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About the documents

Documents digitised and transcribed for this online exhibition are held by Public Record Office Victoria. The following information lists the sources of the records and provides some information on what they were used for.

VPRS (Victorian Public Record Series) 1 Created by Police Magistrate and Superintendent, Port Phillip District during 1836-1840. Contains transcriptions of correspondence sent to government officials. Correspondence dealt with the administration of the colony and concerned matters such as the sale of Crown lands, Aboriginal affairs, immigration, treatment of convicts, justice as well as financial and personnel matters.

VPRS 4 Correspondence received by the Chief Magistrate, Port Phillip District, Captain William Lonsdale. The correspondence is mainly from government officials dealing with the administration of the colony and some from private persons in the form of requests and presenting petitions.

VPRS 10 Created by Superintendent, Port Phillip District during 1839-1851. Contains registered inward correspondence to the Superintendent exclusively relating to Aboriginal affairs during the period of the Protectorate system. Correspondence from the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales provides information regarding government policy with respect to Aboriginal inhabitants. Correspondence from the Crown Lands Commissioners and the Surveyor-General provides information about matters relating to land, such as the granting of land. This series has been digitised and is available online.

VPRS 16 Created by Superintendent, Port Phillip District during 1839-1851. Contains transcriptions of the registered outward correspondence from the Superintendent to the Colonial Secretary, government officials and private persons.

VPRS 19 Created by Superintendent, Port Phillip District and contains correspondence received during the years 1839-1851.

VPRS 32 Contains correspondence received by the Police Magistrate, Portland Bay in the years 1840-1860 relating to the administration of the law in the Portland Bay area. It includes court schedules and depositions, and the electoral roll for the Port Phillip district 1848-1849.

VPRS 90 Contains the Day Book of the Native Police Corps, Narre Warren. It records troop movements, provisions and activities of the Native Police stationed at the headquarters. Contains outward correspondence from Henry EP Dana. Lists detailing horses and articles in possession of the Native Police Corps appear at the end of the volume.

VPRS 937 The Victoria Police was formed with the passing of the 1853 Act for the Regulation of the Police Force. This series contains inward registered correspondence sent to the Chief Commissioner of Police in the years 1853-1893.

VPRS 1189 This series consists of inward correspondence received by the Colonial Secretary's Office between 1851 and 1855 and by the Chief Secretary's Department between 1855 and 1863. The offices of Colonial Secretary and Chief Secretary were responsible for the administration of most functions in the colony including the goldfields, mining, land, public works and the protection of Aboriginal people, as well as the business of government including expenditure.

VPRS 2878 This series consists of inward correspondence received by the Land Branch of the Colonial Secretary's Office. From April 1852 until October 1852 correspondence regarding immigration matters was also registered in the Land Branch registry system.

VPRS 2895 This series was created by the role of Chief Protector of Aborigines (renamed Guardian of the Aborigines in 1850) in 1849. It consists of an Outward Letter Book containing a copy of the 1848 Chief Protector's Annual Report as well as correspondence. Reports cover the Mount Rouse, Goulbourn, Loddon, and Merri Creek Aboriginal Stations as well as missions and the Native Police.

VPRS 3219 This series contains transcriptions of outward correspondence of the General Branch of the Colonial Secretary's Office between 1851 and 1854.

VPRS 4399 Contains duplicate Annual Reports of the Chief Protector of Aborigines. This series consists of letters and reports relating to the Port Phillip Protectorate from 1839 to 1841, written by Chief Protector George Augustus Robinson and Assistant Protectors William Thomas, James Dredge, Edward Parker and James Sievwright.

VPRS 4409 This series contains 10 items of correspondence collected by the Chief Protector of Aborigines relating to the establishment of the Aboriginal Protectorate. The series includes a dispatch announcing the appointment of Robinson as Chief Protector, Robinson's inward and outward correspondence covering subjects such as the Native Police Corps, the appointment of Assistant Protectors, and government policy relating to the Aboriginal people.
Because of the value and interest of these records, they are available on microfilm and online for preservation reasons.

VPRS 4410 Aboriginal Protectorate Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly and Annual Reports and Journals (Refer to Microfilm Copy, VPRS 4467).
This series consists of weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports addressed to the Chief Protector of Aborigines (VA 512) for the four Aboriginal Protectorate Districts: North Eastern District; North Western District; Western District and Westernport District.

VPRS 4414 This series consists of an abridged copy of Chief Protector GA Robinson's journal of an expedition into the eastern interior of the Port Phillip District seeking information about the Aboriginal clans in the area. Because of the high value of the records contained within this series, access to the original records is closed.

VPRS 13172 This series consists of letters and reports relating to the Port Phillip Protectorate 1839-1841, written by Chief Protector George Augustus Robinson and Assistant Protectors William Thomas, James Dredge, Edward Parker and James Sievwright.

Links

General

The ABC Radio National program Hindsight aired a broadcast on 27 August 2006 entitled 'Lohan-tuka - the Captive White Woman of Gippsland' which featured a number of historical and documentary perspectives on the captive white woman story. This can be accessed as a podcast at:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/stories/2006/1718202.htm

The Australian Institute of Criminology, in conjunction with Charles Sturt University, organised a conference at the Australian National University (Canberra, 9-10 December 1999) entitled 'History of crime, policing and punishment', which included historical papers on relations between police forces and Aboriginal communities in Australia, and some dealing specifically with native police corps in Australia. The conference papers are available at

http://www.aic.gov.au/conferences/hcpp/index.html

The Australian Museum Online features a section on Indigenous Australians (http://www.dreamtime.net.au/) which includes a detailed timeline of post-contact history at

http://www.dreamtime.net.au/indigenous/timeline2.cfm

Bunjilaka is Museum Victoria's Aboriginal Centre

http://melbourne.museum.vic.gov.au/bunjilaka/bunjilaka.asp

The Koorie Heritage Trust website contains information about the protection, preservation and promotion of the living culture of the Indigenous people of south-eastern Australian

http://www.koorieheritagetrust.com

The Koori History Website indigenous history archive and education resource site

http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/indexb.html

Mission Voices - hear our stories. This project was developed collaboratively between the Koorie Heritage Trust, the ABC, FilmVictoria and the State Library of Victoria. Resource for learning about the history and culture of Inidigenous people using oral histories and missions and reserves as the focus for the stories.

http://www.abc.net.au/missionvoices/

The Native Police Corps was stationed at this site from 1842 to the early 1850s. Parks Victoria describes the cultural and environmental value of what is now called the Dandenong Police Paddocks Reserve and provides practical information about the area.

http://www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=100

Public Record Office of Victoria

http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/pathways/pathway4/pathway4.jsp#_Aboriginal_Affairs

http://www.access.prov.vic.gov.au/public/PROVguides/PROVguide067/PROVguide067.jsp

The Rowville Lysterfield History Project site contains a section on the Native Police at

http://www.rlcnews.org.au/stories/the_native_police/

State Records New South Wales (SRNSW) hold some records relating to the Native Police of the Port Phillip District which form an important supplement to the records held by Public Record Office Victoria. In addition SRNSW also hold records about the New South Wales Native Police. For further details of these reocrds, and the holdings of SRNSW relating to Aboriginal people in general, see their online guide at

http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/publications/aboriginalguide/aboriginalguide-05.htm

SBS - Gold site has a section on the Native Police at

http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=54#320