Rev. John Brown Gribble

FRGS The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

(1 September 1847 – 3 June 1893) was an Australian minister of religion, noted for his missionary work among Aboriginal people in

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 ...

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 ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. His appointment in Western Australia was cancelled within a year due to hostility from

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

s and others who had Aboriginal employees.

History

Gribble was born at

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

, Cornwall, a son of miner Benjamin Gribble (1810–1866) and Mary Gribble, née Brown (1808 – 20 January 1887), and as a young man emigrated with his parents to

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

. He was devoutly religious, and early chose the life of a Congregational Minister, serving in

Rutherglen, Victoria Rutherglen is a small town in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, near the Murray River border with New South Wales. The town was named after the Scottish town of Rutherglen which lies just outside Glasgow. At the , Rutherglen had a population ...

around 1876, and in 1878 moved to

Jerilderie Jerilderie is a small, rural town in the southern Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Local Government Area. At th Jerilderie had a population of 922 people. It can be found along the Newell Highway ...

, so was there at the time of the

Kelly gang 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 ...

's occupation of the town (February 1879). According to one account, Kelly admonished

Steve Hart Stephen Hart (13 February 1859 – 28 June 1880) was an Australian bushranger, a member of the Kelly Gang. History Hart was born in Wangaratta to Irish immigrant parents Richard and Bridget Hart (née Young). He was their second son. His fa ...

for taking Gribble's watch, on the grounds it was an inferior make, also that Gribble interceded with Kelly on behalf of a girl, whose riding horse the gang had appropriated.

Warangesda

Gribble was concerned at the number of local Aboriginal girls and women who had cohabited with white men, to be abandoned when they became pregnant. He determined on setting up a refuge where these women and their children were cared for, away from degrading influences, especially of alcohol. He lamented the fact that Victoria, with one tenth the Aboriginal population of New South Wales, had many Church and State missions, yet the larger colony had none, with the exception of the Maloga Aboriginal Mission School, run as a private philanthropy by Daniel Matthews and his brothers. Thanks to Gribble's efforts, and supported by the people of

Darlington Point Darlington Point is a small town on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River in the Riverina district of western New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the Murrumbidgee Council local government area. The centre of town is four kilometres from ...

, an area was set aside by government as an

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 ...

, dubbed

Warangesda The Warangesda Aboriginal Mission is a heritage-listed former Australian Aboriginal mission site at Warangesda, Darlington Point, Murrumbidgee Council, New South Wales, Australia. The mission was designed and built between 1880 and 1926. It is ...

, a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsBethesda", to mean "house of healing" or "house of mercy", and superintended by Gribble, who with his friend J. J. Lloyd and a handful of Aboriginal men performed the construction work. His church at Jerilderie was

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and at Rutherglen he regularly officiated at a church of that denomination, but he maintained membership of the Congregational Union of Victoria, and in any case, the mission had to be non-denominational to receive aid from the New South Wales Government. In 1880 the mission received government assistance, and was visited by the (Anglican) bishop of

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

Mesac Thomas The Right Reverend Mesac Thomas (10 May 1816 – 15 March 1892) was an Anglican bishop in Australia. Thomas was born in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion (Cardiganshire), Wales, to Welsh parents: his father was a John Thomas of Shrewsbury; and his moth ...

. Gribble joined the Anglican church, was made a

stipendiary reader A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work pe ...

in 1880,

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in 1881 and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1883. In 1883, following a drop in financial support for the mission, he announced his resignation as superintendent, declaring his intention to start a mission in

, but was coerced into remaining. His health was failing however, and in March 1884 he left to recuperate in England, returning the following January much invigorated. While in England he was admitted a Fellow of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, and published a booklet ''Black but Comely . . .'', a plea for support of Australian Aboriginal missions based on his Sydney lectures, with a foreword by the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Western Australia

Four months later Gribble announced that he had been invited by the Anglican church in Western Australia to found a similar mission on the

Gascoyne River The Gascoyne River is a river in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. At , it is the longest river in Western Australia. Description The Gascoyne River comprises three branches in its upper reaches. Draining the Collier Range, the river ...

, and with John Rushton, a Warangesda missionary, as his assistant, left for

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 ...

in July, travelling by ship to Fremantle, train to Perth, then the steamer ''Otway'' to Carnarvon. Not to be confused with the Orient Line ship, this SS ''Otway'' traded WA and SA 1878–1892. After a generally cordial reception by managers of the various sheep stations on the way to Dalgetty Reserve on the Kennedy Range, where a large area had been set aside for the Mission, he built a house and native hut, sunk a well, and conducted well-attended church services. Rushton obtained a position as teacher at the local school, and had nothing further to do with Gribble. Mrs Gribble and their five youngest children would arrive some five months later. Trouble started in December 1885 when Gribble held a lecture "Only a Blackfellow" at St Georges Hall, Perth, and aired some of his criticisms about the way Aborigines were treated up north. The settlers were outraged and (despite the ''West Australian'' 's advice to give him a long rope) called a public meeting at Carnarvon to discuss his allegations. The audience was hostile, and when Gribble attempted to speak he was howled down. The ''West Australian'' then came down heavily on the side of the settlers, and refused to publish Gribble's version of events. With the consent of his bishop, he favoured its competitor, the '' Daily News'', with a copy of his journal, which included a number of personal observations and accounts from sympathetic residents. Extracts published by the ''Daily News'' included cases he witnessed of Aborigines being tied together with chains, shackled round the neck. Among other abuses he described how illiterate Aborigines were induced to sign, with a pencil mark, a contract for life to dive for pearls, then were traded like slaves. On the sheep and cattle stations, Aboriginal men were assigned to squatters in a system not unlike the earlier "

assigned convict Convict assignment was the practice used in many penal colonies of assigning convicts to work for private individuals. Contemporary abolitionists characterised the practice as virtual slavery, and some, but by no means all, latter-day historians ...

" system of the eastern colonies, and females were taken as concubines and further ill-treated. And not all abuses were at the hands of individual settlers. He instanced the Flying Foam massacre, a retaliatory raid in the Pilbara region at which many Aborigines were slaughtered, partly corroborated by one David Carly. A systematic

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

of Gribble and his Mission began, subsequently extended to anyone bold enough (labelled "sneaks") to support him. A petition was drawn up and sent to the bishop, requesting removal of this priest who was interfering with the native labour system. Gribble was then obliged to travel to Perth to defend himself before the bishop and the Missions Committee. During the voyage on the steamer ''Natal'' he was threatened and assaulted by a group of squatters and pearlers, and forced to barricade himself in his cabin. Efforts to report his tormentors were stonewalled by officialdom, Perth lawyers, and possibly Governor Broome himself. Back at Carnarvon efforts were made to prevent building supplies he had purchased being unloaded. The Missions Committee viewed Gribble's "Letters to the Editor" detailing these events with "unqualified condemnation", and instructed him to have all his future correspondence vetted by them, a condition which offended his "Christian manhood". In June 1886 Gribble left for Sydney to put his case to the Anglican primate (bishop

Alfred Barry Alfred Barry (15 January 18261 April 1910) was the third Bishop of Sydney serving 1884–1889. Over the course of his career, Barry served as headmaster of independent schools, Principal of King's College London university and founded Anglic ...

) and the

Australian Board of Missions The Anglican Board of Mission - Australia (ABM), formerly Australasian Board of Missions and Australian Board of Missions, is the national mission agency of the Anglican Church of Australia. In its earliest form, it was established in 1850. ...

, but when the ship docked at

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

he was greeted with a telegram from the Missions Committee of Perth, who had met in his absence and decided to dispense with his services. His wife and youngest children were still at the mission station. His dismissal was welcomed by sections of the Perth press, to whom Gribble was a defiant, tactless, prying, boastful interloper. To alleviate his financial situation, a position (critics said a

benefice A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...

) was found for him in

Bulli, New South Wales Bulli ( ) is a northern suburb of Wollongong situated on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. History Bulli is possibly derived from an Aboriginal word signifying "double or two mountains", but other derivations have been suggeste ...

. He proceeded to sue ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' and its publishers

Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...

and Hackett for £10,000 for libel (several tens of millions in today's money), having called him a "lying, canting humbug" and much else. He also considered suing the Mission Committee for wrongful dismissal and the

Dean of Perth St George's Cathedral is the principal Anglican church in the city of Perth, Western Australia, and the mother-church of the Anglican Diocese of Perth. It is located on St Georges Terrace in the centre of the city. On 26 June 2001 the cat ...

for the wrongful revocation of his licence, which could only be applied for immorality.

The court case

The trial date was set back to 5 May 1887 to accommodate the ''West Australian'', to the evident delight of its competitor, the ''Daily News''. Rather than being heard before a jury as is usual for a libel case, the case was heard by Chief Justice Onslow and Justice Stone, sitting '' in banco'', and went for a little over a month. Many witnesses testified as to the basic truth of Gribble's allegations, and the Chief Justice, summing up, was apparently about to decide for the plaintiff, when he astounded the audience by finding for the newspaper, saying that Gribble had shown little restraint in presenting hearsay knowledge as fact. His associate was more condemnatory and found against Gribble, with costs. Gribble had cited a number of cases where aboriginal employees had been treated in a reprehensible manner, but most of those had been dealt with by the authorities, and did not reflect on the Colony as a whole. He had used the fact of a dearth of

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 pu ...

children, despite the widespread intimacy between settlers and Aboriginal girls and women, as evidence of (widely rumoured)

infanticide Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...

. At least one newspaper had a good word for Gribble, saying he might have lost in court, but had won admiration from much of the country, and had stirred government into tightening the laws regarding employment of native labour. The ''West Australian'' and ''Western Mail'' were ecstatic, declaring the decision a victory for the Colony, gloating that Gribble had a day or two later "left the colony in a clandestine manner". The Governor of Western Australia, F. Napier Broome, who had earlier been criticised for an un-statesmanlike reference to Gribble's journal, now weighed in on the side of the newspaper, echoing its line that Gribble's attack had been on the whole Colony, and made available for publication detailed defences of his Government and the settlers.

Return to New South Wales

Gribble resigned his Bulli post in July 1888 and was promptly appointed travelling missionary general (or general superintendent of missions) by the Aborigines Protection Association of New South Wales, and set about founding a mission at Copeland for the natives in the

Barrington River Barrington may refer to: People * Barrington (name) * Barrington baronets, holders of a title in the baronetage of England * Viscount Barrington, a title in the peerage of Ireland Places Australia * Barrington, New South Wales * Barrington ...

region. He spent time inspecting the Warangesda, Maloga, Cumroogunga and Coudah mission stations, finding residents at Cumroogunga the most advanced academically. He found so many problems in the management of these facilities that the ''Daily Telegraph'' concluded that the only way Gribble could be satisfied with a mission was if he were "superintendent, missionary, manager, council and collector all in one". Gribble resigned. In 1889 Gribble founded the church of St Stephen at

Barmedman Barmedman is a rural village in the Bland Shire in the New South Wales state of Australia, located approximately half-way between West Wyalong and Temora. Barmedman began as a service centre for gold-mining operations in the area. Nowadays the ...

in the parish of Temora, with an Aboriginal home and a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

"Illaville" about a kilometre from Temora on the road to

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...

. He stipulated that the church building would be available to any

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

group for church services. The rectory, like the church, was of all timber construction, and burned to the ground six months later. That September, Gribble and Rev. Guelter Soares of Adelong (Gribble's old church) exchanged parishes.

North Queensland and last days

In June 1891 Gribble visited the

Bellenden Ker Range The Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range is a coastal mountain range in Far North Queensland, Australia. Part of the Great Dividing Range it is located between Gordonvale and Babinda. The whole of the range falls within t ...

with the aim of establishing an Anglican mission to the Aboriginals in the area, where he was well received by officials but encountered lassitude and great need among the original inhabitants. He left Adelong to commence his mission early in 1892. The mission station, rather than at Bellenden-Ker, was established at

Cape Grafton Cape Grafton is a cape located to the north-east of Cairns in Queensland, Australia. The cape was named by Lieutenant James Cook during his first voyage of discovery in 1770. It was named after Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton, the British ...

. In September 1892 he suffered an attack of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

accompanied by

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

, greatly affecting his lungs, and was admitted to

Cairns Hospital Cairns Hospital, known as the Cairns Base Hospital between 1932 and 2013, is the largest major hospital in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is located at 165 The Esplanade, Cairns North, Cairns. The hospital offers general services to Cair ...

. He returned to the mission station, and instructed his eldest son,

Ernest Gribble Ernest Richard Bulmer Gribble (23 November 186818 October 1957) was an Australian missionary. Though considered to be temperamentally unsuited to his vocation, he became a strong advocate for better treatment of Australian Aboriginal people, savin ...

, to take charge of the mission while he hopefully recovered in the milder climate of Sydney. In November he visited his old parish at

Adelong Adelong is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Adelong Creek. Adelong sits on the Snowy Mountains Highway and is a part of the Snowy Valleys Council. At the , Adelong had an urban popul ...

, and in January 1893 was admitted to the

Prince Alfred Hospital The Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (abbreviated RPAH or RPA) is a major public teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, located on Missenden Road in Camperdown, New South Wales, Camperdown. It is a teaching hospital of the Central Clinical School of ...

, where he was assessed as beyond help, and returned to his residence. He died aged 45, either at his residence, on Silver Street,

Marrickville Marrickville is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Marrickville is located south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the largest suburb in the Inner West Council local gove ...

, or at the

. His remains were interred at the

Waverley Cemetery The Waverley Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on top of the cliffs at Bronte in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in 1877 and built by R. Watkins (cemetery lodge, 1878) and P. Beddie (cemetery office, 1915 ...

Recognition

*His headstone in Waverley Cemetery is inscribed "The Blackfellows' Friend" *A monument was erected to his memory at Yarrabah, Queensland.

Publications

* * *

Family

John Brown Gribble married Mary Anne Elizabeth Bulmer (29 March 1848 – 19 September 1928); they had four boys and five girls who grew to adulthood: *Rev. Ernest Richard Bulmer Gribble (23 November 1868 – 18 October 1957) succeeded his father as superintendent of the Anglican Mission at

Bellenden Ker, Queensland Bellenden Ker is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Bellenden Ker had a population of 252 people. History Bellenden Ker State School opened on 14 August 1922. Bellenden Ker Post O ...

, re-established as

Yarrabah Yarrabah (traditionally ''Yagaljida'' in the Yidin language spoken by the indigenous Yidinji people is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Yarrabah, Queensland, Australia. In the , the local ...

on Point Grafton. *Rev. Arthur Hazlehurst Gribble (1870–1951) of

Barellan Barellan is a small town in Narrandera Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. On Census night 2021, Barellan had a population of 276. It is a quiet Riverina wheat town on the Burley Griffin Way, with characteristic silos, ...

, New South Wales *Amy Theodosia Gribble (5 May 1872 – 1933) married Edward C. C. Palmer in 1893, lived in

Watsons Bay, New South Wales Watsons Bay is a harbourside, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Watsons Bay is located 11 km north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. ...

*John Benjamin Herbert "John H." Gribble (1874–1968) married Elizabeth, lived at

Wellington, New South Wales Wellington is a city in the Central Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, located at the junction of the Wambuul Macquarie and Bell Rivers. It is within the local government area of Dubbo Regional Council. The city is northwest o ...

*Ethel Marion Gribble (1879– ) married George Reeves (1861– ) in Queensland; married Fred Wondunna (1887– ) of

Urangan, Queensland Urangan is a coastal Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb of Hervey Bay, Queensland, Hervey Bay in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Urangan had a population of 9,764 people. Geography The locality is bounded to th ...

before 1920; they had five children was in charge of mission school, Yarrabah from 1902. Fred, artist in colored sands and an oyster diver, was a son of Willie Wondunna (c. 1836–30 September 1946), famed blacktracker 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 ...

who died at Maryborough General Hospital. *Evangeline Anne Elizabeth "Eva" Gribble (1881–1961) married Frederick Acland Palmer of

Annandale, New South Wales Annandale is a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Annandale is located within 5 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the Inner West Counc ...

on 8 April 1903, lived in Fairfield, then

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

became Anglican 1900, married Mary Kate Hobbins 18 July 1908, lived Kangaroo Point, New South Wales. *Illa Irene Gribble (29 August 1888 – 22 January 1967) assistant at Yarrabah married Fitzroy Stephen (20 January 1896 – 22 November 1978) on 13 Nov 1918 in Paddington, New South Wales, lived in

Randwick, New South Wales Randwick is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Randwi ...

. *Stella Muriel Gribble (1890–1982) married William H. Bell of Watsons Bay on 20 October 1912

References

External links

NSW Office of Heritage and Environment: Warangesda Aboriginal Mission and Station
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gribble, John 1851 births 1893 deaths Australian Anglican missionaries Australian Anglican priests People from Redruth Australian temperance activists Australian people of Cornish descent