REMNANT OF A RACE.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 122, 22 May 1920, Page 17

REMNANT OF A RACE.

PASSING OF THE AUSTRALIAN

BLACK.

(By ALBERT CHERRY.)

It is a recognised fact that the Australian aborigine ranked among the lowest of the human family, and as far as-my information serves mc, the Tasmanian section was the most backward of all. A few "blackfellows" may be eeen in some outback parts of the Australian Continent —northern and northwestern—but all that remains of the tribes that at one time occupied the island of Tasmania (south of Australia, and one of the States of the Commonwealth) may be seen frittering away its existence in a settlement at Cape Barren Island, the southern neighbour of Flinders Island, in Bass Strait. The Tasmanian Government has given over to this remnant of an almost forgotten race the whole of Cape Barren Island, 110,000 acres in extent, and it affords material for study for those who care to' make the journey.

DesDite the influences of civilisation and the continuity of white people, the residents of the settlement give very little evidence of adaptability to modern conditions, unless it be in a vicious direction, and they are simply fraying out toward complete extinction without exciting a single regret. They are descendants of a stock of which little is understood, and of whom scientists and others would be glad to have any information, because the missing link, it anything could be ascertained regarding it. would have an important bearing on the study of human origins and development.

Shyness is the first characteristic which strikes the visitor. Laziness is another, but that is an inheritance which they have' not squandered, for it would seem that they regard the efforts of the Government and the well-intentioned people about them as merely modest and inadequate contributions to the scions of a noble race —a touch . of egotism that is ludicrous. The only pride that they appear to be capable or displaying is their pride in indolence. Those who expect to see only true types will be disappointed. On the other Hand, a shock will be experienced when a redhaired, freckled youth appears among those who are entitled to all the privileges of the establishment. There are several such—coarse and sensual, and they recall the characters affected oy low-comedian- on the vaudeville stage. The explanation of that apparent incongruity is in the faot that the whaling industry was in full swing at the time that the Tasmanian Government removed all the "blackfellows" from Tasmania to a new settlement on Flinders Island (not that at present occupied), and the rough men engaged in that work made it a -practice to take a wife, whenever they pleased. Their strong featureare betrayed to-day. On the other hand, there may be seen the exact reproductian~Bf far-off type, showing that Nature has persisted against contrary conditions—for, as may be gathered, the line has been broken, and there bas been a strong outside strain and promiscuous admixture. It must he borne in mind that it is a great stretch of courtesy to* call these people "haltcattes; they are decidedly far removed from that stage. A boy whom I saw on its mother's knee this year might have been born in ISO 4, before there was any contact with the white people. It had the thin legs and sbarp shin bone, deep , (furrow between bushy, crisp eyebrows, 6trong bonal ridge over the eyes, strong jaws and ape-like face. It was a rare privilege for mc to be able to witness such an example of atavism. Both parents might have disowned it, so far from their own appearance was it,'for the blood in them had undergone the usual infiltration. The Tasmanian blacks were deficient I in many of the clever shifts, artifices, j and buehcraft "generally of the Austra-1 Man aborigines, though they undoubtedly bad a common origin, and were able at' one time to cross over between Victoria and Tasmania by the strip of country of which these islands alone remain. They had,reed spears, and did not chip wooden weapons with stone implements; their spears were thrown by hand, whereas the Australians used a womera or throwing stick. Tasmania was not an ideal place for the maintenance of a large number of these people in one group or tribe because there was so much tangled growth, and the result (was that the language underwent change. When Mr. G. A. Robinson, a. Government official, visited Flinders Island in 1838, he had to learn four languages in order to -understand and be understood by the natives. It is noteworthy that the methods which the natives adopted when clearing spaces were similar to those of the North American Indians. The Indians were cruelly punished by the people and the Government in a mistaken beliet that they -jvere wrong. It is now admitted that they were right, and many millions of pounds worth of timber might have been saved, if there had been no departure from their method. It was a simple procedure. They resorted to burning off the scrub periodically in order to maintain clear spaces; this also permitted growth of grass to a greater extent. When the work was stopped forests appeared where the plains had been. The blackfellows, by removing: the litter from the ground, removed the means by which bush fires spread. Bush fires have been disastrous in. Australia as well as in America, and both countries are suffering from the ignorance and indifference of the past in regard to their timber. Australians are only now appreciating the value of their own native timbers, and lamenting that so much that might have been saved has pone up in smoke. Recent exhibitions have proved that the varieties -of hitherto despised timber are capable ot many uses —for exquisitely-finished furniture, as well as other articles of practical us.2, particularly in the work °I wheelwrights and carriage-builders. When the Europeans appeared in their territory the aborigines united in a general stand for their own threatened interests. Prior to that a camp sisted of about thirty people —families, nearly related. The new organisation; resulted in the formation of camps consisting of 300, and members of a camp, with some prevision of present-day socialism, called each otheT brother or| eister. In the winter they had their, seaside resorts; their canoes were made of bark. Their fire lighting was like that of the Polynesians—friction with a, j stick in a groove. They were not naturally ferocious or treacherous, N but i lather agreeable and cheerful. They

were exceedingly gluttonous when food was plentiful; their descendants are notoriously so to-day.

Lieut. W. J. Darling, relative of Sir Charles Darling, who was in command of the settlement on Flinders Island in 1832, took' a fatherly interest in —*■ charges, who were housed in a shelter 20ft long by 10ft deep, with sloping break winds.- The cabined life was fata( to them. of grease would have been* more serviceable than the best tweed. They dwindled from the time they were removed from the strenuous, open-air life which was their natural condition. Hunting for a living was conducive to hardiness and stamina- This fag-end—with a few notable exceptions— is Irving down to the level of shiftless self-obliteration.

There is one man on the island 80 years of age. Another, Harry Armstrong, was well liked throughout the whole of the group of islands, and lived at Killiecrankie (about the middle of Flinders Island on the west coast). He followed the occupation of fisherman, and died in "February, 1920, in his seventieth year. A woman, who has a small island to herself, carries on the occupation of sheep-farming with success. Some men have land and use it for grazing purposes, but these are the exceptions.' Dancing is a favourite pastime, the, most trifling incident being deemed worthy of a ceremonial dance. Jazz, two-step, turkey trot, and other modern departures from orthodox- dancing are unknown, but . all that ' they indulge' in has a furious element 'which would stagger, a debutante from a civilised community, if they have a phonograph they" cannot .make it reel : ;«ff, the 'records - with '~ .sufficient rapidity:' to satisfy themselves. -_A sense of .time in this direction .as well as in another is not in them. . , _■■ -.'-. . The Tasmanian Government' sent a medical officer ' to investigate . the cause of their debility this year; Consumption baa marked them for its own. There is a touching instance „of 'the relentless pursuit of them, in the history,of a man named Bill Smith, who, -with his -wife, settled at the■ North, point-.of Flinders Island, determined to?erase, the blbt;on his people so far as he was individually concerned. He-was a'fine.type,of .nian, exemplary in every way, but the-curse was upon him.' He saw his.children grow to a,stage when his enkindled;hope was reinforced—but (j as they entered upon manhood :and --womanhood, •they were cut down. They were beautiful children, distinct'from their •class;-but their lonely, graves on the shore of sßass Strait remain a mute testimony ,to, the fact .that the Tasmanian aborigines are no more, and: the -frayed'out remnants of the race serve. only- as a- link -for the curious to'• connect ■ the hidden • past: and speculate on*the history of a people who left nothing. of great importance to assist the student Of antbropolpjgy.