William Edward Harney
William Edward Harney | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | December 31, 1962 (aged 67) Mooloolaba, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Author, Aboriginal affairs officer, ranger |
| Years active | 1915–1962 |
| Known for | Writings on Aboriginal communities of Australia's Northern Territory; Protector of Aborigines; first ranger of Uluru |
William Edward Harney (18 April 1895 – 31 December 1962), commonly referred to as Bill Harney, was an Australian author renowned for his writings concerning the Aboriginal communities of Australia's Northern Territory.
Early life
Harney was born in Charters Towers, Queensland, as the middle child among three siblings to parents who originated from England. Beginning at age twelve, he took on roles as a drover and boundary rider across western Queensland. In 1915, he joined the Australian Imperial Force and served on the Western Front with the 9th Battalion before transferring to the 25th Battalion.
Work in the Northern Territory
After securing £260 from the Melbourne Cup in 1921, Harney leased Seven Emu Station located in the Gulf of Carpentaria, where he partnered with the local Garrwa people to operate the cattle property. He experienced a brief incarceration due to allegations of possessing stolen cattle but was ultimately released without charges. During this period, he explored classical literature available through a nearby library.
Upon his release, Harney took up trepanging, harvesting sea cucumbers alongside the Yanyuwa people, who had a long-standing tradition of trading trepang with Makassan traders.
Between 1940 and 1947, he was employed by the Australian government’s Native Affairs Branch as a Protector of Aborigines and patrol officer. Subsequently, Harney concentrated on his writing career and acted as a consultant for National Geographic expeditions to Arnhem Land and Melville Island. From 1941 through 1957, he contributed numerous pieces to Walkabout, establishing himself as a prominent author. Additionally, he provided advisory input for the film Jedda (1955).
In 1959, Harney became the inaugural ranger of Ayer's Rock (present-day Uluru), a position he held until retiring in 1962. Afterwards, he moved back to Queensland and passed away that same year at his residence in Mooloolaba. The sandstone dibbler, Pseudantechinus bilarni, bears his name in recognition of the Aboriginal pronunciation of his surname.
Personal life
On 5 April 1927, Harney wed Linda Beattie, a Warumungu woman originating from Groote Eylandt. They had two children: Beatrice (known as Beattie) born in 1928 and Billy born in 1930. Linda succumbed to tuberculosis in 1932, followed by Beattie’s death in 1934. Their son Billy drowned in Alice Springs in 1945 while attempting to rescue a friend. Harney endured social exclusion from white society due to "marrying into the colour," and after Linda’s passing, her relatives accused him of causing her illness and removing her from her homeland. He referred to this ordeal as "the race trap."
In 1931, Harney fathered a son, Bill Yidumduma Harney, with Ludi Libuluyma, a woman from the Wardaman community.
Bibliography
Harney produced or co-produced various books and numerous articles, such as:
- 1943 – Taboo
- 1946 – North of 23
- 1948 – The Brimming Billabong
- 1949 – Songs of the Songmen (co-authored with A. P. Elkin)
- 1957 – Life Among the Aborigines
- 1958 – Content to Lie in the Sun
- 1960 – Bill Harney's Cook Book (with Patricia Thompson)
- 1961 – Grief, Gaiety and Aborigines
- 1963 – To Ayers Rock and Beyond
- 1963 – The Shady Tree (finished by Douglas Lockwood)
- 1983 – Bill Harney's War. Currey O'Neil: Melbourne.
- 1990 – A Bushman's Life (edited by Douglas and Ruth Lockwood). Viking O'Neil: