AMONG CANNIBALS
Account of Four Years Travels
in Australia, and o f Camp Life with
the Aborigines of Queensland

C H A P T E R XIII
JMongan, a new mammal—For my collection or to feed the blacks?—Natives do
not eat raw meat—A young yarri—A meteorite— Fear of attacks—Cannibals
on the war-path—The relations between the tribes . . Pages 188-194


C H A P T E R XXII
Unpleasantnesses at Herbert Vale— New expeditions— Hunting human flesh—
Cannibalism— Human flesh is the greatest delicacy of the Australian blacks
— Superstitions in connection with the eating of human flesh— The taste
of the cannibals—Cannibalism in Burma . . . 292-297

Upon the whole their civilisation was of a rather low
order. Eleven days before my arrival they had killed and
eaten a man of another tribe on some hills near the farm.
They returned triumphant, and boasted of their inhuman
act. When they were abused for having eaten a man,
they gradually became silent, and understood that it was
something which the whites did not do and which accordingly
was not right. This is always the habit of the Australian
natives : as long as they remain in their native condition
they make no secret of their cannibalism, but continued
intercourse with the whites teaches them to regard it as
something which is not comme il fa u t. Yet they keep up
this infamous custom in secret before abandoning it altogether.
I was continually with the natives, both during the day
and in the evening, hunting animals, and I was very much
amused by the companionship of these children of nature.
The blacks of Herbert river gave me from the very beginning
an increased interest in the Australian race.
The boomerang was rare in these regions, for in the
large scrubs there is no use for it. On the other hand I
frequently saw another weapon, the “ nolla-nolla ” or club, the
warlike weapon of the Australian native most commonly in
use. It is a piece of hard and heavy wood sharpened to a
point at both ends. One end is thick, and tapers gradually
to the other end, which is made rough in order to give the
hand a more secure hold ; in using the weapon the heavy
end is thrown back before it is hurled.

Unpleasantnesses at Herbert Vale — New expeditions—Hunting human flesh—
Cannibalism— Human flesh is the greatest delicacy of the Australian
blacks— Superstitions in connection with the eating of human flesh—The
taste of the cannibals

Mr. W hite has informed me that the natives south of
the Carpentarian Gulf also are cannibals to some extent.
They never kill anybody for the purpose of eating him, but
the women eat those who die a natural death ; near Moreton
Bay the dead are also eaten, and by their own relatives.
In W estern Queensland, at W estlands station on Thompson
river, a woman belonging to a tribe of civilised blacks gave
birth to a so-called half-caste child— that is, the offspring of a
black m other and a white father. Such half-breeds are not
as a rule much liked, and are therefore usually killed by the
blacks who are in the first stages of civilisation. In this
instance the blacks had indeed been in long intercourse
with white people, and still the child was killed. It was
perm itted to live about three weeks, but one day one of the
men put his hand round its neck and held it up till it was
choked to death. Thereupon it was roasted on the fire and
distributed among those present, and eaten most greedily.
M any of the white people at the station were witnesses of
this event. It is not known whether the m other in this
instance ate any of the flesh of her child or not.

the late Dr C.G. von Brandenstein, who learnt at least four Pilbara languages, told me once that in hard times, dead infants would routinely go ‘into the pot’.

The Linguist von Brandenstein who worked with these people for 30 years was an eye witness and spoke of "dead infants would routinely go ‘into the pot’."

So that is from 1960 to 1990 from an eminent scholar...

But according to you it never happened.

Brian Ross wrote on Dec 4^th, 2022 at 3:47pm:



The Linguist von Brandenstein who worked with these people for 30 years was an eye witness and spoke of "dead infants would routinely go ‘into the pot’."

So that is from 1960 to 1990 from an eminent scholar...

But according to you it never happened.

he spoke of "dead infants would routinely go ‘into the pot’."

He worked with them for 30 years - he saw it

I knew about it as I worked with them

Do you accept it happened?

It happened.

When did it stop?

As far as I know it still goes on in remote communities