Glossary

 

Aboriginal station. A tract of land occupied by Aboriginal people or a reserve for Aboriginal people, especially one established by a religious mission or government agency. Back

Alberton. Town situated 216 km south-east of Melbourne on the Albert River, east of Corner Inlet on Wilson's Promontory. Alberton's development was closely related to nearby Port Albert, which was Victoria's first harbour town. During the 1840s Alberton was the administrative centre of Gippsland.   Back

Mount Alexander. Area 120 km north-west of Melbourne, encompassing Castlemaine and Maldon. Alluvial gold was found here in 1851 along the creeks that flowed from Mount Alexander to the Loddon River.  Back

Barak, William (c.1824-1903), Police Trooper No.19 in the Native Police Corps. Barak was a member of the Wurundjeri clan (one of the Woiwurrung-speaking clans), and he is said to have been present when Batman met with tribal elders to exchange goods for the Melbourne area. He attended the colonial government's Yarra Mission School and joined the Native Police Corps in 1844. He was given the names of William and Beruk; his real name mispronounced by Australians as Barak became his surname. Barak moved to Coranderrk Aboriginal Station and continued to be highly respected by both Aboriginal people and settlers. His artwork depicts Indigenous life and encounters with Europeans. Back

Boonwurrung (Boon wurrung). Ancestors of the Boonwurrung people were among the Victorian coastal groups whose links with Tasmania were severed by rising seas at the end of the last Ice Age. Their broad flat valleys became what are now Port Phillip and Westernport Bays. Boonwurrung land extends from Wilson's Promontory to the Werribee River and inland. Present-day Melbourne, a major meeting site of the Kulin nation, was owned by the Boonwurrung people until taken from them in 1835 after a misunderstanding between Batman and the clan chiefs of the Boonwurrung and the Woiworrung peoples.  Back

Border Police were employed by the Surveyor-General's Department after it was set up to survey and map the Port Phillip District in the 1830s. Commissioners of Crown Lands were appointed to administer the use and occupation of Crown land and were responsible for policing unauthorised occupation. Back

Bungaleena was headman of the clan believed to be holding the white woman in the Captive White Woman of Gippsland story. Back

Buninyong was one of the earliest inland settlements in Victoria, located north-west of Melbourne near Ballarat. It first supported grazing pastures in the late 1830s but grew rapidly after gold was discovered in 1851. Back

clan. A group of people with a common ancestor, especially among Aboriginal groups. Back

Clunes. Town situated north-west of Melbourne and north of Ballarat. Site of the first discovery of payable gold in Victoria in 1851. Back

Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. The chief official of government from 1851-1855, advised by the Executive Council. The responsibilities of the Colonial Secretary were many and varied and included: legislative matters, naval and military establishments, foreign correspondence, police, gaols and penal establishments, proclamations, commissions, and other instruments under the Great Seal. Back

Commissioned officers. Members of the armed services holding a rank or position of authority. Back

Commissioner of Crown Lands. Government official in charge of the administration of land owned by the government. Back

Coranderrk Aboriginal Station. Government-run station built on a site between Badger Creek and Watts River near Healesville in 1863. The station continued as an Aboriginal community for another 80 years despite numerous attempts to shut it down.  Back

cradle. An apparatus used for separating gold from gravel. Back

Crown land. Land belonging to the government. Back

Daisy Hill. Located in the central goldfields of Victoria, north-west of Melbourne and south of Maryborough. Site of the Native Police Corps' first assignment guarding the goldfields in 1849. Back

Dana, Henry EP (1820-1852). Dana migrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1840 and moved to the Port Phillip District in 1842. Appointed by La Trobe to establish the Native Police Corps, which he led until his death from pneumonia in 1852. Back

Dana, William A (1825-1866) followed his brother to Port Phillip in 1843. He was appointed second-in-command of the Native Police from 1 January 1844 and was later promoted to Superintendent of the Victoria Police. Back

depredations. Instances of despoiling, ravaging, or plundering. Back

diggers. Miners, especially gold-diggers. Back

diggings. An area of mines, a goldfield, or material dug out of a mine. Back

elders. People of recognised authority in an Aboriginal community. Back

figure-head. An ornamental feature attached to the bow of boats and ships. Back

Gipps, George (1791-1847). Governor of the colony of New South Wales (which at the time included the Port Phillip District) between 1838 and 1846, a period of great change for the colony and Australia in general. Back

The Grange. A pastoral run established by the Wedge family in the Western District, 250 km west of Melbourne. The town of Hamilton now occupies land that belonged to the station. Back

Grant, Charles, 1st Baron Glenelg (1778-1866), politician. He was appointed secretary of state for the colonies by Lord Melbourne in 1835.  Back

Grant, Charles, 1st Baron Glenelg (1778-1866). Politician. He was appointed Secretary of State for the colonies by Lord Melbourne in 1835.Back

Koorie (koori). Used in Victoria and New South Wales to refer to Aboriginal people who belong to one of the clans of south-eastern Australia. Back

Kulin nation. The Kulin alliance is one of the Indigenous nations of Australia. Its territories encompass central Victoria, the Port Phillip and Westernport areas as far as the Great Dividing Range, and the Loddon and Goulburn River valleys. Back

Kurnai people. The Kurnai/Gurnai people are one of the Indigenous nations of Australia. Their territories encompass much of central and western Gippsland. Back

Langhorne, Rev. George (c.1810-1897), a missionary appointed by Governor Gipps to establish the first government mission school in 1836 at the site now occupied by the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne. Langhorne aimed to 'civilise' the local Aboriginal people using two main incentives. While all who attended the mission were provided with rations of food and clothing, adults were encouraged to work a few hours a day in exchange for additional rations. It was believed that this would teach them the value of earning food and clothing through their labour. Children were encouraged to stay at the mission and attend school classes for three meals a day. Langhorne believed de Villiers was unsuited to the role of leading the Native Police and campaigned against him. When de Villiers resigned under the pressure in 1838, Langhorne became leader of the Native Police for a short time; he stepped down when it was deemed inappropriate for a missionary to hold this position. Back

lark. A frolic or spree, an amusing incident, a joke. Back

La Trobe, Charles Joseph (1801-1875). Born in London, for a time worked as a teacher and travelled in Switzerland, Austria and America. In 1839 was appointed Superintendent of the Port Phillip District, which at that time was part of the Colony of New South Wales. WhenVictoria became a separate colony in 1851, La Trobe was appointed Lieutenant-Governor. He guided the new colony through the tumultuous early days of the gold rushes before resigning in 1854. Back

licences. In order for the Victorian government to raise revenue for the growing colony, mining licences were introduced on the goldfields. A flat monthly licence fee was to be paid irrespective of how much gold a miner found. Back

licence fees. The monthly fee for a gold mining licence in 1851 was 1 pound 10 shillings. Back

Lonsdale, William (1800-1864), soldier and administrator. As a lieutenant in the 4th Regiment of the British army, he arrived in Sydney in 1831 with a detachment of troops guarding convicts. An increase in unauthorised settlers arriving in Port Phillip and reports of ‘outrages’ against the Aboriginal population led to his appointment as the first police magistrate of the Port Phillip District. Between 1836 and 1839 Lonsdale supervised the founding and establishment of the Port Phillip settlement. Back

Loondejon. Originally a Boonwurrung woman, she was a wife of Bungaleena, the Gippsland headman believed by the authorities in 1846-1847 to be holding a white woman captive. Back

Macalister River. A coastal stream in Gippsland, Victoria, running from the Great Dividing Range on a winding 177 km southerly course before joining the Thompson River and eventually flowing into the La Trobe River and Lake Wellington. Discovered in 1839 by Angus McMillan and named after his employer, Lachlan Macalister. Back

Maconochie, Alexander (1787-1860), naval officer, geographer and penal reformer. Born in Edinburgh, he was appointed private secretary to his friend Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Franklin and accompanied him to Van Diemen's Land. In 1837 he submitted a proposal for the formation of a Native Police Corps to the Governor of New South Wales, Richard Bourke. Back

McLelland, Sergeant-Major Richard. An officer of the Native Police Corps, formerly a troop sergeant in the 9th Lancers before coming to Australia. Back

McMillan, Angus (1810-1865), explorer and pioneer pastoralist. Born on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, he emigrated to New South Wales on the Minerva, arriving in 1838. Worked for Captain Lachlan Macalister, who funded his expeditions in search of new pastures in Gippsland. In 1840 McMillan set up a station for Macalister at Nuntin near the mouth of the Avon River. He also selected a property for himself, Bushy Park, farther upstream. McMillan claimed that during an expedition in 1840 he saw a white woman amongst a group of Gippsland Aboriginal people. This is considered to be the beginning of the Captive White Woman story. Back

Nerre Nerre Warren (Narre Warren). The site chosen by the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung for the location of the Native Police Corps headquarters. The Native Police were based here between 1837 and 1838 under Christiaan de Villiers, and later under Henry E P Dana between 1842 and 1852. The site was also chosen by the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung people for the site of Assistant Protector William Thomas's Westernport Protectorate Station. The station was located here between 1840 and 1844, although by 1842 many of the Aboriginal people had left the station and set up camp at Merri Creek. The site is today known as the Dandenong Police Paddocks, and is located near the intersection of Police and Stud Roads, about 25 kilometres south-east of Melbourne.Back

New South Wales, Colony of. From 1788 a British-appointed government administered the eastern half of Australia, which up until 1851 included the Port Phillip District. Back

Non-commissioned officers. Members of the armed services who do not hold a commission and whose rank is below that of warrant officer, such as sergeant or corporal. Back

pastoral run. An extensive tract of land used as pasture for stock; a farm or property usually devoted to raising sheep or cattle. Back

Pentridge Stockade. Institution established in 1850 in anticipation of Victoria's separation from New South Wales to accommodate men sentenced to hard labour. The labour gangs were put to work to improve the road to Sydney using the basalt available in the area. Pentridge Stockade was situated in what is now Coburg because of its proximity to both the basalt and the road project. Back

Port Phillip District. The name given to the administrative division of the Colony of New South Wales before it became the separate Colony of Victoria in 1851. Back

Protectorate, Aboriginal. The role of Chief Protector of Aborigines was established in 1838 to protect the interests of the Aboriginal people and to ensure minimal conflict with the European settlers of the Port Phillip District. The District was divided into four protectorates: Geelong or Western District, Mount Macedon or North Western District, Goulbourn or North Eastern District, and Westernport or Melbourne District. The Protectorate aimed to promote Christianity and educate the children, and to provide Aboriginal people with skills in European farming and construction methods, as well as other elements of European culture. These aims remained largely unfulfilled, however, and the Protectorate was abolished in 1849. Back

Robinson, George Augustus (1788-1866), Chief Protector of Aborigines. Emigrated to Van Diemen's Land in 1824. After more than ten years working with the Aboriginal people of Tasmania, Robinson was appointed Chief Protector of Aborigines for the Port Phillip District. His attempts to impose the values and beliefs of European civilisation on the Indigenous population were not successful and his management was weak. The Protectorate was abolished in 1849 and Robinson left the colony. Back

Mount Rouse. Extinct volcano located west of Melbourne. Centre of a large dairying, agricultural and pastoral district. The first settler took up land at Mount Rouse in 1840 and established a sheep station. The Indigenous people soon found that their food sources were being destroyed by the introduced stock and conflict emerged. Mount Rouse was the site of the headquarters of the Western District Aboriginal Protectorate. Back

Separation. The division of the Colony of New South Wales leading to the establishment of the Colony of Victoria in 1851. Back

shilling. A coin and monetary unit worth one-twentieth of a pound or twelve pence. English currency was the official currency of the Australian colonies before Federation.  Back

Snowy River. Rises on the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and flows south to Orbost and the coast at Marlo in Victoria. Back

squatters. Farmers who occupy Crown land in order to graze livestock, usually sheep, holding the title to the land by licence or lease. Back

station. A tract of grazing land usually having a discernible centre of occupation, such as a homestead; an extensive property for raising sheep or cattle. Back

stock. Farm animals, such as sheep or cattle. Back

stockholder. A sheep or cattle farmer. Back

stony rises. Lava formations on the basalt plains bordered by Melbourne, Ballarat, Warrnambool, and westwards to Coleraine. These plains formed at various times over the last 20 million years. The rises emerged from numerous vents and flowed in many directions as molten rivers of rock until they cooled; this dammed the old creek lines to form the numerous lakes in the district. Back

Strutt, William (1825-1915), artist. Strutt migrated to Victoria in 1850 and documented many facets of colonial life with his sketches and engravings for the Illustrated Australian Magazine. His images of people and public events, including his portraits of members of the Native Police Corps, were compiled into the album Victoria the Golden: scenes, sketches and jottings from nature, 1850-1862. Back

Strutt, William (1825-1915), artist. Strutt migrated to Victoria in 1850 and documented many facets of colonial life with his sketches and engravings for the Illustrated Australian Magazine. His images of people and public events, including his portraits of members of the Native Police Corps, were compiled into the album Victoria the Golden: scenes, sketches and jottings from nature, 1850-1862. Back

Thomas, William (1793-1867). Thomas arrived in Melbourne with his family in 1838 to take up the position of Assistant Protector of Aborigines for the Port Phillip District. Under the leadership of Chief Protector George Robinson he was allocated the Westernport and Gippsland districts and was based first on the Mornington Peninsula and then at Nerre Nerre Warren. Though his hopes that the Aboriginal people could be ‘civilised’ remained unfulfilled, Thomas persisted in his commitment, providing practical assistance and protection for the Indigenous people in his care. Robinson did not provide the support that Thomas felt was required and the relationship between the two men was tense. When the Protectorate was abolished in 1849, Superintendent La Trobe retained Thomas as Guardian of the Aboriginal people of Bourke, Mornington and Evelyn districts. Thomas continued as chief government adviser on Aboriginal affairs until his death in 1867. Back

Trigonometrical survey. A method of surveying land by drawing imaginary straight lines between 'trig points' set up on high ground. Land features can be mapped and described by measuring the angle of the feature from the lines between two or more points and using trigonometry to calculate the distances.Back

tin pan (or tin dish). A shallow vessel used in mining alluvial gold. Back

tracker. A person, often Aboriginal, with special skills for finding tracks in the bush. Back

Tyers, Charles (1806-1870), surveyor and public servant. Tyers was surveyor in charge of the Portland district from 1841 and became the first Commissioner for Crown Lands for Gippsland in 1842. At La Trobe's request, Tyers mapped and opened up both a coastal route from Melbourne to Gippsland and an inland route over the ranges. In 1844 he made a map of Gippsland showing holdings and their occupants. He also undertook extensive explorations of Gippsland, making land valuations based on geological surveys. In the course of this work, Tyers was in close contact with the Aboriginal people of the district and 'maintained that if treated as "gentlemen" they were responsive and friendly'. In 1861 he became warden of the Gippsland goldfields. Back

Van Diemen's Land. Original name given to Tasmania by the explorer Abel Tasman in 1642; named after Anthony Van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. Back

Victoria, Colony of. The Port Phillip District was separated from New South Wales in 1851 and proclaimed the Colony of Victoria. Back

Villiers, Christiaan de. Officer-in-charge of the Native Police Corps when it was first established in 1837. He resigned in December the same year after accusations of misconduct. Reappointed to the position in September 1838, which he held until further complaints about his conduct led to his resignation and the temporary disbanding of the Corps. Back

Western District. An area in the south-western corner of Victoria, extending west from Port Phillip Bay to the South Australian border and from the south coast north to the Grampians. Back

Westernport Protectorate Station. Headquarters of one of the four Aboriginal Protectorates in the Port Phillip District, located at Nerre Nerre Warren.  Back

Wimmera. An important pastoral region in western Victoria, extending from the Grampians in the south to the Mallee district in the north and from the South Australian border in the west to St Arnaud in the east. Back

Woiwurrung (woi wurrung, woiworung). Aboriginal language spoken from Mount Baw Baw in the east to Mount Macedon, Sunbury and Gisborne in the west. Woiwurrung-speaking clans include the Marin-Bulluk, Kurung-Jang-Bulluk, Wurundjeri-Balluk, and Balluk-willam. Back

 

Sources

The Australian concise Oxford dictionary of current English, 3rd ed. by M Brooks et al., Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, 1997.

The Australian encyclopedia, 4th edn, The Grolier Society of Australia, Sydney, 1983.

Broome, Richard, Aboriginal Victorians: a history since 1800, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW, 2005.

City of Monash, ‘Aboriginal background’, 2004, viewed 28 July 2005,
<http://www.monash.vic.gov.au/history/c-aboriginal-a.html>.

Clark, CMH & Shaw, AGL (eds), Australian dictionary of biography, vols 1 & 2, 1788-1850, Melbourne University Press, 1966.

Fels, Marie Hansen, Good men and true: the Aboriginal police of the Port

Phillip District 1837-1853, Melbourne University Press, 1988.

The Macquarie dictionary, 3rd ed. by A Delbridge et al., Macquarie Library, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 1997.

National Centre for Australian Studies, Australian places, viewed 28 July 2005,
<http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/alberton.html>.

Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc., ‘Ngankat-kalo: Aboriginal education 1901-2001: Statistics relating to education: 1823-1900’, n.d., viewed 28 July 2005,
<http://www.vaeai.org.au/timeline/1823.html>.

Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia, viewed 28 July 2005,
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>.