ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comparative analysis of two Aboriginal protectorates established by the British Colonial Office in the wake of the 1837 Select Committee of Aborigines, the first in the Port Phillip District of New South Wales and the second in Western Australia. It focusses particularly on the appointment of the first protectors and the changing patterns of patronage that shaped those appointments. It argues that political developments in London, notably the resignation in 1839 of the Secretary of State for War and Colonies, Lord Glenelg, help to explain the divergent histories of protective governance in the two colonies. In a period when protective governance was a contestable idea, and through its ambiguity one consistent with a variety of colonial practices, staffing decisions had the potential to profoundly shape the character of the new institutions. The two protectorates differed in the nature of their relationships with Indigenous peoples, other colonial officials, and the settler population, and in the relative balance between the evangelical and secular roles assigned to the protectors. This chapter suggests that these differences are a function of the personalities and proclivities of the protectors themselves, and the political and/or humanitarian networks to which they belonged.
