Northern
Territory
Library
Northern
Territory
Library
F
Kahlin Compound Subject Guide
Books
Austin, Tony.
I can picture the old home so clearly: the
Commonwealth and half-caste youth in the
Northern Territory 1911-1939. Canberra :
Aboriginal Studies Press, 1993.
NTC 305.89915 AUS
[Government policy for mixed descent children in
the Northern Territory; removal of children to
Kahlin and Bungalow; training for employment
and assimilation; conditions in children’s homes;
government indifference; attitudes to race].
Austin, Tony.
Never Trust a Government Man:
Northern Territory Aboriginal
Policy 1911-1939. Darwin :
Northern Territory University
Press, 1997.
NTC 305.89915 AUS
[History of the administration of Aboriginal affairs
by the Commonwealth Government in the
Northern Territory in the period to the Second
World War].
Bauman, Toni.
Aboriginal Darwin: a guide to
exploring important places.
Canberra : Aboriginal Studies
Press, 2006.
NTC 305.89915 BAUM
[Guidebook and social history of
the events and cultural tradition that shaped
Darwin Aboriginal people's lives; places of
historical and contemporary significance;
includes maps].
Bennett, M.M.
The Australian Aboriginal as a human being.
London: Alston Rivers, 1930.
NTC SP COLL 305.89915 BENN
[Includes notes on the Compound at Kahlin and
Bagot, position of women and the law;
government policies for assimilation,
recommendations].
Department of Arts & Museums
Bleakley, J.W.
The Aborigines of Australia: their history, their
habits, their assimilation. Brisbane : Jacaranda
Press, 1961: 239-252.
NTC 305.89915 BLE
Cummings, Barbara.
Take this child: from Kahlin
Compound to the Retta Dixon
Children's Home. Canberra :
Aboriginal Studies Press, 1990.
NTC 305.89915 CUM
[This book traces the history of the
social
and
political
forces
behind
the
institutionalisation of part-Aboriginal people in the
Northern Territory and the impact that it had on
their lives. Through the use of oral history from
former residents of the Kahlin Compound and the
Retta Dixon Home, the author describes the
experiences of the residents, as well as the social
and psychological effects this form of
displacement had on those involved].
Docker, E.G.
Simply Human Beings. Brisbane : Jacaranda
Press, 1964. [pp 187 & 190].
305.89915 DOC
All that dirt: Aborigines 1938.
Canberra : History Project
Incorporated, Australian National
University, 1982: 70-71.
NTC 305.89915 ALL
The long road home...the Going Home
Conference, 3-6 October 1994. Editors Katona,
Jacqui and Mackinolty, Chips. [Darwin] : Karu
Aboriginal Child Care Agency, 1996.
NTC E FOL 305.89915 GOIN
['The concept of the conference was promoted
within the Stolen Generations ex-resident groups:
Garden Point, Croker Island, Retta Dixon, Groote
Eylandt and Kahlin Compound established in the
Top End; and the Bungalow, St. Mary's and St.
John's established in Central Australia].
Herbert, Xavier.
Capricornia : a novel. Sydney : Angus and
Robertson, 1971, c.1938.
NTC A823.3 HER
Letters : Xavier Herbert. Editors De Groen,
Frances and Hergenhan, Laurie. St. Lucia, Qld. :
University of Queensland Press, 2002.
A826.3 HERB
[Letters presented in chronological order,
grouped according to where Herbert spent
substantial periods of time - including Kahlin
Compound, Lucy mine; contain observations on
Aboriginal life, customs and relationships, and
illustrate his support for Aboriginal rights; book
includes a brief glossary of Aboriginal terms].
Herbert , Xavier.
Poor fellow, my country. Sydney : Collins,
1975.
NTC A823.3 HER
Hill, Ernestine.
The Territory. Sydney :
Walkabout Pocket Books, 1971.
NTC 994.29 HIL
Kruger, Alec and Waterford,
Gerard.
Alone on the soaks : the life
and times of Alec Kruger. Alice
Springs, N.T. : IAD Press, 2007.
NTC B305.89915 KRUG
Larrakia Nation Aboriginal
Corporation.
Saltwater people : Larrakia
stories from around Darwin.
[Darwin : Larrakia Nation
Aboriginal Corporation, 2001].
NTC 305.89915 SALT
[Historical account by the
Larrakia people of Darwin and region; includes
reference to the Wulna, Kungarakan, Werat,
Warai, Wadjigan, Kiuk, Maranunggu, Amientyal,
Mandientyal, Marathiel, Mariammu, Kamu,
Malak Malak and Tiwi; timeline of significant
events; relationship to land; fight for equal rights;
includes personal accounts of family and
personal histories - Berimah Compound, Bagot
Reserve, Kahlin Compound, Retta Dixon Home,
Acacia Reserve and Croker Island Mission;
missionaries; contemporary Larrakia life].
Lindqvist, Sven.
Terra nullius: a journey through
no one's land. New York : New
Press, 2007.
NTC 919.4047 LIND
[To Moorundie; The secret of the
desert; To Kahlin Compound; The
dead do not die; To Pinjarra; The smell of white
man; The ground.; Originally published in Sweden
as Terra nullius: en resa genom ingens land by
Albert Bonniers Förlag, 2005].
MacDonald, Rowena.
Between two worlds: the
Commonwealth government and
the removal of Aboriginal
children of part descent in the
Northern Territory. Alice Springs,
NT : IAD Press, 1995.
NTC 362.849915 MACD
[Using a selection of documents and oral histories
drawn mainly from the Australian Archives'
collection, this volume shows what happened to
the children placed in the Bungalow in Alice
Springs and the Kahlin Home in Darwin. It traces
their journey from one place to another and one
culture to another and follows the development of
the Commonwealth government policy which
shaped their lives].
Quall, Lana. So far from home:
oral histories of the stolen
generations. Katherine, NT :
Diwurruwurru-jaru Aboriginal
Corp., c2002.
NTC 305.89915 SO
[Stories compiled by Diwurruwurrujaru at the request of the Katherine
Region Stolen Generations Committee. Stories
told by those who were forcibly removed and
siblings and children of people removed
demonstrate the impacts of removal of children
from families.
Muir, Hilda Jarman.
Very big journey: my life as I
remember it. Canberra : Aboriginal
Studies Press, 2004.
NTC B994.29 MUIR
[Describes life as a young bush
child with her mother in the camp at Malarndarri
and being taken away to Kahlin Aboriginal
Compound in Darwin.
McGinness, Joe.
Son of Alyandabu: my fight for
Aboriginal rights. St. Lucia, Qld.:
University of Queensland Press,
1991.
NTC B305.89915 MACG
[Autobiography of Joe McGinness.
Includes early life at the Lucy Claim mine and
Kahlin Compound; work and wages under the
Aboriginal Protection Law; 1930’s Depression;
Xavier Herbert and the Half-Castes Association;
Northern Territory Aboriginal Ordinance 19181933 amendment; Cairns Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders Advancement League - the Hope
Vale case; formation and actions of the Federal
Council for the Advancement of Aborigines;
North Australian Workers Union and Bagot and
Berrimah Reserve strikes; All-Australian Trade
Union Congress 1951, including text of speech
by Jack McGinness; activities of the council for
Aboriginal Rights].
Northern Territory Stolen Generations Aboriginal
Corporation. Kahlin Compound and Kahlin
Half caste Home : 100 year commemorative
events 3rd - 5th August 2013 Darwin.
Northern Territory Stolen Generations Aboriginal
Corporation, c. 2014. NTC 303.482 NORT
[Collection of photographs of Kahlin Compound
residents and of the 100 year commemorative
events.
Powell, Alan.
Far Country: a short history of
the Northern Territory. Carlton,
Vic : Melbourne University Press,
2009.
NTC 994.29 POWE
Read, Peter.
Settlement: a history of
Australian Indigenous housing.
Canberra: Aboriginal Studies
Press, 2000.
NTC 363.5999915 SETT
[Papers outline aspects of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander housing from pre European
settlement to the present. government policy;
and self-determination. See: Chapter: ‘Labour,
control and protection: The Kahlin Aboriginal
Compound, Darwin, 1911-38’, by Samantha
Wells].
Book Chapter
Under the mango tree: oral
histories with Indigenous people
from the Top End. Editors Havnen,
Peg and Norrington, Leonie.
Darwin : NT Writers' Centre, 2001.
NTC 305.89915 UNDE
[Oral history of Daisy Florence
Ruddick (nee Cusack). Tells of being taken away
by police when aged seven or eight and placed in
Kahlin Compound. Details bonds formed there
with other children and how, with encouragement
of family she worked as a domestic before
becoming the first Aboriginal person to become a
nurse. Also details racial discrimination and the
loss of children when marriage ended and the
successful fight to have children returned].
[Oral history of Norman Fry's grandmother, Nanna
Peckham. Details the difficulties caused by being
of mixed Chinese and Aboriginal descent; of being
looked after by policeman, Bill Johnson; and later
being placed in Kahlin Compound].
Journal Articles
Austin T. 'Mainly a question of environment': the
Kahlin Home for Aboriginal children of mixed
descent 1911-1927’. In History of Education
Review . v.21 n.1, 1992: 3-18.
Not Held
[This article looks at the Kahlin Home for
Aboriginal children of mixed descent, during the
period 1911 to 1927].
Harding, Louise. ‘Take this Child -: From Kahlin
Compound to the Retta Dixon Children's Home’
[Book Review]. In Aboriginal History. v.15,
1991: 177-179.
NTL Storage PER 305.89 ABOR
Long, J.P.M. ‘The administration and the partAboriginals of the Northern Territory’. Oceania.
V.37, 1966-67: 186-201.
PAM 345.9403 LON.
MacDonald, Rowena. ‘Between two worlds: the
Commonwealth Government and the removal of
Aboriginal children of part descent in the Northern
Territory: an Australian Archives exhibition’.
Aboriginal History. v.18, no. 1-2, 1994:159-166.
NTL Storage PER 305.89 ABOR
Munro, Craig. ‘Xavier Herbert: a disturbing
element’. This Australia. v.2 no.2; 1983: 11-16.
[Brief references to mistreatment of Aboriginal
boy at Alexandria Station and employment at
Kahlin Aboriginal Compound].
Not Held
Parry, Suzanne. ‘A question of identity: halfcaste children and their schooling’. Journal of
Northern Territory History. no.7, 1996: 25-39.
NTC PER 994.29 JOUR
[Analysis of the education received by children
at Kahlin, Bungalow and Retta Dixon institutions;
oral history supports claim that these homes
fostered a negative self-identity but a strong
sense of group identity; children growing up at
Garden Point on Melville Island developed self
respect and strong Aboriginal identity].
Ruddick, Daisy. 'Talking about cruel things':
girls' life in the Kahlin Compound. -as told to
Kathy Mills, and, Tony Austin. With an
introduction by Austin, Tony.
Hecate. v.15, no.1, 1989: 8-22.
Not Held
Sambono, Henry. ‘A cage like Kahlin
Compound’. Dark Side of the News. no.3,
1981; 53-56.
NTC PER 305.89 DARK
[Description of an institution for Aboriginal
children in the NT].
Wells, Julie T. M. ‘A womans work : assimilation
policy and housework in the Darwin area in the
1950s and 1960s’. Journal of Northern
Territory History. no.2, 1991: 1-15.
NTC PER 994.29 JOUR
[Government assimilation policy; assessment of
program to train Aboriginal women on the Bagot
Reserve in domestic duties; Northern Territory
Administration Welfare Branch; institutional
practices at Bagot, Berrimah and Kahlin
Compound; housing and attempts to transform
Aboriginal families into European households;
utilization of the Home Management Centre].
Wells, Samantha. ‘Labour, control and
protection: the Kahlin Aboriginal Compound,
Darwin, 1911-38’. In Settlement: a History of
Australian Indigenous Housing. Canberra :
Aboriginal Studies Press, 2000.
NTC 363.5999915 SETT
Newspaper Articles
‘History Group wants centre’. Aboriginal
Newsletter. November 1984.
Bartels, Barbara. ‘A story that has never been
told’. Land Rights News. January 1988: 35.
Bartels, Barbara. ‘The Retta Dixon years
Prisoners of assimilation’. Land Rights News.
March 1988: 24-26.
NTC Microfilm Collection
Bartels, Barbara. ‘A story that has never been
told’. Land Rights News. Vol.2 no.6, 1988.
NTC Microfilm Collection
[Establishment of Kahlin Aboriginal Compound at
Myilly Point, Darwin, and later the Darwin
Halfcaste Girls Home; conditions, life in the
Compound, dormitory].
Cusack, Daisy Nawala. ‘Talking history’. Land
Rights News. Vol.2 no.5, 1987: 30-31.
NTC Microfilm Collection
[Daisy Nawala Cusack, born Limbunyah Station;
mother Gurindji, father station overseer].
‘History’. Darwin Star. 21 January, 1981: 7.
‘Baby Snatchers’. Darwin Sun. 17-23 June, 1981:
6-7.
‘Round About’. Northern Standard. 25 October,
1935.: 2.
‘Abo. Corroboree’. Northern Standard. 18
February, 1936: 2.
‘Compound Superintendent assaulted by
youthful Aborigine’. Northern Standard. 25
February, 1936: 2.
‘The Larrakeyah Tribe: Concern of 'Old Men'
for Welfare Deputation to visit Col. Weddell’.
Northern Standard. Darwin. 24 March, 1936: p.10.
Unpublished Manuscripts
Abbott, Hilda.
Goodnight, all-about. Copy of original
manuscript. [195?].
NTC 305.89915 ABB
Riddett, L.A.
An analysis of race relations between
'coloureds' and 'whites' in Darwin 1911-1942.
pt. 1. The Public view. [manuscript]. Darwin :
Darwin Community College, 1979.
NTC 305.89915 RIDD
Riddett, L.A.
And we used to sit and wonder why: part 3 of
an I.S.C. report on ‘Race relations between
coloureds and whites in Darwin 1911-1942.
[Manuscript]. Darwin : Darwin Community
College, 1979.
NTC 305.89915 RIDD
[Chief informants were Valentine McGinness
and Don Bonson].
Theses
Docker, E.G.
Native administration in the Northern
Territory, 1864-1954. [‘Ms 2156’]. Thesis.
[1957].
NTC 305.8991509429 DOCK
Lilley, Rozanna.
Paperbark people, paperbark country:
gender relations, past and present, amongst
the Kungarakany of the Northern Territory.
Thesis (B.A. (Hons.)). University of Sydney,
Sydney, 1987.
NTC 305.89915 LIL
[Maranunggu migration to Kungarakany country;
attitudes to part- Aborigines; Kahlin Compound;
Finniss River land claim, Aboriginal identity,
changed gender relationships, significance of
tradition].
Woodley, Peter.
The best laid schemes: government policy
concerning Aborigines in the Top End of the
Northern Territory, 1911-1927. Thesis
(Bachelor of Letters). Australian National
University, 1982.
Not Held
[Aboriginal labour in Darwin; contact among
Aborigines, Chinese and whites in Darwin; N.T.
Aboriginals Act, 1910; administration of W.B.
Spencer; H. Basedow; compound for partAborigines at Kahlin Beach].
Wie, Ronda.
Nobody did not want to own us : Larrakia
identity and the Kenbi land claim
Thesis (B.A.(Hons.)). Australian National
University: Canberra ACT, 1990.
NTC 346.940432 WIE
[Loss and rediscovery of Larrakia identity;
ethnographic accounts and contact history;
government and church intervention - missions,
reserves (Bagot, Delissaville) and institutions
(Kahlin Compound, Half-Caste Home, Retta Dixon
Home); assimilation policy and changes to the
Aboriginal Ordinance; history of the Kenbi (Cox
Peninsula) Land Claim in the reconstruction of
Larrakia identity].
Reports
Bleakley, J.W.
The Aboriginals and half-castes of Central
Australia and North Australia. [Melbourne] :
Govt. Printer, 1929.
NTC 305.89915 BLEA
[Population, employment, living conditions of
employed Aborigines and half-castes, camp
dependants; Natives in Aboriginal institutions;
Half-caste home, Darwin; Half-caste bungalow,
Alice Springs; Mission stations at Bathurst Island,
Oenpelli, Goulburn Island, Millingimbi, Roper
River, Groote Eylandt; Plan of proposed half-caste
home at Darwin; Map shows proposed changes to
reserves].
Bleakley, J.W.
The half-caste aborigines of North and Central
Australia: suggestions towards solving the
problem: a reply to questions of the A.P.N.R.
Sydney : Association for the Protection of Native
Races, [1930?].
NTC SP COLL 305.89915 BLEA
National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Children from their
Families (Australia), Wilson, Ronald Darling Sir,
Australia. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission and Australia. Attorney-General's
Department. Bringing them home : report.
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission, [Sydney, NSW], 1997.
Available Online:
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/pdf
/social_justice/bringing_them_home_report.pdf
Payne, William Labatt and Fletcher, J.W.
Report of the board of inquiry appointed to
inquire into the land and land Industries of the
Northern Territory of Australia. [Payne &
Fletcher Report.] Canberra: Government Printer,
1937. [‘The Aboriginal Problem’: 69-70].
FOL 333.0099429 AUST
Spencer, W. Baldwin. ‘Preliminary report on the
Aboriginals of the Northern Territory.’ Bulletin of
the Northern Territory. No.7, July 1913: 23-24.
NTC 305.89915 SPEN
Administrator’s Reports
NTC PER 351.9429 NORT
Northern Territory of Australia. Report of the
Administrator for the year 1912. Melbourne :
Government Printer, 1913.
Spencer, W. Baldwin. ‘Preliminary Report on the
Aboriginals of the Northern Territory’: 36-47.
‘General Policy in regards to Aboriginals’: 48-52.
Northern Territory of Australia. Report of the
Administrator for the Year 1913. Melbourne :
Government Printer, 1914.
Stretton, W.G. ‘Report on the Aboriginals
Department’: 32-38. ‘Report on Aboriginal
Compound, Kahlin’: 37-38.
Northern Territory of Australia. Report of the
Administrator for the year 1914-15. Melbourne :
Government Printer, 1915.
Carey, H.E. ‘Report on Aboriginal Department’:
24-25.
Northern Territory of Australia. Report of the
Administrator for the years 1915-16 and 191617. Melbourne : Government Printer, 1918.
Gilruth, J.A. ‘Aborigines’: 13; Carey, H.E.
‘Aboriginal Department’: 44-45.; Carey, H.E.
’Kahlin Compound’: 45-46.;
Waters, N. ‘Kahlin Compound’: 52.
Northern Territory of Australia . Report of the
Administrator for the year ending 30th June
1918. Melbourne : Government Printer, 1919.
Carey, H.E. ‘Report by the Chief Protector of
Aborigines’: 44-45; MacDonald, R. ‘Kahlin Native
Compound’: 45.
Northern Territory of Australia. Annual Report of
the Acting Administrator for the year ended 30th
June 1920. Melbourne : Government Printer,
1921.
Waters, W. [N]. ‘Report of the Aboriginal
Department’: 65. MacDonald, R. ‘Report of
Protector of Aboriginals’: 65.
Northern Territory. Annual Report of the
Administrator for the year ended 30th June 1921.
Melbourne : Government Printer, 1922.
MacDonald, R. ‘Report on the Aboriginal
Compound, Kahlin, and district of Darwin’: 1820.
Northern Territory. Report of the Administrator
for the year ended 30th June 1922. Melbourne :
Government Printer, 1923. Urquhart , F.C.
‘Aborigines’: 6-7.
Northern Territory. Report of the Administrator for
the year ended 30th June 1923. Melbourne :
Government Printer, 1924.
Urquhart, F.C. ‘Aborigines’: 6-7.
Northern Territory of Australia . Report of
Administrator for the year ended 30th June 1924.
Melbourne : Government Printer, 1925.
Urquhart, F.C. ‘Aborigines’: 7-8.
Northern Territory of Australia. Report of
Administrator for the year ended 30th June 1925.
Melbourne : Government Printer, 1926. Urquhart,
F.C. ‘Aboriginals’: 6; Dudley, G.V. ‘Report on
Aboriginal Department’: 13; Giles, Harold S.
‘Report on Kahlin Compound, Darwin: 13-14.
Northern Territory of Australia. Report of the
Acting Administrator for the year ended 30th
June 1926. Melbourne : Government Printer,
1927. Playford, E. Copley. ‘Aboriginals’: 7-8;
Giles, Harold S. ‘Report on Kahlin Compound and
Half-Caste home, Darwin’: 14.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
Administration of the Northern Territory for the
period 1st July 1926 to 28th February 1927 and on
the Administration of the Territory of North
Australia from 1st March 1927 to 30th June 1927.
Canberra : Government Printer, [1928].
Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report on Aboriginals
Department’: 10-11; Giles, Harold S. ‘Report on
Kahlin Compound, and Half-Castes Home,
Darwin’: 12.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
Administration of North Australia for the year
ended the 30th June, 1928. Canberra :
Government Printer, 1929.
Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aborigines’: 7-9.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
Administration of North Australia for the year
ended the 30th June, 1929. Canberra:
Government Printer, 1930.
Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aborigines’: 8-9; Cecil E. ‘Report of the Chief
Medical Officer’: 18-23.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
Administration of North Australia for the year
ended the 30th June, 1930. Canberra :
Government Printer, 1931.
Fothergill, W. L. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aborigines’: 5-7; Report of the Chief Medical
Officer’: 13-24.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year ended the 30th June, 1931. Canberra :
Government printer, 1932.
Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aboriginals’: 6-9; Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the
Northern Territory Medical Service’: 15-26
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year ended the 30th June, 1932. Canberra :
Government Printer, 1933.
Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aborigines’: 7-11; Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the
Northern Territory Medical Service’: 20-29.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year ended the 30th June, 1933. Canberra :
Government printer, 1934.
Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aborigines’: 6-10.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year ended the 30th June, 1934. Canberra :
Government printer, 1935.
Cook, C. ‘Report of Chief Protector of
Aboriginals’: 11-15.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year 1938-39. Canberra : Government printer,
1940.
‘Native Affairs’: 22-26.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year 1939-40. Canberra : Government printer,
1941.
‘Native Affairs’: 17-20.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year 1940-41. Canberra : Government printer,
[1942].
‘Native Affairs’: 12-14.
PictureNT
http://hdl.handle.net/10070/13625
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year ended the 30th June, 1935. Canberra :
Government printer, 1936.
Kirkland, W.B. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aborigines’: 11-16.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year ended the 30th June, 1936. Canberra :
Government printer, 1937.
Cook, Cecil E. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aboriginals’: 12-16.
http://hdl.handle.net/10070/242768
Contact Details
Phone: 1800 019 155
or (08) 8999 7177
Email:
ntl.info@nt.gov.au
Fax:
(08) 8999 6927
Post: PO Box 42, Darwin NT 0801
Location: Parliament House,
Darwin
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year ended the 30th June, 1937. Canberra :
Government printer, 1938.
Cook, C.E. ‘Report of the Chief Protector of
Aboriginals’: 23-30.
Commonwealth of Australia. Report on the
administration of the Northern Territory for the
year 1937-38. Canberra : Government printer,
1939.
‘Report of the Chief Protector of Aboriginals’: 2126.
www.ntl.nt.gov.au
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