From Hunting to Drinking: The Devastating Effects of Alcohol on an Australian Aboriginal Community

257 Pages·2002·1.97 MB·English

by  David McKnight

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From Hunting to Drinking
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3111 From Hunting to Drinking reveals the social change witnessed over
4 a period of 30 years by an anthropologist on Mornington Island, off
5 the North Queensland Coast, Australia, most notably the devastating
6 effects that alcohol has had on this community. Drinking has become
7 the main social activity on the island today and the amount of alcohol
8 consumed per year has reached a disturbing level. Suicide and homi-
9 cide rates are alarmingly high and people are drinking so much that
20111 alcohol-related illness is rife. Early deaths are so common that soon
1 there will be no old people.
2 David McKnight assesses increasing alcohol consumption and ex-
3 plores how it now affects all reaches of community life – local politics,
4 marriage, child-rearing practices, gender relationships, employment,
5 law, housing and education.
6 In an attempt to answer the question of why the Mornington
7 Islanders drink so much the author reviews the history of drinking
8 in Australia, and more specifically on Mornington Island, as well as
9 its causes. Equally important, the author asks why the situation has
30111 been allowed to continue and explores the vested interest that the
1 authorities have in the sale of alcohol on the island.
2 Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork this is a vital addition
3 to the literature on alcohol use and problem drinking, social change
4 and postcolonialism.
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6 David McKnight is a member of the emeritus staff at the London
7 School of Economics. He has been conducting research among
8 Australian Aborigines for 35 years and lived with the people of
9 Mornington Island for over 5 years.
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From Hunting to Drinking
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The devastating effects of
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Aboriginal community
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David McKnight
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6 U T LE
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940111 Taylor&Francis Group
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21111 London and New York
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111 First published 2002
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004.
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© 2002 David McKnight
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book has been requested
ISBN 0-203-39832-7 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-39964-1 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0–415–27150–9 (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–27151–7 (pbk)
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In memory of
Edna Adams, Henry Peters, Kenny Roughsey

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Contents
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3111 List of plates and tables ix
4 Acknowledgements x
5 Chronology xiii
6 Map of the Wellesley Islands xiv
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1 Introduction 1
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2 Anthropological views of ‘the problem of drinking’ 10
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3 Policies and practices: putting Aborigines
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‘in their place’ 20
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4 The social and historical background of the
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Wellesley Islands 29
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5 Changing relationships between the generations 52
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6 ‘Try-ask’ and ‘knock-back’ 66
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7 The Snake 78
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8 The Shire and the canteen 93
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9 The destruction of the community and of the self 115
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10 Childhood and formal education 135
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11 Law and the police 145
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viii Contents
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5 14 Why isn’t something done? 189
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7 15 Conclusions 212
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Notes 217
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Bibliography 228
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Index 235
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Plates and tables
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1 Kaiadilt, 1930s 39
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2a Mornington Village 46
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2b Fresh water swamp 47
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3 Rodeo on Mornington 53
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4 Children playing 58
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5 Children in a tree 59
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6 Spearing a goanna 67
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7 Dragging a fishing net 68
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8 Woman collecting oysters 71
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9 Thuwathu, The Rainbow Serpent 79
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10 Drinking and gambling 94
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11 Payday 96
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12 Cemetery 116
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13 Children dancing 142
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14 Women carrying wood 152
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15 Four village dwellings from 1966 to present day 154–5
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16 Old ladies’ residence 162
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17 Old age hostel 163
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18 Outstation 169
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19 Beach camp 173
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20 Pub 190
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7 Tables
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9.1 Homicides involving Mornington Islanders 118
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9.2 Suicides of Mornington Islanders 125
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