Frederick Walker (native police commandant) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frederick Walker
Frederick Walker, circa 1860.
Born	14 April 1820 Hampshire, England
Died	19 November 1866 (aged 45 or 46) Floraville Station, Colony of Queensland
Nationality	English
Other names	Morum Billak
Occupation	Station manager, police officer, explorer
Title	Commandant of the New South Wales Native Police Force (1848-1854)

Frederick Walker (born 14 April 1820 – died 19 November 1866) was an important public figure in the early days of the Colony of New South Wales. He worked as a property manager, an explorer, and was the first leader (Commandant) of the Native Police Force. This police force operated in the colonies of New South Wales and Queensland.

Walker was appointed to lead the Native Police in 1848 by the New South Wales government. He held this role until 1854. During his time, the Native Police worked across a very large area, from the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers, through the Darling River regions, and into what is now northern New South Wales and southern and central Queensland. Most of their work under Walker happened north of the Macintyre River, which is in Queensland today. After leaving the Native Police, Walker became involved in the pastoral industry, managing large sheep and cattle stations. He also organized a private police group and led several expeditions into Northern Queensland.

Early Life and Career

Frederick Walker was born in Hampshire, England, in 1820. His family was quite well-known. His father, John Walker, was an officer in the British Army. Frederick's mother, Maria Teresa Henrietta Swinburne, was from a French aristocratic family. His sister, Harriet Walker, married a Royal Navy admiral.

Frederick moved to Australia in 1844. Soon after, he worked as a superintendent on William Charles Wentworth's large station called Tala (also known as Yanga) on the Murrumbidgee River. In the same year, he joined the Border Police of New South Wales as a corporal. This was a paramilitary unit.

In 1845, Walker became a Clerk of Petty Sessions in Tumut. He got the same job in Wagga Wagga in 1847. On 18 August 1848, he was appointed a "Magistrate" and the Commandant of the new Native Police Force. This appointment was recommended by his former employers, William Charles Wentworth and Augustus Morris, who were both members of the New South Wales government.

Leading the Native Police

People noticed Walker because he seemed to understand and communicate well with local Aboriginal people. He was also known for using existing rivalries between different Aboriginal groups to help with settlement. For example, in 1847, he helped a squatter named Edmund Morey deal with the Tati Tati people near the Murray River. Walker, with two armed Aboriginal men from a different tribe, helped to stop the Tati Tati's resistance. While living in the Murray River area, Walker was given the Aboriginal name Morum Billak or Muroo Billi. People debate what this name means, but it might mean "Long Legs" or "Big Nose."

The Native Police Force that Walker led was created in August 1848 near Deniliquin. Training began later that year. Fourteen Aboriginal troopers, aged 15 to 25, were chosen from four different Murrumbidgee tribes. They were well-trained and very loyal to Walker, who was proud of his men.

Walker and his force traveled up the Darling River. They reached the Macintyre River (near today's Queensland border) on 10 May 1849. Once there, the force worked to establish order with the local Aboriginal people, which led to some conflicts. They then moved to the Condamine River, where they managed to control the "Fitzroy Downs blacks" and other groups.

Walker noticed that many settlers and magistrates in the region expected the Native Police to use force against Aboriginal people. Walker encouraged settlers to allow local Aboriginal people onto their land. This way, they could be watched and managed more easily. This approach helped increase the value of the land. The early actions of the Native Police reduced attacks and resistance from Aboriginal people in the Macintyre and Condamine regions. Walker was successful in ending the resistance of the Bigambul people in the Macintyre district, though their population was greatly reduced by 1854.

During the early 1850s, Walker expanded the Native Police force. They operated in areas like Wide Bay-Burnett, Maranoa, Clarence River, Macleay River, Dawson River, Port Curtis, and Darling Downs. They carried out many operations, which often resulted in large-scale conflicts and the displacement of Aboriginal groups.

In October 1854, Walker reported on a conflict between the Wide Bay Aboriginal people and the Native Police at Obi Creek. The Aboriginal group had resisted the police passing through. Walker later found out that the real reason was to prevent the police from seeing a runaway convict named Gilberry. Walker had planned to capture Gilberry. It seemed strange to Walker that police patrols had never found Gilberry's tracks, as a white man's tracks are different from an Aboriginal person's. However, some women were helping Gilberry by covering his tracks.

A large group of Native Police troopers were also used during an expedition to Fraser Island. Walker, along with Lieutenant Richard Purvis Marshall and Sergeant Doolan, and three divisions of troopers, set out from Maryborough with local landowners. They landed on the west coast of the island and split up to search the area. Marshall's group had conflicts with the Badtjala people and captured some. Bad weather made operations difficult. Commandant Walker then allowed his division to track other Badtjala groups without him. This group chased the local Aboriginal people to the east coast, where they were forced towards the ocean. When the first settlers arrived in the Port Curtis area, Walker's division of Native Police was sent to the region to "have a month's sharp shooting," meaning to establish control.

By 1854, the Native Police force had grown to 10 divisions. Their methods, which often involved significant force, became more noticeable. Official complaints to the government in Sydney about conflicts with peaceful Aboriginal groups were often dismissed by the Attorney-General as untrue or exaggerated. However, these reports, along with complaints from settlers who felt they weren't getting enough protection, and some financial issues, led the New South Wales Government to investigate the Native Police. Commandant Walker was suspended from duty in September 1854. The investigation was held in Brisbane in December. The report was kept secret for two years, and only parts of it were released. As a result, Walker was dismissed from the Native Police. He later faced questions about financial matters and was sent to Sydney.

New Roles: Run-Hunter and Private Militia

By 1857, Walker was back on the frontier of European settlement in Australia. He was working on Serocold and Mackenzie's Cockatoo station. Here, he made plans with a squatter named George Serocold to explore land for new stations in the upper Comet River area. He set out with another squatter, Wiggins, and three Aboriginal men, Peabody and Jamie Sandeman, to find these new pastoral runs.

On his way back to Cockatoo, Walker's camp was attacked by local Aboriginal people at Conciliation Creek. Walker was badly wounded by two spears. He slowly recovered at a nearby station. Around this time, the Hornet Bank massacre occurred. Andrew Scott, a squatter, asked Walker for help protecting his new land. Walker gathered ten of his former Native Police troopers and formed a private group. This group patrolled the Dawson River area, carrying out missions against local Aboriginal groups. Walker used Hornet Bank station as a base. His troopers included Larry, Boney, Jingle, Billy, Coreen Jemmy, and Coreen Neddy. These troopers were former members of the Native Police. Local squatters, who were not happy with the government police force, paid for this private group. George Serocold called the situation a "Border War."

The Queensland Government eventually decided that Walker's private group was illegal and ordered it to be disbanded in 1859. William Wiseman, a government official, was sent to the Dawson River to carry out the order. He found that Walker's troopers had already disbanded and were working as shepherds on Andrew Scott's Hornet Bank and Pollet Cardew's Eurombah stations. Frederick Walker was also employed as an overseer.

In September 1859, Walker officially became a pastoral squatter. He took up land at Meteor Creek, Clematis, Carnarvon Creek, and Consuelo, working with other squatters. In 1860, he expanded his land interests by setting up the Planet Downs station on the Comet River with Daniel Cameron. He also helped others establish their stations nearby.

Walker continued his method of managing local Aboriginal people. He allowed those who accepted European settlement to stay on their land and work. This was different from the official Queensland Government policy at the time, which encouraged removing or eliminating Aboriginal people from desirable grazing lands. Because of this, Walker and the squatters who worked with him often complained to the government about the actions of magistrates and the Native Police in the area. Walker wrote letters complaining about the Native Police killing peaceful Aboriginal people on his land. He also wrote about how magistrates viewed Aboriginal people as outsiders in their own land, denying them rights and refusing to prosecute white people who had killed them. Walker also wrote about the Juandah massacre, where many innocent Aboriginal people were killed by vigilantes.

Around this time, a Sydney company hired Walker to find a large area of land suitable for grazing 100,000 sheep. Walker found this area on the Barcoo River. This expedition made him one of the first British people to enter this region.

1861 Burke and Wills Recovery Expedition

In 1861, Walker led a group that was supposed to search for the lost Burke and Wills expedition. However, Walker was also very interested in finding new areas for pastoral stations. He kept a detailed journal of his search.

On 25 August 1861, Walker left Rockhampton. He was joined by former Native Police troopers Jingle, Rodney, Patrick, Coreen Jemmy, and Jemmy Cargara. These Aboriginal men had worked with Walker for many years. They were very important for understanding the land and communicating with local Indigenous people. Walker recognized their importance by naming mountains and rivers after them.

However, this respect did not extend to all Aboriginal groups they met. On 30 October, near the Stawell River, the group met some local people they considered hostile. Walker wrote that they kept up a "continued steady fire." Out of about 30 Aboriginal people armed with spears, 12 were killed, and "few if any escaped unwounded." On 1 December, near the Leichardt River, Walker's group had another conflict with Aboriginal people, resulting in "a heavy loss."

Despite having better weapons, Walker found himself in danger on 4 December. Walker and Jingle were separated from the others. They had little ammunition and only one horse. They were surrounded and had to flee in a panic for eighteen miles before feeling safe. Three days later, the group reunited and met with Captain Norman. They had not found Burke and Wills or their party.

1866 Electric Telegraph Survey and Death

Frederick Walker's route (dotted red line) for the proposed electric telegraph in 1866

In 1866, Walker was hired to survey a 500-mile route for an electric telegraph line. This line would go from Bowen to Burketown. This was part of a competition with South Australia to be the end point of a major telegraph link from Europe. Although South Australia won the race, Walker did manage to survey a route for the Burketown line.

His expedition included himself as leader, H.E. Young, Mr. Perrier, Mr. Ewan, Mr. Merryweather, and four Aboriginal men named Paul, Alfred, Charley, and Tommy. On their way to Bowen, Walker had a bad fall from a horse. He was unwell for most of the rest of his journey. He arrived in Burketown with his group during a severe outbreak of Gulf Fever, a type of typhoid. To make things worse, Walker's camp outside the settlement was described as the "worst camp that I had ever seen," with no shade and poor water. Walker suffered from chronic diarrhea at this camp.

The group started their return journey, but at Floraville, Walker became too weak to continue. After several days, he died on 19 November 1866. H.E. Young's journal recorded Walker's death: "He died at noon and was buried on the evening of the same day."

Walker's will was finalized in London on 13 April 1867. All his belongings, valued at £1160 14 shillings 11 pence, were left to his sister Harriet Yorke.

Legacy

Walkers Creek, located near Marathon Station in far north Queensland, is named after Frederick Walker.

Frederick Walker's grave is about 71 kilometers south of the township on Floraville Station, in far north Queensland. The inscription on his grave reads:

On August 17 1848 Frederick Walker, aged 28, was appointed to the position of Commandant of the Corps of Native Police having emigrated from Australia from England. The Corps commenced with fourteen troopers recruited from four different New South Wales tribes. In 1850 Walker had three units and two lieutenants in the corps and by 1852 he increased the Corps with 48 additional Aboriginal troopers who were drilled and trained in the use of carbines, swords, saddles and bridles. On 12 October 1854 Walker was dismissed from the service for impropriety of conduct. After his dismissal he continued to live on the frontier and briefly formed an illegal force of ten ex-troopers from the Native Police Corps to protect settlers in the Upper Dawson region. In August 1861 fears had grown for the safety of the Burke and Wills expedition and Walker was sent at the insistence of the Royal Society of Victoria to search for the ill-fated expedition.

There are two memorial plaques for Frederick Walker in Hughenden. They remember his efforts to find the Burke and Wills expedition party.

An original letter from Frederick Walker to the Colonial Secretary was ranked #45 in the ‘Top 150: Documenting Queensland’ exhibition. This letter described an attack by the Native Police on "Friendly Blacks" at a station in Central Queensland, where several were killed and wounded. The exhibition toured Queensland from February 2009 to April 2010. It was part of Queensland State Archives’ events celebrating Q150, which marked 150 years since the separation of Queensland from New South Wales.

Images for kids

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  Frederick Walker's route (dotted red line) for the proposed electric telegraph in 1866