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HasNot Been Kind... 1 o Whom ratemas a bi: awkwaid uiul that henever looked at another lady.“What for we get married properly If w. want mmoamt else? he addedindignantly.That was keen deduction, especially nn the part of one mho had )u*t been •‘crowned. and can be compared with the explanation given by a northern native who hod lm thrown «'ff « burkjumpma bor***.He *a:d Horse churk me up and catch me. and churk me up and catch mr. cnuck me up and miw'THE men at the m %aion are very enthurl,.' r footballer- and -1-fcated a Colonel Light Gardens teamY POIGNANT reminder of Australia in her native state and of what has happened since the white man I came :* the Aborigines' Mission at _ Swan Reach. Of the 80 men. women, and rhildren at the musion only a small proportion are full-blooded abo-_ riK es. the remainder ranging from half-castes to octoroons. To them Tate has not been kind.! Still, according to the missioner. Mr A Wvtd. the full bloods and the castes are a happy lot- The castes have strong inclinations towards some white tastes and conditions. Mr •these unfortunates Into the white population Is merely aggravating the native problem. He and the United Aborigines' Minion are doing everything possible for their welfare, but because of lack of funds cannot supply them with decent houses.Vet the inhabitants of the mission provide an interesting study in which mixed blood, comedy, and hardship are strangely mixed.The mission camp is situated on about 30 acre* of Crown land nearthe River Murray. Among the 80 inhabitants there are 17 married couplesand 38 children. All live in fhacksalong the river bank and draw ration* from the Government once a week. These people are the remnants of once-powerful tribes.Of the men some have been supplied with trap* and catch rabbits. Others supplement their rations by fishing, and from the *ale of fish iwhen the price If satisfactory) they usually obtain enough food to see them through the week. Flour, tea. and sugar are the main foodstuff* upon which these people exist.• • • 'THROUGH the help of friend* we Ofilthe people who need Them.” sa*d Mr Wyld during the week. “It is amusing to see some of the little ones with ( prettily colored singlets over dark drewes. and young girl* trying to make hats and drciie* look fashion-1 ableOne woman has shown a great spirit of industry Silting in her bagj w-urlie with a box-iron close at hand.I she ha* persistently worked on pieces i of scrap material until sufficient plccct | have been sown together to make a bed cover. She has carefully ironed j each piece on the bag floor as it U sown to another. This woman was employed for a number of years bI white people as a rfr»n*e*itc-“Incidentally. Mr Wyld said that some of the women thought nothing I of using barbed wire for clothes line*. A few hole* in the clothe*I were neither here nor there.One young man who had to do hi*I own mending was given a coat whichratedon it and at the finish fold Mr Wyldteam which practises zealously with or without boots, is hoping to get more matches oefore th* season ends.'There are 24 children in the camp school, and it a only fair to them and to the white people w:th whom they will make contact in later years that they be lifted above the doghke' condition* in which the parents have b*-rn forced to exist:’ declared Mr. Wyld.From what ha» been written it can •-.id. be real what a mixture of the primitive arid the civil.sed the inhabitants of the mission are in both thought and w ays, and the claim made by Mr. Wyld is worthy of coAsidera-tion.Hlt;« estimate* that £350 will carry out hn scheme of providing h.a charges with home* of a more permanent character. He has prepared plan* for the construction of two-roomed dwelling* at wood. iron, and bagging. When the house* are erected It ib hoped to start domestic garden* and to grow vegetables for sale.The houses will be occupied by famllic* Later huts will be provided for the single men. The only clt;*t•port from material*—if the scheme can be brought to fruition—would be to provide three meal* a day for seven of the men each week Mr. Wyld would supervise the building activities. and the men would provide the labor in return for meal*.Ir. hi* estimate Mr Wy’.d lias made provision for laying out a football oval, a children's playground, lucerne plots, a cow and horse paddock, and the purchase of plant to provide each house with a water supply. There j ai.'o trope for planting eight or mna hundred cedar tree*.The United Aborigines' Mission relies on faith to carry out its work Itt missionaries arc not paid, and it does nm initiate public appeal* on it* own behalf The financial support t receives from tune to time consist* of spontaneous contribution* from indi-\idiiab prompted by thvir apprec:a« of it* work.Jubilee Errors in Stampsthat he did not know whether to wear the coat or the pieces! One of the old men went for a three weeks' trip up the river, and hi* clothing became so dilapidated that he said: Unless I soon get clothes there soon be naked blackfellow in camp*“But. said Mr. Wyld. “these people are far removed Irom the biackfrl-low“ and hi* ways—they had a good laugh when someone ruggested that they should perform a corroboree.Jn fart, they are *o far advanced In white way* that when an argument start* one party talk* of going for the police and the other talk* about prosecuting’After a local football match, con-t in tied Mr Wyld, a domestic squabble started, and the wife “crowned'* the husband w th a fa*r-sized piece of wood. He explained that*hi* wifeAbove—NOT QUITE SIRE what II I* *11 about. Ibl% alio, voungsler watched Ihr nm'u MisptriouclvItilht— \n excellent study of two of the older girl- *| the mission.I HE MISSION! R i Mr. A. Wyld! hope, to irplarr (hi- kind of duelling w ilh small, neat boose* for hi* charges. hot tht* scheme hr need* £150.f
Newspaper Details
Adelaide Mail
Adelaide, South Australia, AU
Sat, Aug 01, 1936
Page 24
Full Page
Clipped by
Jennifer L.
AU 28 May 2025
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