Talk:1930 Palm Island tragedy

The Medical Officer's name

The Western Argus, printed in Kargoolie, WA uses the name "Paterson".
trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/34492946
More data is needed to resolve this spelling. Unscintillating (talk) 05:39, 28 December 2010 (UTC)

A local paper shortly after the tragedy also used the name "Patterson".  But I've seen "Pattison" in most references.  I don't think readers have an interest in these two anomalous spellings. Unscintillating (talk) 23:46, 7 January 2011 (UTC)

The Barrier Miner (Broken Hill) article (http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/46570387) cited also uses Patterson - all the Queensland papers use Pattison, as does the Watson, Joanna, PhD thesis examining the events in detail (http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:189965; although to be fair, she does name Peter Pryor, when his name is Peter Prior). Aaron1975 (talk) 07:01, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

adding pictures to the article

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16623742 has two interesting pictures, especially the schoolhouse.  I could use some advice or help in adding one or both pictures to the Article.  Thanks, Unscintillating (talk) 05:03, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

request for comment and response, about the latest quality assessment

The following discussion is copied from here.
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• == 1930 Palm Island Tragedy ==

Hi, This article was re-written on Jan 7 after the previous assessment on Jan 4.  I think this article should now be B class.  Any advice? Thanks, Unscintillating (talk) 02:44, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

Sure. I assessed the article as C-class, though I think it's pretty close to B. (The WP:Death template doesn't provide a grading scale.) Here are some points that may help improve the article:

• Coverage - Do the sources explain WHY Curry and Pattison were at each others' throats? I mean, there was the "provocation of a verbal assault" and altercation on Christmas 1927, then we fast forward to 1930, with a mention of bickering and Curry's personal problems in between. What did they bicker about? Was there a difference in opinion over policy, or just personal animosity? Did Curry blame Pattison for his wife's death in 1929?
  • Where did Curry get the explosives?
  • In the section "3 February 1930", Morcom's testimony makes it sound like Curry really had it out for the "whites" on Palm Island. Why was that?
  • The aborigine group that shot Curry: was this a posse of vigilantes out searching for Curry? A random encounter?
  • "Later" section - Did the incident on Palm Island have an effect on the rest of Australia? Did it affect policy toward aborigines, or in regard to problematic superintendants? How was it portrayed in the media, and how has it been treated by popular culture in the last 80 years?
  • Was a monument built, or have there been any memorial observances?
• Grammar & Style - This is fine, except in a couple parts.
  • You begin the first section: "Within two weeks after the tragedy..." Try going more chronological; describe the altercation, then the succeeding reprimands, inquiries, and reports as they happened.
  • Number of pupils in the school: I would remove the sentence for lack of relevance, unless it's backed up with something more substantial. Were they really proud of it? Did the aborigines build the school? Was it the first or oldest or biggest school in the area?
  • "Withdrawing from novacaine" - a little unclear, was Curry suffering withdrawal symptoms because he quit novocaine? Or was he socially withdrawn because of ongoing novocaine usage?
  • You might have a third party go over it for general readability.
• Supporting Materials - You could add an infobox; see the article Columbine High School massacre. It uses a "terrorism" infobox template, which the Palm Island tragedy might be considered under current definitions.
  • Photos - Searching "Palm Island Queensland" on Wikimedia Commons reveals a couple of color maps or sattelite photos of the islands. You might use one of those in lieu of photos of people or buildings mentioned in the text.
  • From the online newspaper article - Check Wikimedia rules, maybe the copyright has expired and you can download, upload, and use the photos. If it hasn't then add an "External links" section after the references with a link to the article.
  • Even if you've been to the island itself, and took some photos, one of those might be relevant.

Hope this helps! Good luck! Boneyard90 (talk) 16:27, 18 January 2011 (UTC)
[insert ends here] inserted by Unscintillating (talk) 20:41, 18 January 2011 (UTC)