page_title: Mildirn
section_title: Life in Port Essington
hierarchical_section_title: Mildirn / Life in Port Essington
caption_attribution_description: New-Victoria. Atlas pittoresque, planche 120
context_page_description: Mildirn, sometimes spelt Medlone, also known as Jack Davis, Old Jack Davis or Port Essington Jack was a well-known Aboriginal leader, translator and advisor for Port Essington, a site of early British settlement in the Northern Territory of Australia.
context_section_description: Mildirn was born c. 1835 near the Cobourg Peninsula. He was four years old when the Port Essington garrison was established andf he became ‘something of a pet with the regiment’. He was a messenger for the officers and was well known for ‘giving vent to the most horrible blasphemies and obscenities’ which he had learnt from the soldiers. He became a well-known point of contact for any matters pertaining to Port Essington, advising visitors to the area and managing relations with his tribe.
caption: Port Essington in 1846
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