Archibald Meston papers
Collection
A collection of newspaper cuttings, notes, correspondence, word lists, and scrapbooks relating mainly to Aboriginal people in Queensland, in particular, to language. Also represented in the collection are a number of articles written by Meston on subjects relating to Queensland history.
Archibald Meston was a journalist, poet, botanist, historian, politician (MLA Rosewood 1878-1882) and amateur ethnologist. He was also appointed the Southern Protector of Aboriginals for Queensland1897-1903, a position later held by his son Harold. Meston had a lifetime interest in Aboriginal culture and the languages of the indigenous people and his 'Report on the Aboriginals of Queensland' was the basis of the Aboriginal Protection Act of 1897, the law which regulated Queensland's indigenous people into the 1970s. His actions as Protector, especially in respect of the Fraser Island Reserve, were often controversial.
Out of copyright.