Before grog, before wages, before the Japanese war: the Northern Territory in 1938 and some station routines
Date
1982
Authors
McGrath, Ann
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
History Project Incorporated, Australian National University
Abstract
The majority of people living in the Northern Territory in 1938
were Aboriginal, outnumbering others by more than two to one. Host
Aborigines lived in rural areas, so the disproportion there was
striking. Women were the minority of all sectors of the population.
The annual report of the administration for 1937-8 gave a 'total'
population of 6,704, which included the substantial Asiatic numbers
but excluded Aborigines. It was the highest non-Aboriginal population
recorded since the territory had been taken over by the commonwealth,
and it was to increase by a further 701 people the following year.
There were over twice as many white men as women in the territory in
the year 1938: about 3825 to 1820, and over half of the women lived
in 'rural' areas. The administration was pleased to report a
decrease in the 'half-caste' or part-Aboriginal and Asiatic
population, despite the fact that this must have been mostly due to
deaths.
Description
Keywords
Australian History, Aboriginal History
Citation
McGrath, A. “Before grog, before wages, before the Japanese war: the Northern Territory in 1938 and some station routines”. In All that dirt: Aborigines 1938, edited by Gammage, B. and Markus, A., 67-82. Canberra: Australian National University, 1982.
Collections
Source
Type
Book chapter
Book Title
All that dirt: Aborigines 1938: An Australia 1938 Monograph
Entity type
Access Statement
Open Access
License Rights
DOI
Restricted until
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Pdf of published work