Charles Frederick Gale (26 November 1860 – 24 September 1928) was a senior Australian civil servant, Chief Inspector of Fisheries in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

Chief 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 ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Biography

Charles Frederick Gale was born on 26 November 1860 at

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, the son of William Gale, merchant and collector of customs, and his wife Mary Ann (née Scott). He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Hale School Hale School is an independent, Anglican day and boarding school for boys, located in Wembley Downs, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Named after the school founded by Bishop Mathew Blagden Hale in 1858, Hale School claims to b ...

. Gale was ‘a squatter in the Gascoyne district in the early 1880s, but was ruined by drought and went prospecting’. From 1893 he was Assistant Inspector of Stock at

and from 1897 Inspector of Pearl-Shell Fisheries at

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

. Two years later ‘he became Chief Inspector of Fisheries at

and in 1906 gave the joint select committee on the fishing industry valuable information on the western fishing grounds, gathered while leading a trawling expedition in 1904’. From 1908, after an amalgamation, Gale was also

chief protector of Aboriginals 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 ...

. His first report recommended the establishment of reserve stations which the natives of each tribal district 'could look upon as a home'. Gale suggested that this could be done splitting up some of the large pastoral holdings. He anticipated the 'strong opposition and protestation' of the squatters, but during his term,

Moola Bulla Moola Bulla Station is a pastoral lease that operates as a cattle station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. It is approximately west of Halls Creek and south of Warmun, and occupies an area of . It bisects the watershed of the ...

, the first Aboriginal cattle-station, was begun. In 1909 he also persuaded pastoralists to ration free of charge Aboriginal indigents on their properties, by pointing out that they were, after all, 'born in the country from which in many instances large profits are yearly made'. On 22 July 1914, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, he married a widow, Flora Marie Farquhar (née Blackman). He then took long service leave in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. After ‘resuming work in February 1915, he was retrenched in March, owing to the re-organisation of certain departments'. This was probably due ‘less to differences over policy than to a

clash of personalities A personality clash occurs when two (or more) people find themselves in conflict not over a particular issue or incident, but due to a fundamental incompatibility in their personalities, their approaches to things, or their style of life. A persona ...

’. R. H. Underwood, the minister, held a low opinion of Gale's 'ability and energy'. The dismissal upset public servants and a select committee of inquiry was appointed on the motion of Gale's friend,

Sir Walter Kingsmill Sir Walter Kingsmill (10 April 1864 – 15 January 1935) was an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Western Australia from 1923 to 1935. He was President of the Senate from 1929 to 1932. Early life Kingsmill was born on 10 ...

. All witnesses attested that Gale's work had been satisfactory and the committee reported that his dismissal was 'illegal'; it recommended reinstatement. This was not done and further intimidatory measures forced him to accept retrenchment. In 1917-19 he was secretary of the Civil Service Club. Gale was also a committee member of the

Western Australian Turf Club The Western Australian Turf Club (WATC), later known as Perth Racing, was established in late nineteenth century as an elite social institution and administrator of the Western Australian horse racing industry. They manage two racecourses in Pe ...

and a JP. Childless and survived by his wife, he died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, in the Armadale hospital on 24 September 1928.

External links

Charles Gale in the Australian Dictionary of Biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, Charles Frederick 1860 births 1928 deaths Public servants of Western Australia People educated at Bedford Modern School Department of Aboriginal Affairs (Western Australia) Deaths from pneumonia in Western Australia