The Corroborree - Rosa Campbell Praed
Written for the University of Southern Queensland’s Faculty of Arts
English literature course - Australian stories ENL1001.
An analysis of a nineteenth century literary short story by an Australian writer.
Kerri Whitbread
U1011623
The Turning of the century (1999) book compiled by Christopher Lee includes many talented Australian writers of the 1890’s that are not only an archival monument to Australian literature, but also a defined insight into the historical and personal identity of our people during these early stages of Australian settlement (1). The 1890’s in Australia were an erratic time for both natives and settlers with ‘the great crash – a decade long depression’ where many people lost jobs, went on shearer strikes, fought for a Federation which lead to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 at the end of the century and the continual eruption of native massacres that took place around the country on indigenous people (2)(3).
This essay is a close reading analysis of a short story from Turning of the Century that was derived from an excerpt of the sensational and historic novel Outlaw and Lawmaker (1893) by Mrs Rosa Campbell Praed (27 March 1851 – 10 April 1935) called The Corroborree (1)(5). The Corroborree on its own [without the assumption of any connection to a larger narrative] produces a fascinating journey into the lives of a diverse group of people during the nineteenth century in Australia. This inspiring story includes dissimilar characters consisting of Lord and Lady [Em] Waveryng, their parents Lord Horace and Ina [Married], Frank Hallett and his wife Jem, Blake and Trant as pioneers and Elsie, the girl from lower socio economic status with much admiration for a true lady such as Lady Waveryng. Without further investigation into the larger novel, the understanding behind the twisted love triangle tales is that both Frank and Trant were both in love with Elsie, Elsie was in fact engaged yet completely in love with Blake.
The intricate connections each of these personalities develop in such a short time in this literary work whilst embarking the reader on a fairytale journey into their twisted lives of love, desire, passion, deceit, adultery, intrigue and an exploration investigation into the politics of whites and indigenous natives in the nineteenth century. Collectively they were of Australian nature, English Pioneers, Anglo-Australians and Anglo-Celtic Australians of upper class and lower class socio economic status as they discover the simplest form of entertainment in its time by investigating an indigenous tribe within the mountains nearby to experience a show put on by the indigenous culture called a corroborree. Bribery was given to the indigenous tribe in order to allow viewing of the corroborree by the gift of alcohol and tobacco for allowing them to watch. Is it possible that the author Rosa Praed thought of herself as the character Elsie, with the incongruent inner passion to yearn for heated romance with someone other than her own partner, and an inner force to find her own true identity due to martial captivity?
Rosa Praed began her journey of life in the Morton Bay area of Queensland, Australia surrounded by family of political and legislative council and homesteads that were stations when having to move following an abundance of indigenous massacres in the area. She became the lady of the household after her mother passed away young and married into a marriage that was destined for failure and brought unhappiness. After her move to England in late 1870 and separation from her husband, Outlaw and Lawmaker would have been in the works which, as it stands now with the cross cultural aspects of proper English speaking whites communicating with Native Australian indigenous people, symbolically, this passes references to her personal identity at that time, with the history of witnessing indigenous massacres, and the more recent move to England’s completely different way of living, a juxtaposition of cultural tales (7).
Both theatrical and catchy was the initial observation to this short story as it commences with “Oh, listen!” cried Elsie; “and look!” which draws the reader in straight away with expressive verbs. The Narrative point of view is written in third person omniscient with a clear definitive description of each character in the story as shown in the following paragraph in the story...
A barbaric rhythmic chant broke on the still air. It was the night of the corroborree. Lady wavering started up. She did not want to lose any of the sight. Frank Hallett told her that he had made all the arrangements. They were to take up their position at a certain distance – not too near, and he would tell them when they must depart. They must not be shocked. He warned them that the dance might offend the squeamish (133).
The narrator projects each characters thoughts ‘She did not want to lose any of the sight’ and future happening events ‘They were to take up their position at a certain distance – not too near, and he would tell them when they must depart’. Further in the story there is representation of the narrator’s omniscient knowledge relating to the characters feelings as mention is shown of ‘Blake was in wild spirits. The excitement of the corroborree seemed to have infected him’ and, ‘His eyes shone, a mad gaiety possessed him’ (134). Furthermore, the sense of omniscience within this short story is quite universal, in a way that the narrator writes within a linear structure through the story and each event is in chronological order without the consistent commuting of time travel back and forth and thus relying on the continuity of the present tense arrangement.
The rhetorical and literal sense in this story begins with no questionable movement until the latter of the story when Blake and Elsie sit parallel on a tree stump, skin and clothes slightly touching each other - ‘Was it a dream – the hellish merriment, the savage gestures, the fiendish shouts and yells, in which there seemed a note of such unutterable melancholy?’ (136). This symbolises Elsie’s inner most thoughts of promiscuity and sins, to think that Blake could possibly feel the way she does in an almost oxymoron sense that ‘unutterable’ could mean the intense feeling Elsie has for him, the ‘melancholy’ feeling if it were not true, all conspiring to the unknown of what could happen. In a symbolic sense, the overall rhetorical meaning the author Rosa Praed questions is the inquiry of passion and uncertainty within the detachment of a relationship, as her own marriage was at the time, questionable. It is possible that Rosa thought of herself as the character Elsie, with the incongruent inner passion to yearn for heated romance with someone other than her own partner, and an inner force to find her own true identity due to martial captivity. Inventing Australia is a book aimed at understanding Australian Identity along with its history and it states...
“The question of Australian identity has usually been seen as a tug-of-war between Australianness and Britishness, between the impulse to be distinctively Australian and the lingering sense of a British heritage. However this attitude to the development of an Australian identity only became common towards the end of the nineteenth century, when self-conscious nationalists began to exaggerate what was distinct about Australia” (6).
Identity of Rosa Praed, her new home in England, and previous home back in Australia had all transpired into her work in this excerpt of her novel with a captivating insight into the aboriginal cultures of nineteenth century by allowing her characters to feast their entertainment on the excitement of a corroborree dance given to the Anglo-Australians by the indigenous people. This corroborree was described with a change of narrative tone from the usual characters voice responses on page 134, it had changed into a sudden stream of enthusiastic conscious observations as the only voice heard is the narrators description of the indigenous show about to start. “Suddenly the huge bonfire, which had been made of quickly flammable material, blazed forth, and the circle of the corroborree was a glow of red light”, could be told with such excitement if read out loud with the onset of ‘suddenly’ [adverb] and descriptive adjectives and nouns such as ‘huge bonfire’. “Barolin, Barolin!” shouted by the half-castes [without further investigation into the novel this short story extends from], and as they go on about the ‘suggestion of the waterfall rock, the legend of the great chief’, investigation leads to the possible reference to a place in Bundaberg called the Barolin rocks dive site, but obviously an important figure to the indigenous tribe.
“Troop after troop of demoniac beings pressed from the scrub and ranged themselves round the centre idol”(135). Here the indigenous tribe multiplied their group with more joining in the festivities and the narrator names them as an almost ‘alien’ species by calling them ‘demoniac beings’, meaning possessed or influenced by a demon, when surely they are simply a difference in cultural being.
With the indigenous tribe present, and the tremendous feeling the men in the group received from the masculine chanting and rituals of the tribe along with the nudity of the indigenous woman brought them altogether in an obscure sense of warmth, and need for affection. The excitement and closeness of the character Elsie and her presence of her lust Blake brought them both together in a promiscuous interlude away from the tribe, and alone. Her flirtatious behaviour was completely intentional and Elsie received exactly what she wanted.
Rosa Praed at the time of writing this novel, would have felt such captivity in her own world, having married at a young age, to a man she was not in love with and continual admiration for her family and their hard working nature on stations. Her move to England was a great one, and prompted many memories of the ‘old days’ back home in Australia. This story was the subconscious dreams that she perceived at night of both reality in her own life, and the fantasy she longingly hoped for.
Primary source
1. Lee, Christopher. “The corroborree” Turning the Century: Writing of the 1890's. Brisbane, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1999. 133-137.
Secondary source
1. White, Richard. “Inventing Australia: Images and Identity 1688-1980. The Australian Experience. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1981.
2. Praed Campbell, Rosa. “Outlaw and Lawmaker”, The Corroborree XXVII, Chatto & Windus, London, 1893.
End Note
1. Lee, Christopher. “The corroborree” Turning the Century: Writing of the 1890's. Brisbane, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1999. 133-137.
2. N/A – “History of Australia (1851-1900)” Wikipedia. 2010. Monday the 25th of October, 2010http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Australia_(1851%E2%80%931900)
3. Haebich. Ann, Delroy. Ann. “The Stolen Generations: Seperations of Aboriginal children from their families”. Page 12, Western Australian Museum, Perth, 1999.
4. N/A - ‘Queensland’s History’, Queensland Government, © The State of Queensland 2009,
http://www.qld.gov.au/about-queensland/history/#section-settlement
5. Praed Campbell, Rosa. “Outlaw and Lawmaker”, Chatto & Windus, London, 1893.
6. White, Richard. “Inventing Australia: Images and Identity 1688-1980. Page 47,Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1981.
7. Praed Campbell, Rosa. “Rosa Campbell Praed”. Wikipedia. 2010. Monday the 25th of October, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Campbell_Praed#cite_ref-Clarke15_0-0
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