Mulga Fred Wilson (c. 1874 – 2 November 1948) was an Australian Aboriginal stockman and buck-jump rider, known as Mulga Fred. He was the star attraction of various touring rodeo shows in the decade before the First World War. Wilson is considered to be the first Aboriginal actor to appear in a motion picture for his role in the film Bushranger's Ransom, or A Ride for Life, completed in 1911. By the 1920s Wilson was leading an itinerant lifestyle, mainly throughout the western districts of Victoria, with occasional visits to the urban centres of Melbourne and Geelong. He was a well-known character in western Victoria where he attended agricultural shows and football games, demonstrating his skills with the stockwhip and the boomerang, as well as his abilities as a buck-jump rider. He also worked as a horse-breaker and station-hand throughout his life. Mulga Fred died in November 1948 at Horsham railway station, aged about 74 years, from injuries received when he was hit by a train.
There was a wide-spread belief that Wilson had been the original model for images of an Aboriginal man, known as 'Pelaco Bill', featured in advertisements for the Pelaco company, a Melbourne-based shirt manufacturer.
Biography
Early years
Fred Wilson was born in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, in the district near present-day Port Hedland, on the traditional lands of the indigenous Nyamal, Kariyarra and Ngarla people.Richard Broome (1998), page 3.'Aboriginal Australia' (map), Sovereign Union website; accessed 8 January 2023.
The location of Fred Wilson's birth has been identified as either 'De Grey' station or the adjoining 'Mundabullangana' station.Late "Mulga" Fred was 80, Portland Guardian, 18 November 1948, page 2. He was born during the period of European encroachment onto the traditional lands of the indigenous people of the Pilbara area. Walter Padbury took up land on the De Grey River in 1863 to form a sheep station, but abandoned his holding in 1868.Walter Padbury: Pioneer & Philanthropist, Hamersley News (Perth), 24 October 1974, page 8. In 1870 the land was taken up under a leasehold arrangement by the partnership of McKenzie Grant, Edwin Anderson and John Edgar, who established the 'De Grey' station.The De Grey Station, West Australian (Perth), 6 April 1886, page 3.Reunion of Nor-Westers, Western Mail (Perth), 5 November 1915, page 43. In 1872 'Mundabullangana' station, on the Yule River, south-west of 'De Grey' station, was taken up by the McKay brothers.A North West Station, West Australian (Perth), 6 December 1889, page 3. The 'De Grey' and 'Mundabullangana' stations were primarily established as sheep stations, with Aboriginal labour used for shepherding, fencing, the operation and maintenance of wells, shearing and wool processing, as well as general stock work. In addition to sheep, some cattle were raised on the properties as fat stock and horses were bred for station work and export. In 1886 it was recorded that 'De Grey' station "employed... over 100 native men besides women and children".
Fred Wilson was the son of Aboriginal parents who worked on the pastoral property where he was born, members of a group of about 300 Aborigines "who looked on the station as their home". His European name was Fred Wilson, but he may have also been known by the surname Clarke. His Aboriginal name has not been recorded. Fred Wilson's year of birth has been estimated as 1874, but it may have been as early as 1968.Richard Broome (1998), page 3.Late "Mulga" Fred was 80, Portland Guardian, 18 November 1948, page 2.
Fred's father was a "boss stockman" of the station where he was raised. As a boy Fred Wilson was given the job of bringing in the saddle horses from a 25-hectare paddock. He learned to ride and tame horses.
Wilson joined Jack Noble's party of drovers to move ten thousand cattle from the Pilbara region to the Murchison district."Rusty" puts in a good word..., Townsville Daily Bulletin, 23 September 1935, page 7.
Buck-jump rider
Wilson probably left Western Australia aboard a boat transporting cattle from Port Hedland to South Australia. The cattle, originally from 'De Grey' station, were then driven to one of Sidney Kidman's stations in South Australia, where Wilson remained for several years.
In 1906 Wilson was one of a team of drovers that took cattle to Adelaide. In Adelaide Wilson attended a Broncho George Rough Riders show. He accepted Bronco George's challenge to ride 'King', the wildest of the company's horses, for a period of twenty seconds for prize-money of five pounds. He won the prize when he rode 'King' "not for 20 seconds, but to a defeated standstill".Mulga Fred, Portland Guardian, 11 November 1948, page 1. Wilson was then hired by Bronco George and toured with the buck-jumping company throughout southern Australia.Richard Broome (1998), page 4. By 1907 Wilson was known professionally as 'Mulga Fred'. At one of Broncho George's shows at Kadina, on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, Mulga Fred's horse-riding skills were praised and it was noted that he "amused the audience muchly during the evening".Broncho George's Circus and Broncho George Rough Riders (advertisement), Kadina and Wallaroo Times, 12 June 1907, page 2. Fred departed from Broncho George's company in 1908 during their Melbourne season.Mulga Freddie, Horsham Times, 9 January 1948, page 8.
In April 1909 at the Agricultural Show at Westbury, in the central north of Tasmania, Mulga Fred gave 'an exhibition of steer riding [which] greatly amused the spectators".Horticultural Shows, Daily Telegraph (Launceston), 15 April 1909, page 3. In July 1909 Mulga Fred, described as "formerly with Broncho George's rough riders", was living at Barrington, near Devonport in northern Tasmania. On July 3 he was arrested at Devonport and charged with being "drunk and incapable". He was described as being "in a bad way... and required medical assistance, having the symptoms of alcoholic poisoning". Fred was brought before the Devonport Police Court on July 5, where he pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay ten shillings for the cost of the medical attendant.The Courts: Devonport, North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, 6 July 1909, page 3.Police News, The North West Post (Formby), 6 July 1909, page 2. Mulga Fred was still living in the Devonport district in November 1909. On November 24 he participated as a rider at a race meeting at Railton, winning a hurdles race.Railton Catholic Sports, North Western Advocate and the Emu Bay Times, 25 November 1909, page 4.
Mulga Fred Wilson appeared as a cast member in a motion picture called Bushranger's Ransom, or A Ride for Life, produced by Pathé Frères' and released in March 1911. The appearance of Wilson in the silent film was advertised as "the first Australian aboriginal actor to appear in a photo play".Paddington Pavilion, To-Night: A Ride For Life, The Brisbane Courier, 3 April 1911, page 2. Bushranger's Ransom was the first motion picture production by Pathé Frères after establishing a branch office in Sydney in April 1910.Dutton Park Theatre, The Telegraph (Brisbane), 4 April 1911, page 11.Pathe Frere's Pictures, Evening News (Sydney), 8 April 1910, page 15. Other cast members in the film were actors of the Bohemian Dramatic Company."Wondergraph" at Semaphore, The Advertiser (Adelaide), 6 April 1911, page 8.
In March 1911 Mulga Fred rode in a buck-jumping contest at the Doncaster and Box Hill Horticultural Association Show in Victoria, north-east of Melbourne.Buckjumper Charges a Crowd, The Age (Melbourne), 14 March 1911, page 10. He won the contest which had prizemoney of four pounds.Class L. - Horses, The Reporter (Box Hill), 17 March 1911, page 3. At the Alfred Hospital Bazaar in April 1911, Mulga Fred was one of four rough riders who entertained the crowd by engaging in "the thrilling performance of riding unbroken horses and wild bullocks".Alfred Hospital Bazaar (advertisement), The Age (Melbourne), 29 April 1911, page 18.
During 1911 Mulga Fred was engaged by Billy Kinnear as the star rider of Kinnear's buck-jumping show running in Melbourne. He proved to be a popular attraction. It was stated that he was never thrown, except on one occasion when a spectator bet two pounds that Fred could not better the time of four seconds on 'Paul', "the champion bucking bullock". He bettered the time and collected the two pounds, but had two ribs broken when the bullock threw him into the arena fence.
In June 1911 Wilson participated in the Melbourne Coronation Buckjumping Carnival, part of the celebrations marking the coronation of George V and his wife Mary in London. The carnival was held over fifteen nights, under canvas at the Melbourne Hippodrome. The Coronation Buckjumpers advertised a succession of named 'outlaw' horses, as well as bucking bulls and ponies, with prize-money up to £25.Coronation Buckjumpers, The Argus (Melbourne), 17 June 1911, page 17.Coronation Buckjumpers, The Herald (Melbourne), 23 June 1911, page 5. An advertisement for the night of June 29 included: "Kyneton Kate still throws them all, will she get rid of Mulga Fred to-night?".Coronation Buckjumpers, The Argus (Melbourne), 29 June 1911, page 5. Later references suggest that Wilson may have been the overall winner of the carnival, referring to his "reputation as a remarkable rough rider [who] in Melbourne in 1911 won the Coronation Buck Jump championship".Old Mulga Passes On, Horsham Times, 5 November 1948, page 3.
At a buck-jumping exhibition held in the Market Square at Geelong in January 1913, Wilson was described as "the show's champion". The show was advertised as "wild Australian rough riders versus American".Wild Australian Rough Riders Versus American, Geelong Advertiser, 24 January 1913, page 1; Buckjumping Show, Geelong Advertiser, 25 January 1913, page 4. Wilson toured as a rough rider with a company called the Crown Buckjumpers (that had been formed 1911). At their appearance in Bendigo in March 1913, Wilson was commended as "a West Australian aboriginal, who it is claimed will 'ride anything with four legs'" It was also remarked that "he is also skilful with the stockwhip".Crown Buckjumpers, Bendigo Advertiser, 25 March 1913, page 2.Crown Buckjumpers, Geelong Advertiser, 25 July 1911, page 4.
Stockwhips and boomerangs
In June 1915 Wilson was charged with "obstruction of the footpath" and spent a night in gaol after he attracted a crowd in Bourke Street in Melbourne by demonstrating fire-making skills "by twirling one stick on another in the old bush way". He claimed to be raising money for the Lord Mayor's Belgian Fund, in support of Belgium after its invasion by Germany. Wilson was released the following day with "a nominal fine of five shillings".Primitive Fire-making Interests Bourke Street, The Herald (Melbourne), 21 June 1915, page 8.