Sillitoe's tartan in Northern Australia: a view of black and white policing in the Northern Territory, 1884 to 1935

Abstract

Today, most senior police officers are aware of the insidious effects racism can have within police forces. Today too, Aboriginal people are encouraged to join police forces and impartially and fairly enforce the law. It was not always so. During the early years of European settlement in the Northern Territory violence often occurred. A Native Police Force operated within the Northern Territory with ruthless efficiency. Its operations were almost always violent. White police were not immune to using violence and some junior police officers have previously been castigated for their brutality towards Aboriginal people. Often, however, white society demanded police act violently towards Aboriginal people. The demeanour and attitudes of senior police officers and bureaucrats towards Aboriginal people also affected the way police in the field behaved. Most of these influential Europeans have previously escaped rebuke for their actions. This thesis examines the racial conflict between police and Aborigines during the period 1884 to 1935. It also examines the attitudes of senior police and other government officials together with the views of the broader white community on racial conflict. The two elements are examined concurrently. The thesis argues that the influence of the white community in the Northern Territory, and the influence of senior police and administrators, were significant factors in incidents of police brutality. The thesis also demonstrates how effective the Native Police were in the suppression of other Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory between 1884 and 1900.

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