Transcript: Miss Marjorie Tebb remembers a family story about Aboriginal people in the 19th century in Liverpool

Description

Miss Marjorie Tebb was born in 1920 and [media]interviewed in 1986 for the 'Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900 to 1960.' Here she remembers her great grandfather's story about Aboriginal people in the Liverpool area, presumably from the nineteenth century.

Transcript

INTERVIEWER: I was wondering if you could tell me the story about the Aborigines and your great grandfather, who was a Mr Shepherd?

MARJORIE: Well, all I can remember is what I've been told. These Aborigines used to come around and they'd give them food and everything. And this particular, three times he'd given him a pair of trousers to put on. His name was Jackie, they were nearly all 'Jackies' the Aborigines in those days. The fourth time he'd come around he wanted 'food, Boss'. So anyway [great grandfather said]: 'I'm not giving you any food Jackie. You've got no trousers on; I've given you three pairs. What happened to the last pair I gave you?' 'Oh well Boss' he did say, 'they did fall down and I did walk away and leave them.' Because I suppose he just, they weren't used to wearing them even though we tried to educate them into wearing clothes, it was just no good.

INTERVIEWER: As a child, can you recall any Aborigines in the area?

MARJORIE: No, not in the area. [1]

References

Catherine Johnson (ed). Looking Back at Liverpool: An Oral History of the Liverpool Region 1900–1960 (Liverpool: Liverpool City Council, 1986). http://mylibrary.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/Electronicbooks/Lookingbackatliverpoolanoralhistory-1900-1960.pdf

Notes