Dead man's son the forgotten one
02.12.2004
THERE'S a lonely boy on Palm Island who cried yesterday as he told how he'd lost his best hunting and fishing mate -- his dad.
On this troubled island, 15-year-old Eric Doomadgee is the forgotten person -- the only child of Cameron Doomadgee who died in a police cell here a fortnight ago, and whose death sparked riots that saw the courthouse and police station burned down.
``Dad used to take me diving for crayfish, and now I miss him,'' Eric said. ``Dad never owned a gun. He used to hunt with dogs, catching possums and wallaby and porcupine, and dive for crays.
``I believe the same as everybody else on this island -- that he was bashed to death in the cell.''
Cameron Doomadgee's wheelchair-bound mother, Doris, told how her son -- the second-youngest of her 10 children -- was a happy-go-lucky hunter and diver, and how he used to catch mudcrabs and sell them to get extra money.
His sister, Jane, said Doomadgee was a gentle person who was never involved in brawls, but he ``had his share of charges''.
``He was picked up for being drunk and things like that, but nothing serious, and neither he nor any other member of the family had a problem with the policeman who arrested him, Sergeant Chris Hurley,'' she said.
And she emphatically denied a claim by the Queensland police union that Doomadgee had been involved in a vehicle accident two days before his death.
``That is an absolute fabrication,'' she said. ``What are these people trying to do telling lies like that.''
Another sister, Elizabeth, said the family wanted the 18 Palm Islanders arrested following last Friday's riots to be released to be pall-bearers at their brother's funeral, which is expected to be held on December 10.
``Even if they have to be in handcuffs they should be there because most were hunting and fishing friends of Cameron -- they were his mates,'' she said.
Tensions heightened on Palm Island yesterday afternoon as three women were arrested and charged with riot-related offences.
They included 65-year-old grandmother Agnes Wotton, and her daughter Fleur, as well as Mini Norman, the daughter of a Palm Island councillor.
Away from the island, Indigenous Affairs Minister Amanda Vanstone said deaths in custody had fallen by 50 per cent this decade compared with the 1980s.
Senator Vanstone, who was quoting from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, said the figures should provide comfort to people who worked in the field.
``Today's figures just remind us of the situation, and recent incidents in Palm Island and Redfern remind us all how far we've got to go,'' Senator Vanstone said.
Aboriginal activist Murandoo Yanner yesterday also backed down from his Tuesday threat to kill policemen, saying a media report had quoted him ``out of context''.
``I was explaining how traditional Aboriginal payback works,'' he said. ``I would never encourage anyone to murder.''
