They would come in dirty and often spit all over the place. Before examining them she would get them to wash themselves and when they spat on the floor she would get them to wipe it off, telling them firmly that if they wanted her to help them, if they wanted to live in the white man's world, they would have to be clean and tidy. In the clinic the patients would silently follow Eileen's instructions but when they came back for their next consultation they would be just as dirty and unhygienic as before. Eileen had noticed that sometimes they would spit out the pills she had made them take as soon as they were outside. What she didn't notice was that the people avoided her when she walked down the road.
Aborigines are very primitive stone age people.
They still react like children in many ways. They wanted to get rid of Eileen because they did not like her and tried to achieve this by coming in dirty and spitting on the floor. They were smart enough to realise that these were likely to offend Eileen. They were offended by the manner in which Eileen dealt with them. Aborigines don't mind being dirty and they could not see what Eileen was concerned about.