Reflections in Yarrabah

Just down the road from Cairns is the Aboriginal community of Yarrabah. Despite its idyllic location between tropical reef and rainforest and its establishment as an Anglican Mission, it was essentially a dumping ground for Aboriginal people, especially ‘half caste’ children and women. Queensland Government records combined with oral histories reveal the circumstances surrounding the removal of some of the original inmates and provide evidence to support the well lamented accounts of starvation, poor education and slave labour.
Part 1 of the book explores life under the protection act including marriage, removal, absconding and employment. Other topics include the removal of the Fraser Island people to Yarrabah, the bomb at King Beach that killed five people in 1944, observations of starvation and poor education by Anthropologist Norman Tindale in 1938 and the strike of 1957 that resulted in many people being evicted from the mission.
Part 2 sets out the facts relating to individual removals to Yarrabah such as:

• Henry Lawrence a good worker who didn’t drink or smoke, worked at a lower rate of pay for ten years. When he tried to get an exemption the excuse that he ‘gave away’ his pocket money was used to deny him his freedom.
• Dudley Bulmer was born just after the death of Mary Watson - described as a heroine for innocently dying of thirst. His people have been blamed for her death but was it just an excuse to clear the land of natives?
• Very well ‘clothed and clean’ Harry Mossman was charged as a neglected child and sentenced to seven years at Yarrabah. After serving 19 he applied for an exemption but it was another 25 before he was free.
• The 28 Aboriginal people removed from Atherton, including Hazel Barlow, were apparently ‘unable to obtain employment’. But it was 1919 and the area was a destination for soldier settlements, and the natives were considered a ‘nuisance’.

The hardcover, full-colour publication is a joint initiative of author Kathleen Denigan, Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council, and Roy Gray from Yarrabah’s Museum. The project was funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.