v
Preface.
had bestowed much attention on the aborigines, and who
spoke the language with a fluency nearly equal to their
own, was appointed to the office of interpreter, and was
thenceforth generally employed as a recognized medium
of mutual communication in all public matters, whether
of explanation, negotiation, examination, or prosecution.
At length, in the year 1838, that able and talented
officer, Lieutenant (now Captain) G. Grey, Governor of
South Australia, whilst resting from his labours of
exploring the country, turned his attention to this
subject, in compliance with the spirit of the instructions
under which he was acting, and compiled a vocabulary,
which was published in the colony in the shape of a
pamphlet. This was subsequently republished in Lon-
don, with the addition of some words, chiefly peculiar to
the locality of King George's Sound. These will be
found marked with the letters (K.G.S.), as those con-
tributed by the Messrs. Bussel, of the Vasse River
settlement, have been marked with the word (Vasse).
To him we are certainly indebted for the first publica-
tion of anything approaching to a correct list of the
words of this Australian dialect; and any future attempts
of the same nature can only be considered as a more
expanded form of his original work. Without that
vocabulary it is probable that the present would not
have been undertaken. This vocabulary is founded upon
that of Captain Grey, but is in a much enlarged
