Chapter V Tribal Governments

Transcription - Page 20

12A

[Left margin note]
(1) Brief account of the
aborigines of Australia Felix
Latrobe Papers p 65.

The account given by Mr William Thomas the Black Protector Protector of the aborigines
in the years ___ to ___ fall into line with the particulars I have given
[crossed out - 4 lines] (1)
I have condensed his statments as follows:
"Each tribe has a chief who directs all its movements
and who wherever he may be, knows well where all the
members of the community are. The chief with the
aged (men?) makes arrangements for the route each party
is to take when the tribe after one of its periodical meetings
again separates.

Besides the chiefs they have other eminent men, as
warriors, counsellors, doctors, dreamers who are also
interpreters; charmers, who are supposed to be able to bring or
drive rain away, also to bring or send plagues among other
nations as occasion requires.

[crossed out - Bilibile] Bil-li-bel-la-rey was chief of the Yarra tribe.
He stands foremost and justly so as ever having been the
whiteman's friend- generous, frank and determined as he was".

Such are Mr Thomas's statements. He had great
opportunities of obtaining information from [crossed out - he lived for more]
as he says he was "out with them for months", but it is is [sic]
much be regretted that he did not [crossed out - rec] apparently avail
himself of his approbate, or if he did he failed to send
the results with that detail which would have been so valuable
to us now.