Schooling at Yarralin Outstation

Extract

Victoria River Downs (VRD) is an area of prolonged contact. Early contact, in particular, was marked by fatal violence and disease. The effect of this time is still apparent in the stories of atrocity told by both whites and Aboriginals. If you believed everything you were told there would be a skeleton per square mile. In time the gunsmoke settled down. The people now at Yarralin are survivors. The Karanga tribe is represented by three old men and about seven other linguistic groups are there.

The Aboriginals came to live in camp at VRD, “the station”. They were employed as domestics and stockmen in a paternalistic situation. Why they eventually left the station in the Wattie Creek Walkout I don’t know. In doing this, however, they placed themselves beyond redemption in the eyes of many of the Europeans. When they then left Wattie Creek, they returned to VRD, but to set up an out-station at Yarralin, about twelve miles from the homestead. Some returned for work, others to be near medical treatment. One man was expelled from Yarralin for trouble-making.

Many of the children had been to school at VRD and then at Wave Hill. While at Yarralin they received no schooling.