George Musgrave
Encyclopedia
Dr George Musgrave was an elder of the Kuku Thaypan clan and a famous Australia
n bush tracker. He was a Agu Alaya speaker.
He was born in his own country, near Lakefield National Park
. As children, he and Tommy George
Senior were hidden in mailbags by the station owner, Fredrick Sheppard, to avoid removal by police and welfare officers
.
As a result, they were able to grow up with their own people, and learn traditional law and language, management practices of their country and how to live off the land. Recently, they were able to successfully claim continuous ownership of traditional lands, and retain custody of some land
at Gno-Coom (Saxby Waterhole).
George's senses were so sharp he could follow a week-old trail through dense scrub at night. He could identify tracks that were up to two months old. In August 2005 he was asked to track an off duty policeman who had become lost while pig hunting. Despite being 84 years old, he found the man in less than a day.
He also worked as a community policeman and musterer.
Together with Tommy George Senior, he founded the Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation at Laura, Queensland
, the biennial Laura Festival of Traditional Dance and Culture, the Traditional Knowledge Recording Project and the Cape York Land Council.
They campaigned to protect the world-renowned Quinkan rock art
near Laura, where they carried out custodial duties for special places, including the rock art galleries.
They shared their knowledge of the bush, their language and their customs with researchers and visitors. It would be difficult to find a piece of scholarly work on traditional language, culture or country in Cape York Peninsula
that does not credit their expertise.
In 2005 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by James Cook University
for his knowledge of traditional law.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n bush tracker. He was a Agu Alaya speaker.
He was born in his own country, near Lakefield National Park
Lakefield National Park
Lakefield is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,707 km northwest of Brisbane and 340 km north-west of Cairns by road, on Cape York Peninsula. At 5,370 km2 Lakefield is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,707 km northwest of Brisbane and 340 km north-west of...
. As children, he and Tommy George
Tommy George
Dr Tommy George Senior is an elder of the Kuku Thaypan clan. He is a Agu Alaya speaker.-Biography:He was born in his own country, near Lakefield National Park...
Senior were hidden in mailbags by the station owner, Fredrick Sheppard, to avoid removal by police and welfare officers
Stolen Generation
The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments...
.
As a result, they were able to grow up with their own people, and learn traditional law and language, management practices of their country and how to live off the land. Recently, they were able to successfully claim continuous ownership of traditional lands, and retain custody of some land
Native title
Native title is the Australian version of the common law doctrine of aboriginal title.Native title is "the recognition by Australian law that some Indigenous people have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs"...
at Gno-Coom (Saxby Waterhole).
George's senses were so sharp he could follow a week-old trail through dense scrub at night. He could identify tracks that were up to two months old. In August 2005 he was asked to track an off duty policeman who had become lost while pig hunting. Despite being 84 years old, he found the man in less than a day.
He also worked as a community policeman and musterer.
Together with Tommy George Senior, he founded the Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation at Laura, Queensland
Laura, Queensland
Laura is a small town north of Lakeland in Cook Shire, Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, Australia. It is on the only road north towards the tip of the peninsula, and is the centre for the largest collection of prehistoric rock art in the world. It also forms the northern apex of the...
, the biennial Laura Festival of Traditional Dance and Culture, the Traditional Knowledge Recording Project and the Cape York Land Council.
They campaigned to protect the world-renowned Quinkan rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
near Laura, where they carried out custodial duties for special places, including the rock art galleries.
They shared their knowledge of the bush, their language and their customs with researchers and visitors. It would be difficult to find a piece of scholarly work on traditional language, culture or country in Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
that does not credit their expertise.
In 2005 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters by James Cook University
James Cook University
James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...
for his knowledge of traditional law.
Publications
- George, T., & G. Musgrave (1995). Our country, our art, our Quinkans. Laura, Queensland: Ang-Gnarra Aboriginal Corporation. ISBN 0-646-25392-1