The next advance was that of marriage solemnized with Christian rites. The missionary not being legally empowered to marry, and his church and congregation being of a mixed character, the native marriages were not recognized by law, so that when a Christian native had his wife forced away from him by the heathen blacks, he had no redress; but this was afterwards arranged by the missionaries being appointed registrars. The heathen blacks tried to counteract this. An instance of this kind soon arose: Laelinyeri had been legally married to Charlotte. On this, a party of blacks came down the Murray River to the station, and encamped, pretending a friendly visit, especially to the newly-married couple. Suddenly they seized Charlotte by force in the absence of her husband, and carried her off rapidly to an island on the lower lake, about 10 miles from the station. There they defied the husband, and declared they would give her away to another man. The missionary, with the husband and others, crossed in a boat, and found Charlotte sitting under a bush, having escaped. On landing, the missionary was confronted by some sixty blacks drawn up, armed with spears, and looking fierce. He sent for his gun, and the other two men. He told Charlotte to follow him, which she did; and just as they were embarking, Jack the Fisherman jumped out of the ranks, swearing and jumping, and calling on the other blacks to come to the rescue, but not a man moved. Having sent Charlotte on board the cutter, the missionary walked up to the blacks and had a friendly chat with them, and, after staying half an hour, they sailed for home. This bold attempt put an end to any further interference, except in another case, when a young man married a young woman in defiance of the native custom. His father and mother declared they would murder them both, but all ended in threats, and they ultimately became reconciled to the young couple.
The missionaries now entered upon cultivation and sheep-farming, civilization going hand-in-hand with the Gospel. The sales of produce were soon increased. In 1866, £198 17s. 4d.; 1867, £73 10s. 4d.; 1868, £98 12s. 9d.; 1869, £314 17s. 6d.; 1870, £501 9s. 8d.; 1871, £332 17s. 1d.; 1872, £276 13s. 10d.; 1873, £841 3s. 1d. The produce account was very fluctuating, owing to the seasons.
In 1865, the South Australian Government gave a lease of 730 acres to the Institution. The Christian natives now began to build cottages for themselves. Two stone cottages were first built and thatched, out of their savings. Mrs. Smith, of Dunesk, a friend of the late missionary, Mr. Reid, who was drowned, sent out £40, to be divided between the two converts, the first of Mr. Reid’s labours.
The project of building a place of worship was now set on foot by the natives. £30 was raised, while Mrs. Smith sent out £50, and £100 for cottages; and, with the help of friends from Adelaide, the chapel was built, at a cost of £148. More cottages were built. The town was called Reid Town, in commemoration of the missionary. They had a native stonemason, but the demand for houses exceeded the means of construction.
Their Christianity led to Christian marriages, Christian worship, Christian homes, and Christian burial. Those who commenced as children, grew up to men and women, and became heads of families. “Some,” says the missionary, “passed away to rest, who came to them painted savages. Many death-beds could be described, where natives died in a sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The contrast between savage life and a Christian life was here exhibited in the strongest light. The night corroboree, with the songs and chants and beating time, with rolling eyes and gleaming teeth, the stamping, beating, brandishing of weapons, and wild excitement, like demons, compared with the sound of the hymn and song in the native deacon’s cottage. The parties gathered for Saturday evening prayer-meeting; even the school children in their sleeping-room singing Lyte’s beautiful hymn—
“Abide with me; fast falls the even-tide”—
surely displays most fully the power of the Gospel over the minds of the hitherto hopeless beings; that they are redeemable from savage life; that those who labour for them, labour not in vain in the Lord. A few extracts here, from visitors, are confirmatory of these statements, preceded by the observations of the Rev. Mr. Binney, a visitor to the colonies.
It is satisfactory to record any sympathy for this ill-used race, and to find, however only partial have been the efforts made for their reclamation, yet that something has been done, and that the early prejudice against them has been considerably abated; in fact, from intercourse with them and with the Indians of North America, I consider, although they are inferior, yet they possess much talent, great affection, uncommon quickness of perception, and capacity for improvement.
On the writer’s arrival in New South Wales in 1826, at a public meeting it was declared by men of position that the blackfellow was not a human being, and that there was no more guilt in shooting him than in shooting a native dog. Many cruelties were consequently perpetrated on them, although they were shielded by the Government.