KILL, CURE OR STRANGLE Atherton

Clearing of the rainforest continued, with the best timber taken out for milling. Some local timber was also used for building and fence and yard posts, but because of a lack of legislation or administration of forestry resources, much of the timber was burnt or wasted.[1] Although it appears that there is some question about the willingness of the Chinese to clear land,[2] the evidence to the Royal Commission on Land Settlement would indicate that that in some areas they cleared extensive areas by using a particular method which brought down as much as an acre of timber and undergrowth at one time. This facilitated the burning of vegetation.[3] They then planted corn seed by hand among the stumps and cultivated it with hoes.[4] The matured cobs of grain were hand harvested from the stalks, carried in baskets to the edge of the clearing and placed in drays. They were then husked and shelled by hand, and bagged ready for the merchant’s dray to pick up.[5]

 By 1895, the Chinese and other farmers had established that maize could be grown on the Tableland, but the Royal Commission on Land Settlement was told that very few of the white farmers were making money,[6] apart from three who were cultivating large acreages and growing both potatoes and maize.[7]  However, grain of a quality suitable to feed horses, mules, and working bullocks could be produced to satisfy the local market conditions[8] although the quantity required was not met for some years and maize continued to be brought in from the south.[9] By 1897, there were 110 agricultural farms in the district, sixty of them freehold.[10]  The number of white farmers was estimated at eighty, with 180 Chinese working about half the farms.[11]  By 1901, in excess of 30 000 acres of land had been alienated, 4079 acres were under maize and producing 167 524 bushels of grain.[12]

The Chinese population had grown to 484,[13] with those not growing maize involved in the transport or selling of it.[14] Although many of the men lived in rough huts on the farms, others lived in a shanty town on the outskirts of Atherton on a selection bordering Piebald Creek, owned by Frederick Loder.[15] In the earliest times, these dwellings were probably built from saplings and corn stalks, with a thatched roof of blady grass.[16] By 1900, the shacks had been replaced by relatively substantial buildings, built of slabs, with sawn timber floors and corrugated iron roofs, and a separate lean-to cooking facility at the back. The small township was neat and orderly, with one street, solid dwellings, permanent water from wells, and gardens which allowed self-sufficiency.[17] A site analysis of the area shows that there were a herbalist/doctor, two gambling houses, a restaurant, several merchants, and a ‘Lodge’ or communal hall, as well as the Hou Wang Miau (Chinese Temple), constructed in 1903.[18]

Illustration 2: Plan of China Town, Atherton, c. 1910.

Source: Maureen Lillie, Hou Wang Miau, National Trust, Queensland , 1997, facing page.

Several Chinese merchants set up business in the townships of Atherton and Martin Town, which later became Tolga.  Two key figures emerged in the maize industry very early in the 1900s. One was Edward Lee Sye, who had arrived in Cairns in 1892 at the age of sixteen. He had quickly learned to speak English, and was a dedicated gambler. It is likely that it was from this source that he acquired enough capital to set himself up as a merchant in Tolga in 1903. His marriage to an Australian born woman allowed him to apply for naturalisation.[19] He assumed a leadership role in the Chinese community, and formed a society known as the Gee Kung Tong.[20] This society placed a levy on the gambling houses, and forced the Chinese farmers to sell their crops through members of the society.

His status as ‘The Corn King’ or ‘The Head Serang’, as he was known throughout Atherton[21] was challenged in a dramatic fashion by another power-broker, George Fong On. Fong On’s application to join the Gee Kung Tong had been refused on the grounds that he was not a fit and proper person for membership.[22] Fong On retaliated by organising a rival society known as the Tong Sin Tong. Matters came to a head in 1912 when one of the worst riots in Atherton’s history broke out, resulting in the injury of eleven men, one of them seriously.[23] According to the police report, Chinese had been gathering in Chinatown from the outside farms, and up to 400 had congregated. Constable Creedy, the Officer in Charge of the Atherton police, stated that he had no doubt that the fight had been premeditated, and identified the ring leaders as Fong On and Chong Yee, and that it was an attempt to break up the Gee Kung Tong. Given that Lee Sye had attempted to monopolise the gambling and maize trades, it was hardly surprising that some reaction occurred. Tensions continued to simmer between the rival Tongs, and in 1914 extra police were requested from Chillagoe and Townsville.[24]

Needless to say, the Chinese presence in the district was resented bitterly by some segments of the white population. E.G. Putt was one of the most vocal, accusing them of committing unacceptable acts such as using opium to lure Aboriginal workers, failing to tank[25] their corn, or, conversely, tanking their corn and withholding it from the market to obtain better prices.[26] However, it was the principle of leasing land to the Chinese which caused most indignation.[27] Mr Givens, (MLA for Cairns ), was a particularly trenchant critic of the practice,[28] and in 1904, a Bill prohibiting the lease of land to coloured aliens was introduced in the Queensland Parliament.[29] This resulted in the Leases to Aliens Restriction Act of 1912, designed to force aliens wishing to lease land to obtain a certificate based on their ability to write in English.[30]  This was never pursued vigorously on the Tablelands, as the convenience of being able to have the hard work done by lessees and not themselves was not lost on the owners of the land. There is little evidence to support the claim that the presence of the Chinese was a problem to all white farmers in the district.  W.B. Kelly, known as the King of Atherton because he had been the first to buy land in the area, refused to attend any meetings of the Barron Valley Farmers’ Association after its members (on the motion of Putt), complained to the Government about the use of Aboriginal labour by the Chinese. Indeed, both Kelly and Putt had made use of Chinese lessees on their farms.[31] Charles Bryde, who farmed in the Kairi area from 1912 when the Chinese were most numerous in the district, expressed grudging admiration for ‘John Chinaman’.[32] Arnold Jones, extolling the farming life on the Tableland in a private letter to his sister, also written in 1912, makes no mention of them at all.[33]

By 1912, Chinese domination of the industry had reached its zenith, with about 1000 Chinese living in the district.[34] There is also evidence that the Chinese were able to recruit labour from the coast when it was needed.[35] At this time, 13 042 acres produced 722 741 bushels[36] of maize,[37] about 80% of which was grown by Chinese.[38] The arrival of the railway in 1903, eagerly sought by the farmers from the mid-1890s,[39] was a great boon to the maize industry. The grain could be transported to Cairns or to the western mining and grazing areas by train, instead of by pack team. The Chinese were quick to realize the advantages of producing maize close to the line, and monopolised the land along it.[40]

In Queensland , the production of maize declined during the World War One,[41] but on the Atherton Tableland, production levels rose slightly. The system of leasing to the Chinese, who were “aliens” and therefore not eligible for army service, meant that the farms continued to function with the area under maize cultivation rising to 18 740 acres in 1917. However, the diligence of the Chinese did not prevent the white population’s resentment of them from continuing with increased venom.[42] The Tinaroo Shire Council began lobbying the Government to resume land leased to the Chinese, and to set it aside for a Soldier Settlement Scheme.[43] In 1919, free hold land owned by white people, but leased or worked by Asians, was resumed.[44]

 Most of the Chinese left, but a few remained. These were the very old, who continued to live in shacks on farms, eking out a living growing fruit and vegetables, many spending the remainder of their time in an opium induced haze; and the successful merchant families who had managed to obtain naturalisation. Today, no Chinese farmers remain in the district. More than 100 Chinese were buried in the Atherton  Pioneer Cemetery in the Alien Section from about 1894.[45] Of Chinatown, all that remains is the Temple, restored by The National Trust using government grants. Jue Sue Road, Fong On Street and Lee Leong Street are the visible reminders of families who settled in the area.

The Chinese had worked, developed, and organised an entire industry under legislative constraints which would have daunted lesser mortals. From 1877, the Queensland Parliament had passed a number of Acts designed to limit citizenship rights of Asians, and to restrict their entry into the colony and activities there.  As previously noted, the embargo on mining activities forced them into agriculture, whilst The Railway Construction Act of 1892 also denied them the right to work as labourers on railway construction.[46] Later, the Leases to Aliens Restriction Act attempted to debar them completely from agriculture. It failed in its purpose due to the needs of the white farmers whose antipathy to the Chinese was overcome by the pragmatic necessity for their labour and farming ability. Socially, the Chinese were meant to be affected by the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Acts of 1897 and 1901. These Acts not only restricted the employment of Aboriginal labour by Chinese, but prohibited the marriage of Chinese and Aboriginal women without the permission of the Protector of Aborigines.[47] It has to said that on the Tablelands, neither of these Acts was enforced to a great degree, as there are references to inter-racial sexual liaisons, children of Chinese men and Aboriginal women, and the use of opium in many of the reports written during this time.[48] The restrictions on the use of opium led to a thriving smuggling trade which ensured that those who required opium or alcohol as a substitute were able to obtain it.[49]

In spite of local antipathy and State and Federal legislation, which were reflections of the national concerns about Asian immigration and settlement, the Chinese farmers were responsible for the establishment of the maize industry on the Atherton Tableland. When they were finally driven out, their legacy consisted of thousands of acres of cleared land, some improvements on the farms, and a demonstration that the industry was viable given farming knowledge, industry, and appropriate organisation. The next chapter in the history of the industry demonstrates the effect of the want of these essentials.

Soldier Settlement

A number of factors led to the establishment of the soldier settlement scheme in the Atherton-Tolga-Kairi area.  From 1903, rail transport made the carriage of grain to the coast and to the pastoral and mining districts of Etheridge and Chillagoe much easier and increased demand. The Agricultural Bank Act of 1901 established a rural bank which made money available to farmers to improve their selections. The Act was subsequently amended in 1904 so that farmers could amalgamate all their loans from other lending institutions, and to buy stock and implements. A further amendment in 1911 made money available for the purchase of property, and up to ₤200 to clear, fence and drain a selection.[50]

Therefore, by 1911, the Government was virtually providing money for people to purchase and set up a farm without requiring capital, or experience in farming.[51] Although Queensland Parliamentary Debates reveal that the purpose of the legislation was in the interests of the ‘battlers’, and to attract the ‘right type’ of men to the land, there was an unforeseen result.[52] Many worthy people were attracted to a life on the land, but they were not only burdened with an unsustainable debt, but forced into the clutches of merchants who provided them with provisions and crop expenses in return for a lien on their crops.[53]  On the Tablelands, this gave an economic advantage to the Chinese whose organisational skills encompassed all aspects of the financing, growing, cartage, and marketing of the crops.[54]

This situation was bitterly resented by the white population, which also recognised that the low skill base of white farmers contributed to their difficulties. The Atherton Farmers’ Association lobbied the Minister for Agriculture to offer inducements to experienced Victorian and New South Wales farmers to come to the Atherton district. The Association also lobbied for the establishment of a State Farm to provide education and advice to the farmers, as well as to provide stud animals.[55] Therefore, the circumstances of available money and land, inexperienced white farmers, and the presence of Chinese farmers willing and able to make a living where others could not, fuelled the emotional response of the Europeans, who felt that with appropriate education and advice, and other more experienced farmers to provide role models, white farmers could also succeed.

Another factor which arose during the course of the World War One was the exodus of young men into the armed forces. During the first two years of the conflict 384 enlisted,[56] leaving a severe shortage of labour in the district. As the War progressed, it became increasingly obvious that the district would need some powerful incentives to attract men back. At the same time, the ruling ideology of agrarianism and of the superiority of the white race provided the perfect solution to the desire of the white section of the population to get rid of the Chinese, and to repopulate the district with men who had proved their worth on the fields of battle. The concept of soldier settlement on the farms leased to Asians would satisfy all the requirements of the district to develop as an enclave of white farmers successfully farming in the tropics.[57] It would also serve as a means to populate the North with white people, which was a key government policy until the end of the 1960s.[58]

The Discharged Soldier Settlement Act of 1917 provided the legislative framework to return 12 000 acres of prime agricultural land to white and “right” control. As noted earlier, the Tinaroo Shire Council began asking the Government for inclusion in the Soldier Settler Scheme in 1917. The Council wanted only land leased to Asiatics included, as a means of expelling the Chinese: “...what a fine improvement it would be if [the Council] could get a lot of our soldiers to settle after the War on the maize lands between Atherton and Tolga”.[59] The Shire Clerk was authorised to write to the Lands Department suggesting that land in the vicinity of Atherton, Tolga and Kairi be resumed for settlement of as many returned soldiers as possible.[60] The response from the Department made it clear that only land worked by Asians would be targeted, and the Council was asked to provide a list of the land and the owners.[61]

In 1919, the land, all free hold, was resumed after the Land Court had settled the values and the owners paid out.[62] Although some of the owners resisted the resumptions and complained of forced evictions,[63] most received very generous compensation varying between ₤11 and ₤14 per acre.[64] The ninety-three farms, varying in area from four acres to 592 acres, were re-surveyed into 183 Perpetual Lease blocks of between fifty and sixty acres, in accord with the closer settlement policy of the Ryan Labor Government. The underlying ideology was that the farmers would be self-sufficient, but not necessarily aspiring to make  profits from their farms.[65] The Government sent 1 000 copies of a booklet extolling the opportunities and attractions of the Atherton Tablelands to the Agent-General’s Office in London[66], and some British returned soldiers responded by applying for and being allocated blocks.[67]

Applicants for the blocks were self-selecting, in that the only qualifying requirement was demonstrated service in any of the allied forces. It is evident from a study of the Farm Files held at the Queensland State Archives that many of those who were allocated a block had little or no experience of farming. Many had come from a city environment where the conditions were not so primitive as those prevailing on the Tablelands farms at that time. Many were unwell, suffering from the effects of shell shock, war wounds, or both. Those wives who accompanied their husbands onto the farms were also unfamiliar with life on the land, the isolation, and the poor living conditions.[68] Very few had any capital other than their deferred Army pay. The hapless soldier settlers were set up to fail. Not only were the farms too small to make a decent living, the farmers had little or no money, apart from the initial grant which had to be repaid; they had limited experience of the land and the prevailing conditions of soil and climate, and they were given very little opportunity to acquire any of these desirable attributes. Predictably, the area of land planted to maize steadily declined from 1919 to 1923 by more than 5 000 acres, and the yield declined by 217 000 bushels. The numbers of settlers also steadily declined, dropping 30% over the first two years of the scheme.[69] Many of their wives succumbed to “neurasthenia”, which diagnosis allowed the settlers to walk away from their farms.[70]

The terms of occupation of the soldier settler blocks were onerous. The farmers were advanced up to ₤1200 (₤625 by the Commonwealth, and ₤525 by the State)  to pay for any clearing which had to be done, erect a house, outbuildings and fences, and buy necessary stock. The value of the land was based on the resumption price, the value of any improvements, and the survey fee. The price of the farm plus the loan was repayable over forty years at 6% interest. If the settler fell into arrears, the interest rate became 10%. Debts exceeding ₤1250 were not uncommon.[71] Under the terms of the scheme the settlers could not dispose of their farms for the first five years, and then only to another returned soldier for the next five years.[72] The only option for many of the original settlers was to forfeit on the grounds of illness, or to walk off and remain liable for the debt (if they could be located by the Lands Department). Many of the settlers turned to the merchants for credit for living and crop expenses, and thus their crops were under the control of these business people. There is evidence,[73] both anecdotal[74] and written, that some of the merchants colluded to keep the price of maize to the farmers down to bedrock prices. By 1921 the price of maize had dropped to 3/6d per bushel, the northern market was absorbing only 33% of the Tableland crop, and freight costs to southern markets were proving to be an economic bar to the progress of the district. The soldier settlers were in financial difficulties as early as two years into the scheme.[75]

Illustration 3: Soldier Settler Joseph Austin outside his Kairi farmhouse, c. 1920. -

Source: Mrs Noela Debel.

The effects were felt within the Shire and the town. The Council was not able to collect rates from the farmers, and rates went unpaid for years. In 1936, the total arrears of rates was ₤23 166,[76] and the Council was forced to beg the Government for relief. This was refused.[77] Although the soldier settlers were supported by the local and State branches of the RSSAILA[78] which argued for better conditions and reductions of rents and rates, the settlers continued to fall into arrears. By 1944, the situation was critical for the Council, which was not able to provide necessary infrastructure such as roads, and farms were sold up without reserve to the highest bidder to recover rates owing.[79]

By 1923, it was obvious to the Government, and everybody else, that the Soldier Settlement Scheme was seriously flawed. There were 155 settlers left on the Tablelands, occupying 11 033 acres, with a total liability of ₤99 249.[80] The Government appointed a Revaluation Board which found that the prices of all farm equipment were abnormally high before 1919 because of shortages of such materials during the War. In the light of this finding the valuations placed upon the blocks were reduced.[81] This action reduced the level of payments and although the Government expected that they would be within the settlers’ capacity to pay, they proved not to be.  The Government then attempted to increase the size of farms by allocating settlers more land from the abandoned farms. The sting in the tail of this ‘solution’, was that the new owner had to agree to pay off the debts of the previous owner, and to borrow more money for the extra plant and equipment required to cultivate the larger acreages. Although the price of maize rose to, and stabilised at, ₤8 10s per ton in 1925,[82] it was still not enough to pay for the fixed expenses, growing costs and living expenses.