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Wild Country and Wild Tribes : A Tour in North Queensland series - author   essay  
First known date: 1897 Issue Details: First known date: 1897... 1897 Wild Country and Wild Tribes : A Tour in North Queensland
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

This series describes Meston's four-month tour of northern Queensland, commissioned by the state government. He visited Aboriginal missions and food distribution centres and prepared a report which formed the basis of the Aboriginal Protection Act of 1897. As well as the customs and languages of the region's indigenous people, his subjects include landscapes, the history of exploration and settlement, botany, and mountain climbing.

Includes

Wild Country and Wild Tribes I : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 9 January 1897; (p. 78) The article consists of Meston's recollections of land and sea exploration associated with places visited during a sea voyage northwards along the east coast of Cape York. He retells the tragic story of Mrs Watson, her baby and Chinese workers, driven from Lizard island by Aboriginal attack in September 1883.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes II : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 16 January 1897; (p. 130) Meston here recalls stories of exploration and settlement associated with the coast of northern Cape York from Weymouth Bay to Somerset, a town expected to develop as a major port. He refers to the tragic Kennedy expedition of 1848, and praises the loyalty and rescue efforts of Jackey (Galmarra): 'Had that aboriginal not been one of the party, not a soul would have survived, and Kennedy's fate would have been shrouded in the dark, impenetrable mists that have so far concealed the fate of Leichhardt, lost for ever in the same year.' Meston gives some of the history of Somerset, on the basis of his own observations including visits to the cemetery, and provdes selected facts about the nearby Aboriginal population. He also describes the massacre of whites at Point Vallack, three miles from Somerset He praises the present owner of the property and his family, relatives of the Frank and Alick Jardine famous for overlanding cattle from Bowen to Somerset in 1864.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes III : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 23 January 1897; (p. 185-86) This essay traces a journey along the extreme north-eastern coast of Cape York, including Peak Point and Possession Island. It refers to massacres and cannibalism by Torres Straits Islanders of shipwrecked Dutch seamen. Meston also describes the west coast of the Cape, including the Mapoon Mission station as far south as the Coen River. He sets the scene of Aboriginal women collecting lily roots in a lagoon. He also admires the skill of Aboriginal men with 'their only weapon, the spear thrown with the woomera.'
Wild Country and Wild Tribes IV : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 30 January 1897; (p. 237-38) Meston continues to describe his journey along the west coast of Cape York as far south as the mouth of the Mission River. Accompanied by people from the Mapoon Mission station, he journeys up the river by whaleboat on a successful crocodile-shooting expedition. The essay describes canoes left by Aborigines at the mouth of the river.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes V : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 6 February 1897; (p. 297-98) Meston tends two Aborigines severely wounded by stingaree spears and holds discussions with local clans. He compares west-coast Cape York oysters with those of the east coast and claims that the junction of the Hey and Embley Rivers is one of the finest harbours in Australia. He shoots a crocodile, range 400 yards, to the applause of onlookers.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes VII : A Tour in the Cape York Peninsula Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 20 February 1897; (p. 409, 411) This article describes Overland Telegraph stations on the west coast of Cape York and discusses the contact workers have with nearby Aboriginal groups. Meston explains his method for recording Aboriginal languages. He describes the physiques of local Aboriginal men and praises the modesty and health of the women. He also describes spears and woomeras used in the area, and recounts his perilous meeting with a group of Aboriginal men. He discusses Aboriginal preparation of food from local plants, and silence as a punishment imposed for offences against traditional law. Vocabularies of Coen River and Archer River words are appended.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes VI : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 13 February 1897; (p. 353-54) This article recounts Meston's inland journey by whaleboat on the Embley River. He enjoys the hospitality of York Downs station while hunting and observing species of birds and other fauna. A glossary of local Aboriginal words concludes the article.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes VIII : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 27 February 1897; (p. 465-66)

Meston here briefly decribes the geology and vegetation of northern Cape York near the Batavia River, and something of the ceremonies, customs and weapons of local Aborigines. He confirms his estimation of the number of Cape York Aborigines, given in his official report as 20,000, and comments on the athleticism and strength of the men. While staying at Bertie Haugh station, he meets Harry Price, a Lifu Islander, and narrates his relationship with an Aboriginal woman. A glossary of Aboriginal words is appended.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes IX : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 6 March 1897; (p. 522-23)

This article describes Meston's journey along the Ducie River into Albatross Bay, and northwards to Thursday Island. While camped overnight he listens to the sounds of a crocodile fight, and shoots an owl, to the admiration of his companions. A later attempt to shoot a jabiru, the 'Bird of Silence,' does not succeed. Meston also tells the story of an Aboriginal man abducted by pearl fishers, who became the 'hermit of Badu Island.' Meston leaves this man at Mapoon in the care of missionaries. A glossary of local Aboriginal names and words is appended.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes X : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 13 March vol. 51 no. 1116 1897; (p. 578) Meston explains James Cook's and Alan Cunningham's experience of the Cooktown region, and the state of local Aborigines.He visits the mission at Cape Bedford run by the Rev. Schwarz. He further describes the ravages of the cattle tick. He observes a corroboree at a station on the Annan River. A vocabulary of Aboriginal dialectal words is appended.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes XI : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 20 March 1897; (p. 634) Accompanied by Mr Schwarz of the Cape Bedford Mission, Meston visits a camp of Aborigines on the Annan River. He witnesses spear-throwing and a bora ceremony, comparing the instructions given to the young initiates to the laws obeyed by Masons. He narrates the retribution that followed when a squatter punished a young Aboriginal who refused to break such a law.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes XII : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 27 March 1897; (p. 685) Meston describes picturesque and romantic mountains, as well as dense 'scrub,' in the coastal region between Cooktown and the Daintree. He states that the country at the mouth of the Bloomfield River is haunted by crocodiles and by many other species and that the local tribes are cannibals. He and Mr Schwarz, the missionary, return to the Aboriginal camp on the Annan River. Meston refers to recent attacks on homesteads and to reprisals which punished 'some of the wrong people.'
Wild Country and Wild Tribes XIII : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 3 April 1897; (p. 738-79) In this article Meston describes 'some of the grandest mountain scenery on the Queensland coast,' between Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas. He refers briefly to sea and land exploration of the region. Accompanied by the photographer Harry Crees, he enjoys the hospitality of several selectors, notably that of Mrs Ah Way, a Glasgow lady married to a Chinese man. Meston states that Mosman Aborigines were exterminated during the pioneering of the region. He describes the course of the Daintree in detail and narrates attacks by Aborigines on cedar-cutters in 1874 and 1876. He asserts, however, that Daintree selectors who treated the Aborigines fairly have not been attacked. Meston also describes how selectors and their families lost their lives during a recent major flood on the Daintree, and praises their heroism. A vocabulary of words used by Cape Grenville Aborigines is appended.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes XIV : The Ascent of Mount Alexandra Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 10 April 1897; (p. 793-94) This article is Meston's account of the climbing of Mount Alexandra, near the Daintree River, by a party consisting of himself, Harry Crees the photographer, and two Aborigines, Chooeega and Bohbee, from the Normanby district. Meston describes the luxuriant vegetation and collects palm fruit seeds for Curator McMahon of the Botanic Gardens. His romantic and picturesque descriptions are decorated with majestic quotations from British poets. A list of Aboriginal words from northern Cape York is appended.
Wild Country and Wild Tribes XV : A Tour in North Queensland Archibald Meston , 1897 single work essay
— Appears in: The Queenslander , 17 April 1897; (p. 849-50) Meston and his party descend from the summit of Mount Alexandra. He describes the weapons of Daintree Aborigines, and a conversation with older men who recall attacks on cedar-getters in the 1870s. Meston pleads for understanding of Aborigines who were defending their land in accordance with strict laws of trespass. He asks that whites imagine themselves in the same position, as a basis for understanding and sound judgment. He strongly deplores the taking of cedar from the Daintree: 'We shall only clearly realise the beauty and durability of cedar when it is all gone....These tremendous tropical jungles covering the whole country from the sea-coast to the tops of the highest mountain are a Paradise for the botanist, the zoologist and the entomologist.'
Last amended 11 Dec 2004 11:09:50
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