Aboriginal Australians -- Government relations; Dunk Island (Qld.); Natural history -- Australia -- Queensland
To one who firmly upholds the theory of the evolution of Australian
types, and who thinks he perceives convincing evidence in support of his
belief, it seems likely that on the tropical coast, where the influence
of the sun is all-powerful, rainfall abundant, and vegetation prolific,
the type will not only be more rapidly developed, but that it will be
pronounced in bodily form, in tongue, and in temperament. One of the
reasons compelling towards such conclusion is the decided desire--nay,
the ambition--on the part of native-born Australians to do glad and
seemly homage to the sun.
If a traveller from distant and friendly lands were to accept as germs
of a type those who sport in the surf at fashionable watering-places, he
might infer from the display of brown backs and shoulders that Australia
had not escaped a smudge of aboriginal blood. But this ardently
cultivated tint is notoriously impermanent. Contradictory as it may be,
the most earnest advocates of the “White Australia” principle use more
than the average quantity of oil, which makes the skin to shine
and embrown under the influence of the much-loved sun. Do not their
shoulders bear testimony to the sun's wholesome salutations, and does
not the too fair and thin-skinned individual smart under his peeling
and display envy against the favoured ones who burn to the tint of
old copper? Naturally, those who have the most intense longing for a
coloured skin, who persistently seek to acquire it by exposure to
the sun seconded by anointings, will prevail. In the course of a few
generations--it would be idle to say how many--the type will be fixed
and the unguent superfluous; in the meantime the use of coco-nut oil
has become one of the confirmed customs of the country, as in Fiji and
elsewhere in the Pacific.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account