ABSTRACT
The question of Aboriginal welfare in Queensland, in which Walter Roth became the central figure in the late 1890s, was embedded in much wider debates about national futures, where the question of race was absolutely central. Race was the proper focus of national debate and industrial reform and the source of deep-seated anxieties. The presence of Asians and Pacific Islanders became implicated in most public debates, from temperance to cooperative village settlements, and of course also in the question of the management of Aborigines. Roth left a lasting imprint on Aboriginal affairs in Queensland. The 1901 amendment bill was his own initiative Meston complained that he had not been consulted. The 1897 Act, as amended in 1902, became the foundation of Aboriginal administration until the 1930s. In 1934 the definition of 'half-caste' was widened to include the now large mixed-descent coloured population, and the prevention of Asian-Aboriginal contact was again at the core of reform.
