Chapter 7.3

Living on the Frontier

An Aboriginal camp in the 1850’s (Public Domain) 

This history has provided backgrounds about the times the different generations of Mosmans’ lived. Scottish royalty, early Sydney and even the convicts that worked for them have been documented. So it is appropriate to also say something about life on the frontier where Archibald and George and their family members lived in the early days of white settlement in Australia. They had to share their lives with Aborigines who had lived there for many years. Some natives were peaceful, others warlike and some could be stirred into action by the impact of the settlers on their communities. 

Tales of living with the Aborigines

Williams River, NSW 

The Worimi nation lived in the region bounded by the Hawkesbury in the south and the Manning River in the north. The nation had several tribes who sometimes had difficulty living together. The men were traditionally warriors and were normally only hostile when threatened. They lived in villages and many escaped convicts found sanctuary in their camps as a base for their lives as bushrangers and rustlers. The convicts sometimes organised the natives to plunder settlers’ property. 

Williams River property 

An example of this was on 1 June 1835 when inhabitants of the Williams River District were thrown into a great state of alarm when a combination of natives from several tribes, assisted and directed by four bushrangers, attacked a sheep station, killing five men, driving off the sheep and burning the huts. Local squatters banded together the next day to go the natives’ camp which was a few miles away. Archibald’s manager contributed some men including trusted convict John Flynn.  We don’t know if Archibald was there at the time but he didn’t participate. 

When the natives saw the armed party they became alarmed and some threw their spears with one hitting Flynn in the shoulder blade. The party fired back but nobody was hurt. Flynn pulled the spear out and had to walk several miles to get medical attention. He died the next day. 

The alleged native culprit was brought before court in irons. Despite asking to be tried by his own people he was found guilty by a white jury and sentenced to transportation to Van Diemen’s Land. He died there within a year. 

There are rumours that, because of his extensive social network, Archibald was likely to be part of a secret notorious “Black Association” that organised reprisal raids. There is no evidence of his participation and no evidence that either of the twins were actively involved in any reprisals.

Aberbaldie, New England 

Aberbaldie Station near Walcha in New England was established by Nellie Scott Harrison/née Mosman’s husband’s great grandfather Thomas George Wilson and his Irish wife Ellen Vaughan Thompson in the early 1840’s. In those days it was very remote and two days horse ride from Port Macquarie. It was a very large sheep property cleared and developed with the help of convicts. 

Aberbaldie Station

The settlers mainly lived peacefully with the local aboriginals They were normally peaceful but more warlike towards neighbouring tribes than to white people. 

One day Thomas Wilson was out mustering and found a little black toddler crying in the heart of the bush. He seemed to be lost so he picked him up on the horse and brought him home.

 Over the years, little black boy grew into a very intelligent youth as he was being educated at the station. An old Blackfellow warned the family that the bush blacks wanted to kill the boy  because he may have come from a different tribe. So he was never allowed to wander in the bush on his own. 

Sadly when he was about 12 years old he was missing. They found him behind the shearing shed dead with 17 spears in his body. The blacks had waited for an opportunity to kill him from nearby hill when he was alone on the property. 

Aboriginal Security in Regional Queensland

Native Mounted Police

In Queensland new settlers were dotted around the vast countryside. Some had a peaceful time with the natives but others either came into conflict with the Aboriginals or tried to drive them off their land.  

In the late 1840’s Queensland set up the Native Mounted Police (NMP) service to provide protection to settlers on the frontier against local natives. It was governed by white officers who commanded detachments of about six or seven armed indigenous troopers. These detachments were located in temporary camps dotted around the Colony where they might be needed most.

A typical detachment would be commanded by a white officer and several armed Aboriginal troopers. The troopers were recruited from different areas so they didn’t have allegiance to any of the tribes they were sent to control. 

The NMP was notorious for its violence against Indigenous people often moving Aboriginal people off the land by whatever means necessary to ensure European colonisation could take place. 

A typical NMP squad 
One white officer and several armed native troopers 

Archibald Frederick Mosman was a Sub-Inspector with the LMP from 1883 to 1890. It is clear that Archibald (nicknamed “Mossie” by his friends) was regarded highly by his NMP commanding officers. He was routinely being placed in charge of new camps, which suggests that Archibald and his detachment must have had regular successful clashes with local natives.

At one time he was moved to near Lake Nash, west of Mount Isa just over the current Northern Territory border. They were all extremely remote postings and he would have led a very lonely life with little contact with Europeans and with Aboriginal trooper's as his close colleagues. 

In 1890 drought and few problems with the local natives resulted in the imminent closure of the camp near Lake Nash. AFM learned that he was probably being transferred to the north of Cape York about 1,000 km away. Maybe because of this he decided to resign.

 

Footnote - Disease, the hidden killer 

Disease was a far bigger killer of the native population of Australia than violence. The Aboriginal population of Australia had lived in isolation from the rest of the world for thousands of years immune to the effects of European diseases. 

With the advance of European settlement smallpox spread across the country with shocking death rates. It started in the Sydney area in 1789 and within a few years had killed around half of the native population. The spread of smallpox was followed by influenza, measles, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases. The native population had no resistance to these diseases, all of which brought widespread death.

Next Chapter - 8. FARQUASON FAMILY IN AUSTRALIA

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