StateLibQld 1 231156 Cape Bedford Mission Station

The Cape Bedford Mission was the first

Christian mission A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and a ...

on the

Cape York Peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

Queensland, Australia Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, ...

. It is the oldest surviving mission in northern Queensland. It is at South Cape Bedford within the present-day locality of Hope Vale (). Founded by

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

staff from the

Cooper Creek The Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) is a river in the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia. It was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its ...

area of South Australia (who also established the Elim Aboriginal mission in Queensland), it became a stable community with the assignment of two young

Neuendettelsau Neuendettelsau is a local authority in Middle Franconia, Germany. Neuendettelsau is situated 20 miles southwest of Nuremberg and 12 miles east of Ansbach. Since 1947 it has a Lutheran seminary ( ''Augustana Hochschule''). Politics The mayor is C ...

missionaries, George Schwarz and Wilhelm Poland). Schwarz stayed for 55 years, and Poland for 20; they added the Hope Vale site. The community was evacuated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

because its German missionaries were reclassified as "enemy aliens" and imprisoned for the duration. After the war, Hope Vale was established on a new site. Schwarz is still remembered there; it has remained a cohesive community, home to indigenous activists.

Language and traditional land

Guugu Yimithirr (also known as Koko Yindjir, Gugu Yimidhirr, Guguyimidjir) is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

of Hope Vale and the

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

area. The language region includes the local government area of the Aboriginal Shire of Hope Vale and the

Shire of Cook The Shire of Cook (The Shire) is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia. The Shire covers most of the eastern and central parts of Cape York Peninsula, the most northerly section of the Australian mainland. It covers an area ...

, particularly the localities of Cape Bedford, Battle Camp and sections of the Normanby River and

Annan River The Annan River ( Kuku Nyungkal: ''Yuku Baja'') is a river in the Wet Tropics of Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises in the Yorkey Range below Mount Romeo near , north-northwest of . The river flows generally ...

History

19th century

The Cape Bedford mission was seen as a stepping stone into

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, which Germany had acquired in 1884; Papua was British.

Johann Flierl Johann Flierl (16 April 1858 – 30 September 1947) was a pioneer Lutheran missionary in New Guinea. He established mission schools and organised the construction of roads and communication between otherwise remote interior locations. Under his ...

, who was working at the

mission in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, was authorized to start a Lutheran mission in New Guinea. However, he was delayed for several months in Cookstown in 1885 and used this time to establish the Cape Bedford mission. Flierl stayed for six months before moving to

German New Guinea German New Guinea () consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups, and was part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , became a German protectorate in 188 ...

. He was replaced by C. A. Meyer and his wife, Mathilde, from the Cooper Creek mission. In September 1886, George Pfalzer and his wife (also named Mathilde) arrived from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

to assist Meyer. In January 1887, government start-up funding for the mission was withdrawn. Its support was taken over by the Neuendettelsau Society in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and German Lutheran communities in southern Australia. After another reorganization of the mission staff, George Schwarz arrived in September 1887 and Wilhelm Poland in 1889. These missionaries and their wives helped stabilize the mission and make it more cohesive. The Polands ran a school at Elim, while Schwarz settled with the young men on a new outstation at Hopevale for

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

and

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

work. Poland and Schwarz emphasized teaching in the

Guugu Yimidhirr language Guugu Yimithirr, also rendered Guugu Yimidhirr, Guguyimidjir, and many other spellings, is an Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Guugu Yimithirr people of Far North Queensland. It belongs to the Pama-Nyungan lang ...

, and soon some of the mission girls were teaching at the school. In 1890, the Queensland government offered a £200 annual subsidy to the mission on condition that lessons be taught in English. This funding stopped in 1893, leaving Schwarz and Poland to teach the students in their choice of language. In 1900, when a government teacher arrived, English instruction resumed. Due to fluctuations in funding, for about the first 15 years of the mission's existence its residents were at least

trilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monoling ...

20th century

Thirteen years after the mission's founding, the first adults were baptised in 1899 (before the adult baptisms, a few girls had been baptised in 1896 and 1897). In August 1892, a deathbed

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

was performed. In 1903, when the church opened at Hopevale, 12 residents were baptised: six girls, one boy and five young men. In 1900, the Elim community was relocated to Hopevale with the arrival of government teacher Mary Allen. The residents of the Lutheran missions at Marie Yamba and Bloomfield were added in 1901 and 1902. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Schwarz moved the mission and its residents to Spring Hill, south of the mission reserve and closer to the Cooktown road; as a result, it was now accessible overland as well as by sea. Communications with Neuendettelsau was disrupted, and supervision of the mission devolved to a

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

-based Lutheran committee. Although Schwarz was naturalised in 1905, married to an Australian woman and his children were Australian-born and spoke only English, one of the mission's neighbours called him an "officially-pampered Hun" and accused the government of "subsidizing an institution conducted by an enemy subject to teach the Aboriginals German sentiment and German language." World War I ended the direct involvement of the Neuendettelsau Mission Society in the Cape Bedford mission. The Lutheran

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, United States, assumed its financial support for a time; increasingly, it recruited staff from descendants of German

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

(through the Lutheran Immanuel College in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

) rather than from Germany. Nevertheless, there was a lingering sense that the mission was "too German." In 1933, the mission was given to the United Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Australia (UELCA). The outbreak of

brought fears about the loyalties of Aboriginal people educated by Germans and in close contact with the Japanese in the marine industries. On 11 May 1942, American army trucks arrived; Schwarz was arrested, and everyone else was transported to the Cooktown wharf for transport to the

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th ...

at Woorabinda in central Queensland. During their seven years in exile, 60 residents died. In 1949, a group returned to the Hope Vale site to reestablish the mission. The army had taken over the land, and damage had been done by it and by storms. The mission was rebuilt on a new site on the

Endeavour River The Endeavour River ( Guugu Yimithirr: ''Wabalumbaal''), inclusive of the Endeavour River Right Branch, the Endeavour River South Branch, and the Endeavour River North Branch, is a river system located on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queens ...

, from the old mission. Australian-born pastor Victor Wenke took on the role of missionary. The Lutheran

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...

was a supporter of the Cape Bedford mission; it was the first mission to receive a

Deed of Grant in Trust A Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT) is the name for a system of community-level land trust established in Queensland to administer former Aboriginal reserves and missions. They came about through the enactment by the Queensland Government of the '' ...

(DOGIT) in 1986, which turned it into a community with its own

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

References

Sources

Many Voices: Reflections on Experiences of Indigenous Child Separation – Google Books

Up from the Mission: Selected Writings – Noel Pearson – Google Books

Ethnicity and the Bible – Google Books

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://missionaries.griffith.edu.au/qld-mission/cape-bedford-mission-hope-vale-1886-1942 , title=Cape Bedford Mission (Hope Vale) (1886–1942) , publisher=Griffith University History of Queensland Christianity in Queensland