Mary Bennett and H B Moseley

In 1933, Mary Bennett read a paper “The Aboriginal Mother in Western Australia’, to a women’s league gathering in London. The British were scandalised by reports of Aboriginal slavery, and the scandal created headlines back home. Not for the first time, the WA government was under pressure to enquire into the condition of the state’s Aboriginals.

The Royal Commissioner of the new enquiry, H B Moseley, dismissed complaints about pastoralists’ treatment of Aboriginals as isolated incidents.

With respect to Aboriginal wages in the Kimberley region he reportedly said

“as he never had any money and would not recognise it if he saw it, he [the Aborigine] is not deprived of anything.”

To support this argument, he pointed out that Aboriginals had been paid wages in the Pilbara for some time, and had only developed an insatiable desire to spend their money.

In 1936 the 1905 act was replaced with a new Native Administration Act, written with a great deal of input from Neville. In exchange for increased responsibility for any destitute Aboriginals on their station, pastoralists were given strict control of Aboriginal wages.

By the end of the 1930s there were 40 segregated native camping reserves in the state. Neville remained in charge of Aboriginal Affairs until 1940.