Physical description

Paperback book with glossy front cover

Publication type

non-fiction

Inscriptions & markings

Victorian Historical Journal
Volume 89 Number 1 June 2018
Royal Historical Society Of Victoria

Summary

Article Page 45: McKay's 1891 Journey: A Window into the Victorian Mallee Back Country by John Burch

In 1891, Nathaniel McKay, the father of Hugh Victor McKay, the inventor of the Sunshine Harvester, travelled south from Mildura across the Mallee back country to Yellumjip, south-west of Ouyen. He described his journey in the Mildura cultivator, and his articles provide a rare description of the back country, also opening a window into colonial and Aboriginal use of the land.

The document the squatters' attempts to develop the land, and their reliance on Aboriginal labour. In combination with other colonial sources, McKay's observation also suggests extensive pre-colonial use of the back country by Aboriginal people. That Aboriginal land use then provides a framework that explains the settlement patterns of the squatters.