The New South Wales Bar and Aboriginal people: making Aboriginal subjects c. 1830–1866

Aboriginal defendants appearing before the New South Wales Supreme Court came from specific geographical areas where one might say that English sovereignty existed. In other areas, Aboriginal people were treated as a conquered people. For those who were caught in the legal system, their uncertain legal situation resulted in the initial establishment of the industry of interpretation that would shape much of the court’s history. Moves to have Aboriginal people legally represented in the criminal courts were piecemeal and inadequate. The Aboriginal subject, something flickering and uncertain, was created by a highly mannered and sensitive legal fraternity. Alternatively, while Aboriginal people had uses for English law, they also showed strong ideas about its purpose and limitations.