Living with the Munpitch: the history of Mitchell River Mission, 1905 - 1967

Freier, Philip L. (1999) Living with the Munpitch: the history of Mitchell River Mission, 1905 - 1967. PhD thesis, James Cook University.

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View at Publisher Website: https://doi.org/10.25903/nedn-zb83
 
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Abstract

This thesis examines the interaction between missionaries and Aborigines in a remote North Queensland mission conducted by the Church of England (Anglican) denomination. In particular it explores the relationship of the pre-mission Aboriginal contact history of this area with Aboriginal perspectives of whites. It looks at the ambiguities implicit in missionary policy and how this influenced the development of relationships on the Mitchell River Mission. In Queensland, church missions were used by the state government as a cheap way of carrying out its policies for Aborigines. Even though missionaries acted with apparently complete authority on the Mission there was a complex interplay of politics involving Aborigines, missionaries, higher church officials, the national mission agency of the Church of England, and the state government. The outcome of this was a consistent trend towards pauperisation of Aborigines and their remaining in a situation of entrenched disadvantage. A dialectical analysis of the history of race relations, through discussion of the Munpitch concept of the Kokobera people, provides a theoretical basis to the study.

Item ID: 33191
Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Keywords: Aboriginal; Aborigines; church missions; Church of England; Far NQ; Indigenous Australians; Kokobera people; Kowanyama; mission stations; missionaries; Mitchell River Mission; Munpitch; Native Australians; North Queensland; race relations; remote communities
Sensitivity Note: Some of the content in this thesis may be considered culturally sensitive to Indigenous people.
Date Deposited: 15 May 2014 00:13
FoR Codes: 21 HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY > 2103 Historical Studies > 210301 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander History @ 50%
22 PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES > 2204 Religion and Religious Studies > 220405 Religion and Society @ 30%
16 STUDIES IN HUMAN SOCIETY > 1605 Policy and Administration > 160501 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy @ 20%
SEO Codes: 95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9504 Religion and Ethics > 950404 Religion and Society @ 30%
95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9505 Understanding Past Societies > 950503 Understanding Australias Past @ 70%
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