UNCIVILISED BLACKS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22179, 5 August 1935, Page 6

UNCIVILISED BLACKS

PLEASANT SURPRISE J1 AID IN BUILDING MISSIQh f STATION IN REMOTE AREA If [from ocb own con p. esfoxdest] Sd SYDNEY. Jalj- ig I; | The expedition sent from Darwin fy V'l missionaries of the Sacred Heart some 111 weeks ago to form a new mission for I aborigines at Fort Keats, in the wild jj 1 Fitzmaurice River area of the Xoithtrn 1 Territory, has already made friendly 1 || contact with the blacks, and work haasi- If begun on the mission building. Four ft days after the missionaries ju B their iuggers, 100 aborigines of mag- ;[ I nificent physique appeared from the ft bush, leaving their spears behind in the-I"' f bush as a sign of friendliness. I-ater they I brought their lubras awl piccaninnies S to the encampment of the missionaries jf and now they are assisting in the erec- It tion of the mission building. i In recent years. Port Keats has been i a notorious trouble area. Several aur- I ders of white men and Japanese. b\ i natives have taken place there. Apjjrt'l; i from Arnhem Land, it is the only por- | tion of the Territory in which Abj- * I tralian aborigines in their native state f are to be found. It was felt that Father - Doherty, leader of the expedition,"'' might meet with trouble, but all fears ! have been dispelled. Other white men with Father Doherty are Mr. p a $ Ritchie, a missionary, and Mr. W. E. H. Stanner, anthropologist. Rough Trip ia Lsggm The expedition, which left Danria a , two luggers, had a rough trip lastiig four days, to Port Keais, which is about 200 miles south-west of Danria A site for the mission station was selected on the south side of the fearhour, and now timber is being cat for the mission building. A road is being made through the jungle, and wells ar® being sunk. The mission will front a magnificent ocean beach, which affords • a perfect landing ground for aeroplane at low tide. Before the expedition left Darwin, news of its projected departure for Port Keats circulated among nearly nil the aboriginal tribes by means of the '•bush telegraph." Within four days oi the landing of the missionaries, the blacks who had been in hiding and Jamming up the mission party, appeared from the bush. They belonged to the Mariwuda tribe, of the Port Keats area. There were many piccaninnies in proporsion to the adults, showing that the tribe was flourishing. Value of "Pidgin Engli*h" All the aborigines seen by the missionaries seemed well-nourished and healthy. Some of them spoke "pidgin English." Some had apparently j wandered up the coast to Darwin; others had had contact with luggers. Some had been in gaol for various, 4 offences, while others had encountered civilisation by having been taken to Darwin as witnesses. The b'ack? who knew "pidgin" were of great assistance to the missionaries. It is expected that the mission will conserve much of the aboriginal life ill this sector of the coast. It is hoped it will encourage the aborigines to remain in their tribal areas. "When the mission is properly established, Mr. Ritchie, who w-as formerly a Ufew South Wales farmer, proposes to encourage the aborigines to engage in agriculture.