57 Murray Street

Murray Street

Robert Gesmundo - Chewing Tobacco for Aborigines

I liaised with the Department of Native Welfare, as it was called then, purely on material. For example, if they were doing a survey, being a nutritional survey or research for a medical survey with a lot of Aborigines involved, then the Department of Native Welfare would supply blocks of chewing tobacco which were about an inch and a half square, by about a quarter of an inch thick and they came in huge cartons. We made sure that we had enough of that because the Aboriginal people loved the taste of it. It was a way to sort of break the ice or get them on side so it was very successful in that role as far as I believe.