Full Description
Robert Brough Smyth (1830-1889) was a successful Melbourne-based mining engineer and civil servant whose international contacts included the geologist Adam Sedgwick. He also spent 16 years as Secretary of the Board for the Protection of the Aborigines. In this study of the society and customs of indigenous Australians in the Victoria region, first published in 1878, he combines his own observations with those of others who lived or worked closely with the Aboriginal population. Volume 1 discusses the Aborigines' physical and mental characteristics, demographics, social interaction, rituals, daily life and mythology. Comparisons are made throughout with other indigenous populations, particularly those of nearby Pacific and Indonesian islands. Illustrated throughout, the book takes into account the changes forced on the native population by the arrival of European settlers in the late eighteenth century and preserves much information that might otherwise have been lost.
Contents
Preface; Introduction; 1. Physical characteristics; 2. Mental character; 3. Number and distribution of the aborigines; 4. Birth and education of children; 5. Marriage; 6. Death, and burial of the dead; 7. A native encampment; 8. Food; 9. Diseases; 10. Dress and personal ornaments; 11. Ornamentation; 12. Offensive weapons; 13. Defensive weapons; 14. Weapons and implements of the West Australians; 15. Implements and manufactures; 16. Stone implements; 17. Nets and fish-hooks; 18. Methods of producing fire; 19. Canoes; 20. Myths.
