Return to an address to His Majesty, dated 19 July 1831, for, copies of instructions given by His Majesty’s Secretary of State for the colonies, for promoting the moral and religious instruction of the Aboriginal inhabitants of New Holland or Van Diemen’s Land.
This set of despatches, now beautifully bound in red crushed morocco, is comprised of reports from Governors Macquarie, Brisbane and Darling, relating to various aspects of evangelistic work with indigenous people in the early days of the colony. Macquarie’s report includes letters from Rev. Robert Cartwright, one of the colonial chaplains, who outlines a plan to establish a ‘Native Institution’ similar to the one already established by Macquarie in Parramatta. This plan never came to fruition but Cartwright outlines his scheme in great detail.
The reports from Brisbane and Darling relate to the arrival of missionaries sent by the London and Church Missionary Societies, and the subsequent land grant of ten thousand acres near Lake Macquarie, “for the improvement of the religious and civil condition of the Aborigines”, naming Samuel Marsden as one of the trustees.
Later reports from Governor Darling mention the work of the missionary linguist L.E. Threlkeld, who learned several local dialects, acted as an intepreter, and published several works on indigenous languages, including a translation of the New Testament. The Australiana Rare collection also holds his Australian grammar and A key to the structure of the Aboriginal language.
Archdeacon (later Bishop) W.G. Broughton writes a recommendation for Threlkeld to continue his work, expressing his belief that “our Church and Nation are under an obligation to make an effort for the moral and religious improvement of the people whose country we have occupied…”
