'Black Velvet’: Aboriginal women and their relations with white men in the Northern Territory, 1910-40
Date
1984
Authors
McGrath, Ann
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Fontana Collins
Abstract
'Black Velvet' was the term used to describe Aboriginal women with whom white men had sexual intercourse. The expression originated as nineteenth-century English military slang, and it is also the name of an Irish drink consisting of a mixture of stout and champagne or cider. Henry Lawson used it in the Australian context in 'Ballad of rouseabout', published 1899. Territorian Bill Harney, writer and ex-Aboriginal welfare officer elucidated: 'The surface of the skin was smooth, a feature that gave us bushies the saying of 'Black Velvet'. Undoubtedly there are numerous bushmen's explanations for the etymology of this evocative expression.
Description
Keywords
Australian History, Aboriginal History
Citation
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Source
Type
Book chapter
Book Title
So Much Hard Work: Women and Prostitution in Australian History
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ANU Staff and Student Access Only
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Restricted until
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