Cabbage Tree Island, New South Wales Explained

Cabbage Tree Island is a locality in Ballina Shire located in the Northern Rivers Region of New South Wales.^{[1] [2]} It is a mostly Aboriginal community.

History

The island was reportedly settled by three Aboriginal pioneers in 1885, including "Bubba" Cook, ancestor of many islanders today.^[3] The islanders engaged in cane farming and had their own food gardens, reportedly living self-sufficiently.

In 1893 the island was designated an Aboriginal reserve, with Aboriginal people moving there from the region, and Cabbage Tree School opening.^[4]

In 1911 a government manager was installed,^[5] and the island was then run by various government Aboriginal welfare agencies until the mid-1970s. The manager's permission was required in some periods to leave the island.^[6] The welfare agencies provided regular food rations. Many of the islanders worked as cane cutters or other cane labourers. Young women often went to work as domestic servants in Sydney.

In the late twentieth century government management was transferred to a local Aboriginal land council, which maintains the houses on the island. The school continued in operation.

2022 floods

Buildings were damaged by the 2022 floods and residents were moved to temporary housing pods in Wardell and Ballina. The school on the island was temporarily relocated to Wardell in November 2022.^[7]

By March 2023, residents were frustrated by a lack of permission to return.^[8]

In September 2023, the Jali Aboriginal Land Council (Jali LALC) announced that the island homes would not be rebuilt, but the residents would be relocated to new homes on the mainland, due to "unacceptably high risk" from flood.^[9]

Facilities

the school is known as Cabbage Tree Island Public School.^[10]

Demographics

In the, the population of Cabbage Tree Island was 78.^[11] In the, it had increased to 89 persons.^[12]

Notable people

• Frank Roberts (1899–1968), paternal grandfather of Rhoda Roberts, went to the segregated school there.^[13]
• Frank Roberts Jnr, father of Rhoda Roberts, grew up in the reserve^[14]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Cabbage Tree Island. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales. New South Wales Government. 9 October 2020.
2. Web site: Untold: Cabbage Tree Island. ABC North Coast. 5 November 2014 . 2023-04-21 .
3. Unknown . 1 June 1961 . The Cabbage Tree Island Story . Dawn . New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board . 11 . 5 . 6 . Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies.
4. Web site: 2015 . NSW Government Schools History Database Search . 2 September 2023 . NSW Education Department.
5. Web site: Unknown . 18 September 2016 . Culture & Country – Cabbage Tree Island . 2 September 2023 . Planet Corroboree.
6. Book: Various . Aboriginal Women's Heritage: Ballina & Cabbage Tree Island . Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW . 2007 . 978-1-74122-593-8 . Sydney South . en.
7. News: 2022-11-21 . Indigenous Cabbage Tree Island community moves into new temporary home . en-AU . ABC News : The drum. 2023-04-21. Stephanie. Boltje.
8. Web site: Jeffery . Eve . 2023-03-21 . Residents of Cabbage Tree Island want to go home . 2023-04-21 . The Echo . en-AU.
9. News: Shoebridge . Joanne . 1 September 2023 . Cabbage Tree Island's Indigenous community to move, told its flood rebuild poses 'unacceptably high risk' . ABC . 2 September 2023.
10. Web site: Home . Cabbage Tree Island Public School . 25 October 2023 . 13 December 2023.
11. Web site: 2016 Cabbage Tree Island (Ballina – NSW) . 2024-09-03 . Australian Bureau of Statistics.
12. Web site: 2021 Cabbage Tree Island (Ballina – NSW) . 2024-09-03 . Australian Bureau of Statistics.
13. Web site: Radi . Heather . Frank Roberts . . 1 January 2002 . 3 September 2024. This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 16, (Melbourne University Press), 2002..
14. Web site: Chenery . Susan . Rhoda Roberts: ‘Dad believed if you changed one person’s mind it would have a ricochet effect’ . . 26 July 2024 . 3 September 2024.