ABSTRACT
The pastoral industry was by far the largest employer of Aborigines in northern Australia. Bleakley estimated in 1928 that 80 per cent of Aborigines employed in the European economy were in the industry. The actual number of employees is, however, difficult to establish: the figures provided by pastoralists are open to question, for it was in their interest to understate the size of their workforce; the fewer workers employed, for example, the lower the contribution to the government medical fund and the fewer the dependants expected to be fed. The treatment of Aborigines by the pastoralist could not be determined on the basis of standards applicable to white employees. Aborigines did not have the same needs as white workers, they could not understand the value of money, and they did not behave rationally. The training of bush Aborigines for work in the pastoral industry had to be left to the pastoralist.
