Alice Springs' Mounted Constable Willshire headed two native police patrols during the 1800s. He was tried at Port Augusta for murder in 1891 and honourably acquitted. The Crown was widely critised for the weakness of its case.
Many publications and articles have highlighted the charge of murder; only a few have mentioned the honourable acquittal. Consequently, over the years Willshire's name has been attaches an underserved degree of notoriety.
This book presents the Officer's police service record (1879-1909) and reveals his highly commended contributions to early Australian anthropology via his four books dealing with native vacabularies, dialects and customs. It also accounts for Willshire's constant pleas to Government for assistance in raising the living and educational standard of our Aboriginal peoples.
Contents:
Preface
Introduction
1. Station to Station
2. The Aborigines
3. Hunters and Hunted
4. Marriage Laws and ...
5. Linguistics
6. Native Police Corps
7. V.R.D. (Victoria River Downs)
8. Police Patrol for the Interior
9. Secret Site and Marma-truer
10. Charged, Tried, Acquitted
11. The Aftermath
Epilogue
Special Notes
Bibliography
Index to People, Organisations
Index to Places
General Index
