USC295_0002

MOONBI 41, Page 1
THE PETRIES AND FRASER ISLAND
The pioneering Petrie family headed by Andrew Petrie first came to Queensland during the
early days of the penal settlement, where Andrew was superintendent of Works. During the
time the Petrie family played a prominent part in pioneering Queensland, leaving the Petrie
names in several parts of Brisbane and suburbs and Queensland.
In 1842 when the penal settlement closed and
Queensland was being opened up for free
settlement, Andrew Petrie led a party to explore
and discover the Moonaboola River (The Mary)
which they had heard aborigines talk about in
Brisbane. They wanted to see if it was suitable for
free settlement, particularly grazing. They picked
up WANDI (escaped convict Bracefell) at Noosa,
and he showed them the way across the Wide Bay
Bar into Great Sandy Strait. They camped one
night at Stewart Island (adjacent to Fraser Island)
where they made their way up to North White Cliffs
where WANDI, who had lived for years with the
blacks and visited Fraser Island, found a local
aborigine to guide them up the MOONABOOLA
RIVER on 10th May 1842.
Petrie named the river the Wide Bay after the name
of the Bay into which they thought it emptied.
After exploring as far as Tiaro. where they
collected another escaped convict "DURUMBOI"
(James Davis) and after discovering the fine timber
of the Kauri Pine at Mary River Heads, Petrie
returned to Fraser Island and camped near Snout
Point. Before leaving he unsuccessfully unattempted
to recover the bones of Captain Fraser which were
still then believed to be carried around in an
aboriginial "Dilli" bag.
Twenty years later in 1862, Andrew's son Tom
Petrie a timber pioneer, explored Fraser Island, Tin
Can Bay and The Susan River with Pettigrew, who
started a sawmill at Dundathu, and who milled the
first Kauri Pine logs to be brought from Fraser
Island in 1863.
However, although Tom Petrie did not sustain an
interest in Fraser Island, his son Walter Petrie did
move to Fraser Island 50 years later to establish the
first permanent Forestry operations. (see History
of Early Forestry Work).
During the period from 1913-1922. Rollo Petrie
grew up from a young boy to a teenager on Fraser
Island. He grew to love the island and has visited
the island many times since. Rollo Petrie has
provided FIDO with a wealth of reminiscence
which we propose to serialise in MOONBI.
In this installment 'Rollo recalls some of the
aborigines he remembers (as a boy) at
Bogimbah, where his father established the
Deepuying Camp only 8 years after the Mission
Station about five miles downstream had closed
ROLLO PETRIE'S REMINISCENCES
History shows blacks who had been herded on
Fraser Island first by Protector of Aborigines,
Archibald Meston, and his son Harrold and later by
several missionaries, were rounded up with help of
Native Police and shipped to the mainland to
various settlements. This was done after the
majority of blacks in the settlement at Bogimbah
had died of malnutrition, disease and violence.
After forming the Bogimbah Penal Settlement,
Meston collected blacks from the mainland
whenever they were deemed undesirable by the
whites. They were brought from afar and near and,
of course were tribal enemies. Apparently Meston
thought the will of the waddy would cure all
differences, poor fool.
He handed over to missionaries of three different
denominations. Some only stayed a short time, I
feel. One in particular was responsible for the
large death rate and misery towards the closing
chapters of the settlement.
They were unscrupulous, cruel and dominating.
When blacks were taken away, some escaped,
some jumped into water etc., but in 1913 a small
camp lived in Bogimbah from there some
followed us down to Woongoolbva. Others
finished up at Urangan. Old Gindy, wife of Frank
Simpson, who worked for Mum was a young lubra
during missionary times and bore the brand of the
cat-of-nine-tails on her back; She was flogged for
refusing to join the harem of one white missionary
She escaped from the Mission when the
aborigines were moved from the Island. Gindi had
a "benjamin" (husband) called Frank and a little
piccaninny boy about my age called Kenny. It was
a missionary name. They were all named after
white men. Gindy was a mighty gin and she was
very devoted to my mother, but at the same time
she used to tell my mother: "Never, never walk
front of me, Missy No More." She couldn't trust
herself. In those days they couldn't trust
themselves not to hit you on the back of the head
with a hammer or a tomahawk when you were r
looking, because they had been treated so bac
by the missionaries.
I have often thought, through the years. Mum us
to quite often mention that she knew Gin
couldn't be trusted but she used to say: "l love y
Mrs. I love you Missy"