 sq miles 1,680

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T h e re is d o u b t a b o u t the status of the follow ing seven reserves, none of w hich ap p e a r to have A borigines living on them :

W O O L N E R . . . 1892

M ANASSIE . . . 1892

L A R A K E A H . . . 1892

W O O L W O N G A (old) . . 1892

M A E LAE . . . . 1892

W A R R A M U N G A . . 1892

M U D B U R R A . . . 1909

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Appendix II

Descriptive Notes of some Aboriginal Communities

B A T H U R S T A N D M E L V IL L E ISLANDS

History:

T h e history of the three com m unities living at B ath u rst Island an d at

Snake Bay an d G ard en P o in t is in te r related.

In J u n e 1911, F ath er Francis X avier Gsell, M.S.C. b u ilt a m ission sta­ tio n on the south-east corner of B ath u rst Island. By 1916 the m ission

h a d increased its staff to include two F rench priests and several nuns

a n d some F ilip in o w orkm en. F or the nex t 20 years or so the B ath u rst

Islan d M ission was the only p erm a n e n t E u ro p ean establishm ent in the B ath u rst a n d M elville Islands area. D u rin g this tim e Japanese pearlers visited the islands and in ab o u t 1935 th eir base for contact w ith the T iw i was in the G ard en P o in t region. In 1939 the governm ent fo unded a

ra tio n d ep o t at G arden P oint. A problem h a d arisen concerning the

n u m b er of part-Japanese ch ild ren bo rn to T iw i w om en in the G arden

P o in t area. As a result in 1940 a new C atholic M ission was established to care for these ch ildren at G ard en P oint. L a te r in the same year the gov­ ern m en t ra tio n centre was rem oved to Snake Bay. G arden P o in t has

now also reverted to d e p a rtm e n ta l control.

In recent years there has been some m ovem ent by T iw i people from Snake Bay and B ath u rst Island to G arden P oint.

1. B A T H U R S T ISLAND

Mission lease

T h e present lease was g ran ted to the C atholic C hurch of the Diocese of D arw in over an area of la n d being 10,000 acres, situated in the south-east corner of B ath u rst Island A boriginal Reserve. T h is lease was previously held by it u n d e r a Mission lease u n d e r the title of T h e R om an C atholic

M ission Society a t B ath u rst Island, for the purpose of Mission work. T h e lease com m enced on 28 Septem ber, 1952 an d is for a term of 21 years.

Population (1971 Census)

M ale Female T otal

403 466 869

55

E uropean staff

T h e re is a to ta l of 30 w hich includes 8 tra in e d nurses, one m o th ercraft

nurse, store-m anager, schoolteachers (in c lu d in g pre-school teacher), me­ chanic, bu ild er, c arp en ter, w elder, p a in te r, brick-m aker a n d an adm inis­ trativ e staff.

M edical facilities

In a d d itio n to a h o sp ital there is an o u t-p a tie n t clinic. T h e m edical

facilities are ru n by 8 nurses, 2 n u n s a n d 23 A bo rig in al assistants.

School

Pre-school — 8 A b o rig in al girl assistants

G irls school — 250 enrolm ents, 15 A boriginal assistants Boys school — 4 A b o rig in al assistants.

E m p lo y m e n t

6 m en w orking u n d e r co n tract to the T im b e r C om pany.

6 m en em ployed at P ick ertaram o o r by Forestry D ep artm en t. Subsistence fishing. 3 self-em ployed artists an d two receiving training. 16 w om en em ployed by sewing centre w hich produces garm ents for

sale on D arw in m arket. 9 w om en — h an d icraft. 6 m en — brickyard. 6 m en — w elding.

14 m en — carpentry. 5 m en — general building. 10 m en — m ark et garden. 6 w om en — kitchen. 4 m en — bakery. 5 clerical assistants.

10 assistants — canteen. 10 assistants — store.

Pensions and e n d o w m e n t

87 — includes in v alid and o ld age pensions. 140 — in receipt of child endow m ent.

Wages

300 — receiving tra in in g allowances: $13,000 per fo rtnight. 11 — receiving aw ard wages: $800 per week.

Eioasing

T h e H ousing Association, an in co rp o rated body, is at present b u ild in g a n u m b er of two-room houses.

W ater

O b tain ed from three bores.

56

2. G A R D E N P O IN T

Mission lease

A lease w hich com m enced on 19 M ay 1941 an d ex p ired on 18 M ay 1962 was g ran ted to th e C atholic M ission C h u rch Diocese of D arw in. The

lease covered an area of 133 square miles.

Population

(as a t 4 Ju n e 1973): 203.

E uropean staff

T h e re is a non-A boriginal staff of 10 w hich includes: 2 clerical assistants, 2 p rim ary school teachers, one pre-school teacher, one carpenter, one m echanic an d one hospital sister.

M edical facilities

A t present the h o spital is w aiting the arrival of a trip le certificate nurse, after w hich tim e sim ple m atern ity cases w ill n o t be sent to D arw in, as

they are at present.

School

90 enrolm ents. T w o teachers, w ith 2 A boriginal assistants. Level is to 6th grade standard.

E m p lo y m e n t

Assistants in carpentry, the m echanic’s shop, general m aintenance and air-strip work, the m arket-garden an d nursing. T h e re is m ore th an

enough w ork to m eet the lab o u r dem and. All receive tra in in g allowances.

Pensions and en d o w m e n t

14 — old age pensions

8 — inv alid pensions

22-25 — in receipt of child endow m ent.

H o u sin g

A H ousing A ssociation has recently been incorporated.

T h e re are 14 brick houses a n d 6 tim ber houses w hich are occupied by approxim ately 160 people. A bout 40 people are living in tin huts in the ‘old cam p’ area.

Water

W ater is ob tain ed from local springs, w hich provide an adequate supply.

Progress Association

Id le Progress Association ru n s the counter-store, ddtere are four n o n ­ A borigines on the Association, two of whom act as Secretary and T re a s­ u rer, and two as com m ittee m em bers. H ow ever none have any voting power.

57

T h e Progress A ssociation is also responsible for the Social C lu b and has com m ittees for the o rg an isatio n of various activities.

Police station

A police statio n is to be b u ilt w hich w ill statio n 2 officers.

M a rk e t garden

T h e re is a c u rre n t proposal before the Progress A ssociation reg ard in g an extension of the m arket-garden. A t p resen t the g ard en covers 8 acres and it is proposed to increase this to 14 acres in o rd er to m ake the com m unity self-sufficient an d eventually to sell p ro d u ce on the D arw in m arket. 4'he finance re q u ire d for this scheme is estim ated at $30,000.

T ourism

T h e com m unity sees G ard en P o in t as the centre of any to u rist activity

th a t m ig h t be encouraged in the B a th u rst a n d M elville Islands area. Day trips from D arw in are the m ost likely form of tourist activity.

3. SNAKE BAY

Population

(as at 4 J u n e 1973): 240.

E uropean staff

10 em ployed by D e p artm en t of A boriginal Affairs 4 em ployed by Forestry D ep a rtm e n t 4 teachers

2 n u rsin g sisters.

M edical facilities

T h e re is a 12-bed h o sp ital w ith a m ate rn ity w ard, how ever m ost m ater­ nity cases are sent to D arw in. T h e h o sp ital is ru n by 2 sisters a n d a doc­

tor calls every 5 to 6 weeks.

School

72 enrolm ents. Level is to 6th grade sta n d a rd and there are 2 m ale and

2 fem ale teachers w ith one A b o rig in al assistant.

E m p lo y m e n t

20 em ployed by Forestry D ep artm en t on full aw ard wages 65 in receipt of tra in in g allowances. O f these, 10 em ployed at tim ber-m ill a n d others assist in w ork-shop, store and general m ain ten an ce work.

Pensions and eJidowmeiit

30 — old age pensions 2 — invalid pensions A p proxim ately 40 in receipt of child endow m ent.

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H o u sin g

T h e re are 36 tran sitio n a l tim b er houses consisting of 2 rooms, 8 tim b er houses w ith bath-room a n d bedroom , an d ap p ro x im ately 12 people liv­ ing in tra d itio n a l cam p structures.

Shortage of w ater is a problem . T h e present supply is from bores and

tanks. T h e re is a p rogram to up-grade the w ater supply by a new reser­

voir to be b u ilt n ex t year.

T h e store is self-service a n d is ru n by the su p e rin ten d en t's wife. It has

a turn-over of ap p ro x im ately $100,000 per annum .

$2,000 w o rth of artifacts were sold last year th ro u g h the store.

Groote Eylandt

1. A N G U R U G U

T h e C h u rch M issionary A ssociation h ad been active since 1908 in A rn ­ hem L and. I t was the policy of the C.M.A. to establish fu rth er missions w hen this becam e practicable. As a result of this policy the G roote Ey­ la n d t M ission was established in 1921 at E m erald R iver.

Initially the M ission’s m ain concern was to take care of part-A borig­ ines at this station. A fter 1930 the policy was to care for all A borigines living on G roote Eylandt. In 1943 the E m erald R iver Mission was m oved to A ngurugu. A M ission lease was gran ted to the C.M.S. for a term of

21 years com m encing on 1 O ctober 1946. T h e area covered 200 square miles.

Population (1971 Census)

W ater

Store

H istory:

M ale

262

Female

289

T otal

551

European staff

A total of 30 staff w hich includes 11 teachers and 3 nurses.

59

School

Pre-school — 56

P rim ary — 132

Post-prim ary — 26 A pp ro x im ately 20 ch ild ren a tte n d the A lyangula school.

E m p lo y m e n t

T w o in d u stria l sources of em p lo y m en t on G roote are the G roote Eylandt M in in g Co. Pty L td (G EM Co), a n d a p raw n factory ow ned by Gollin

Kyokuyo F ishing Co. G EM C o em ploys a p p ro x im ately 45 m en an d the p raw n factory em ploys 30 w om en. T h e re are a b o u t 10 m en perform ing co n tract work, the m ark et g ard en em ploys 4, the w orkshop 4 an d hos­ p ita l 8.

Pensions and e n d o w m e n t

16 — o ld age pensions

15 — in v alid pensions 4 — widows pensions 103 — in receip t of child endow m ent.

Wages

As at 4 J u n e 1973, 83 people were o n tra in in g allowances receiving total wages p er fo rtn ig h t of $5,234.50, a n d 10 were em ployed do in g contract work.

H o u sin g

A b o u t o n e-th ird of the A b o rig in al p o p u la tio n live in E uropean-type

housing. T h e rem ain d er m ainly live in structures w ith tim b er frames, bark walls a n d galvanised iro n roofs.

2. U M B A K U M B A

History:

From 1958-1966 the settlem ent at U m b ak u m b a was m anaged by the C h u rch M issionary Society. A fter th a t tim e it cam e u n d e r d ep artm en tal control.

Population (1971 Census)

Alale Female T otal

148 162 310

Pensions and E n d o w m e n t

12 — old age pensions

7 — widows pensions 59 — in receipt of child endow m ent.

Wages

As at 20 D ecem ber 1972 there was a to tal of 90 a d u lt w orkers, all of whom were receiving tra in in g allowances.

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Yirrkala

History:

In 1932 some Japanese fisherm en were k illed in C aledon Bay. T h re e

m em bers of an investigating p arty sent the follow ing year were also killed. T h e M ethodist M ission sought an o p p o rtu n ity to prev en t a recurrence of such incidents a n d in 1935 a M ission was established a t Y irrkala.

Population

M ale Female T otal

378 378 756

European staff

T h e re is a to tal staff of 41 w hich includes 13 teachers a p p o in ted by the

D ep artm en t of A b o rig in al Affairs, 2 h o spital sisters from the H e a lth

D ep artm en t, 22 m em bers of the U n ited C hurch, a n d 4 brick-workers.

M edical facilities

T h e H e a lth D ep artm en t has su p p lied a H e a lth C entre w ith a dispensary, a n d a doctor visits every M onday.

School

T h e staff include a headm aster, deputy head, pre-school teacher and

p rim ary teachers.

Pre-school — 58 enrolm ents

P rim ary — 272 enrolm ents

Post-prim ary — 53 enrolm ents.

E m p lo y m e n t

A pproxim ately 30% of a d u lt m ales are em ployed. T h e re are 130 persons receiving tra in in g allowances, 6 em ployed in the laundry, 12 at the b rick­ works, 3 at the hospital, 1 as a police tracker, 6 at D h u p u m a College, 6

in the m arket garden an d a n u m b er as school assistants and general

m ain ten an ce workers. T h e re are no A borigines directly em ployed by N abalco.

Wages and pensions

$4,000 per fo rtn ig h t is paid in wages. 32 in receipt of pensions (com prising inv alid and old age pensions). 150-200 w om en in receipt of child endow m ent.

H ousing

T h e re are 3 types of housing provided. A t Stage 1 there are 26 houses

b u ilt consisting of an u n lin e d fibro-walled structure; at Stage 2 there are 15 houses w hich offer an im provem ent on the Stage 1 type of house,

having lined walls; and at Stage 3 there are 21 houses w hich are a larger version of the Stage 2 constructions. T h e m ajority of people live in the Stage 1 constructions. T h e re are also some living in a beachcam p.

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W ater

W a te r supply is n o t a problem as th ere is an ad eq u ate supply from the

Y irrkala Creek.

Social club

T h e re is no social club as such, b u t sp o rtin g activities are organised on

a reg u lar basis betw een the Y irrkala a n d N h u lu n b u y com m unities.

Store

T h e store is ru n u n d er the directio n of a E u ro p e a n m an ag er an d is p a­

tronised by the people from N h u lu n b u y as well as the Y irrkala com m u­ nity. I t provides the m ain o u tlet for a rtifa c t p ro d u ctio n . T h e m onthly

turn-over in the store is a p p ro x im ately $30,000, the profit from w hich goes to the T o w n C ouncil.

T h e D h a n b u l C o m m u n ity Association

T h e D h an b u l C om m u n ity A ssociation was in co rp o rated for the purpose of receiving the royalties from the b au x ite m ining by N abalco a n d also the profits from the brickw orks. T h e executive of the A ssociation con­ sists of 6 m en a n d 5 w om en. T h e A ssociation decides on the allocation of the m onies received.

M a rk e t garden

T h e re is an extensive m ark et g ard en p ro d u c in g a variety of vegetables an d tropical fruits, in clu d in g ban an as, papaw s, an d p ineapples. T h e

p ro d u ce is sold th ro u g h the store at Y irrkala, W oolw orths at N h u lu n b u y , and some bananas are sold on the D arw in m arket.

Miiingimbi

History:

A M ission lease was g ran ted to the M ethodist Overseas M ission T ru st A ssociation com m encing on 21 D ecem oer 1945, for a term of 21 years. A n area of 81 square miles was covered by the lease, in clu d in g the Croco­ dile Islands. T h e m ission was first established at M iiin g im b i b u t in 1962

it was recom m ended to m ove the site to R am an g in in g on the m ain lan d . A t present at R am an g in in g there is one house occupied by a F ijian w ho has established a 40 acre garden.

P opulation (1971 Census)

M ale Female T otal

371 395 766

E uropean staff

T h e re are 18 staff m em bers a p p o in ted by the M ethodist M ission, 3 of

w hom are at N ungalala, an d 15 teachers a p p o in ted by the D ep artm en t of A boriginal Affairs, 2 of whom are at N ungalala.

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H ospital and school

A m a tro n a n d 2 sisters ru n the hospital. T h e re are 300 ch ild ren enrolled at school. A t N u n g alala there are 69 ch ild ren enrolled.

E m p lo y m e n t

T h e re is a total of 164 people em ployed of w hom 120 receive a train in g allow ance. O f th e total n u m b e r of people em ployed, 31 are w orking at N u n galala.

$7,000-$7,500 per fortnight.

Pensions and e n d o w m e n t

58 — includes invalid and old age pensions 130 — in receipt of child endow m ent. In ad d itio n there are 20 w om en at N u n g alala receiving child endow m ent.

Outstations

O n the m a in la n d there is a m ajo r o u tstatio n at N un g alala w hich at the

tim e of the C om m ission’s visit h a d a p o p u latio n of 250-300 people. A p rim ary factor in the d rift to outstations is the w ater shortage a t M ilin- gim bi and the existence of conditions m ore favourable to econom ic ex­ pansion on the m ain lan d .

Maningrida

History:

M an in g rid a was established in 1957 as a m edical, control an d trading centre for A borigines living in the Liverpool-B lyth R iver area. T h e

fu n ctio n of the settlem ent was restricted in its early stage to providing tra in in g a n d m edical services for the general area.

Population (1971 Census)

European staff

T h e D ep artm en t of A boriginal Affairs em ploys 12 people, the Forestry D ep artm en t 15, the H e a lth D epartm ent 6 people and there are 18

teachers. 2 police officers are perm anently stationed at M an in g rid a and o th er E uropeans are em ployed by the Progress and H ousing Associations.

School

200 enrolm ents.

E m p lo y m e n t

140-160 — receiving train in g allowances

Wages

M ale

573

Female

515

T otal

1088

63

2 0 — em ployed by Forestry D ep artm en t a n d receiving aw ard wages 14 — em ployed by H o u sin g A ssociation and receiving aw ard wages 30 — self-em ployed pro d u cin g craft work.

H o u sin g

T h e D ep artm en t of A b o rig in al Affairs has b u ilt 24 houses an d the H ous­ ing A ssociation d u rin g the past 2 years has b u ilt 16 a d d itio n a l houses.

T h e re are 45 people living in ‘self-help’ housing.

W ater supply

W a te r shortage is a serious p ro b lem . T h e w ater is p ip e d 25 m iles to

M an in g rid a from C adell G ardens.

Outstations

A t the tim e of the C om m ission’s visit there were ap p ro x im ately 300

people living at a n u m b e r of outstations. T h e o u tstatio n s h av in g the

largest n u m b er of people were K opanga, G uy u n and C adell G ardens. It is u n d ersto o d th a t q u ite large nu m b ers of people have m oved o u t into

the bush since the Com m ission's visit.

Hermannsburg

History:

In 1875 the L u th e ra n com m unity in A delaide decided to organise an

evangelical m ission to work am ong the A boriginal people. As a result the M ission was established at H e rm a n n sb u rg in 1877. O rig in ally assis­ tance was provided in the way of care for the sick an d the aged. By 1894 u n d e r the leadership of R everend C. Strehlow full-scale mission w ork was un d ertak en .

A t present the M ission holds a Special Purposes Lease w hich com ­ m enced on 7 O ctober 1965, and is for a term of 21 years. T h e lease w hich is over an area of 1,470 square m iles was g ran ted for the purpose of

caring for, protecting, m ain tain in g , tra in in g an d ed u catin g A borigines.

Population

M ale Female T otal

287 308 595

European staff

T h e re are 8 teachers, 2 nurses and 13 o th er staff.

School

A total of 230 enrolm ents which com prise:

Pre-school — 40

P rim ary — 140

Post-prim ary — 50

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H ospital

T h e ho sp ital has 8 beds. T h e re is treatm en t of out-patients on a daily

basis.

E m p lo y m e n t

T h e re are 108 people em ployed. Of these 104 people receive tra in in g allowances.

Pensions and en d o w m e n t

61 — old age pensions

5 — inv alid pensions

116 — in receipt of child endow m ent

W ages

$6,206.35 per fo rtn ig h t.

H o u sin g

A pproxim ately 40% of th e A boriginal p o p u la tio n live in E uropean-type houses and 60% live in tw o-room ed galvanised-iron structures.

W ater

W a te r is o b tain ed from 3 bores an d a spring.

Social club amd store

B oth the social club a n d the store are m anaged by the M ission. T h e

ap p ro x im ate m onthly tu rn o v er of the store is $16,690.

Santa Teresa

History:

T h e C atholic Mission in 1935 established the L ittle Flow er M ission in Alice Springs w hich provided a school for the A boriginal ch ild ren in the town. In 1945 w hen the Army was directed to move the A boriginal p o p u la tio n from Alice Springs, the M ission was given the choice of m ov­

ing to H erm annsburg or to some o th er site allo tted by the G overnm ent. T h e M ission opted for a place o th e r th an H erm an n sb u rg so they were sent to A rltunga. A fter the w ar, Bishop O ’L oughlin approached the

G overnm ent for a pastoral block w ith the in ten tio n of raising cattle

so th a t the Mission m ight become self-sufficient. Subsequently, a Mission lease was g ran ted to the C atholic C hurch of the Diocese of D arw in In ­ corporated, for the purposes of m ission work am ongst and for the benefit of the A boriginal natives of the N o rth ern T errito ry . T h is lease at Santa

T eresa com m enced on 1 M arch 1952, and was for a term of tw enty-one years. It covers an area of 480 square miles.

Population (from 1971 Census')

M ale Female T otal

243 243 486

65

E uropean staff

T h e re is a staff of 27 consisting of the M ission S u p e rin te n d e n t, 3 bro­

thers, 6 nuns a n d 17 lay m em bers.

T h e teaching staff of 8 includes 4 n u n s a n d 4 lay teachers.

T h e present h o sp ital is ru n by one n u n (trip le certificate nurse) and

2 E u ro p ean assistants. A doctor from A lice Springs visits every 4 to 5

weeks.

H ospital

A new ho sp ital b u ild in g has recently been com pleted an d it is an tic i­

p ated th a t it w ill com m ence fu n c tio n in g in Septem ber w hen it is fully

eq u ip p ed . A t presen t any cases in v o lv in g o p erations o r intensive care are taken to A lice Springs for treatm en t.

School

200 ch ild ren are en ro lled at the school. A sports g ro u n d is available for physical edu catio n a n d there are sew ing a n d craft room s w ith in the

school building. T ra d itio n a l stone carving is ta u g h t from tim e to tim e

by an A boriginal craftsm an. P o ttery classes are to com m ence shortly.

E m p lo y m e n t

O f the to tal p o p u la tio n at the M ission, 140 are em ployed.

T h e M ission has a m ark et garden, w hich em ploys 4 persons, a bakery, brick-field a n d w ork-shop. G eneral m ain ten an ce w ork is available such as ru b b ish collection and, for the w om en, lau n d ry and sewing. T h e hos­ p ital employs 10 assistants, 6 or 7 persons are em ployed as stockm en,

a n d 4 as carpenters. T h e re are 20 m en w orking on b u ild in g houses.

Wages and, pensions

T h e re are 30 persons receiving pensions. A p proxim ately $7,000 p er fo rt­ n ig h t is p aid in wages.

H o u sin g

T h e re are 2 m a jo r h o u sing areas; a stone village w hich can house ap ­

proxim ately 400 persons; an d tin constructions in an area know n as East Side w hich can house ap p ro x im ately 200 persons. M any people have requested b etter housing, an d so far 3 houses have been constructed for A boriginal fam ilies. I t is hoped th a t the n u m b er of houses will be in ­

creased to 75 over the n ex t few years.

W ater supply

T h e re are 2 w ater bores w hich are ad eq u ate for present purposes, b u t

new bores are being explored.

Social club

T h e social club is ru n by a lay E u ro p e a n an d its activities in clu d e o r­

ganising Boys C lub an d Girls C lub evenings. T h e counter-store is ru n

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by a m issionary b ro th er. T o u rism is n o t encouraged by the M ission and there is no a rtifact p ro d u ctio n for a com m ercial m arket.

Cattle

T h e re is a E u ro p ean farm m anager w ith two A boriginal head stockm en. A b o u t 300 h ead of cattle are ru n a n d ab o u t 50 horses have been bred.

Yuendumu

History:

T h e com m unity a t Y uendum u began in 1946 as a ra tio n depot for the

W a lp iri in the area.

Population (1971 Census for Y uendum u an d Lake M ackay)

M ale Female T o ta l

417 469 886

E uropean staff

T h e re is a to tal staff of 35 w hich includes 14 teachers an d 5 nurses.

H ospital

T h e h o spital has 8 beds a n d is eq u ip p ed to h an d le 8 in-patients (exclu­ d in g meals) a n d approxim ately 200 out-patients on a daily basis.

School

E nrolm ents consist of: Pre-school — 54 P rim ary — 141

Secondary — 55

E m p lo y m e n t

T h e re are approxim ately 260 people em ployed on train in g allowances. 3 A borigines are em ployed as staff m em bers. O p p o rtu n ities for em ploy­ m en t include th e m arket garden, hospital, school, w ork shop, kitchen, m ine, cattle, an d m u n icip al work.

Pensions and e ndow m ent

21 — old age 9 — invalid 60 — in receipt of child endow m ent

H ousing

T h e re are no A borigines living in European-type houses. T h e re have been b u ilt 93 ‘Stage 1 A boriginal houses’ of a rud im en tary stru ctu re and 4 Stage 2 houses, being an im provem ent on the Stage 1 type. O ther

housing consists of various types of tem porary dwellings constructed from iron sheeting, canvas and branches.

67

W ater

A t present the com m unity is su p p lied w ith w ater from one bore. 3 addi­ tio n al bores have been d rilled, b u t are n o t fu n ctio n in g as yet.

Social club and store

T h e social clu b is responsible to an executive com m ittee w hich consists of a senior an d ju n io r president, a vice-president an d 7 com m ittee m em ­ bers in clu d in g the su p e rin te n d e n t. A t least 3 of the com m ittee m em bers are req u ire d to be A borigines.

T h e social club ru n s the super-m arket w hich is u n d e r the co ntrol of

a E u ro p ean m an ag er w ith a E u ro p e a n assistant, ft has a wide range of

groceries, clo th in g a n d hard w are item s. T h e ap p ro x im ate m o n th ly tu rn ­ over is $27,000.

Papun/a

History:

T h e settlem ent at P ap u n y a began in 1959 a n d was officially opened in 1960. Its p u rpose at th a t tim e was to m a in ta in A borigines from H aasts Bluff an d su rro u n d in g areas. Its fu n c tio n has now been ex ten d ed to

provide tra in in g in em ploym ent.

Population (1971 Census for H aasts Bluff Reserve an d P apunya)

M ale Fem ale T o ta l

655 662 1317

E uropean staff

T h e re is a to tal of 32 w hich includes 12 teachers, 7 nurses, a n d 13 staff

m em bers consisting of adm in istrativ e personnel, social club em ployees an d m ission workers. In ad d itio n th ere are 6 p art-A boriginal staff m em ­ bers. 2 police officers are statio n ed at P apunya.

H ospital

T h e re is a 7-bed h o spital w ith an o u t-p atien t clinic. T h e h o spital takes care of sim ple m atern ity cases, infant- an d child-care an d hom e-nursing.

School

As at 6 A p ril 1973 enrolm ents consisted of: Pre-school — 83 P rim ary — 143

S econdary— 61

E m p lo y m e n t

6 m en — livestock an d m ark et garden. 12 m en — w orkshop. 15 people — hospital.

T h e re are approxim ately 170 people, in clu d in g tra in in g personnel, w ho are engaged in o th er em ploym ent.

68

Pensions and e n d o w m e n t

64 — includes invalid a n d o ld age pensions

190 — in receip t of ch ild endow m ent.

Wages

A p p roxim ately $9,000 per fo rtn ig h t is paid in wages.

H o u sin g

A b o u t 50% of the A boriginal p o p u la tio n live in houses consisting of a single room an d a v erandah, 49% live in cam ps an d 1% live in E u ro ­

pean-type housing.

W ater

A t present there are 5 bores, b u t ad eq u ate w ater supply is a problem an d 3 m ore bores are to be e q u ip p e d this year.

Social club and store

T h e social club is m anaged by a E u ro p ean w ho is responsible to a com ­ m ittee. T h e social club organises films, recreation activities, the p ro m o ­ tio n of econom ic projects, the 3-unit m otel. In ad d itio n the social club ru n s the store w hich h a d a turn-over in M ay of this year of $25,600.

Docker River

History:

In 1968 the N o rth e rn T e rrito ry W elfare B ranch established a settlem ent at D ocker R iver, w hich is situ ated in the P eterm an n Reserve. Its aims

w ere to relieve the over-crow ding at some of the o th er settlem ents and to provide a p erm an en t settlem ent lor those people w ho m oved regularly betw een A reyonga, A m ata an d E rnabella.

Population (1971 Census for P eterm an n Reserve)

M ale Female T o ta l

186 177 363

T h e re is a great deal of m ovem ent of people in this area an d so

p o p u la tio n figures fluctuate. T h e m axim um n u m b er of people at the

settlem ent at any one tim e is approxim ately 600.

European staff

T h e re is a total staff of 9 consisting of 2 teachers, one nurse, 4 D ep art­

m en t of A boriginal Affairs officers, and 2 social-club officers.

Education and medical facilities

T h e re is a school and a clinic on the site, b o th of which are held in large

caravans.

E m p lo y m e n t

G eneral m ain ten an ce work, m ark et g ard en in g , an d a rtifact p ro d u ctio n is available. As at 11 M ay 1973 th ere w ere 56 people em ployed.

Pensions an d e n d o w m e n t

As at 11 M ay 1973:

51 — in receipt of pensions; $1,054 p er week 65 — in receipt of child endow m ent; $591 per m o n th

Wages

A verage payroll per fo rtn ig h t: $3,198.13.

H o u sin g

T h e re is only one E uropean-type house. T h e settlem ent consists of cara­ vans a n d m obile m etal structures. M ost of the A b o rig in al p o p u la tio n

live in traditio n al-ty p e structures in cam ps.

W ater

T h e w ater supply is ad eq u ate at present, a n d there are plans to increase supplies by o p e ra tin g 2 new bores.

Store

A new store has been com pleted w hich is ru n by an all-A boriginal in ­

corp o rated body, the D ocker R iver Social C lub. T h e store is ru n u n d er the directio n of a E u ropean. A rtifacts are sold th ro u g h the store. T h e re is a passing to u rist trad e of one or two cars an d one bus p er week. T o

cater for tourists, a tea-room and to u rist cam p w ith show er facilities have been introduced. T h e Social C lu b also has held an A u th o rity to Pros­

pect. A t present there are two or th ree A boriginal prospectors.

Outstations

A t W in g ellin a a n d Giles Creek.

Willowra

T h is pro p erty of 1,886 square m iles, recently purchased by the C om m on­ w ealth G overnm ent for the benefit of A borigines, provides a useful ex­ am ple of the organisational problem s w hich have to be solved. I t is

situ ated in the n o rth e rn p a rt of the Alice Springs D istrict, im m ediately east of the T a n a m i D esert W ildlife Sanctuary. T h e L an d er R iver runs th ro u g h it an d it is in W alp iri country. T o be m ore exact the L an d er

R iver W alp iri h o ld the lan d in this region from n o rth of Lake Surprise

as far south as M t L eichhardt, the actu al land-holding u n its being four clans.

N atu rally the w hite m a n ’s b o undaries of the W illow ra p astoral lease bear no relatio n to the A boriginal clan areas. H ow ever, it is generally

tru e to say th a t W illow ra is held by three clans, alth o u g h one has only

a sm all area in the south. Each of the three has su b stantial land-holdings

70

outside the bou n d aries of W illow ra, m ainly to the east an d south. T h e

fo u rth clan holds lan d to the west an d so u th of W illow ra. T h e total

area ow ned by the L an d er R iver W a lp iri w ould pro b ab ly be con tain ed w ith in W illow ra, the two neig h b o u rin g p ro p erties of A nningie a n d M t B arkly, the T a n a m i D esert W ild life S anctuary and the u n occupied des­ e rt country to the north-east of W illow ra.

O f the two clans w hich can claim m ost of W illow ra, it is believed

th a t some 16 a d u lt m ales w ere recently living on the p roperty a n d 23

w ere living away from it. O f the o th e r two clans, 11 were on the p ro p ­

erty a n d 19 away. M em bers of these o th er clans are m anagers of the

lan d -ten d in g cerem onies of the first two.

If this la n d were to be co ntrolled on the basis of tra d itio n a l clan

boundaries, two clans w ould benefit greatly an d a th ird w ould receive some benefit alth o u g h m ost of its tra d itio n a l territo ry is on the M t B ark­ ly pastoral lease. P robably none of these th ree sections of W illow ra

w ould be com m ercially viable by itself, in spite of the im provem ents

m ade since the lan d was first leased. A lth o u g h close to a clan boundary, the hom estead of W illow ra is pro b ab ly entirely on one clan ’s land. T h e fo u rth clan w ould be left to pursue claims to parts of the W ildlife Sanc­ tu ary and, perhaps, a sm all p a rt of the M t D enison pastoral lease.

T h e difficulty in a p p o rtio n in g W illow ra on a tra d itio n a l clan basis is obvious. A p a rt from the practical problem s suggested by the above sum m ary there are problem s of n a tu ra l justice arising from the in te r­

lin k in g of clans an d shared usage of lan d w hich und o u b ted ly occurred before w hite contact.

O n the o th er h and, if control is to be on a com m unity basis, w hat

rights should be given to non-resident m em bers of the L an d er R iver

W a lp iri or of o th e r n eig h b o u rin g clans? W h a t it they should late r wish to adhere to the com m unity? If these questions ever become im p o rtan t, a possible answ er w ould be th a t the com m unity should be confined to those w ho choose to register th eir m em bership in the first instance and those others w ho are late r adm itted to m em bership by the com m unity;

perhaps after a period of p ro b atio n to show th e ir good faith in applying.

71

Appendix III

Surveys of Aborigines on Cattle Stations

T h e results of a recent detailed survey on this subject are n o t yet avail­

able. H ow ever the follow ing in fo rm atio n , alth o u g h som ew hat o u t of date, illustrates the com plexity of the situation.

1. T ow ards the end of 1968 a survey of A borigines on cattle stations

in the R o p er R iver area was cond u cted for the A u stralian In stitu te of

A boriginal Studies by M r J. E. B ern.

T h is, taken together w ith the m ost recen t census retu rn s th en avail-able, showed the follow ing results, sta tio n by station.

Elsey M oroak

T o ta l num bers . . . . 62 T o ta l num bers . . . . 27

L inguistic groups L inguistic groups

M angarai . . . . . 20 R itta rn g u . . . . . 9

Y angm an . . . . . 15 N galkan . . . . . . 8

Jingali . . . . . . 6 R em b arrn g a . . . . 4

Alaw a . . . . . . 6 Six others . . . . . 6

M a r a ...................... . . 5

Six others . . . . . 10 U rapanga

T o ta l num bers . . . . 29

H odgson D ow ns

T o ta l num bers . . . . 41

L inguistic groups

L inguistic groups

R ita rrn g u . .

N galkan . . .

. . . 1 7

. . 10

Alawa . . . . . . 37 O thers . . . . . 2

F o u r others . . . . . 4

R o p e r Valley

M o u n ta in Valley

T o ta l num bers . . . 93

T o ta l num bers . . . . 67 L inguistic groups

L inguistic groups R em b arrn g a . . . 40

R em b arrn g a . . . . 23 N galkan . . . . 18

R itarrn g u . . . . . 20 R ita rrn g u . . . . . 14

fim ba . . . . . 18 M angarai . . . . . 9

O thers . . . . . . 6 Six others . . . . . 12

72

M a t a r a n k a M a i n o r u

T o ta l num bers . . . . 30 T o ta l num bers . . . .

L inguistic groups L in guistic groups

Y angm an . . . . . 15 R ern b arrn g a . . . .

M angarai . . . . . 15 G u p ap u y n g u . . . .

O thers ...........................

T h u s the m a jo r linguistic groups were d iv id ed as follows:

Rernbarrnga Yangm an

M ain o ru ...................... . 55 M a t a r a n k a ...........................

R o p e r Valley . . . . . 40 E l s e y ......................................

M o u n ta in Valley . . . . 23 M o r o a k .................................

M o r o a k ........................... . 4

E l s e y ................................. . 1

Ϊ23

Jirnba

Mangarai

M o u n ta in Valley . . . .

E l s e y ................................. . 20 Mara

M a t a r a n k a ...................... . 15 E l s e y ......................................

R o p er V a l l e y ...................... R o p e r Valley . . . . . 9

. 1 M o r o a k ........................... M o u n ta in Valley . . . .

Elodgson Downs . . . . 1 H odgson Downs . . . .

46

R ita rrn g u Αίαιυα

M o u n tain Valley . . . . 20 H odgson Downs . . . .

U rap u n g a . . . . . . 17 E l s e y ......................................

R o p er Valley . . . . . 14

M o r o a k ...................... . . 9

M ain o ru . . . . . . 1

61

N galkan

R o p er Valley . . . . . 18

U rap u n g a . . . . . . 10

M o r o a k ...................... . . 8

E l s e y ........................... . . 1

H odgson Downs . . . 1

40

65

55 6 4

15 15 1

31

18

5 4 1 1

11

37 (i

43

T h e re were also at least 14 o th er groups represented at one or two

stations each. T h e total num bers oE these groups were 32 and no group had m ore th a n six m em bers:

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N gandi Jingali fa nan G araw a N iyabuinga G oodanji G u p ap u y n g u

G an alb in g u W alp iri M u d b ra W again an W an d a ra n g M u n d B u rera

T h e area surveyed lies im m ediately south of the A rn h em L a n d Res­ erve a n d south a n d east of the Beswick Reserve. I t covers some 7,000

square miles. T h e re were 414 A borigines show n in the census an d of

these 126 w ere a d u lt males.

2. E arly in 1969 M r J. E. B ern m ad e a sim ilar survey of A borigines on

cattle stations north-east of Alice Springs. T h e area contains 25 stations of w hich 14 h a d no resident A borigines. O nly 6 h ad over 20 residents.

T h is survey, com bined w ith a 1967-8 census, showed the follow ing results:

A ileron Utopia

A n m i t j i r a ...................... . 77 A ran d a . . . . . . . 121

O t h e r s ........................... . 3 A ljaw arra . . . . . . 9

A n m itjira . . . . . . 4

Bushy Park K aid itj . . . . . . . 4

A ran d a ........................... . 5 Waite R iv e r A n m i t j i r a ...................... . 2 A ran d a . . . . . . . 16

M acdonald D ow ns A n m itjira . . . . . . 1

A l j a w a r r a ...................... . 167

A ljaw arra . . . . . . 3

A ran d a ........................... . 19 Woola Downs

Ooratippra A n m itjira . . . . . . 8

A l j a w a r r a ...................... . 17 Yam bah

T i T ree A n m itjira . . . . . . 4

A n m i t j i r a ......................

A ran d a . . . . . . . 2

. 50 O thers . . . . . . . 8 K a i d i t j ........................... . 8

O t h e r s ........................... . 4

T obermory

A randa 2

T h u s the m ain tribes w ere divided as follows:

Aranda A Ijawarra

U t o p i a ...................... . . 121 M acdonald Downs . . . 167

A l c o o t a ...................... . . 45 O o ra tip p ra . . . . . 17

M t R iddock . . . . . 26 U t o p i a ........................... . 9

M acdonald Downs . . . 19 W aite R iver . . . . . 3

Lucy Creek . . . . . 19 A i l e r o n ........................... . 2

W aite R iver . . . . . 16 —

Bushy P ark . . . . . . 5 198

Y am bah . . . . . . 2

T o b erm o ry . . . . . 2

T i T r e e ...................... . . 1

256

A n m itjira

A i l e r o n ......................................77

T i T r e e .................. . . 50

W oola Downs . . . . 8

U t o p i a ........................................4

Y a m b a h ........................................4

B ushy P a r k .............................2

W aite R i v e r ...................... 1

146

75

Appendix IV

Descriptions of Tribes and Ethnic Blocs

(N ote: T h is A p p en d ix has been p re p a re d by D r N icholas Peterson an d is ad o p ted by the C om m ission as p a rt of its rep o rt.)

T H E T IW I

T h e T iw i live o n B ath u rst an d M elville Islands to the n o rth of D arw in.

A lth o u g h only tw enty miles of o p en w ater separates them from the m a in ­ land, w hich can be dim ly seen on a fine day, the people are c ertain th at

th ere was no contact w ith it in the past. In d eed the m a in la n d was be­

lieved to be the hom e of the dead in the tra d itio n a l cosmology.

T h e cu ltu ral isolation of the T iw i is reflected in a n u m b er of ways.

T h e people lacked b o th the boo m eran g a n d the spear-throw er, prac­

tised n eith er of the m ain in itia tio n rites on m ales a n d lacked clan re­

ligious rites of the k in d fo u n d th ro u g h o u t the rest of the N o rth e rn

T errito ry . T h e ir lan d -h o ld in g system how ever seems to have been very sim ilar to th a t fo u n d on the m ain lan d , alth o u g h the two anth ro p o lo g ical accounts of it differ slightly.

H a rt an d P illin g (1960) state th a t a m a n ’s rights in la n d were p ri­

m arily derived from the country in w hich his fath er died. A ccording to them m en n ear d eath endeavoured to be in the fa th e r’s country, thus

creating a tendency tow ards p a trilin e a l in h eritan ce of land. G oodale

(1971) on the o th er h a n d is q u ite firm th a t la n d ow nership is based on

p a trilin e a l descent a n d th a t place of d eath only sets u p secondary rights if outside one's p a trilin e a l area. T h e re is general agreem ent th a t the

land-ow ning u n its were g rouped to gether in to 7-9 districts. N one of the au th o rs present any evidence of the elab o rate m an ag erial system fo u n d on the m ain la n d b u t this is n o t u n ex p ected in the absence of localised

clan religious cults.

Early experiences w ith P ortuguese slavers and M acassan trepangers m ade the T iw i im placably hostile to outsiders, b u t as in terest in n o rth

A u stralia increased, th eir isolation was frequently im pinged on. U n til the tu rn of the century the longest d isru p tio n of th eir isolation was by

the attem p ted B ritish settlem ent at F o rt D undas 1824-1829; b u t the hos­ tility of the T iw i to the settlem ent served to prevent the in tro d u c tio n of any real change an d was an im p o ran t factor in its ab an d o n m en t. A t the

76

tu rn of the century a bu ffalo -h u n tin g enterprise, based on the site of the presen t P a ru village, was established, an d in 1911 F ath er Gsell started a m ission im m ediately opposite on B ath u rst Island. Gsell set a b o u t sys­ tem atically a lterin g tra d itio n a l practices am ong those people w ho resided

at the m ission. M any people rem ain ed in the bush on M elville Island;

how ever those on the so u th ern coast w ere at a m ore or less p erm a n e n t

village w here they in teracted w ith the sailors of the Japanese p earlin g fleets. T h e governm ent trie d to discourage this contact by m oving m any of the T iw i involved to D arw in, b u t a second contact p o in t grew u p at

G ard en P o in t, forcing the establishm ent of a supervised ra tio n dep o t

there in 1939. In 1940 a new C atholic m ission was established th ere for part-A boriginal ch ild ren a n d the governm ent ra tio n d ep o t for the T iw i was m oved to Snake Bay. T o d ay m ost T iw i live on th eir ow n islands b u t w ith D arw in so close a n u m b e r have taken u p p erm an en t residence

there.

G oodale, }. C. T iw i wives: a study of the w om en

of M elville Island N o rth Australia. (Seattle, U niversity of W ash in g to n Press, 1971)

H a rt, C. W . M. an d T h e T iw i of N o rth Australia. (New

P illing, A. R. York, H o lt, R in e h a rt an d W inston,

1960)

T H E A N IN T IL Y A U G W A A N D N U N G G U P U Y U

A nintilyaugw a is the nam e of a clan on G roote E ylandt b u t has com e to be used for the people of the island as a w hole. T hese people have close links today w ith the N u n g g u p u y u of the ad jacen t m ain la n d betw een

Rose R iver a n d the m iddle of B lue M ud Bay. L inks w ith the m ain la n d w ere m ade possible in the past by the stepping stone of B ickerton Island b u t the fact th a t the languages spoken by the two peoples are m u tu ally u n in tellig ib le alth o u g h stru ctu rally sim ilar, indicates some social dis­

tance betw een th em historically. T ra d itio n a l ties th ro u g h m ig ratio n and m arriage have been greatly strengthened th ro u g h the use of boats and ch arter aircraft in m ore recen t times.

G roote E ylandt and B ickerton betw een them have 14 clan land-holding groups, all of w hom speak A nintilyaugw a. T h e N u n g g u p u y u speakers are divided am ong 10 clans, all w ith territory on the m ain lan d . T h e p a tte rn of lan d -holding in b o th areas is very sim ilar to th a t am ong the M urngin,

the difference being th a t the m anagerial relatio n sh ip is n o t form alised on G roote E ylandt.

W ell before F linders visited the G ulf of C arp en taria in 1803, Macas- san trepangers established a n u m b er of base camps in the area for use

d u rin g th eir wet-season visits. P erm an en t settlem ent on the island by outsiders d id n o t take place u n til 1921 w hen the C hurch M issionary So­ ciety established a mission on the west coast for part-A boriginal children. C ontact w ith the islanders themselves was slight and it was n o t u n til

1925 th a t any of the m issionaries even saw an A nintilyaugw a w om an. A tten tio n was n o t directed tow ards the indigenous p o p u latio n in any

concerted way u n til the o u tb re a k of the w ar, w hen the establishm ent of an air base at G roote E y lan d t led to a decision to rem ove the part-A bo­

rig in al ch ild ren from the island.

O n the eastern side of the island a E u ro p ean trep an g er, w ho had

w orked the coastal regions of the area since the 1920’s, set u p a base at

U m b ak u m b a th a t was later taken over by the C h urch M issionary Society and m ore recently by the governm ent.

T h e com position of the two A bo rig in al com m unities reflects tra d i­ tio n al te rrito ria l ties: the people a t U m b ak u m b a are largely from G roote E y lan d t itself w hile those at A n g u ru g u are m ainly B ickerton Islanders. T h e n u m b er o f N u n g g u p u y u speakers on G roote E y lan d t is few, most living at Rose R iver on the very so u th ern fringe of th e ir ow n country.

Rose R iver was established in 1952 by the C hurch M issionary Society a n d drew p a rt of its p o p u la tio n from R o p er R iver M ission and p a rt from people still sp en d in g th eir tim e in the bush. Living w ith the N u n g g u ­

puyu are a sm all g ro u p of M u rn g in , m ainly from the area a ro u n d Blue

M u d Bay.

T H E M U R N G IN

T h e people of north-east A rnhem L a n d from C ape Stew art to B lue M ud Bay are collectively know n as the M u rn g in in the an th ro p o lo g ical lite ra ­ ture. A lth o u g h cu ltu rally unified they d id n o t form a co h eren t social

en tity and h a d no single term for themselves. T h e term M u rn g in is

a p p aren tly derived from the nam e fo r the deadly shovel-nosed spear

w hich in the context of inter-clan relationships is ap p lie d to groups that have a history of being aggressive to the clan of the speaker. T h u s the

description is subjective, each clan n o m in a tin g different groups as M u rn ­ gin, d ep en d in g on the history of past feuds and conflicts.

T h e re are from forty-five to fifty M u rn g in clans th a t betw een them occupy an area of 15,000 square m iles, giving each clan an average of

some 300 square miles. T h e te rra in is rich an d varied w ith a long shore

line, leading to the localisation of clans an d a frag m en tatio n of language, so th a t each clan claim s its own dialect even though the average num bers p er clan only lie betw een 40 an d 50. D espite the linguistic frag m en ta­ tion there is a p ro liferatio n of ritu a l links betw een d a n s. T hese are of

two kinds. T h e re are those created by h aving territories along the track of a com m on ancestor such as the D jan k aw u sisters and there are those created by the m anagerial link th a t is ex tended beyond the m o th e r’s clan

to th a t of the m o th e r’s m o th er an d the m o th e r’s m o th e r’s m o th e r’s clans.

Like the o th e r coastal people of A rn h em L and, the M u rn g in h ad ex­ tensive contact w ith aliens well before the arrival of E uropeans. Macas- san trepangers regularly visited the n o rth coast each w et season, leaving w hen the w inds m oved to the south-east. Conflict w ith the A borigines was com m on d u rin g the period for w hich there is d o cu m en tatio n and co n tin u ed u n til the governm ent finally stopped these an n u al visits in

1907. D uring the 1920’s and 1930’s Japan ese p earling fleets w orked the coast and conflict was again n o t uncom m on. In 1932 three Japanese

were killed in C aledon Bay and shortly afterw ards one of the policem en

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sent to investigate an d two of his com panions, were also killed. T h is led to dem ands for a p u n itiv e ex p ed itio n from T e rrito ry residents, w hich was averted by the offer of an anthropologist, D o n ald T h om son, to visit the area to establish the causes of the problem s, an d by the m issionary

societies’ expression of in terest in setting u p a statio n in the area. T h is

the M ethodists d id, fo u n d in g Y irrkala in 1935.

Y irrkala was the second m ission station in M u rn g in territory. T h e

first h ad been set u p on the w estern edge at M ilin g im b i in 1923 a n d later a statio n a t Elcho Islan d (G aliw inku) was started in 1942 after a false

b eg in n in g of a few m onths in the 1920’s. T h is sequence of establish­

m en t has h a d an im p o rta n t influence on the d istrib u tio n of the clans

today. T h ro u g h contact w ith the M ission b o at th a t sailed along the coast to the R o p er R iver, m any of the peoples of B uckingham Bay an d A rn ­ hem Bay le a rn t a b o u t the M ission at M ilingim bi and shortly afterw ards settled there. O th e r groups who lived m uch closer to the M ission b u t

were in la n d rem ain ed in the bush u n til well after the war. T h e result

of this d rift W estw ards is th a t today m ore th a n 200 people have developed links w ith M ilingim bi, a lth o u g h G aliw inku is m uch closer to th e ir clan lands.

G aliw inku itself is m ainly com posed of the coastal a n d island people in its im m ediate vicinity, b u t because of the Rev. H . Shepherdson's policy of m ak in g living in the bush a real alternative to M ission life, by supply­ ing valued item s to groups in the bush th ro u g h a system of sm all air­

strips, it has developed links w ith the h in te rla n d too. T h e n u m b e r of

out-station groups has v aried since the establishm ent of the first strip in 1949, b u t today there are four in reg u lar use, allow ing upw ards of seventy people to live in th eir ow n country. Also, at Lake Evella, G aliw inku

has established a saw m ill, to cut local stands of cypress pine, an d a vil­ lage in w hich a b o u t 140 people live. A t H o w ard Island it plans a cattle

p ro ject b u ilt a b o u t the desire of a sm all gro u p to live an d work on th eir

ow n land.

Y irrkala has only one o u tstatio n at present, at C aledon Bay, b u t

M ilingim bi, w ith its plans to set u p a new tow n on the m ain lan d to over­ come w ater problem s, has encouraged three in d e p en d en t groups to move back on to th eir ow n lan d for m uch of the year, and established a m ajor

o u tstatio n in connection w ith its cattle pro ject at N ungalala.

T h u s the period of d e p o p u latio n of the in te rio r of A rnhem L an d has come to an end an d m any M u rn g in are now m oving to live on or near

th e ir ow n clan lands. T h e three m ission stations still rem ain the m ain

centres of p o p u latio n , Y irrkala w ith 756, Elcho w ith 971 and M ilingim bi w ith 766, b u t upw ards of four h u n d re d people are away from these m ain centres.

T H E A RA N D A

T h e country of the A randa-speaking peoples stretches to the n o rth and west of the Sim pson desert. R oughly speaking it was bounded by the

Sandover R iver to the n o rth and the Finke R iver to the south, thus in­

clu d in g Alice Springs an d considerable parts of the M acdonnell and

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H arts Ranges. Strehlow distinguishes five m ajo r groups, the Western, S outhern, E astern, C en tral a n d N o rth e rn A randa w ho all spoke dialects of a com m on language b u t lacked any p o litical cohesion.

T h e tra d itio n a l lan d -h o ld in g system as described by Strehlow was very sim ilar to th a t of the W a lp iri, in clu d in g a strong em phasis on the

m anager relatio n sh ip , for w hich they used a cognate term . As w ith the W alp iri, each clan area co n tain ed at least one m a jo r cerem onial site that was the focus of clan religious celebrations. Such clan areas ap p ear to have covered from 300-600 sq uare m iles and to have been relatively

densely p o p u la te d in contrast w ith the spinifex plains.

T h e p rin cip al agent of social change am ong the w estern an d n o rthern A ran d a was the L u th e ra n M ission established at H e rm a n n sb u rg in 1877. T h e in itia l im p act on the peo p le was slow an d it took several years be­

fore m any A borigines becam e p e rm a n e n t residents a t the M ission. By an d large the m issionaries w ere opposed to the tra d itio n a l religion

alth o u g h Strehlow Snr h a d stro n g anth ro p o lo g ical interests an d wrote ab o u t it. T h e A ran d a, an d th e ir south-w estern neig h b o u rs the M atun- tara, suffered from p u n itiv e ex p ed itio n s led by police in rep risal for ex­ tensive cattle k illing, m ade possible by the hilly n a tu re of the country, th a t gave them cover from pursuers. T hese factors a n d the fact that

Alice Springs was in the centre of th e ir territo ry drew the people away

from living off the land.

By th e Second W o rld W ar the clan cerem onies seem to have fallen in to disuse, in the H erm an n sb u rg area at least, a n d in consequence de­ tails of the clan estates are know n only to the very old. D u rin g the

C om m ission’s visit it was clear th a t the younger g en eratio n identify

strongly w ith the region as a w hole b u t poorly w ith p a rtic u la r tracts of

la n d w ith in it. T h is is in m ark ed contrast to the W alp iri, P in tu p i and

P itja n tja tja ra who, because they have m a in ta in e d th e ir tra d itio n a l clan religious celebrations, have a detailed know ledge of the countryside, even th o u g h the m ore rem ote places have n o t been seen for over twenty years.

T h e present-day d istrib u tio n of the A ran d a is wide, b u t generally

speaking the people ten d to live in the com m unity closest to th e ir own

section of A ran d a country. T h e ow ners of the M ereenie R ange an d the gaps visited by tourists along the M acdonnell R anges live at H erm an n s­ burg,· those people w ho own the la n d on w hich Alice Springs an d Pine G ap now stan d live at A m oonguna a n d St Teresa. T h e N o rth e rn and

Eastern A ran d a live on several cattle stations and m em bers from all areas are to be fo u n d in various cam ps a ro u n d Alice Springs itself.

T H E K U K A T JA /L U R IT JA

T h e location of the L u ritja peoples has been som ething of a m ystery in the an thropological literatu re. T h e difficulty arises from the fact th at the w ord is a specifically A ran d a term used for th eir im m ediate w estern neighbours and, by extension, all people w ho live to the west of them.

Some anthropologists have ad o p ted the A randa use of the w ord and ex­ tended it to include all the w estern desert people, b u t as m ore became

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know n a b o u t this area, varying local term s have come to be used for

different groups, leaving the term L u ritja for the tru e w estern neighbours of the A randa. T hese people have called them selves K ukatja, b u t today they freq u en tly use the term L u ritja .

T h e m ajo rity of the L u ritja live at P apunya, H aasts Bluff a n d H er-

m annsburg. T h e ir co untry lies a ro u n d P apunya, stretching from the

E h re n b u rg R anges in the west to near D erw ent Creek in the east and

so u th from M o u n t W edge to the K richauff Ranges. L ittle detail of th eir social o rganisation is know n, b u t it is assum ed to be sim ilar to th a t of

the A randa.

T H E W A L P IR I

T ra d itio n a lly the W a lp iri occupied an area of 35,000-40,000 square miles east from the W estern A u stralian b o rder to the S tu art H ighw ay and

so u th from W innecke C reek to the S tuart Bluff R ange. T opo g rap h ically this area can be divided in two, w ith the spinifex plains of the T a n a m i

D esert to the n o rth a n d the m ulga-supporting hills in the south. T h is

d istin ctio n was recognised by the W alp iri them selves w ho called the in ­ h a b ita n ts of the form er W anayaka an d of the la tte r M an tjan g an a (m ulga seed eaters), alth o u g h the people of b o th areas spoke m in o r dialectical variations of th e same language. Some w riters have identified four re ­

g ional sub-groups of the W alp iri, b u t the evidence for them today is

poor an d only the two m en tio n ed are now readily recognised by the

people themselves.

T h ro u g h o u t W a lp iri territory the lan d -holding u n it was a sm all clan of 30-40 people identified w ith a specific tract of land. T h e m ost m arked v ariatio n from the n o rm al A boriginal land-holding p a tte rn here was the elab o ratio n of the m anagerial relatio n sh ip w hich was m arked o u t by

several special terms.

Secondary links w ith o th er clan estates could develop w here an in ­ div id u al was ‘conceived’ in the territory of an o th er clan he called by the term father, p articu larly if th a t clan were sm all in num bers and, because of dem ographic fluctuations, com posed of m en younger th an the o u t­

sider w hen he was in m iddle-age. U n d er such conditions the outsider, w ho w ould have been allow ed to atten d the clan’s cerem onies, often

end ed by being one of the m ost know ledgeable persons ab o u t th a t clan’s rites. Such a m an could not only instruct the younger true ow ners of

the rite in correct perform ance b u t w ould also instruct his ow n sons

in it, as well as showing them the rites he h ad in h erited from his own

father. In consequence it is n o t uncom m on to find m en claim ing two

clan estates as th eir ow n; th at of th eir fa th e r’s father and th at in w hich

th eir own fath er was conceived. Close questioning usually reveals w hich area is th a t truly belonging to a m a n ’s clan.

T h e W alp iri today are a vigorous a n d flourishing people w ith a

strong o rien tatio n tow ards the past. A t the tu rn of the century they

probably num bered 1000-2000 giving a p o p u latio n density of one person per 30-40 square miles. W a rb u rto n was the first to travel th ro u g h their country, later to be followed by m iners in the T an am i gold-rush of the

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early 1900’s. M ajo r m ovem ents away from the bush to live on cattle-

stations d id n o t take place u n til the C oniston m assacre in 1928 when

m ore th a n 50 W alp iri, and th e ir eastern neighbours, the Y anm atjiri,

w ere slaughtered by a police p u n itiv e ex p ed itio n a lte r the sp earing ot a w hite m an. T h e d ro u g h t ol the follow ing year fu rth e r ad d ed to the drift from the bush.

It was at M t D oreen S tation, op en ed in the early 1930’s in the heart

of W alp iri country, th a t m ost W a lp iri received th e ir first p rolonged con­ tact w ith w hite m en. H ere m en, w om en a n d ch ild ren received paym ents of food in re tu rn for collecting w olfram , an d later the m en received such

paym ents for w orking as stockm en. D u rin g the Second W o rld W a r m any W alp iri m en were encouraged to leave th e ir trib a l territo ry to work for the Arm y in com pounds along the S tu art H ighw ay, re tu rn in g to their

h o m elan d afterw ards w hen various settlem ents were established for them. T o d ay th eir nu m b ers have grow n to over 2,500, a n d they have expanded the area they occupy to the south-east an d n o rth . In b o th cases this ex­

pansion was the resu lt of E u ro p ean settlem ent w hich in the south-east a ttracted the Y anm atjiri close to the S tu art H ighw ay allow ing the W al­ p iri to move on to the cattle-stations vacated by them ; in the n o rth , es­

tab lish m en t of the H ooker C reek settlem en t 40 m iles beyond W alp iri territory, b u t for W alp iri people, has led to a slow transfer of the land

as the W a lp iri are gradually given the cerem onies related to the area by the G u rin d ji. A p art from these locations the W a lp iri are to be fo u n d in

large num bers at Y uendum u, W a rra b ri, W illow ra an d P apunya, an d in sm aller num bers on various cattle-stations ad jacen t to the above com m u­ nities.

T H E P IN T U P I

D etailed description of P in tu p i social organisation an d lan d -holding p a t­ terns is alm ost non-existent. H ow ever it is clear th a t in m ost respects

th e ir social organisation is sim ilar to th a t of the P itja n tja tja ra although th e ir co-residence at settlem ents w here the W alp iri live is leading to the ad o p tio n of a n u m b er of features of W alp iri social organisation.

T h e exact m ean in g of the term P in tu p i is u n clear b u t it is used

loosely by the W alp iri for th e ir w estern an d south-w estern neighbours who speak a n u m b er of closely related dialects. People called P in tu p i by the W alp iri in h a b ite d an area th a t stretched a h u n d re d miles or so west of the W est A u stralian border an d n o rth from Bloods R ange to Lake

M ackay.

T ra d itio n a lly the P in tu p i h a d clan land-ow ning groups b u t do not

ap p ear to have the m anagerial relatio n sh ip in the form alised way. H ow ­ ever th eir ready ad o p tio n of the W alp iri term inology an d p a rticip atio n in W alp iri cerem onies indicate th a t the strong tie betw een nephew and m atern al uncle was still im p o rtan t.

T h e P in tu p i were the last m ajo r g ro u p to leave the bush. T h is they

d id q u ite recently: betw een 1957 and 1964 m ore th an two h u n d re d jreople were encouraged to leave the desert. T o d ay the m ajority of P in tu p i live

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at P ap u n y a well to the east of th e ir own country. A few are fo u n d at

Y uendum u a n d others a t Balgo M ission in W estern A ustralia.

L ast m o n th , considerable num bers of P in tu p i elected to m ove o u t

from P ap u n y a to set u p th e ir ow n com m unity at Yayayi ab o u t 25 miles fu rth e r west. A lthough closer to P in tu p i country, Yayayi is still in L urit- ja country.

T H E P IT J A N T J A T J A R A

T h is pow erful an d conservative people trad itio n ally occupied th e area from Ayers R ock to G ill’s P innacle an d south from Lake H opkins to the B irksgate R ange. T h e ir w estern neighbours were the N g a ta tja ra and th e ir eastern neighbours the T ju n k u n ta tja ra .

T h e first im pression on speaking to P itja n tja tja ra m en is th a t land

ow nership is d eterm ined by place of b irth , b u t in the final analysis it

emerges th a t it is in h e rite d from the father as elsewhere in the N o rth e rn T errito ry . A P itja n tja tja ra m an asked w hich country he owns will

nearly always reply th a t he was bo rn in his fa th e r’s country. B ern d t

(1943:371) com m ents th a t the place of b irth was usually in the fa th e r’s country an d th a t even w here the people h ad m oved away to live aro u n d E u ro p ean settlem ents they often re tu rn e d to th eir ow n country for an

im p en d in g b irth . T h e question of w hat la n d a child b o rn outside its

fa th e r’s country owns, it critical to u n d erstan d in g the P itja n tja tja ra sys­ tem an d to establishing th a t it does n o t differ radically from the typical system of au tom atic in h eritan ce from the father.

B ern d t does not m ake a direct statem ent a b o u t lan d owned in such

cases b u t he does say q u ite definitely th a t if a child is born outside its

fa th e r’s country the fa th e r’s own totem ic cerem onies (i.e. the title deeds to the land) are still m ore im p o rta n t for the child, thus confirm ing th at

the land-holding group is the p atrilin eal clan as elsewhere. T h e m ain

difference from the peoples to the n o rth a n d east is th a t secondary links are set up w ith other areas n o t by place of conception, as am ongst the

W a lp iri for instance, b u t by place of actual b irth .

In the absence of any detailed study of P itja n tja tja ra religious be­

h av io u r the existence of a form alised m anagerial relatio n sh ip rem ains in d oubt. In m arked co n trast to m ost o ther peoples of the N o rth ern T e r­

ritory, however, a m uch stronger em phasis in religious rites is placed on ties betw een a m an and the generations of his g ran d fath er and grandson.

From the 1870’s to the 1930’s the P itja n tja tja ra had contact w ith ex­ p lo ratio n parties of one sort or an o th er an d lone doggers seeking dingo scalps. In teraction w ith the scalpers in troduced m any people to a cash econom y for the first tim e, and scalping has rem ained a source of income

for a few people up u n til the present day. In 1923 an d again in 1930

A boriginal emissaries from H erm an n sb u rg travelled deep into P itja n t­ ja tja ra country encouraging a n u m ber of people to m igrate eastwards o u t of th eir country tow ards the mission. T h is led, d u rin g the Second

W orld W ar, to the setting up of ratio n depots at Haasts Bluff and

Areyonga by the Finke R iver Mission. M ost P itja n tja tja ra w ho moved

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in settled at A reyonga b u t som e w en t closer to tow n, taking u p perm a­

n e n t residence at Jay Creek. O th e r people rem ain ed in the bush until

the early I960’s only m oving in to th e settlem ents as a resu lt of the

activities at th e W oom era R ocket R an g e in South A u stralia w hich neces­ sitated the safeguarding of A borigines living in th e test flight path.

In 1968 D ocker R iver S ettlem en t was established on the w estern edge of P itja n tja tja ra co u ntry to relieve crow ding at A reyonga a n d to en­

courage p e rm a n e n t settlem en t am ongst people w ho regularly m oved be­ tw een A reyonga, A m ata, E rn ab ella a n d n e ig h b o u rin g cattle stations, by p ro v id in g facilities for them w ith in th e ir own territory. T h e settlem ent proved even m ore p o p u la r th a n expected. T h e o rig in al plans were for a p o p u la tio n of 150 b u t by 1971 it h a d risen to over 360. A lth o u g h the m a­ jo rity of people cam e from A reyonga, the relatively h ig h wages attracted

N g atatjara-speaking peoples from W a rb u rto n M ission in W estern A ust­ ra lia as well.

B erndt, R . L. ‘A p relim in ary re p o rt of field work

in the O oldea region, w estern South A u stralia.’ Oceania. 13 (1943), pp. 362-375.

R72/2976

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