THE ABORIGINES AT BURRAGORANG

22 February – TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD. THE ABORIGINES AT BURRAGORANG. Sir,-I notice a telegram in Wednesday's Herald from your Camden correspondent, saying the aboriginals state the Government will not send a medical man to them, and that an unfortunate widow was left to die in misery. This statement is very misleading, as the Government do not refuse to pay a medical man for attending the aborigines, provided the application for a doctor comes through a magistrate, who can then sign the voucher as the "officer incurring the expense." With regard to Eliza Saunders, she was asked to have a doctor, but she said she knew she was dying, and refused to have one sent for, but she was well nursed. It is a difficult matter to deal with these people at Burragorang. There is a Government allowance to the mothers and young children of a certain amount of rations per week, but there are several big boys and young men who could get employment if they would take it, but they prefer to hang about the camp, using the rations supplied, so that those to whom rations are supplied are deprived of their rights, and have to go hungry half their time, and it seems almost impossible to remedy this matter. Still, they are all far and away better off than in their natural state, many of them having horses and saddles. Seven or eight of them have been staying here for the last ten days, and they have five good horses among them. I am, &c,W. R. ANTILL. (Trove, Sydney Morning Herald, 22 February