The Black Man

Palmers Channel in the 1950s and 60s was a much different world to the Australia of today. The area had opened to white settlement in 1862. My great-great grandparents, John and Mary Ann (nee Parkinson) Marsh moved to the Channel in 1869 and took up a selection of land. I attended the Palmers Channel public school which had a little over 30 students. It was a single teacher school and most of the students were members in some way of the extended Marsh family.

David and Me with Pa Marsh, 1964. The way we are
dressed indicates we have just got home from Church

In 1885 a Mr John Carter leased approximately 1/5^th of an acre of land to the citizens of Palmers Channel for the purpose of building a Union Church Hall. This was located on the corner of what is now South Bank Road and Amos’s Lane. The aim was ‘… to allow Protestant Christians to hold Divine Service in the Church to be erected on the said land and to allow the said building to be used for all purposes that shall have for their end an aim, the object of advancing Religion, Morality and the General Welfare of Mankind’. The property was leased to the citizens for ninety-nine years at a nominal rental of one shilling per annum. Both John Carter and John Marsh were among the original trustees. John Davis, my grandmother’s grandfather, was another trustee. All of the trustees in the late 50s early 60s were grandsons of the original trustees.

I recall attending one wedding in the hall, although by the 50’s weddings were normally held in Maclean. During both world wars farewells to local boys who enlisted in the services were held here. It was used for social events, community meetings and during my childhood by the Grand United Order of Oddfellows. Grandfather Skinner was a member of this lodge but would have attended meetings on Harwood Island.

David, my brother, and I regularly attended Sunday School in the hall. Jack (John) Carter was the superintendent. There was an annual Sunday School Anniversary concert where children sang songs and recited poems and scripture verses for the parents and other attendees. Prizes were awarded for attendance, learning memory verses and possibly other things as well. Reflecting the Protestant Catholic divide of the time Mum once expressed some surprise at but also appreciation for the attendance of the local school teacher at an anniversary as the teacher was Catholic.

As members of the Church of England (now Anglican) we attended Church here once a month. Other denominations took their turns on the other Sundays in the month. Dad played the organ. I sat with my grandparents on one side of the hall and, for some reason, everyone else sat on the other.

The first minister I remember was, I think, Reverend Kemp. He was followed by the Reverend Gaden who served in the Maclean district for many years. During our monthly service the Reverend would conduct a communion service in the Anglican tradition. While I cannot verify the accuracy of this statement I was told that it was against the rules to throw out the left over wine that had been used for the service. It was always noted that the Reverend Gaden made sure that there was more than enough wine to cater for the parishioners and he fulfilled his pastoral duties by consuming the left overs. One only wonders what would be the situation today if, after conducting a number of communions, the man of God were pulled over for a breath test.

I will always remember the day the minister had brought a guest with him. While I may have seen people of different races before this man is the first non-Caucasian I recall seeing. I have no idea if he were aboriginal, South Sea Islander, Indian, or whatever. All I remember is that he was black – well, at least dark skinned. Unlike every other Sunday, every member of the congregation sat on the same side as my grandparents and me – all, that is, except our visitor. I remember looking at this lone figure on the other side of the hall and being tempted to go and sit with him. But the attraction to my grandparents was stronger. So far as I remember no one spoke to our guest that day.

I often reflect on this and another event that occurred a little later. We had a new cane cutter in the district, and he was Italian. Now this was a real talking point at the time, although I believe there was an Italian connection with the Lower Clarence that went back probably to the late 19^th century. There were also families of German descent in the district and my own great-great grandmother Johanna Davis was German. But all this was not obvious as no one spoke with an accent, which is why the cane cutter stood out.

How different it is today. We rightly recognise the place of Aboriginal Australians in our society. Yes, there were some aboriginal kids in high school but this incident happened in my primary school days. We live in a quite cosmopolitan society. I was always amazed at the variety of ethnic origins represented in the different schools my kids attended. My own kids have a parent born overseas, so unlike me. So far as I have been able to determine all my great grandparents were born in Australia. Two of my grandchildren have Asian and Greek blood while the other has Macedonian ancestry.

Australia in the 1950s, including Palmers Channel, rested in the security of the White Australia Policy. We were insular in our thinking and, yes, racist. Racism is not an Australian, or an English, thing. Most, if not all, races are cursed with this condition. I suspect at its root is fear of the unknown, that which is different. I love to see kids of different backgrounds mingling and playing together in our schools and forming friendships that are based on character and common interest, not religion, skin colour or other culture differences. This gives me hope that we can continue to develop in this country a culture that is both diverse and inclusive, one that encourages peaceful and respectful co-existence.