Earlier Attempts to Establish the Native Police

Before Henry EP Dana formed his Native Police Corps in 1842, there had been a number of previous attempts to create such a body. In 1837, Christian de Villiers was asked by Police Magistrate Captain William Lonsdale to put together a troop of Aboriginal police. De Villiers made two attempts to do so, but his efforts were undermined by a personal conflict with the missionary Reverend George Langhorne, as well as by difficulties he encountered in trying to get his men to adjust to a military lifestyle. What these episodes reveal is that it took time to find a model for the Native Police that would be acceptable to both colonists and Aboriginal people.

As with Dana's Native Police, it was hoped that these earlier efforts would provide an opportunity to 'civilise' the Aboriginal troopers so that they could then act as role models for their people. The more practical motivation was that Lonsdale needed a force that could assist in the capture of runaway convicts entering the colony from neighbouring Van Diemen's Land. Lonsdale made his request to Governor Richard Bourke in Sydney in May 1837. At around the same time the Governor also received correspondence from Captain Alexander Maconochie recommending the enlistment of Aboriginal men for policing of the Port Phillip District. Maconochie's suggestions are interesting because they stress that the process of 'civilising' the troopers should be done gradually. Bourke approved of the idea and forwarded it on to Lonsdale in July. By September, Lonsdale was talking about the establishment of a 'perambulating' (or roving) force of native police.

In September 1837, Governor Bourke was instructing his Police Magistrates in Port Phillip on relations with the Aboriginal people:

From motives of humanity, justice, and true policy, it is most desirable that an amicable intercourse with the Native Tribes should be cultivated by every possible means from the earliest moment of the occupation of their Country

The Native Police Corps was meant to play a part in creating this 'amicable intercourse'. The first attempt to actually form a corps commenced in October 1837. Lonsdale reported to the Colonial Secretary that he had appointed de Villiers as the Superintendent of the Native Police. He noted how the new troopers had broken their traditional weapons at their enrolment and he understood this to symbolise their commitment to joining the Corps. In November, Lonsdale reported that the troopers themselves had chosen a site for their headquarters. The place was a hunting ground familiar to both Boonwurrung and Woiwurrung people.

Despite this promising start, within a few short months a dispute arose. Acting out of missionary zeal, Reverend Langhorne, who already held a dim view of the Superintendent's moral character, made specific complaints to Lonsdale about his conduct. Langhorne thought that de Villiers could not provide the kind of influence he believed was essential for transforming the Aboriginal men in the Native Police into 'civilised' people. In addition, he complained that de Villiers gave his Aboriginal troopers too much scope to continue in their traditional ways. Annoyed by this slur against his character and methods, de Villiers tendered his resignation on 1 January 1838. Langhorne was appointed as de Villiers's temporary replacement.

Governor George Gipps was of the opinion that the Native Police experiment needed to continue but that it should not be entrusted to a preacher. After a short hiatus, de Villiers was reappointed in September 1838. This time, however, the troopers were located in the Government Paddock next to Lonsdale's residence in Jolimont (near the current site of the Melbourne Cricket Ground) so that he could keep an eye on them. Langhorne, for his part, did not relent in his disapproval of de Villiers. In December 1838 he continued to express his disappointment that the members of the Native Police were slow to adjust themselves to what he considered to be 'civilised conduct'.

De Villiers only lasted a few months in this second appointment as the head of the Native Police. On this occasion he resigned because of criticisms regarding his inability to prevent troopers returning home to spend time with their families and people. Lonsdale criticised de Villiers for failing to pay proper attention to his charges. In January 1839 the Police Magistrate expressed an interest in trying to salvage the Corps by placing the remaining troopers under the command of the Chief Protector of Aborigines, George Augustus Robinson. Robinson attempted to revive the Native Police as constables for the Protectorate's domestic work, rather than for police work across the whole district, but this model too proved to be unsustainable. It led to discipline problems and eventually the group was dissolved.

The model Dana used in 1842 to organise his Native Police Corps was different. He was able to offer a system that the Aboriginal troopers and their families found more acceptable. This was one of the main reasons that his Native Police Corps lasted for 10 years.