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Aboriginal trackers were enlisted by Europeans in the years following
British colonisation of Australia The history of Australia is the story of the land and peoples of the continent of Australia. People first arrived on the Australian mainland by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and penetrated to all part ...
, to assist them in exploring the Australian landscape. The excellent tracking skills of these
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
were advantageous to settlers in finding food and water and locating missing persons, capturing
bushrangers Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...
and dispersing other groups of Indigenous peoples. The first recorded deployment of Aboriginal trackers by Europeans in Australia was in 1791 when
Watkin Tench Lieutenant General Watkin Tench (6 October 1758 – 7 May 1833) was a British marine officer who is best known for publishing two books describing his experiences in the First Fleet, which established the first European settlement in Australia in ...
utilised Eora men Colbee and Balloderry to find a way to the Hawkesbury River. In 1795, an Aboriginal guide led Henry Hacking to the Cowpastures area where the lost First Fleet cattle were found. In 1802,
Dharawal The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, s ...
men Gogy, Budbury and Le Tonsure with
Gandangara The Gundungurra people, also spelt Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gandangara and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Shire ...
men Wooglemai and Bungin assisted Ensign Francis Barrallier in his explorations into the Blue Mountains. There are many other examples of explorers, squatters, military/paramilitary groups, naval missions, and police utilising Aboriginal assistance in tracking down wanted persons. For instance, in 1834, near
Fremantle, Western Australia Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
, two trackers named Mogo and Mollydobbin tracked a missing five-year-old boy for more than ten hours through rough Australian bush. Another notable event occurred in 1864 when Duff children Jane (7), Isaac (9) and Frank (4) Duff, lost for nine days in
Wimmera The Wimmera is a region of the Australian state of Victoria. The district is located within parts of the Loddon Mallee and the Grampians regions; and covers the dryland farming area south of the range of Mallee scrub, east of the South Austral ...
, were found by Aboriginal tracker
Dick-a-Dick Dick-a-Dick (traditional name ''Lavanya'', ''Jumgumjenanuke'' or ''Jungunjinuke'',Munro, p. 54. c. 1834 – 3 September 1870) was an Australian Aboriginal tracker and cricketer, a Wotjobaluk man who spoke the Wergaia language in the Wimmera re ...
.


Tracking

When asked how he tracked, Mitamirri, a famous tracker of the early 20th century, said "I never bend down low, just walk slow round and round until I see more." In 1845
Edward Stone Parker Edward Stone Parker (1802–1865) was a Methodist preacher and assistant Protector of Aborigines in the Aboriginal Protectorate established in the Port Phillip District of colonial New South Wales under George Augustus Robinson in 1838. He est ...
the Assistant
Protector of Aborigines The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836. The role became established in other parts of Australia pursuant to a recommendation contained in the ''Report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Abori ...
in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, based at the Loddon Aboriginal Protectorate Station at Franklinford, wrote a letter to the Chief Protector reporting on the murder of 'a native' at Joyce's Station (near Newstead). No witness to the murder could be found but footprints of five men were tracked by the Jajowurrong to open country south of Mount Macedon (Sunbury region). The trackers there met with another man attached to the Loddon Protectorate Station who was on his return from Melbourne. He told the trackers he had met with the group they were tracking and was able to give a description of them. The
New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
actively engaged Aboriginal trackers from 1850, attempting to secure Aboriginal trackers for each of the police districts. By 1867, 52 Aboriginal Trackers were in the employ of the police at a daily rate of 2s 6d (approximately per month). In that year, at the height of bushranger activity in the Goulburn Police District, three mounted Aboriginal trackers of the
New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
were actively involved in the capture of the
Clarke brothers Brothers Thomas (c. 1840 – 25 June 1867) and John Clarke (c. 1846 – 25 June 1867) were Australian bushrangers from the Braidwood district of New South Wales. They committed a series of high-profile crimes which led to the enacting of the Fe ...
at Jinden near Braidwood. Aboriginal tracker Sir Watkin Wynne (later Sergeant Major Sir Watkin Wynne), led the initial party of police from Fairfield under the command of Senior Constable Wright (later Sub-inspector Wright) to their location at Jinden. He was seriously injured during the capture and had an arm amputated. He was awarded for his role in the capture. Two other trackers, who subsequently led other police to the scene, trackers George Emmott (stationed at Ballalaba) and Thomas (stationed at Major's Creek), secured lesser awards of . Tracker George Emmott had previously received an award of for the arrest of Pat Connell another member of the gang. Two members of the Queensland Native Mounted Police Force, Wannamutta and Werannabe, assisted in the capture of
Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...
at
Glenrowan, Victoria Glenrowan is a town located in the Wangaratta local government area of Victoria, Australia. It is 236 kilometres north-east of Melbourne and 14 kilometres from Wangaratta and near the Warby Ranges and Mount Glenrowan. At the , Glenrow ...
in 1880. They had been promised reward for Kelly's capture but descendants claimed the two were never paid.


Native Police

A number of Native Police organisations were established in Australia during the 19th Century employing armed and mounted Aboriginal trackers under white officers to carry out various duties - including the tracking of Aboriginal murder suspects. During the
goldrush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Ze ...
era, they were also used to patrol goldfields and search for escaped prisoners. They were provided with uniforms, firearms, food rations and a dubious salary. In 1879 the services of a group of Queensland Aboriginal police were requested to help track the
Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * Kelly (Kelly Price album) * Kelly (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), a 1965 musical by Mark Charlap * "Kelly" (song), a 2018 single by Kelly Rowland * ''Kelly'' (film), a 1981 Canadi ...
gang which were on the run from the Victorian police. Their use was agreed and a party of six "native" troopers, with a white officer (Sub-Inspector Stanhope O'Conner) reached
Benalla Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822. It is the administrative centr ...
about March 1879.


Recent and present day use

In 1941, the
Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit The Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit (NTSRU) was an irregular warfare unit of the Australian Army during World War II, composed mainly of Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory. Formed in 1941, the unit patrolled the coast o ...
was established to patrol the north Australia coastline for Japanese landings and infiltration, and was primarily composed of Aboriginal soldiers. The
2/1st North Australia Observer Unit The 2/1st North Australia Observer Unit (2/1 NAOU) was an Australian Army reconnaissance unit of World War II. Formed in early 1942 in the Northern Territory, the unit was a light horse mounted unit that was tasked with providing early warning o ...
("Nackaroos") performed a similar role, though Aboriginal people were a minority in the unit, serving as labourers and trackers. In the present day
Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
, the
Regional Force Surveillance Units The Regional Force Surveillance Units (RFSUs) are specialised infantry units of the Australian Army Reserve responsible for patrolling northern Australia. Collectively, the RFSUs form the Regional Force Surveillance Group commanded by a Colone ...
can be seen as a spiritual descendant of the tracker legacy. Aboriginal trackers within the Queensland police force wore yellow
epaulets Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''shoulder scales'' ...
to denote their role. Australia's last Aboriginal police tracker employed solely for the role, Lama Lama elder Barry Port, retired in 2014 with no replacement. Port died at Coen on the
Cape York Peninsula Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
on 4 March 2020. He had spent 30 years as a tracker, and the public bar at Coen was named after him.


Notable Aboriginal trackers

*
Charley Charley may refer to: Places *Charley, Leicestershire, a parish in England *Charley's Flat, alternate name for Dutch Flat, California *Charley's Motel, former name of Star Lite Motel, Minnesota, United States *Charley Ridge, West Virginia, United ...
*
Dick-a-Dick Dick-a-Dick (traditional name ''Lavanya'', ''Jumgumjenanuke'' or ''Jungunjinuke'',Munro, p. 54. c. 1834 – 3 September 1870) was an Australian Aboriginal tracker and cricketer, a Wotjobaluk man who spoke the Wergaia language in the Wimmera re ...
*
Jimmy Governor Jimmy Governor (1875 – 1901) was an Indigenous Australian who was proclaimed an outlaw after committing a series of murders in 1900. His actions initiated a cycle of violence in which nine people were killed (either by Governor or his accomp ...
* Jimmy James * Tommy Windich *
Whyman McLean Whyman McLean was an Australian Aboriginal man, a religious missionary who later served as an Aboriginal tracker in the New South Wales Police Force for thirty years until his retirement in 1925. Early life Whyman McLean was born at Morago, New So ...
* Eric Mumbler * Brownie Doolan (c.1918-2011, worked with police at Finke and Kulgera in Northern Territory) * Willie Wondunna (c. 1836 – 30 September 1946) of
Fraser Island Fraser Island (Butchulla: ) is a World Heritage-listed island along the south-eastern coast in the Wide Bay–Burnett region, Queensland, Australia. The island is approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane, and is within the Fraser ...
* Barry Port, Australia's last tracker employed solely for the role, died 2020 *Alexander Riley (1911-1914 (resigned), 1918-1950(reinstated) Dubbo)


Aboriginal trackers in books and film

*''
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
'' *'' The Last Trackers of the Outback'' (2007 documentary film) *'' The Nightingale'' *'' The Tracker'' *''
Rabbit-Proof Fence The State Barrier Fence of Western Australia, formerly known as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the State Vermin Fence, and the Emu Fence, is a pest-exclusion fence constructed between 1901 and 1907 to keep rabbits, and other agricultural pests from th ...
'' *''
A Cry in the Dark ''Evil Angels'' (released as ''A Cry in the Dark'' outside Australia and New Zealand) is a 1988 Australian drama film directed by Fred Schepisi. The screenplay by Schepisi and Robert Caswell is based on John Bryson's 1985 book of the same nam ...
'' *''
One Night the Moon ''One Night the Moon'' is a 2001 Australian musical non-feature film starring husband and wife team Paul Kelly, a singer-songwriter, and Kaarin Fairfax, a film and television actress, along with their daughter Memphis Kelly. The film was dire ...
'' *''Black Tracker'' *''
Walkabout (novel) ''Walkabout'' is a novel written by James Vance Marshall (a pseudonym for Donald G. Payne), first published in 1959 as ''The Children''. It is about two children, a teenage sister and her younger brother, who get lost in the Australian Outbac ...
'' *'' The Black Tracker - Jack Davis (1970 Poem)'' *'' No Sugar - Jack Davis (1986) '' *''The Furnace'' (2020) directed by Roderick McKay


See also

*
United States Army Indian Scouts Native Americans have made up an integral part of U.S. military conflicts since America's beginning. Colonists recruited Indian allies during such instances as the Pequot War from 1634–1638, the Revolutionary War, as well as in War of 1812. ...


References

{{Indigenous peoples by continent 19th century in Australia History of Indigenous Australians