Social History Cards - Mitchell River (Kowanyama) and Normanton

This series contains 197 cards which record personal details of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living at Mitchell River and Normanton. The purpose of the Social History Cards was to record details of applications or approvals for social security benefits. The cards often contain information about a person’s family and marital relationships, including information about the person’s children and their movements for the purposes of child endowment payments.

Access Conditions

Access to these records is restricted for 100 years in order to protect personal privacy. To apply for access to these records please contact Queensland State Archives.

Records

The cards contain information such as person’s identification number, name, sex, religion, protectorate, “rank”, “registered as”, “race”, date of birth, employment, name and identification numbers of parents, name, identification number, and “race” of spouse, date, place and nature of marriage, and names, sex, and dates of birth of the person’s children. It also contains information about the removal of the person from their previous place of residence and their admission to the Missions, including dates of and reasons for admission and discharge.

The back of the cards contain information about the person’s perceived behaviour, including “outstanding or meritorious conduct” and crimes, as well as their thumb prints, identifying features, signature, medical history, and details of death. Later cards also record information relating to child endowment payments, bank details, savings, occupation, list of dependents over 16 years of age, and court decisions.