MALOOKUT (JACK COOK) 1838 - 1925
A PERSONAL FAMILY STORY
Written and researched by Robert L. Syron
THE FAMILY PHOTOGRAPH
(AI colourised for visual effect)
Back row, from left:
• Jessie Cook, née Brummy
• Jessie’s brother, Dave Brummy
• Sarah Ann Cook, daughter of Jack and Jessie
• Jack Cook—Malookut—husband of Jessie Brummy, standing at the far right
Front row:
• Alfred Cook, born 1895
• Sydney Cook, born 1893
• David Cook, born 1887
• Jessie Martin, née Cook, wearing her wedding ring
• Jessie Martin’s two children—Tom or Tim Martin seated beside her and her daughter held in her arms
Photograph: Blackwell, approximately 1905–1910
Location: Aboriginal camp, Barrington West Road, Gloucester
Collection: Gloucester Historical Society
IMAGE DESCRIPTION: The legend of Jack Cook was remembered in the 1948 Gloucester show Souvenir programme,
23 years later after his passing in 1925. Jack's stories can be found in many newspaper articles available on TROVE.
THE SPIRIT OF MALOOKUT
Jack Cook was born around 1838 on the Barrington River. His traditional name has been recorded within the family as Malookut, associated with “Lightning.” Robert records that Jack’s bakuwi, or skin, was Opossum and that he was a Gipar—a man who had attained the highest level of traditional initiation. According to the family history, Malookut was one of the last Guringay men to undergo the sacred Keepara, or Kiapara, initiation ceremony on the Barrington Tops, known as Beann Beann. He lived through a time of devastating colonial expansion and disruption. Despite this, Malookut remained connected to his culture, Country and community.
Jack, his wife Jessie Brummy and their family lived in traditional bark humpies near the Barrington and Cobark rivers. Jack continued hunting womboit, or kangaroo, mitucit, or emu, porcupine and wombat. He also gathered native plants, timber and stone for food, medicine, shelter and tools, maintaining knowledge passed down by his Elders.
A MASTER HORSEMAN AND STOCKMAN
Within the colonial pastoral world, Jack Cook earned a powerful reputation as a horseman, stockman and tracker.
As a young boy, he worked for John Hooke, one of the early pastoralists associated with Cobark Station. Jack helped muster thousands of cattle across extremely rugged country and down towards Dungog.
His ability with horses became legendary. He was known for his strength, endurance and exceptional skill in riding and taming outlaw colts that other stockmen would not attempt to handle.
Historical accounts observed that, had Jack been white and given access to a Western education, he could have become one of Australia’s finest station managers. That assessment reflects both his extraordinary ability and the racial barriers that prevented Aboriginal men from receiving the recognition and opportunities their knowledge deserved.
Robert’s account also records Jack’s association with bushranger Captain Thunderbolt, Frederick Ward. As a young man, Jack reportedly handled and cared for Thunderbolt’s horses. Thunderbolt’s partner, Mary Ann Bugg, also carried Aboriginal ancestry through her mother Charlotte, a woman connected with Port Stephens Warrimay/Worimi Country.
THE GOVERNOR BROTHERS MANHUNT
Jack’s tracking knowledge was highly valued by the local community.
In late October 1900, during the search for Jimmy and Joe Governor following the Breelong murders, Jack was called upon by local settlers to investigate tracks near Craven Creek.
He located and interpreted the footprints of two barefoot men travelling west towards the Little Manning River. Although the tracks were eventually lost in the dense scrub, Jack’s knowledge of the landscape and his ability to read the Country played an important role in the local search.
THE RATIONS LETTERS
By the beginning of the twentieth century, Malookut had become a head stockman for the Australian Agricultural Company.
Despite the labour and knowledge Aboriginal stockmen contributed to the pastoral wealth of the district, colonial systems left many Aboriginal families living in poverty on their own Country.
Historic correspondence concerning Jack Cook, his family and the Barrington West camp records requests made to the NSW Aborigines Protection Board for essential rations, medical assistance and support.
These letters provide a stark reminder of the government control imposed upon Aboriginal families. They also bear witness to Jack’s determination to protect the dignity, health and survival of his family and community during a period when Aboriginal independence and freedom of movement were being increasingly restricted.
AN UNBROKEN LEGACY
Malookut passed away on 7 August 1925, aged approximately 87 years. Family history records that he was buried in an unmarked grave at the Barrington West Road camp, alongside other family and community members.
The struggles continued after his death. His descendants, including Jessie Martin, née Cook, fought through letters and petitions to retain land that had been allocated to the family.
Although governments placed enormous barriers before later generations, the family’s cultural identity and connection to Country were never extinguished.
The recorded history of the Guringai families at Barrington extends across nearly two centuries, while their cultural connection to this Country reaches back thousands of years before colonial records began.
Malookut’s legacy survives through his descendants, through the stories carried by family and through Robert Syron’s determination to preserve and share this history.
SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• Robert L. Syron, The Story of John Cook—aka Jack (Mooloogat—Son of Thunder) and Jessie Brummy, family-history research held in the AIATSIS Collection.
• Robert L. Syron, Cook family research, oral history and identification of the people shown in the Blackwell photograph.
• Blackwell photograph, approximately 1905–1910, Aboriginal camp, Barrington West Road, Gloucester. Gloucester Historical Society collection.
• Cook family correspondence files and records concerning the Barrington Aboriginal community, NSW Aborigines Protection Board records, Museums of History NSW—State Archives Collection.
• Registers of Aboriginal Reserves, NRS-14647, Museums of History NSW—State Archives Collection, including records relating to Barrington and water access for stock.
• Historical correspondence concerning rations, medical assistance, land and living conditions at the Barrington West Aboriginal camp, NSW Aborigines Protection Board records.
• Contemporary newspaper reports concerning the search for Jimmy and Joe Governor in the Gloucester, Craven Creek and Little Manning River districts, October–November 1900, accessed through the National Library of Australia’s Trove newspaper collection.
• Historical newspaper accounts and district reminiscences concerning Jack Cook’s horsemanship, stock work, tracking ability and connections with the Barrington, Cobark and Gloucester districts, accessed through Trove and the Gloucester Historical Society.
• Cook Family Submission regarding the Rocky Hill Coal Project, submitted on behalf of the descendants of Jack Cook and Jessie Brummy. NSW Major Projects Planning Portal.
• NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages indexes and family-held certificates relating to Jack Cook, Jessie Brummy and their descendants.
• Cook family oral histories passed down through the descendants of Jack Cook and Jessie Brummy.
FAMILY DESCENDANTS
Jack Cook and Jessie Brummy’s eight children, arranged by reported birth year:
-
Sarah Ann Cook (Langford)
Born: 1874, Barrington, Gloucester, NSW
Died: 10 October 1928, Gloucester district, NSW -
Susie Cook (Aspinall)
Born: 1879, Barrington, NSW
Died: 28 June 1941, Gloucester, NSW -
Jessie Cook (Martin)
Born: 1885
Died: 1957 -
David Cook
Born: 1887, Copeland, NSW
Died: 1947, Kempsey, NSW -
Alfred James Cook
Born: approximately 1890, Barrington, NSW
Died: 4 July 1962, Balmain, NSW -
Maggie Cook
Born: 1891, Barrington Aboriginal Reserve, NSW
Died: 30 July 1951, Burnt Bridge, Kempsey, NSW -
Sidney “Sid” Cook
Born: 1893, Barrington, NSW
Died: 1956, Sydney, NSW -
John Cook
Born: 1909, Barrington, NSW
Died: 1926, Taree district, NSW