NOTABLE JOURNEY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLI, Issue 20326, 27 January 1936, Page 14

NOTABLE JOURNEY

AUSTRALIAN SCIENTIST experiences among BLACKS After an adventurous seven months in Arnhem Land. Dr Donald Thomson. an Australian anthropologist, returned to Darwin recently. In his travels he made friendly contact with all the aboriginal tribes in that area, lived among them, ate their food, and on one occasion, when he was injured and without food, he was fed by a tribe on roots and wild honey. Dr. Thomson travelled on foot for 500 miles in scarcely known country. He said that at present Arnhem* Land tribes were peaceful. Dr Thomson is a research fellow of the Melbourne University, whose services have been lent to the Commonwealth Government for two years to make an anthropological study of the aborigines of Arnhem Land. He was also to make contact with the blacks in disturbed areas of Blue Mud Bay and Caledon Bay. and endeavour to bring about peace. He has accomplished part of his work, and is returning to Melbourne to discuss aboriginal problems with the Minister for the Interior and re-equip himself for a further expedition in March when the wet season ends. He had no trouble with the fiercest tribes. Cannibalism Practised Dr Thomson made important studies of tribes of whom no study had been made before. In addition to walking 500 miles, he travelled more than 90 miles by native dugout canoes, and 300 to 400 miles with packhorses. His lugger. St. Nicholas, with a native crew, acted as a store ship along the Arnhem coast. “Cannibalism,” said Dr Thomson, “is still practised by a number of tribes in the interior of Arnhem Land. This cannibalism is of a ritual or ceremonial form. The flesh of certain members who die by magical means is eaten. It is supposed to give the eaters special prowess in hunting.” So far Dr Thomson has made a survey of the whole of the tribes of Arnhem Land from Roper River northward to Cape Arnhem and eastward of Goyder River. In one stretch he walked 180 miles overland to Bennett Bay, and some days he walked for 18 hours. At Bennett Bay he found the blacks to be friendly. He sailed north for 30 miles to Blue Mud Bay looking for Tuckiar’s group. Difficult to Approach Along the coast the aborigines were in loosely organised hordes, and spoke dialects of the same language. One group was so difficult to approach that it took him a fortnight to make contact with them. He lived for three weeks with these blacks, who were the most fierce and troublesome of the Arnhem Land tribes, several men having been killed there in recent years, including Constable McColl and Traynor and Fagan. Dr Thomson next went to the northern end of Blue Mud Bay and walked to Trial and Caledon Bay, a distance of 60 miles. At Trial Bay he met Wongor. “This aborigine.” said Dr Thomson, “is the most remarkable one I have ever met for character, strength and intelligence. Three of his sons are in gaol at Darwin for the killing of a Japanese. I delivered to Wongor a message stick, which I obtained from his sons in the gaol. “That night there was a tremendous ritual and crying in the camps. Wongor at first was aloof and shy, but later became friendly. He gave me a letter stick to return to his sons. The marking on it represented that Wongor was keeping peace among his horde. I won him over as an ally, and told him that I would hold him responsible for the peace of the whole district. When Wongor became sick he called me to attend him.” One of Wongor’s sons piloted Dr Thomson to Caledon Bay. Dr. Thomson contracted fever and went by boat to Port Bradshaw, afterwards setting out on foot for Arnhem Bay. but missed it and came out at English Company’s Island. He had sprained his ankle, and, when landing after swimming the Broad River, a stick ran into his eye. With one eye closed and practically unable to walk, and also without food, he met friendly blacks, who fed him on roots and “sugarbag” (wild honey) until he was able to walk back to Arnhem Bay. Dr Thomson crossed in the lugger to Millingimbi Mission Station on the Crocodile Islands. Being anxious to make contact with the inland tribes, be made a journey on foot down the Goyder River with 13 aboriginal carriers, but because of feuds the carriers deserted him one by one at night. The blacks on the river lived chiefly on tortoises and water snakes. Greeted Like Old Friend Eventually, about the middle of October, he returned to Blue Mud Bay, where 250 blacks were concentrated on the Koolatong River for a ceremony. They greeted him like an old friend and were proud to tell him that they had been peaceful. He then walked 45 miles inland to the head of the Walker River to visit a native quarry, where stone spearheads famous among all the tribes of Arnhem Land were obtained. On returning he found that his depot had been faithfully guarded by the Blue Mud Bay blacks. At no stage on his journeys had anything been stolen from his camps or boat. On Groote Eylandt he made a premilinary investigation of the social organisation of the blacks. Later he made an expedition along the Wilton River, intending to cross Arnhem Land to Liverpool and East Alligator Rivers, but conditions in the interior were so dry that he decided not to risk the horses, and returned.