“Girls become wives at from eight to fourteen years.”  “One often sees a child of eight the wife of a man of fifty.”  “Girls are promised to men in infancy, become wives at about ten years of age, and mothers at fourteen or fifteen” (342).

The Birria tribe waits a few years longer, but atones for this by a resort to another crime:  “Males and females are married at from fourteen to sixteen, but are not allowed to rear children until they get to be about thirty years of age; hence infanticide is general.”  The missionary O.W.  Schuermann says of the Port Lincoln tribe (223):  “Notwithstanding the early marriage of females, I have not observed that they have children at an earlier age than is common among Europeans.”  Of York district tribes we are told (I., 343) that “girls are betrothed shortly after birth, and brutalities are practised on them while mere children.”  Of the Kojonub tribe (348):  “Girls are promised in marriage soon after birth, and given over to their husbands at about nine years of age.”  Of the Natingero tribe (380):  “The girls go to live with their husbands at from seven to ten years, and suffer dreadfully from intercourse.”  Of the Yircla Meening tribe (402): 

“Females become wives at ten and mothers at twelve years of age.”  “Mr. J.M.  Davis and others of repute declare, as a result of long acquaintance with Australian savages, that the girls were made use of for promiscuous intercourse when they were only nine or ten years old.” (Sutherland, I., 113.)

It is needless to continue this painful catalogue.

INDIFFERENCE TO CHASTITY

Eyre’s assertion regarding chastity, that “no such virtue is recognized,” has already been quoted, and is borne out by testimony of many other writers.  In the Dieyerie tribe “each married woman is permitted a paramour.” (Curr, II., 46.) Taplin says of the Narrinyeri (16, 18) that boys are not allowed to marry until their beard has grown a certain length; “but they are allowed the abominable privilege of promiscuous intercourse with the younger portion of the other sex.”  A.W.  Howitt describes[158] a strange kind of group marriage prevalent among the Dieri and kindred tribes, the various couples being allotted to each other by the council of elder men without themselves being consulted as to their preferences.  During the ensuing festivities, however, “there is for about four hours a general license in camp as regards” the couples thus “married.”  Meyer (191) says of the Encounter Bay tribes that if a man from another tribe arrives having anything which a native desires to purchase, “he perhaps makes a bargain to pay by letting him have one of his wives for a longer or shorter period.”  Angas (I., 93) refers to the custom of lending wives.  In Victoria the natives have a special name for the custom of lending one of their wives to young men who have none.  Sometimes they are thus lent for a month at a time.[159] As we shall presently see, one reason why Australian men marry is to have the means of making friends by lending their wives to others.  The custom of allowing friends to share the husband’s privileges was also widely prevalent.