A startling true account, this exposé uses official correspondence to reveal the extraordinary extent of government controls over Aboriginal wages, savings, endowments, and pensions in 20th-century Queensland. In a disturbing indictment of the government’s $4,000 reparations offer, the study dissects official dealings of the huge trust funds compiled from private income and community endeavors, showing how governments used these finances to their advantage, while families and communities struggled in poverty.