George Taplin (24 August 1831 – 24 June 1879) was a Congregationalist minister who worked in

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

missions in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, and gained a reputation as an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

, writing on

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

lore and customs.

History

Taplin was born in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and educated at a private school in

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, west of the town of Basingsto ...

, where he lived with his maternal grandmother. He was trained for the legal profession but had ambitions to serve as a missionary. He left for Australia in 1849, and arrived at Adelaide in the ''Anna Maria'' on 12 October 1849. He worked for a time as a lawyer's clerk, and made the acquaintance of Rev.

T. Q. Stow Thomas Quinton Stow (7 July 1801 – 19 July 1862), generally referred to as the Rev. T. Q. Stow, but also as Quinton Stow, was an Australian pioneer Congregational minister. Brian L. Jones,Stow, Thomas Quinton (1801 - 1862), ''Australian Dictio ...

, with whom he boarded while studying for the ministry. While living there he married Stow's servant girl Martha Burnell, who also felt destined for missionary work. In October 1853 they left to help at a mission school in Currency Creek then in February 1854 opened a school at

Port Elliot Port Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay. Pullen Island lies outside the mouth of t ...

. The school was taken over by the Education Department, but he stayed on as a teacher until 1859, when the

Aborigines' Friends' Association The Aborigines' Friends' Association (AFA) was established out of concern for "the moral, spiritual and physical well-being" of Australian Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory and particularly South Australia. This organisation operated ...

appointed him to teach at Point McLeay Aboriginal Mission, now

Raukkan Raukkan is an Australian Aboriginal community situated on the south-eastern shore of Lake Alexandrina in the locality of Narrung, southeast of the centre of South Australia's capital, Adelaide. Raukkan is "regarded as the home and heartland o ...

, on the shores of Lake Alexandrina, in

Narrinyeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

(or Ngarrindjeri) country. The mission prospered and did much good work, despite opposition from local landholder John Baker. Taplin had a keen interest in

culture, learned their language, and published Biblical writings in the local dialect. He also wrote on Ngarrindjeri lore and culture, which have great anthropological value. He believed that the best chance for the people to advance was to gain acceptance in European society, and that literacy, adoption of Christian values, and learning trades were essential steps in that process. In 1868 Taplin was ordained by the Congregational Church and the following year a chapel was completed. He died at Point McLeay (now known by the Aboriginal name Raukkan) in 1879 and was buried in the village graveyard. His position as head of the Mission was taken by his son Frederick William Taplin. His wife, who had endeared herself to the community, died in 1901.

Bibliography

*Taplin, George, ''The Narrinyeri'' J. T. Shawyer, Adelaide, 1874 :Second, enlarged edition (E. S. Wigg & Son, Adelaide 1878) *Woods, J. D. (editor) ''Native Tribes of South Australia'' *Taplin, George (editor), ''The Folklore, Manners, Customs, and Languages of the South Australian Aborigines'' (1879) :This work had just been completed when Taplin died.

Family

Taplin married Martha Burnell (died 1901) on 28 February 1853. They had six children.

Sources

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taplin, George English Congregationalist missionaries 1831 births 1879 deaths Congregationalist missionaries in Australia English emigrants to Australia Australian anthropologists