Phone Support:

  • 1800 16 11 09
    (free call)

Monday–Friday 9am–5pm

Want some help?

Does this page need updating?

What to expect when accessing records about you

What to expect when accessing records about you.

What to expect

Look for Similar

Other Find & Connect resources

Organisation Department of Aborigines and Fisheries (1909 - 1920)

State of Western Australia

From
1 January 1909
To
1 January 1920
Categories
Care Provider and Government Agency

Summary

The Department of Aborigines and Fisheries operated from 1 January 1909 and 1 January 1920; it preceded the Fisheries Department (second naming) and continued the Aborigines Department (first naming).

Details

The State Records Office website provides an overview of the Department:

In 1909, the Aborigines and Fisheries Departments were amalgamated into one agency, the Department of Aborigines and Fisheries. This was partly due to financial constraints and partly due to the expediency of running as one the two departments whose interests lay mainly in the northern part of the State.
After World War I, the Department was abolished and its functions pertaining to Aboriginal affairs south of the 25th parallel, as well as to fisheries throughout the State, were taken over by the Fisheries Department.
Charles Frederick Gale was appointed the second Chief Protector of Aborigines on 1 October 1908. He undertook this position together with that of the Chief Inspector of Fisheries. In 1911, Frederick Aldrich was appointed Chief Inspector of Fisheries and Gale's duties were limited to that of Chief Protector of Aborigines. Gale was dismissed from office in 1915 at an age of 54, ostensibly as an 'excess officer' and was vindicated by a Royal Commission appointed to inquire into his dismissal.
Auber Octavius Neville (Secretary of the Immigration Department since 1911) was appointed as Gale's successor on 7 May 1915.

Events

1909 - 1920
The Department of Aborigines and Fisheries was located in Western Australia

Skip to

Timeline

 1886 - 1898 Aborigines Protection Board
       1898 - 1908 Aborigines Department
             1909 - 1920 Department of Aborigines and Fisheries
                   1920 - 1926 Department of the North West
                   1920 - 1964 Fisheries Department
                         1926 - 1936 Aborigines Department
                         1926 - 1936 Aborigines Department
                               1936 - 1954 Department of Native Affairs
                                     1955 - 1972 Department of Native Welfare
                                           1972 - 1994 Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority
                                           1972 - 1985 Department for Community Welfare
                                                 1985 - 1992 Department for Community Services
                                                 1994 - 2001 Aboriginal Affairs Department
                                                       1992 - 1995 Department for Community Development
                                                       2001 - Department of Indigenous Affairs
                                                             1995 - 2001 Department for Family and Children's Services
                                                                   2001 - 2007 Department for Community Development
                                                                         2007 - Department for Communities
                                                                         2007 - Department for Child Protection

Related Glossary Terms

Related Organisations

Related People

  • Gale, Charles Frederick (1860 - 1928)

    Due to the amalgamation of two departments, Gale was simultaneously Chief Inspector of Fisheries and Chief Inspector of Aborigines from 1909 - 1911. He remained Chief Inspector of Aborigines until 1915. (Gale was acting in the Chief Protector of Aborigines role before the amalgamation, owing to the absence of Henry Prinsep.)

    Date: 1908 - 1915

  • Neville, Auber Octavius (1875 - 1954)

    A.O Neville became Chief Inspector of Aborigines on 7 May 1915.

    Date: 1915 - 1920

Publications

Online Resources

Sources used to compile this entry: Department of Aborigines and Fisheries, State of Western Australia (1909-1920) Agency Detail (State Records Office), Archive Collection of Western Australia, with State Records Office of Western Australia, State Records Office of Western Australia, 2012, http://aeon.sro.wa.gov.au/Investigator/Details/Agency_Detail.asp?Id=66; History of Adoption Project: Western Australian Holdings [website], 2011, http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/historyofadoption/records/western-australia.php; Tilbrook, Lois, Nyungar Tradition : glimpses of Aborigines of south-western Australia 1829-1914, Online version published by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in 2007, University of Western Australia Press, 1983, http://archive.aiatsis.gov.au/terms5.html?http://archive.aiatsis.gov.au/m0022954.pdf.

Prepared by: Leanne Howard

Created: 27 June 2011, Last modified: 12 January 2012