Is That You, Ruthie?

The Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) was a law that changed Indigenous Australian lives forever. The act enabled the New South Wales Board for the Protection of Aborigines to essentially control the lives of Aboriginal people. It was the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) that had major provisions that resulted in the containment and suffering that Aboriginal people endured. This suffering included the practice of forcible removing Indigenous children from their families. These major provisions help us understand what the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) involved and the impact it has had on the daily lives and cultures of Indigenous Australian peoples today.

It is a commonly known issue in Australia that as a minority group, the people of Indigenous Australian ethnicity have always been treated, or at least perceived, differently to those of non-Indigenous disposition. This can be applied to different contexts such as social, economic, education, or in relation to this essay – legal contexts. Generally, Indigenous Australians face issues such as less opportunity for formal education, less access to sufficient income, more health issues, and higher rates of imprisonment (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service

The rights and freedoms of Aboriginals have improved drastically since 1945 with many changes to government policy, cultural views and legal rules to bring about a change from oppression to equality. Unfortunately on the other hand, some rights and freedoms have not improved at all or have even worsened.

At the turn of the twentieth century the systematic forced removal of Aboriginal children from their mothers, families and cultural heritage was commonplace. There were several reasons that the government and white society used to justify the separation but the prevailing ideology of nationalism and maintaining Australia for the ‘whites’ was the over-riding motivation and justification for their actions[1]. Progressive sciences such as anthropology espoused such theories as eugenics, miscegenation, biological absorption and assimilation which legitimated governmental policies relating to Aboriginal affairs[2]. It was

For the last 200 years Indigenous people have been victims of discrimination, prejudice and disadvantage. Poor education, poor living conditions and general poverty are still overwhelming issues for a large percentage of our people and we remain ‘as a group, the most poverty stricken sector of the working class’ in Australia (Cuthoys 1983).

The Stolen Generation has left devastating impacts upon the Aboriginal culture and heritage, Australian history and the presence of equality experienced today. The ‘Stolen Generation’ refers to the children of Aboriginal descent being forcefully abducted by government officials of Australia and placed within institutions and catholic orphanages, being forced to assimilate into ‘white society’. These dehumanising acts placed these stolen children to experience desecration of culture, loss of identity and the extinction of their race. The destructive consequences that followed were effects of corruption including attempted suicide, depression and drug and alcohol abuse. The indigenous peoples affected by this have endured solitude for many

In 1976 the Fraser government passed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. Several state governments passed their own Land Rights Acts, which recognised aboriginal and Torres Strait islander claims to land and guaranteed them royalty payments from mining companies working there. Some laws enforced by the government became challenging for most indigenous people to abide by. Through the analysis of this information we understand the impacts the government and its laws had towards the indigenous society of

Throughout the early 20th century, the Australian public was led to believe that Aboriginal children were disadvantaged in their communities, and that there was a high risk of physical and sexual abuse. Aboriginal children were being removed in order to be exposed to ‘Anglo values’ and ‘work habits’ with a view to them being employed by colonial settlers, and to stop their parents, families and communities from passing on their culture, language and identity

Government policies authorising the removal of Aboriginal children have caused extensive and unrepairable damage to every aspect of Indigenous culture. It could be argued that the emotional turmoil which occurred as a result of this policy, is greater than any physical abused ever faced by the Australian Aboriginal people. The act of child removal would be a scarring experience for parents and children of any race or culture. This policy had a particularly damaging impact on the Indigenous people as their identity is based within a set of strong traditional guides and teachings. These lessons are not recorded, but can only be taught through speaking with elders and learning through a connection to others within the mob, connection to art forms

Haskins notes that the Aborginial men were misapprehend about the way they treated their families and as known as they were violence, hunters and rapist to their children. In that way the ‘NSW Aboriginal Protection Board’ legislation find

In Aboriginal Traditions and Policy, the presentation group that I was part of consisted of Ashleigh, Tam, Jy, Lana, Khoi and myself. We chose Gertrude Street (a.k.a “The Dirty Mile”) to be our chosen site to research. Gertrude Street belonged to the Woiworung Tribe and was Melbourne’s first suburb after being separated from Melbourne City in 1858 (Fitzroy History Society 2018). It was known as ‘The Dirty Mile’ or ‘The Black Mile’, as it “was home to some legendary black pubs, and later, the Aboriginal community's own health, housing and legal organisations.” (Allam 2010). Our group used the Fitzroy Aboriginal Heritage Walking Trail brochure, created by the City of Yarra, as a guide which took us to the many places in Gertrude Street which

On this week’s issue of “Historians Weekly” we’re finally going to be starting up our new and anticipated series “Policies of Aboriginal Australia”. To start us off I will be looking at the policy of protectionism and why it was replaced by the policy of Assimilation.

Social work is a complex and broad field and the relationship between social workers and Indigenous Australians can be equally intricate and difficult to navigate. The theme of this paper will be; ‘understanding the relationship between the social work profession and Indigenous Australians’. A priority will be placed on analysing the historical relationship in reference to social work practice and related Government policy. Firstly, the history of social work and Indigenous policy will be discussed in relation to present work

Throughout the 20th century, the Aboriginal people were subjected to 4 policies introduced by the Australian Government that affected their rights and freedoms. When the first policy was introduced the Aboriginal people went from free and able to control their own destinies to completely being controlled by the government. 100 Hundred years later the Aboriginal people were able to fully embrace their culture and customs. In the following response I will be talking about the policies of Protection and Self-Determination as I feel these were the most important to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a variety of ways.

Readers may can feel Gilbert’s deep anger and decision remembering such happening for ever. Perkins (1980, p. 68) reviewed one of Gilbert’s book, Living Black, and praised that book as ‘a most significant contribution to Aboriginal culture and literature’. He argues the book covers important problems, such as ‘breakdown of culture and law, the drinking problem’ and ‘discrimination’ which should not be ignored by all Australians. Thus, Gilbert succeeded to tell true Aboriginal situations thorough his writings and these can be meaningful resources to know Aboriginal history for us.