John Mathew

John Mathew (31 May 1849 – 11 March 1929) was an Australian Presbyterian minister and anthropologist, author of "Eaglehawk and Crow" and "Two Representative Tribes of Queensland". Biography Mathew was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on 31 May 1849, the fourth child (and eldest son) of Alexander Mathew, a factory overseer, and his wife Jean, née Mortimer. Mathew was initially educated at Kidd's school, Aberdeen. At nine years of age his father died and he went to live with his maternal grandmother at Insch, where he attended the Insch Free Church School as a pupil-teacher from 1862 to 1864. In 1864 Mathew migrated to Queensland, Australia, with a brother and sister, to live with their uncle John Mortimer on his station, Manumbar, on the Burnett River. Mathew worked there for six years as a stockrider, bookkeeper, and storeman, becoming familiar with the culture and language of two Aboriginal Australian groups, the Kabi and Wakka Wakka people. He afterwards tried gold-digging for two years, and then worked as a teacher at Dalby, Queensland (1872–75) and the Brisbane Normal School (1875–76).