ANTHROPOLUGJOAL NOTES OF oO YEARS AGO, 



By R. ClilFFE MACKIE. 



Read before the Royal Society of Queensland, November 26th y 



1910. 



As an old colonist and one whose occupation brought him 

 in contact with the blacks while they were still numerous 

 and while they still retained their original customs, I have 

 thought it might be interesting and useful if I placed on 

 record what I observed among them. This will soon be 

 impossible for men of the present day, for the blacks are now 

 few in number, and it hard to find a district where the blacks 

 retain their old customs unaltered by contact with the 

 white man. 



My memory dates back nearly sixty-six years. From 

 the year 1850 up to 1867 I lived principally upon the out- 

 skirts of civilization, engaged with others in establishing 

 cattle stations on suitable areas of recently explored country, 

 and thus necessarily came in contact with the blacks while 

 yet unaltered by contact with the whites in the settled 

 districts. Being young and impressionable I took a deep 

 interest in their ways and customs. As soon as new "runs " 

 wdre occupied, the blacks began dimly to grasp the new 

 situation. They appointed one of their tribe, who had 

 passed through the usual " Bora " ceremonies, to investi- 

 gate as to the " whitefellow " and his ways. This the 

 black did by volunteering to assist in droving the first lot 

 of fat stock sent from the neighbourhood to market. His 

 services as tracker were most useful in following up cattle 

 that had strayed oiV the camp during the night or had 

 " rushed " owing to a thunderstorm or any other cause of 

 fright. Having thus made himself indispensable to the 

 camp, he, during a trip of some hundreds of miles in length 

 and of some months in duration, allowed nothing to escape 

 him which was of consequence to his race. 



