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Fourteen Aboriginal men were hired in November 1887 to look for Mr Francis Scott who went missing at Trial Bay near Arakoon. It is probable that the many of the trackers were residents of the nearby Pelican Island Aboriginal Reserve which was gazetted in 1885. Some of the named individuals have strong cultural connections to the Kempsey district and Dunghutti...
Learn More ►Following the introduction of legislation in the mid-1870s, Aboriginal people were able to give evidence in NSW courts and trackers, perhaps more than other members of the indigenous community, were called upon to take the stand. At Tamworth on 14 February 1894, Joseph Bellilla testified at the committal hearing of Patrick Kennedy charged with stealing rations from the dwelling of...
Learn More ►A distinguished tracker, John Watkins (nick-named Sir Watkin Wynne), was born about 1830, probably in Wiradjuri country between Bathurst and Forbes [ref]Sydney Morning Herald 9 August 1887: 8. I have inferred the broad area of Watkin’s birth place from the area where he is first mentioned in the historical record and the area to which he returned after retiring from...
Learn More ►Trackers were employed at Parkes from as early as 1875 when two were sent to a nearby property to search for a lost boy. They returned five days later without success [ref]Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser 2 October 1875: 425.[/ref]. The names of the trackers who worked from 1883 to 1886 are known. Alfred was the tracker in...
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This website explores the history of Aboriginal trackers in NSW from 1862 when the current NSW Police Force was established through to 1973 when the last tracker, Norman Walford, retired. You can read about the lives of individual trackers and some of the incredible tracking feats they...
There were over 200 NSW police stations that employed Aboriginal trackers between 1862 and 1973. Many were concentrated in the central-west and north-west of the state, the agricultural and pastoral heartland of NSW. This is because one of the main jobs of trackers was to pursue sheep, cattle and horse thieves. Trackers sometimes lived in small huts out the back...
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Pathfinders book Pathfinders, A history of Aboriginal trackers in NSW, written by Dr Michael Bennett and published by NewSouth, is now available from all good bookstores. Click on the link below to order your copy. https://www.abbeys.com.au/book/pathfinders-a-history-of-aboriginal-trackers-in-nsw.do Early History Since the beginning of the colony, government agencies, explorers, surveyors and members of the general public called upon the tracking...
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