A Terribly Wild Man

Note on abbreviations

ABM	Australian Board of Missions
ABMA	Australian Board of Missions Archives
ABMR	ABM Review
ABMWA	Australian Board of Missions in Western Australia
AIATSIS	Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
AN	Aboriginal News
BDioA	Brisbane Diocesan Archives
BL	Battye Library
CA	Cairns Argus
CC	Church Chronicles
CP	Cairns Post
CP	Chief Protector
CPA	Chief Protector of Aborigines
CSO	Colonial Secretary’s Office
DN	Daily News
EP	Elkin Papers, Sydney University
GP	Gribble Papers, Mitchell Library
ML	Mitchell Library
MN	Missionary Notes
MP	Morning Post
NC	Northern Churchman
NPA	Northern Protector of Aborigines
NQDioA	North Queensland Diocesan Archives
NT	Northern Times
QLCJ	Queenland Legislative Council Journals
QPD	Queensland Parliamentary Debates
QPP	Queensland Parliamentary Papers
QPVP	Queensland Parliament Votes and Proceedings
QSA	Queensland State Archives
RC	Royal Commission
WACN	Western Australian Church News
WAPD	Western Australian Parliamentary Debates

1 Mostly of tears

1. Sally Wilcox to Amelia Gribble, 21 Oct. 1957, in the possession of Mrs Jill Murray.

2. Jones, D. 1976, Trinity Phoenix: A History of Cairns. Cairns, Cairns Post Ltd., pp. 335–6; Wise, T. 1985, The Self-made Anthropologist: A Life of A.P. Elkin, Sydney, Allen & Unwin, p. 61.

3. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

4. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

5. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

6. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

7. Gribble, J., Autobiography, 2/4/2, GP.

8. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

9. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

10. Gribble, J., 26 Oct., 23 Nov. 1885, Journal, 1/1/6, GP.

11. Gribble, J., 14, 24 Jan. 1886, Journal, 1/1/6, GP.

12. Inquirer, 18 May 1887.

13. Gribble, Forty Years, p. 26.

14. Gribble, Forty Years, p. 53.

15. CP, 15, 6 Aug., 14, 17 Oct. 1891, 29 Jun. 1892.

16. CA, 19 Feb. 1892. CP, 25 Jun. 1882.

17. Gribble, The Setting Sun, NC, May 1946, p. 9.

18. Gribble, J., 15 Aug. 1884, Journal, 1/1/5, GP.

19. Gribble, J. to Gribble, M., 9 Aug. 1892, 4 Sept. 1891, 2/8/1, GP.

20. Gribble, 25 Oct. 1892, Journal, 3/10/1, GP.

21. Gribble, 31 Oct., 13 Nov. 1882, Journal, 3/10/1, GP.

22. Gribble, 6 Jun. 1893, Journal, 3/10/1; Gribble to Needham, 5 Jun. 1940, 8/12/5; unidentified newspaper cutting, 13/20/4; unpublished portion of Over the Years, 11/18/17, GP.

2 Clasping their children tightly

1. Jones, Trinity Phoenix, p. 293.

2. Gribble, 21 Jan. 1894, Journal, 3/10/3, GP; MN, 15 May 1895, p. 35; Gribble, Forty Years, pp. 115–23; NC, 1 Mar. 1931, p. 2.

3. Archibald Meston, cited in Jones, Trinity Phoenix, p. 318.

4. Interview, Hazel Barlow, Yarrabah, 30 Dec. 1984.

5. Gribble, Forty Years, p. 78.

6. Gribble, Problem, pp. 9, 29, 47–9, 121; Gribble in MN, 18 Dec. 1896, p. 107; Gribble to Roth, 14 Jul. 1900, 9/12/7, GP.

7. Gribble, 19 Jan. 1894, Journal, 3/10/3, GP.

8. MN, Dec. 1895, p. 104.

9. Gribble, Problem, p. 90.

10. CA, 10 Aug. 1893.

11. MN, 22 Jun. 1896, p. 44.

12. MN, 15 May 1896, p. 36.

13. Gribble, unpublished draft of Forty Years, 11/18/10, GP.

14. CC, 1 May 1894, p. 15.

15. Meston, Report, 5 Jan. 1897, COL/143, QSA.

16. QPD, 1897, p. 1542.

17. CPA, Report for 1901, QPP, 1902, p. 1146.

18. MN, Dec. 1897, p. 107.

19. MN, Jan. 1902, p. 4.

20. MN, Aug. 1899, p. 79.

21. Dyott, R., 1912, Travels in Australasia, Birmingham, Cornish Brothers Ltd. pp. 137–8.

22. Gribble, Forty Years, p. 77.

23. Yarrabah Government and Court Minutes, 14 Jan. 1901, NQDioA.

24. ABM Minutes, 20 Jul. 1906, M2/2, ML.

25. NPA, Report for 1901, QPP, vol. 1, 1902, p. 1147.

26. Saumarez Smith to Gribble, 24 Dec. 1898, GP, 8/11/11, ML.

27. Interview, May Smith, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984.

28. MN, Jul. 1898, p. 72.

29. MP, 9 Jun. 1897, p. 5.

30. Unidentified newspaper cutting, 13/20/4, GP.

31. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

3 Porridge for every meal

1. Gribble, Despised Race, p. 44.

2. NPA, Report for 1900, QLCJ, 1900, pp. 193–4.

3. Kidd, R. 1997, The Way We Civilise: Aboriginal Affairs: The Untold Story, Brisbane: Queensland University Press, pp. 50–1.

4. NPA, Report for 1899, QLCJ, 1900, pp. 797.

5. Dyott, Travels in Australasia, p. 134.

6. Queenslander, 3 Jul. 1897, pp. 20, 188. Also Parry Okeden, Report, QPVP, 1897, p. 38; Meston, Report 1896, QPVP, p. 727; Roth, Report, QLCJ, 1900, pp. 193–4.

7. MP, 1 Jan. 1901, p. 5 quoting Hansard, 15 Dec. 1900.

8. Gribble to Dixon, 20 Jun. 1900, 9/12/7, GP.

9. Roth, Report, 1903, DPL/33606, QSA; Roth, Report, 1899, QLCJ, 1900, p. 800; Gribble to the Registrar General, 15 Dec. 1900, 9/12/7, GP.

10. MP, 31 Oct. 1902, p. 2.

11. MP, 1 Jan. 1901, p. 5 quoting Hansard, 15 Dec. 1900.

12. MN, Nov. 1895, p. 96.

13. MN, Jan. 1902, p. 3.

14. Interview, May Smith, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984.

15. Interview, May Smith, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984.

16. Gribble, Problem, p. 39.

17. Gribble, Problem, p. xi.

18. Unidentified newspaper cutting, 13/20/4, GP.

19. MN, Nov. 1902, p. 51; Gribble, Report to the Brisbane Diocesan Board of Missions, 1 Mar. 1900/3052, A15992, QSA.

20. MN, 25 Feb. 1901, p. 1.

21. QSA PRE/A163, 4 Dec. 1903, cited in R. Kidd, The Way We Civilise, p. 56.

22. MN, Jul. 1902, p. 65; Gribble, Life and Experiences, 15/20/9, GP.

23. Gribble, Life and Experiences, 15/20/9, GP.

24. MN, Mar. 1901, p. 19.

25. Interview, May Smith, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984.

26. Gribble, 26 May 1905, Journal, 3/10/9, GP; MP, 18 Sept. 1905, p. 2.

27. Yarrabah Government and Court Minutes, 8 Jan. 1903, NQDioA.

28. ABM Minutes, 11 Oct. 1907, M2/2, ML; Dixon to Gribble, 16 Jun. 1903, 7/11/3, GP.

29. AN, 15 Aug. 1907.

30. Yarrabah Government and Court Minutes, 14 Jan. 1901, 7 Nov. 1902, NQDioA.

31. Gribble, The Setting Sun, NC, Jun. 1946, p. 13.

4 Horse-thieves and harlots

1. North Queensland Herald, 28 May 1910, Yarrabah File, BDioA.

2. Grant, P. G., Report, 20 Jun. 1910, Yarrabah File, BDioA.

3. Gribble, 21 Nov. 1893, Journal, 3/10/3, GP.

4. MN, Sept. 1901, p. 93.

5. Jones, Trinity Phoenix, p. 317.

6. CP, Report for 1907, QPP, 1908, p. 942.

7. AN, May 1908.

8. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

9. CC, April 1895, p. 13.

10. Rules and Regulations of Yarrabah, NQDioA.

11. CP, Report for 1905, QPP, 1906, vol. 2, p. 938.

12. Gribble, 5 Dec. 1929, Journal, 5/10/15, GP.

13. MP, 20 Aug. 1907, p. 2.

14. Bishop of North Queensland to the Archbishop, 12 May 1910, ABM Minutes, BDioA.

15. ABMR, April 1927, p. 8.

16. Interview, May Smith and Elva Sands, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984. Correspondence from Linda Lawson about interview with Maise Reading, 5 Feb. 1985.

17. Gribble, nd, Notes for Synod speech, 12/18/25, GP.

18. Interview, May Smith, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984.

19. Bishop of North Queensland to the Diocesan Committee for Yarrabah, 20 Oct. 1911, BDioA.

20. Gribble, Forty Years, p. 89.

21. AN, 15 Jun. 1908.

22. Report of Bishop of North Queensland, ABM Minutes, 4 Jun. 1909, M2/2, ML.

23. Gribble to Bishop of North Queensland, 20 May 1909, 9 Jul. 1909, M2/2, ML.

24. NC, Jan. 1910, p. 5.

25. Bishop of North Queensland to Archbishop of Brisbane, 8 Jun. 1911, Yarrabah File, BDioA.

26. NC, May 1909, p. 8.

5 When native fruits are ripe

1. Gribble, Despised Race, p. 88.

2. Gribble, Forty Years, p. 173.

3. Green, N. 1995, Forrest River Massacre, Fremantle, Fremantle Arts Press, p. 59.

4. CSO 90/1894, BL.

5. WAPD, vol. 5, p. 1050 in Gill, A., 1977, ‘Aborigines, Settlers and Police in the Kimberleys 1887–1905’, Studies in Western Australian History, p. 11.

6. WACN, 1 Jun. 1914, p. 3.

7. Interview, Lovie Kiuna, Yarrabah, 31 Dec. 1984.

8. Interview, Lily and Fred Johnson, Wyndham, 16 Jan. 1986.

9. Elkin, Report, PMS 4176, AIAS.

10. ABMR, Jul. 1916, p. 95; WACN, Jul. 1918, pp. 20–1.

11. ABMR, Oct. 1915, p. 143.

12. ABMR, Oct. 1915, p. 143.

13. Gribble to Hudleston, 9 Jun., 31 Jul., 19 Nov. 1918, ABMWA, 2/6, GP.

14. WA, 4 Apr. 1917, p. 8.

15. Elkin, Report, PMS 4176, AIATSIS.

16. ABMR, Aug. 1914, p. 112.

17. Haining to Riley, 5 Dec. 1928, Box 5.8, ABMA.

18. WACN, May 1918, pp. 17–18; Jul. 1918, pp. 20–1.

19. Interview, Lily and Fred Johnson, Wyndham, 16 Jan. 1986.

20. Interview, Clara Roberts, Oombulgurri, 18 Jan. 1986.

21. WACN, Nov. 1916, p. 12.

22. Jones to Hudleston, 9 Feb. 1921, ABMWA, 2/6, GP; Needham to Canon Burton, St Thomas’ Day, 1927, Box, 5.8, ABMA.

23. Gribble to Hudleston, 8 Dec. 1919, ABMWA, 2/6, GP.

24. Gribble to Batchelor, 25 Apr. 1921, AMBWA, 2/6, GP.

6 Dark deeds in a sunny land

1. CPA to Minister for the North West, 15 Dec. 1922, 1/4, 653, 655/22, BL.

2. Gribble to CPA, 23 Jul. 1922, 1/4, 653, 655/22, BL.

3. Interview, Clara Roberts, Oombulgurri, 18 Jan. 1986.

4. Gribble to CPA, 15 Sept. 1924, 1/4, 653, 294/24, BL.

5. Cited in Green, Forrest River Massacre, p. 125.

6. Gribble to Needham, 22 Feb. 1925, Box 5.8, ABMA.

7. Douglas to Commissioner of Police, 17 Dec. 1924, 1/4, 653, 294/24, BL.

8. CPA to Minister, 18 Jul. 1924, 25 Jan. 1925, Minister to CPA, 19 Mar. 1925, 1/4, 653, 294/24. CPA to Minister, 29 Jul. 1927, 1/7, 993, 412/27, BL.

9. Gribble to CPA, 9 Feb. 1925, 1/4, 653, 604/24, BL.

10. Adams to CPA, 8 Jun. 1927, 1/4, 653, 604/24, BL.

11. Jack Gribble to Needham, 30 Mar. 1925, Box 5.8, ABMA.

12. Gribble, 24 Sept. 1924, Journal, 4/10/13, GP.

13. Gribble, 2 Nov. 1924; 22 Apr., 14 May 1925, Journal, MN 545 2389A/11, BL.

14. Gribble, 17, 18, 30 Dec. 1924, Journal, MN 545 2389A/10; 20 Mar. 1925, Journal, MN 545 2389A/11, BL.

15. Gribble, Problem, p. 36.

16. Gribble, Problem, pp. 36–7.

17. ABMWA Mins, 25 Jun. 1928, M1, ML.

18. Gribble, 28 Mar. 1925, Journal, MN 545 2389A/11, BL.

19. Gribble, 29 Mar. 1925, Journal, MN 545 2389A/11, BL.

20. Moran, R., 1999, Massacre Myth, Bassendeon, Western Australia, Access Press; Interview, Clara Roberts, Oombulgurri, 18 Jan. 1986.

21. Jack Gribble to Needham, 15 Mar. 1925, 30 Mar. 1925, Box 5.8, ABMA.

22. Claridge to Needham, 14 May 1925, Trower to Hudleston, 18 Jun. 1925, Box 5.8, ABMA.

23. Needham to Hudleston, 6 Jun. 1925, Box 5.8, ABMA.

24. ABM Minutes, May 1925, M4/3, ML.

25. Trower to Hudleston, 18 Jun. 1925, Box 5.8, ABMA.

26. Gribble, 21 Jun. 1925, Journal, 4/10/13, GP.

27. Gribble to Needham, 27 Jun. 1925, Box 5.8, ABMA.

28. CPA to the Minister for the North West, 15 Aug. 1925, 1/7, 993, 196/46; Mitchell, Report, 29 Jun. 1925, BL.

29. ABMR, Mar. 1926, p. 197.

30. Gribble, undated entry, Journal, 4/10/13, GP.

31. Mitchell, Report, 29 Jun. 1925, 1/7, 993, 196/46, BL.

32. Jack Gribble to Needham, 13 May 1926, Box 5.8, ABMA.

7 Ghosts crying in the dark

1. RC, p. 48, Item 1720.

2. Gribble, 28 May 1926, Journal, 4/10/14, GP.

3. RC, p. 51, Item 1827.

4. NT, 5 Nov. 1926, p. 3; NW Echo, 6 Nov. 1926; unidentified newspaper cutting, 14/20/6, GP.

5. RC, p. 50.

6. Gribble, 9 Jun. 1926, Journal, 4/10/14, GP.

7. Mitchell to CPA, 14 Oct. 1926, 1/7, 993, 4347/26, BL.

8. Gribble, 5 Jul. 1926, Journal, 4/10/14, GP.

9. RC, p. 5.

10. Thomson, 6 Jul. 1926, 4/10/14, GP.

11. Interview, Lily and Fred Johnson, Wyndham, 16 Jan. 1986.

12. Interview, Lily and Fred Johnson, Wyndham, 16 Jan. 1986.

13. RC, p. 6.

14. Interview, Lily and Fred Johnson, Wyndham, 16 Jan. 1986.

15. Gribble, 27 Aug. 1926, Journal, 4/10/14, GP; Gribble to Needham, 22 Feb. 1927, Box 5.8, ABMA.

16. Gribble to CPA, 27 Aug. 1926, AF 437/26.

17. Gribble, Problem, p. 107.

18. RC, p. 67.

19. Mitchell, Report, 11 Sept. 1926; Mitchell to CPA, Journal, 27 Aug., 4 Sept. 1926, 1/7, 993, 196/46, BL.

20. Batchelor to Sydney Secretary, 21 Aug. 1928, Box 5.8, ABMA.

21. Burton to Needham, 31 May 1927, ABMWA, Box 3/21; 22 Sept. 1926, ABMWA, Box 3/27, ML.

22. Mitchell, 11 Sept. 1926, 1/7, 993, 196/46, BL.

23. Mitchell, Report, 11, 25 Sept. 1926, 1/7, 993, 196/46, BL.

24. Douglas to Commissioner of Police, 1 Dec. 1926, 5/3, 430, 5374/26, BL.

25. Mitchell to CPA, 14 Oct. 1926, 1/7, 993, 437/26, BL.

26. CPA to Undersecretary of the Colonial Secretary’s Department, 28 Sept. 1926, 1/7, 993, 196/46, BL.

27. Burton to Needham, 30 Nov. 1926, Box 5.8, ABMA.

28. Needham to Burton, 20 Dec. 1926, Box 5.8, ML.

29. Burton to Needham, 26 Jan. 1927, ABMWA, Box 28/21, ML.

30. Gribble, 3 Jul. 1926, Journal, 4/10/14, GP.

31. RC, p. 25.

32. RC, p. 87.

33. Gribble, Over the Years, 11/18/18, GP.

34. RC, p. xv.

35. Interview, Charles Overheu by Green, N. 1989, ‘The Marndoc Reserve massacres of 1926’, PhD, University of Western Australia, p. 410.

36. Interview, Daniel Evans in Stow, R., 1958, To the Islands, Middlesex, UK, Penguin, p. 57.

37. ABMR, 12 Jul. 1927 cited in Reynolds, H., 1998, This Whispering in Our Hearts, Sydney, Allen & Unwin, p. 189.

38. WACN, Jun. 1927, pp. 1–2.

39. WACN, Jun. 1927, p. 7.

40. DN, 10 Aug. 1927, p. 2: NT, 13 Aug. 1927, p. 2: Police News, 25 Oct. 1927, p. 82; WA Pastoralist and Grazier, 30 Nov. 1927, pp. 10–11.

41. Sydney Secretary to Feetham, 19 Jun. 1928, Box 5.8, ABMA.

42. Gribble, The Setting Sun, NC, Oct. 1946, pp. 9–10.

43. Gribble, Over the Years, ABMR, Jun. 1950, p. 92.

8 A complete outsider

1. Webb, Report, 28 Feb. 1928; Webb to Needham, 13 Mar. 1928, Box 5.8, ABMA.

2. Quoted in Hudleston to Needham, 20 Mar. 1928, Box 5.8, ABMA.

3. ABM Minutes, 23–24 Nov. 1927, M4/4, GP.

4. Needham to Bird, 30 Mar. 1928, Box 5.8, ABMA.

5. Needham to Archdeacon of Perth, St Thomas’ Day 1927, Box 5.8, ABMA.

6. Webb to ABM Perth, 27 May, 3, 10 Aug. 1927, Box 5.8, ABMA.

7. Elkin, Report, PMS 4176, AIATSIS.

8. Elkin to Sally, 13 May 1928, Box 216, 5/2/1, EP.

9. Elkin, Report, PMS 4176, AIATSIS.

10. Elkin, Report, PMS 4176, AIATSIS; Elkin to Sally, 13 May 1928, Box 2165/2/1; 29 May 1928, Journal, Box 1, 1/1/1, EP.

11. Elkin cited in R.M. & C.H. Berndt, (eds), 1979, Aborigines of the West: Their Past and their Present, Nedlands, UWA Press, p. 303.

12. Needham, ABM Minutes, 22–23 Aug. 1928, M4/5, GP.

13. Needham, ABM Minutes, 22–23 Aug. 1928, M4/5, GP.

14. Needham to Feetham, 13 Jul. 1928; Feetham to Needham, 18 Jul. 1928, Box 5.8, ABMA.

15. ABM Minutes, 28 Aug. 1928, M4/5, GP.

16. Leen to CPA, 22, 28 Jun. 1928, 5/3, 403, 4031/28, BL.

17. Carroll to CPA, 22 Jul. 1928, 5/3, 403, 4031/28, BL.

18. Wood to Elkin, 8 Jul. 1928, Box 6, 1/1/68, EP.

19. Gribble, 10, 12 May, 19 Jul. 1928, Journal, 5/10/15, GP.

20. Wood to Elkin, 12, 25 Jul. 1928, Box 6, 1/1/68, EP.

21. Needham to Mrs Stephen, 7 Sept. 1928, 9/14/3, GP.

22. Interview, Lily and Fred Johnson, Wyndham, 16, 18 Jan. 1986.

23. Statutory declarations, 4 Apr. 1930, Box 5.8, ABMA.

24. Elkin, Report, PMS 4176, AIAS.

25. Gribble, 25 Sept. 1928, Journal, 5/10/15, GP.

26. Gribble, 6 Jan. 1928, 5 Dec. 1929, Journal, 5/10/15, GP.

9 Punishment place

1. Gribble, Forty Years, p. 177.

2. Gribble, Despised Race, p. 124.

3. Truth, 24 Aug. 1930, p. 13.

4. Interview, Neville Bonner, Sydney, 20 Aug. 1986.

5. See Watson, J. 1994, ‘Becoming Bwyggloman: exile and survival on Palm Island’, PhD, University of Queensland.

6. Murray, E. 1935, Palm Island Memories, Sydney University Medical Society Medical Journal, vol. 29, pp. 14–15.

7. Birtles, D. 1935, North-West by North: A Journey of a Voyage. London, Jonathan Cape, p. 148.

8. Gribble, 9 Jan., 4 Apr. 1931, Journal, 5/10/16, GP.

9. Gribble, 8 Oct. 1932, Journal, 5/10/16, GP.

10. Gribble to Feetham, 10 Mar. 1947, Chairman’s Correspondence 1945–49, Series 4, GP.

11. Foster to O’Leary, 19 Nov. 1947, Anglican Church File, Department of Community Services, Palm Island.

12. Gribble, 24 Apr. 1932, Journal, 5/10/16, GP; Interview, May Smith, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984.

13. Gribble, Report, 11 Sept. 1941, 10/16/1, GP.

14. Birtles, North-West by North, p. 148.

15. NC, Jan. 1942, p. 3; Feb. 1944, p. 14.

16. Gribble, 29 Jan. 1934, Journal, 5/10/17, GP.

17. Interview, Neville Bonner, Sydney, 30 Aug. 1986.

18. Feetham to Chairman, 9 Jul., 16 Dec. 1945, Chairman’s Correspondence, 1945–49, Series 4, ML.

19. Interview, Neville Bonner, Sydney, 30 Aug. 1986.

20. Interview, May Smith, Cairns, 28 Dec. 1984.

21. Feetham to Needham, 17 Apr. 1946, Chairman’s Correspondence 1945–49, Series 4, ML.

22. Interview, Neville Bonner, Sydney, 30 Aug. 1986.