Scientists’ Views On Perth Doctor’s Suggestion INTER=MARRIAGE QUESTION
Members of the Board for Anthropological Research at the University are much interested in the suggestion of Dr. Cyril
Bryan, of Western Australia, that steps should be taken to reduce the half-caste population of that State by scientifically breeding out the black blood by marrying them to persons with a greater proportion of white blood. Professor T. Harvey Johnston, Pro-fessor of Zoology, who during five visits to Central Australia has taken blood tests from hundreds of natives, said that the blood characteristics of the Australian aborigines were much more closely related to those of the white race than they were to those of any other race. The two blood groups which occurred among abor-igines were those which were the main groups in the white races. He had seen children of mixed blood in Central Australia who could pass for white children in Adelaide, but be-cause they had a trace of aboriginal blood in them they were classed as natives. The dilution of aboriginal blood by intermarriage with whites could go right on, and it could pro-bably be swamped much more readily than that of the negro. There were some characteristics of the negro, such as crinkly hair and certain facial fea-tures, which It was very hard to breed out. Australian aborigines, on the other hand, had softer, wavy halr, more akin in texture to that of Euro-peans. “In the East Indies, where one finds a mixture of Dutch and Malay blood, all those persons with a trace of white blood in them are classed as white,” he added. “The Portuguese adopt the same principle in India and Africa, but British communities work on dif-ferent lines. We class anyone with a trace of dark blood in them as black.” Hard To Breed Out Professor H. J. Wilkinson, Elder Pro-fessor of Anatomy and Histology, said that, as far as he knew, black blood could not be bred out, but it could be greatly diluted. As long as one could trace a black in the ancestry of a person, one could not say that that person’s blood was pure, although the black blood might be so diluted as not to be noticeable in any way. “When I was In America in 1929 I discussed this question with some of the leading scientists there,” he added, “and they all admitted that it was a very difficult one to solve. Some of them went so far as to say that it is only a matter of time before all the negroes will have been absorbed into the nation, because it is impossible to prevent the infiltration of their blood up from the bottom. Low grade whites will marry negroes, and their half-caste offspring again marry low grade whites, and so the negro blood will be-come further and further diluted, until the time will come when a person will not know whether he has a little black blood in him or not. Those scientists told me that they could not see any way of preventing the ultimate diffu-sion of negro blood throughout the nation, in the same way as Red In-dian blood had been diffused through many of the leading families of Ame-rica by intermarriage in the early days of the settlement of that coun-try.” Professor Wilkinson said that the ultimate result of a complete absorp-tion of the Australian aborigines by the white population would be a definite degradation of the whites. He was strongly in favor of preventing as far as possible intermarriage of the races by segregating the blacks on reserves of their own. Fifteen-Sixteenths White Mr. N. B. Tindale. ethnologist of the Museum, said that in a native camp in the Gawler Ranges he had seen a girl about four or five years of age whose blood was fifteen-sixteenths white, but one of whose parents was still associat-ing with full-blooded aborigines and living under the most primitive con-ditions. In that camp there were all shades of color, from pure-blooded natives, who had only recently come in from the back country, to the girl in question. It was impossible with out knowledge of the case to tell that that the child was not of pure European parentage. It would be very unfortun-ate for her mind trained to tend toward native rather than European cus-toms. because, although in every sense white to look at, she would in time, through her association with the blacks, become to all intents and purposes a true aborigine. That was one of the dangers of the non-segregation of half-castes from full-bloods. Many persons with a dash of native blood In them would pass for whites, and they should be encouraged to take their places In the world as Europeans. Segregation Of Aborigines “I know of one blue-eyed fair-haired man.” Mr. Tindale added, “who lives practically on Government charity as an aborigine, but who openly boasts that he can at any time he likes enter an hotel and get a drink. Because of his resemblance to a European his right to do so has never been questioned. He should be encouraged to sever his connection with his aboriginal asso-ciates and to become a European It would be a good thing if more atten-tion were paid to the segregation of true aborigines, and an attempt made to disperse those of mixed blood such as half-castes, quadroons, and octo-roons, among the general population.” Mr Tindale said it was generally understood, when persons of negro origin mated with whites, that, even after the passage of several genera-tions in which the black blood had apparently been bred out. there would appear sports or variations tending back towards the dominant characteris-tics of the negro. Characteristics such as the crinkly hair, dark skin the negro walk, which was due to a slight difference between the formation of their legs and those of Europeans, the negro lip and nose were difficult to eliminate. In the case of the Aus-tralian aborigines, however, it had generally been noted, although It did not yet amount to positive proof, that the dominant aboroginal characteristics did not reappear after the passage of several generations unless there was a fresh infiltration of black blood. It appeared, therefore, as if with a steady dilution of black blood through intermarriage with persons of Euro-pean types, the aboroginal blood would tend to merge into that of the general population and ultimately disappear. “The only apparent exception to this merging of black color into white,” he added, “appears to be in the case of a few families of mixed blood in South Australia who date back to the early days of the colony. It is however, known that, in those early days there were a number of Mauritius mulattoes and American negroes in the crews of the whaling ships that visited our shores. The seemingly aberrant genetic behavior in the inheritance of these families. therefore, may be due not to pure aboriginal blood but to other alien strains, such as that of the negro. The consensus of opinion in what little literature there is on the subject is that aboriginal blood through intermar-riage with whites over several genera-tions tends to merge into that of Euro-peans. These have, however, been few systematic investigations into this question. which is one well worthy of the attention of those interested in the study of human biology.”
Oratorio At Norwood.—An augmen-ted choir at the Norwood Baptist Church, conducted by Mr. C Bentley, sang Stainer’s “Crucifixion” last night. There was a large attendance. Mr J. Chamberlain was at the organ and the soloists were Messrs. P. William-son and A Whittle.
The Advertiser Adelaide, 29 March, 1934, p. 20.