Early History

Superintendent’s report for the year ended 30 June 1892
Whatever the romance and thrilling interest may be connected with Mission work on the South Sea Islands and elsewhere, life at Point McLeay consists of a round of duty, etc., which to many minds would be unbearable.

The fact is that to most engaged in the work here, the time simply flies and seems all too short for what needs to be crowded into it…

… The Church capable of easily seating 170 persons, with reading room and study etc. attached, forms a striking feature in the scene.

The School buildings with dormatories, dining room and bakery and washhouse adjacent, complete the list in this direction. In another, the barn, stables, cart shed, forge and workshop furnish what accommodation is needed in the various lines indicated.

The whole are overtopped by a handsome windmill constantly in use for raising water from a well 45 ft. deep….

Some months ago, a white man living on the Coorong was married to a half-caste girl, and being under the impression that by so doing he was entitled to a section of land, wrote to enquire if the old station at the Needles was available, to which he was replied in the negative. [456]

… An effort is made to visit each cottage and wurlie at least once a week, at which time a tract or magazine is left where likely to be read.

This is a fitting opportunity to acknowledge a grant of books and magazines receive from the London Tract Society per Mr. E. L. Hamilton, Protector of Aborigines. More recently, a grant of 132 well-bound volumes suitable for the library, with 12 illustrated wall cards suitable for the School room, value £ 10. 0. 0.

A larger number than usual of natives from the Coorong and elsewhere have for months past taken up their abode on the station and living in wurlies, of which from 12 to 15 formed the camp. This largely increases the consumption of firewood. The following are the total of people on station and others supplied with Rations as per Returns sent monthly to the Protector , also flour issued:
1891 Persons Flour 1892 Persons Flour

July 251 3790 January 172 3172

August 240 3536 February 167 1947

September 164 2161 March 175 2768

October 133 1465 April 176 3854

November 185 2785 May 225 4248

December 158 2964 June 181 3186
In addition to the flour, sugar, tea, soap, rice and a little tobacco in certain proportions are also issued to persons out of work, from Government stores.

I have recorded for the year: Births 6 Death 8.

Two of the latter were adults and are worthy of mention as showing the comfort and peace arising from a simple trust in the Lord.

Towards the end of 1892, Blackwell’s dissatisfaction with Gregory became so overwhelming that he wrote to the AFA asking for him to be replaced:

8 October 1892

Dalton

I feel it my duty to suggest getting a more suitable person as Teacher in place of Mr. Gregory. While giving credit for his store keeping, there is a great lack of interest in the general welfare of the Station, which may because by his age and deafness. Now would be a fitting time to organise a change, if you agree.
Within a couple of weeks, the AFA had contracted William Holden as teacher in place of Gregory. Holman had been a young missionary with the Church Mission Society in north Africa before coming to South Australia. He was a member of the Primitive Methodist Church, a southern English Dissenting sect which had congregations at Milang and Cooke Plains. He was not a teacher, and had had no classroom experience at the time he was appointed. However, he had been especially trained in music, and had other experience in store-keeping and station work, so, on condition that he attend a State School for a couple of months, he was offered the position at Point Mcleay, on a salary of £ 80 plus two rations plus a house rent-free plus fuel.
It appears that neither Gregory nor Blackwell was not informed by the AFA for some weeks of its decision: the antipathy between Blackwell and Gregory continued. A month later, the situation seems to have deteriorated further: Blackwell rather pointedly issued a formal letter to staff reminding them of their various duties, with a copy to Dalton:

Duties of Officers. “Schoolmaster and storekeeper shall be responsible for the maintenance of order, discipline, cleanliness, & efficient teaching in the school. He shall teach the children in the day-school at least four hours every day, except Saturday and Sunday, and shall superintend and teach in the Sunday School. He shall serve out the rations to the natives, both adult and juvenile, in accordance with the rules provided, or as directed by the Superintendent duly keeping account of such issues. He should supply the natives will all goods purchasable at the station, carefully keeping account of the same, making quarterly returns to the superintendent of both goods and rations supplied. Also of attendance of children and adults at school.” Blackwell to Dalton, Hon. Sec.: AFA, 8.11.1892

Within days, Blackwell had made what amounted to a declaration of war against Gregory, couched in gentlemanly language and with the best interests of Mr Gregory in mind:

Superintendent in reply to Mr. C.W. Gregory’s letter of Nov 5^th 1892.

Nov 11^th 1892.

Mr Dalton

Mr Gregory handed me the enclosed letter dated Nov 5^th on the morning of the 9^th inst. I kept it in order that my reply might reach you with it and so save time.

1^st. Re issue of Government Rations. In consequence of Mr Gregory complaining of overwork, I asked Mr Redman to issue the Govt Rations, his duties at those particular times being such as is enable him to do so without his own work suffering. I fully expected that Mr Gregory would have been thereby relieved, instead of which he treated the overseer as an intruder - For some reason or other I was unable to tell Mr Gregory . On one occasion I know I had to meet the steamer and was fully occupied up to the last minute before leaving. Saturday morning is the time when rations are issued. An alteration of the rules regarding this matter is not needed, for it is very seldom that I am away at that time.

2^nd. Want of interest. Upon careful consideration Mr Gregory may not shew a lack of reasonable interest in the work of his own department, other than there have been times in which he might have exercised his authority in repressing somewhat rowdy conduct on the part of the young men who really had no occasion to be on the school premises.

3^rd. Deafness. I have often witnessed amusing instances of this being a fact, as for instance persons speaking over the store counter, and repeating it till Mr Gregory made out what was said. Have also heard that in the Sunday school, confusion has occurred from Mr Gregory not hearing the answers to his own questions.

4^th. Discipline. When strangers visit the school the children are naturally quiet and guarded in their conduct. A casual visitor remarked to me after [18-19] seeing the children gathering for school after the bell rang, “that it did not seem to matter what time they got there.” I have often hurried latecomers on the way myself.

I learn on good authority that children have been heard to speak slightingly of Mr Gregory’s threats of punishment because they had escaped so often. Children have complained to me that it was no use going to Mr Gregory when there was any disagreement between them, as he would take no notice.

5^th. Infirmity. I am truly glad to hear so good an account of Mr Gregory’s health. This may be partly accounted for by the fact, that often, if not always, he is careful to have a nap after dinner, or other convenient time, and thus take care of himself, etc.

General Remarks. A standing instance of “unbusiness-like tact,” is to be found in the fact, that Mr Gregory utterly refused to keep a cash book in the store as per way indicated by Mr Collison [former Secretary: AFA]. By this omission no check is possible regarding monies placed in, or withdrawn from, the till. I must plead guilty to having shrank from complaining to Mr Gregory as I perhaps ought to have done, for reasons which can be well understood by any one who has had an experience of his exciteable temper when put-out.

If on consideration of the forgoing the Committee agree with Mr Gregory that he has been “unnecessarily injured” and it is not too late to alter their discussions regarding a new schoolmaster, I take the liberty of suggesting that Mr Gregory be allowed to remain for a further term. Personally I feel very kindly to Mr Gregory for he has been a help in many ways to me. Still the best interest of the work should be first in our consideration. Again regretting that any seeming delay on my part should have caused any complication in the matter.

Holman’s appointment seemed to put the finishing touches to Blackwell’s plan to remove Gregory. However, victory, although sweet, is sometimes unexpectedly short.

Environment and Economy

By the 1890s, large-scale fishing in the Lakes and Coorong had severely depleted stock: some commercial fishermen were reported to be laying dozens of nets, each up to a mile long, across the River and the Coorong. Illegal duck boats were slaughtering water-birds by the tens of thousands. One hunter was using a ‘punt gun’, nearly three metres long with a ten-cm bore weighing 45 kilograms – effectively a small cannon, which was responsible for destroying ‘many thousands of ducks.’ (Linn, 1988: 143-144).

As well, irrigation and domestic supply systems were taking a significant amount of water out of the Murray and the river flow was not sufficient to keep the sea water out of the Lakes: for long periods, tidal surges pushed salt water into the Lakes and up the Murray, as far as Wellington, rendering the lake water undrinkable and useless for irrigation. Even before 1900, barrages were proposed and the government ordered enquiries into their feasibility in 1901, 1903 and again in 1913. Various outlandish schemes were suggested to control the flow of the Murray and keep out the sea: one proposal involved draining Lake Albert, perhaps even Lake Alexandrina, with the Murray directed through a narrow channel along the northern and western shores of Lake Alexandrina to the sea.
Local governments had their own problems as well: in 1894, the Meningie District Council Clerk was found guilty of embezzlement. Already tensions between the pastoralists’ Meningie and the railworkers’ and small farmers’ Tailem Bend were threatening to tear the council in two. By the 1890s, Meningie was still a much smaller town than Point McLeay, but Tailem Bend, although smaller still, was growing at a much faster rate, as new branch lines were built into the Mallee and upper Murray. Despite their local power, pastoralists’ leases were resumed under the government of George Kingston between 1892 and 1898: more land on the Narrung Peninsula was offered for sale on credit to small blockers, as well as land around Waltowa, Spring Hill and south of Meningie.
Even the AFA had its troubles: in late 1892, its Treasurer, Oldham, was imprisoned at Yatala for defrauding trust accounts held by the AFA, including an account which had been set aside some thirty years before for James Unaipon, and from which he had been paid an annuity of about £ 10 [$4,000]. In the New Year, Blackwell died of a massive heart attack while riding back from Campbell Park, leaving a wife and nine children. Ambrose Redman stepped in as acting Superintendent while a replacement was found and within a few weeks, Thomas M. Sutton, the Superintendent of Point Pearce, was offered the position.

Thomas Sutton

Sutton had been a missionary in his younger days and had spent some twenty years at point Pearce. In 1893, he was fifty three years old, married with four children, mostly adult: one daughter had taught in the Point Pearce School for some thirteen years and was to help out in the Point McLeay School. Sutton carried on with Blackwell’s policy of diversifying the economic base at Point McLeay: he experimented with olives and mulberries, continued with box thorns, and broadened the number of outlets for the sale of Point McLeay’s boots.

Within weeks he sent a number of letters to the Protector, asking him to put pressure on the government to set aside stretches of the Lake and Coorong for the exclusive use of Aboriginal fishermen: a fishing reserve five miles wide was set aside from Point McLeay down to Loveday Bay, and a similar reserve was made on both sides of The Needles. As well, Section 8 of the Fisheries Amendment Act 1893 set out that:
The Governor may declare by Proclamation that the whole or any portion of any river, inlet, creek, lake, lagoon, or arm of the sea shall be a reserve within which only Aboriginal natives of SA shall be allowed to fish.
This was replaced by a clause in the Fisheries Act 1917: Sec. 48: ‘Full-blooded Aborigines can take fish for household consumption.’ This in turn was repealed in 1971. The phrasing of the legislation is not necessarily as liberal as it may seem: the construction of ‘real’ Aboriginal people as irredeemably primitive, and therefore able to survive only by hunting and gathering, was well under way and would be used for the next eighty years to restrict the rights of all those defined as ‘Aboriginal’. At the height of quite vicious racist feeling in 1900, for example, the state government still passed legislation such as the Birds Protection Act, Section Four of which set out that ‘ … Any Aboriginal native killing birds or taking eggs on Crown Lands (except as restricted) for food for himself or his family’ is permitted.’