Descriptive note

 The file relates to the payment of flour and tobacco to Mariana, a Bathurst Island senior man, by the Civil Aviation Branch of the Department of Defence for the use of land for an airstrip, after Mariana approached Father Gsell of Bathurst Island Mission voicing concern about losing the land and about asking for payment. The desirability of retaining Aborigines’ goodwill, policy concerning Reserves and measures to prevent Aborigines interfering with the airstrip’s petrol dump and water are mentioned, and there are maps and plans.

Extract from Ros Fraser (compiler), ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Commonwealth Records: A Guide to Records in the Australian Archives, ACT Regional Office, Canberra, 1993’. As the above text was prepared to describe material relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, it may not describe all the material on the item.