Francis James Gillen: The 19th Century Aboriginal Activist

Johnathan Smyth takes a trip down history lane for another famous person with Cavan links.

According to the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous people, ‘Indigenous peoples and individuals are free and equal to all other peoples and individuals and have the right to be free from any kind of discrimination, in the exercise of their rights, in particular that based on their indigenous origin or identity. Indigenous peoples have the right of self-determination.’

The Australian government is making great strides to restore dignity to the cultures of the Aboriginal people in Australia where, for generations, since the continent was originally colonised, they received little say and, dare I say it, respect for their unique way of life and heritage.

In fact, one of the sources I used in my research for this column, the Australian Dictionary of Biography, has in recent years added a cultural rights disclaimer to the website, informing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of content contrary to the values they hold. For example, that the website in question has names, images, and voices of the deceased and that articles may have ‘terms or views’ more acceptable to mainstream Australian culture, or that were reflective of a bygone era, which may offend Indigenous peoples.

In the late 19th century, Francis James Gillen and Baldwin Spencer documented the ancient Aboriginal customs, which they recorded for educational purposes and by their endeavours, gained the respect of the Aboriginal population. Both Gillen and Spencer collaborated on an important book about ‘The Native Tribes of Central Australia’ (1899).

The Gillens

My interest in Francis Gillen began when I learned that both his parents had emigrated from County Cavan to Australia, in 1855. Tom Gillen and his wife Bridget Gillen (nee McCann) were both natives of Cavan. In the 1850s, families named Gillen lived in, or near, Shercock, Butlersbridge and Cootehill. A Bridget McCann, came from Mayo townland, Cootehill, according to one record I found for the marriage of Bridget McCann to Thomas Gillen. This may be the same Gillen family.

When the Gillens left Cavan, Bridget was already pregnant with Francis. They travelled to London, England, and on March 12, 1855, boarded a ship named the Sea Park, and sailed to Australia, arriving at Port Adelaide, on June 24, of that year. The shipping records tell us, Thomas, aged 28 years, was a labourer and Bridget was 23. Francis James Gillen was born on October 28, 1855, at Little Para, South Australia.

The family stayed for about five years at Onetree Hill, Northeast of Adelaide, where three more children were born. Peter Paul was born at Golden Grove in 1858. In adulthood, he took a ‘lively interest’ in the welfare of the people of the district of Clare; he stood for election to the House of Assembly, topping the poll in 1893 and 1895 and, although ‘excitable’ in nature, had a reputation for ‘thoroughness and honesty of purpose’. Peter served as a director to mining companies and was on the board of directors at the Southern Cross newspaper. He married Miss Cousins with whom seven children were born. Their eldest boy was christened Peter.

The South Australian Register on September 23, 1896, said in its obituary column that Peter Gillen ‘was as white a man as ever there was in South Australia, and he was a man you got to love as much as ever man loved another man’.

The reporter added: ‘He was the best of men I ever knew, and I feel as if I had lost one of my dearest friends…

‘I travelled with him a good deal, and our trips were always most enjoyable, for his cheery manner and his joviality made him a delightful companion.’

Francis J. Gillen

In 1867, Francis J. Gillen began his career as a public servant, entering employment as a postal messenger. Four years later, he received a transfer to Adelaide, where his duties progressed to ‘telegraph operations’, and then in 1875, while stationed at Charlotte Waters, he assisted with the setup of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line. The company appointed Francis as the telegraph stationmaster of Alice Springs in 1892.

Due to his position within the community, Gillen took on the role of special magistrate and sub-protector of Aboriginal peoples, which in effect made him the chief administrator of Central Australia.

He developed a fascination with the Aboriginal people and the unique culture and society in which they lived. Very soon, word grew of his interest in the anthropology and ethnology of these native peoples and, in 1894, having met up with Baldwin Spencer, their shared interest brought them together on a project, which emerged from the inspiration they derived from watching the celebrations of the Egwura festival. This prompted Gillen and Spencer into a writing partnership, the culmination of which was a superb book, The Native Tribes of Central Australia, published in 1899.

The work supplies a comprehensive scholarly study of central Australian peoples, offering a first-hand account of how the tribes performed ‘complex rituals’ and their ‘belief systems’. Chapters in the publication include, The Social Organisation of the Tribes; The Totems; Intichiuma Ceremonies; Initiation Ceremonies; Traditions Dealing with the Origin of the Alcheringa Ancestors of the Arunta Tribe and with Particular Customs; Customs Concerned with Knocking out of Teeth; Nose-Boring; Growth of Breasts; Blood-Letting, Blood-Giving, Blood-Drinking; Hair; Childbirth; Food Restrictions; Cannibalism; Methods of Obtaining Wives; and Myths Relating to Sun, Moon, Eclipses etc; to name but some of the subjects studied.

Amazon in its kindle edition of the book, noted that: ‘The picture that emerges is that of a sophisticated culture living under what most others would consider very marginal conditions.’

In 1900, Francis became the president of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science’s ‘anthropological section’ at a meeting in Melbourne.

Francis Gillen had another brother, Thomas P. who was a businessman like Peter. He worked at a store owned by his uncle Phillip. The Gillen brothers’ sisters were Miss Gillen at Clare, and Mrs Butler, the wife of ‘Mounted Constable Butler’.

Francis J. Gillen and Baldwin Spencer’s important research on the Aboriginal way of life was a major step towards preserving the history of the native inhabitants. It is only right, that the world should celebrate Gillen’s work.