![Cummeragunja Aboriginal Mission Station 1893](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Cummeragunja_Aboriginal_Mission_Station_1893.jpg)
Cummeragunja Reserve or Cummeragunja Station, alternatively spelt Coomeroogunja, Coomeragunja, Cumeroogunga and Cummerguja, was a settlement on the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
side of the
Murray River
The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest ...
, on the
Victorian border near
Barmah. It was also referred to as Cumeroogunga Mission, although it was not run by missionaries. The people were mostly
Yorta Yorta
The Yorta Yorta, also known as Jotijota, are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales ...
.
It was established between 1882 and 1888 when dissatisfied residents of
Maloga Mission moved upriver to escape the authoritarian discipline there under its founder, Daniel Matthews. The mission buildings were re-built on the new site, and the teacher,
Thomas Shadrach James
Thomas Shadrach James (1 September 1859 – 9 January 1946), born Thomas Shadrach Peersahib, was a Methodist lay preacher, linguist and herbalist. However, it was as a teacher, first at Maloga Aboriginal Mission and later at Cummeragunja Reserve, ...
, moved too, but Matthews, stayed on at Maloga. The new station became a thriving community by the turn of the century, but over time its status changed as the
New South Wales Government
The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governme ...
assumed varying degrees of control. Records list it as a group of four
Aboriginal reserve
An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...
s spanning the years 1883 to 1964, but its status changed over this period, with differing levels of control by the government. It is known for being the site of a protest known as the
Cummeragunja walk-off
The Cummeragunja walk-off in 1939 was a protest by Aboriginal Australians at the Cummeragunja Station, an Aboriginal reserve in southern New South Wales.
Background
The Cummeragunja Mission was mostly home to Yorta Yorta people who had been rel ...
in 1939, with residents leaving the reserve to cross the river in protest at poor conditions and treatment.
In March 1984 the newly-created Yorta Yorta Land Council took possession of the land. Many
Aboriginal families still live on Cummeragunja.
Name
The name of the settlement referred to today as Cummeragunja has been recorded as Cumeroogunya
and other variations such as Coomeragunja, Cumeroogunga and Cummerguja.
History
Records show the Cumeroogunya Aboriginal reserve in the Parish of Bama,
County of Cadell on a total of , consisting of four reserves: the main one existed from 9 April 1883 to 24 December 1964, while three smaller ones have starting dates in 1893, 1899 and 1900.
Establishment
Most of the people who lived on the Cummeragunja Reserve were Yorta Yorta people. The original residents moved there from Maloga Mission, away, where they had grown tired of the strict religious lifestyle and the authoritarian style of its founder, Daniel Matthews.
In April 1881, 42 of the Yorta Yorta men living at the Maloga Mission wrote a petition to the Governor of New South Wales, Augustus Loftus, requesting land. Daniel Matthews took the petition to Sydney on their behalf and it was published in the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' on 2 July 1881 and the '' Daily Telegraph'' on 5 July 1881, the same day that it was presented to the governor.
In July 1887, the Governor of New South Wales, Lord Carrington, visited Moama
Moama ( or ) is a town in the Riverina district of southern New South Wales, Australia, in the Murray River Council local government area. The town is directly across the Murray River from the larger town of Echuca in the neighbouring state ...
, where he was presented with a petition by Maloga residents requesting Queen Victoria grant the community land. The petition was signed by Robert Cooper, Samson Barber, Aaron Atkinson, Hughy Anderson, John Cooper, Edgar Atkinson, Whyman McLean, John Atkinson (his mark), William Cooper William Cooper may refer to:
Business
*William Cooper (accountant) (1826–1871), founder of Cooper Brothers
* William Cooper (businessman) (1761–1840), Canadian businessman
*William Cooper (co-operator) (1822–1868), English co-operator
* Will ...
, George Middleton, Edward Joachim (his mark). An article in the '' Riverine Herald'' tells of the petition, presented to a Mr Burns, "when here some months ago with Lord Carrington". It prints a response from the Minister of Lands acceding to the request that "part of the reserve ouldbe subdivided into suitable areas for settlement of individual aborigines", dated 20 March 1888.
A property of was acquired from the government of the Colony of New South Wales, and the entire village was moved from Maloga in 1888, with the name Coomerugunja given to it by a superintendent appointed by the New South Wales Aborigines Protection Association.
Matthews' connection with the Aborigines Protection Association ceased in April 1888, when the residents moved. According to his wife Janet, he continued to be "engaged in work on behalf of the blacks"; the couple stayed on at Maloga Mission, doing their "particular work", and were looking to establish a new mission at Bribie Island after the residents had left (which never came to pass).
Thomas Shadrach James
Thomas Shadrach James (1 September 1859 – 9 January 1946), born Thomas Shadrach Peersahib, was a Methodist lay preacher, linguist and herbalist. However, it was as a teacher, first at Maloga Aboriginal Mission and later at Cummeragunja Reserve, ...
continued as teacher at the new location, and was praised as a dedicated teacher by Matthews' son, John Kerr Matthews, and was said to have taught his Aboriginal students well, many of whom went on to be activists.
The "Cumeroogunga Mission Church, removed from Mologa" was reported to have reopened for worship on Easter Monday in 1889. At Cummeragunja Station, they established a farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...
with the aim of communal self-sufficiency. In the early years, the residents of Cummeragunja shaped most of the land into a productive farm, producing wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
, wool
Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...
and dairy products,[
The NSW Aborigines Protection Association administered the station from its beginnings until 1892 (subsidised by the government), when their funds ran dry and management was handed over to the government's Board for the Protection of Aborigines.]
20th century
In 1907 the blocks were revoked and later leased out to white farmers.
The ''Aborigines Protection Act 1909
The ''Aborigines Protection Act 1909'' was a New South Wales statute that repealed the ''Supply of Liquors to Aborigines Prevention Act 1867'' with the aim of providing for the protection and care of Aboriginal people in New South Wales, Australi ...
'' gave the government greater control, and in 1915, after the local farmers' committee was abolished and amendments to the Act gave the New South Wales Board for the Protection of Aborigines even wider powers,[ the Board took greater control of Cummeragunja and its residents. Residents were subjected to confining and restrictive conditions, and the managers of the Reserve had the power to remove residents for misconduct, to in order to make them earn their living elsewhere.][ All the funds raised from the farm went to the Board, which "rewarded" workers by doling out inadequate and unhealthy rations.] The 1915 Amendments had given the Board powers to remove children from their families,[ which they did. The girls were often placed in ]domestic service
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
, or the Cootamundra Girls' Home for training as domestic servants, in particular the "half-caste
Half-caste (an offensive term for the offspring of parents of different racial groups or cultures) is a term used for individuals of multiracial descent. It is derived from the term '' caste'', which comes from the Latin ''castus'', meaning p ...
" children.[
The Board took all profits earned by the Station, and the community was neglected. Poor ]sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
, inadequate housing and lack of clean water led to illness such as[ from ]tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...
and whooping cough
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or t ...
, which especially affected the elderly and young, leading to deaths. By the 1930s conditions had drastically deteriorated. Residents were confined to the station and many of their relatives were forced away. Decent rations and supplies were lacking and residents were forced to share blankets and live in rag huts. Station manager, Arthur McQuiggan, bullied and punished residents if they complained.[
In May 1938, anthropologists Joseph Birdsell and ]Norman Tindale
Norman Barnett Tindale AO (12 October 1900 – 19 November 1993) was an Australian anthropologist, archaeologist, entomologist and ethnologist.
Life
Tindale was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1900. His family moved to Tokyo and lived ther ...
visited Cummeragunja. The then teacher, Thomas Austin, considered himself an expert on Aboriginal people, who had already passed on his ideas to Sydney anthropologist A.P. Elkin. Although they were not given the right to halt the study, members of the community, who were aware of their rights and aired their grievances, were listened to by Tindale and Birdsell. Years later, Tindale would use some of the issues at Cummeragunja to support his theory that while mixed-race Aboriginal people (" half-castes") could be assimilated successfully, the reserve system was not successful in this aim, citing the unrest at Cummeragunja in his report. The scientists' visit did have one positive outcome: they created an archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
of photographs and accounts which are valued by descendants of Cummeragunja residents.[ Chapter 6 in ]
1939 Cummeragunja walk-off
After some residents sent a telegram to former resident and activist Jack Patten
John Thomas Patten (27 March 1905 – 12 October 1957) was an Aboriginal Australian civil rights activist and journalist.
Biography
John Patten was born in 1905 to John James Patten and Christina Mary Patten, née Middleton, at Cummeragunja Res ...
[ and he was arrested when trying to address them, on 6 February 1939, about 170 residents walked off the mission in protest at their treatment, settling across the river, to relocate 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 ...
, in camps on the riverbanks. Margaret Tucker and Geraldine Briggs were among the most prominent protesters.
This protest became known as the Cummeragunja walk-off
The Cummeragunja walk-off in 1939 was a protest by Aboriginal Australians at the Cummeragunja Station, an Aboriginal reserve in southern New South Wales.
Background
The Cummeragunja Mission was mostly home to Yorta Yorta people who had been rel ...
, and was the first mass strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
of Indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
in Australia, and was to inspire later movements and protests.
Many of the participants in the walk-off settled in northern Victoria, including Barmah, Echuca, Mooroopna
Mooroopna is a rural town located north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the banks of the Goulburn River opposite the larger town of Shepparton. The Midland Highway crosses the river between the two towns. At the 2016 census, Moor ...
and Shepparton.[
]
Land taken after WWII
Following World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the Government handed parcels of land at Cummeragunja and other Aboriginal reserves over to white Australian returned servicemen under the Soldier Settlement Scheme
Soldier settlement was the settlement of land throughout parts of Australia by returning discharged soldiers under soldier settlement schemes administered by state governments after World War I and World War II. The post-World War II settlement ...
. Indigenous returned servicemen were not eligible for the scheme, so even those from Cummeragunja who had served in the war were not rewarded in this way.[
]
1953: Station closure
In 1953, Cummeragunja's status as a station was ended, and it was reduced to the status of Aboriginal reserve
An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...
. Only a few residents remained, but they persisted in claiming the right to begin farming again. Cummeragunga Pty Ltd was registered in 1965.[
In 1956, ahead of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the remaining families were moved to 10 especially built houses at an area known as Rumbalara. The Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative was established 1980, and runs health services for the community. There is also a Rumbalara Football Netball Club.
]
1984: Handover
On 9 March 1984 ownership of the land was passed to the newly-created Yorta Yorta Local Aboriginal Land Council.[
]
Current governance
Many Aboriginal families still live on Cummeragunja. , Cummeragunja is owned and managed by the Cummeragunja Local Aboriginal Land Council, under the umbrella organisation of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council
The NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC) is the peak representative body of Aboriginal Australians in New South Wales. It has the mandate, under the '' Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983'' (NSW), to develop land rights among Aboriginal people in Ne ...
.
Notable people from Cummeragunja
* Jack Charles, actor and co-founder of Australia's first Indigenous theatre group, Nindethana, in Melbourne
* William Cooper William Cooper may refer to:
Business
*William Cooper (accountant) (1826–1871), founder of Cooper Brothers
* William Cooper (businessman) (1761–1840), Canadian businessman
*William Cooper (co-operator) (1822–1868), English co-operator
* Will ...
, founder of the Australian Aborigines League
* Jimmy Little, musician, singer, songwriter and guitarist
* Sir Douglas Nicholls
Sir Douglas Ralph Nicholls, (9 December 1906 – 4 June 1988) was a prominent Aboriginal Australian from the Yorta Yorta people. He was a professional athlete, Churches of Christ pastor and church planter, ceremonial officer and a pioneering ...
, leading Australian rules footballer, Churches of Christ pastor and Governor of South Australia
* Shadrach James, Former Fitzroy footballer & country footballer with Mooroopna and Brocklesby.
* Bill Onus
William Townsend Onus Jnr (15 November 1906 – 10 January 1968) was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, designer, and showman, also known for his boomerang-throwing skills. He was father of artist Lin Onus.
Early life and educati ...
, political activist, entrepreneur and actor/performer
* Jack Patten
John Thomas Patten (27 March 1905 – 12 October 1957) was an Aboriginal Australian civil rights activist and journalist.
Biography
John Patten was born in 1905 to John James Patten and Christina Mary Patten, née Middleton, at Cummeragunja Res ...
, founder of the Aborigines Progressive Association
The Aborigines Progressive Association (APA) was an Aboriginal Australian rights organisation in New South Wales that was founded and run by William Ferguson and Jack Patten from 1937 to 1944, and was then revived from 1963 until around 1970 b ...
and organiser of the 1938 Day of Mourning
A national day of mourning is a day or days marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the death or funeral of ...
in NSW
* The Sapphires, singing group on which the international film The Sapphires (film)
''The Sapphires'' is a 2012 Australian musical comedy-drama film based on the 2004 stage play '' The Sapphires'' by Tony Briggs, which is loosely based on a real-life 1960s girl group that included Briggs's mother and aunt.Usher, Robin (15 Novem ...
and Australian play The Sapphires (play)
''The Sapphires'' is an Australian play written by Tony Briggs and directed by Wesley Enoch. It is set in 1968 (a year after the referendum, which symbolically expanded the rights of Aboriginal people) and it tells the story of The Sapphires, ...
was based
* Margaret Tucker, co-founder of the Australian Aborigines League and author of ''If Everyone Cared'' (1977), one of the first autobiographies to deal with the experience of the Stolen Generations
The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church mis ...
* Margaret Wirrpanda, niece of Margaret Tucker, activist
See also
* List of Aboriginal missions in New South Wales
References
{{coord, -36.0279, 144.9574, display=title, region:AU-NSW_type:landmark
Aboriginal communities in New South Wales
Australian Aboriginal missions
Australian Aboriginal cultural history
Riverina
Murray River