HISTORY: white australia has a black history > Bond University 2010

White Australia

has a Black History

 

                This documentary was on the exploration of indigenous Australians.  It is stated that the history of Australia is only learned through that of white people. That Captain Cook sailed to Australia in 1788; but never are people taught the other side of this story.  “The country should be told how it was. Not how they want it to be. (i.e. the killing of Aborigines and stealing of their land.) There are even books written on this topic: “Why weren’t we (the white people) told about our history?)

                This country was colonized in 1788 by using frontier, which is simply placing a flag into the ground to claim that control has been established.  A term, Terra Nullius, is a Latin expression deriving from Roman law meaning 'land belonging to no one.’ This term was used by the British to claim Australia as Land of the King. By the strike of a pen British Law replaced that of Aboriginal Ones. Aboriginal people did fight to keep their land, but were drastically a weaker opponent.  And the killing of an Aboriginal to save that of 1 or 2 white people became common practice. Within the 1st European Generation of contact it led to the reduction of Aboriginal people by 85%: 60% by the introduction to diseases and 25% through the resistance to warfare.   Some have claimed this to be Genocide, which is the attempt of one group to wipe out another group.

                British wanted to help the Aboriginals. An example of that help was: the Port Phillip District in Victoria to support them; the settlers did not like this and eventually it dissolved.  The Aborigines were being placed in remote, non-wanted land of the settlers. They were also trying to teach them to be useful citizens and to fit into the new culture.  Assimilation was agreed to be the best way! The Board had the right over the parents over what was best for their kids. Some were taken away to work in industries.  (I don’t know how this is better than the kids learning their own cultural background.) Stealing kids from families and the breeding out of the Aboriginal people were all common concepts of these times.
                These people were forced out of their camps and faced harsh racism in the new communities, an unfair pay, and employers not wanting to hire them. They were expected to assimilate, but it sounds as if to be some form of slaves to the settlers. Prior to the 1960’s they had no vote, less pay, and little land rights. The 1968 policy changed this and gave them a little more rights. But it wasn’t until the 70’s movements when the government finally started to notice the severity of it all and they were awarded a National Sorry Day! The 1975 act made it illegal to discriminate against people due to race. But with all of this there was still a long way to go due to: high rates of custody, low death rates, a much lower income level, lower than average rates of employment and education, and a high rate of Indigenous people in custody.

                A major point came out when some Australians thought that they should just move on and forget about it. Would you expect the Jewish to forget the Holocaust, or the ANZAC soldiers to? So why would this group of people to be expected to? You are what your history is. You are what your past is. This was mentioned and I do not know if this is entirely true with all of the variables added into the equation. Although, I do believe they are owed all of this just like the African Americans and Native Americans in the U.S. They were established as the 1st people of the Nation and in the 1980’s marked important Land Right decisions in their favour.  There are many major issues still to battle, but I do believe that this country is heading in the right direction from the tales of this article.
via sites.google.com

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Indigenous History
  Indigenous History stretches from arrival on the Australian continent about 50-60 000 years ago to the present. Archaeology is relied on for early history. The oral tradition, Indigenous beliefs and cultural disruption, as with many other indigenous peoples, has not ensured their history being maintained fully and/or publicly to the present day. Much of the other available information from the first European settlement on has not been from the Indigenous perspective. A shift in this process has only increased to any significant extent over recent decades.

This page provides links to information and resources for units and topics covered in this subject at a range of Australian universities. It does not attempt to include all these. Be aware some units/topics have different titles in different universities, even though content may be the same or similar. Australian information is supplied wherever possible.

They are at undergraduate level and listed in alphabetical groupings for ease of access. Some information may be useful at a higher level.

In addition, there are journals, search engines, databases, primary documents, reference material and other general information where these are seen to be relevant.

Additional material will be included as time permits.


Archaeology

Archaeology & Anthropology


History

Documentation

Documents, databases, journals, reports, texts, other written formats.

  • Aboriginal History
    ‘Aboriginal History Inc is a publishing organisation based in Canberra, Australia. It publishes the annual refereed journal Aboriginal History and a monograph series’.
  • Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements
    ‘Links together current information, historical detail, published material relating to agreements made between Indigenous people and others in Australia and overseas’. Database format.

General Information

Portals, databases, further information.

  • Aboriginal History [WWWVL]
    Aborigines, their time on this continent. Believed to be about 60 000 years.
  • Aboriginal History [Uni. of Adelaide Lib.]
    History in South Australia, Starting Points, Subject Researches, Databases, other areas.
  • Australian Centre for Indigenous History
    ANU. Research, projects, publications, links, more.
  • Indigenous Law Resources
    ‘This database contains Indigenous Law Resources and includes conference papers, journal articles, and reports’. Listed in specific years from 1768 to 2002.
  • Mission Voices. Koorie Heritage Trust
    ‘Unique culture and history of Victorian Aboriginal [Koorie] people. Hear our Elders tell of their lives on missions’.
  • Prehistory of Australia
    ‘The period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which may be taken as the beginning of the recent history of Australia’. From Wikipedia.
  • SBS - The First Australians
    ‘Chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. Explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world’s greatest empire. Over seven episodes, depicts the true stories of individuals - both black and white - caught in an epic drama of friendship, revenge, loss and victory in Australia’s most transformative period of history’. Watch episodes online, download podcasts.
  • The Koori History Website
    ‘More than 3 500 pages. A comprehensive collection of images from koori history’. Maintained by Gary Foley. Not updated for a while.
  • White Australia has a Black History
    Sources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in the National Library of Australia]. Article embedded links to the collection, other information.

Specific Groups

History of specific Aboriginal groups in different parts of Australia.

  • Adnyamathanha History
    ‘It is difficult to generalise about Aboriginal people, their cultures and their histories. To help explain this, we have included a detailed timeline of one particular group - the Adnyamathanha people of the Flinders Ranges in southern Australia, from the time of white invasion’. In time periods. Now in the Pandora Archive.
  • Eora : Aboriginal Sydney
    Several pages, some interactive, on the Eora people. State Library of NSW.

Timelines


Modern History

In addition to the information here, check for items listed in the Specific Events section below. Emphasis is on the years since 1950.

Aboriginal Tent Embassy

General Links

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
    eResources, NLA. ‘The Library holds a large collection relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. This guide contains selected print works only’.
  • Aboriginal Links International
    These are for Australia. Links are also provided for a range of Indigenous cultures in other countries around the world.
  • Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
    ‘The Australian Human Rights Commission advocates for the rights of Indigenous Australians and works to promote respect and understanding of these rights among the broader community’. Their Social Justice Links cover a wide area.
  • Collaborating for Indigenous Rights 1957-1973
    ‘The fifteen years from the late 1950s to the early 1970s was a time of unusual collaboration between black and white activists in Australia. This site tells their stories’. Emphasises Fights for Civil Rights, Land Rights.
  • Electoral Milestone/Timetable for Indigenous Australians
    Chronological, annotated listing from the Australian Electoral Commission. Current to 2008.
  • Encounters
    Museum Victoria [ed-online]. ‘This site is about the impact of the British invasion and colonisation of Australia on Aboriginal people in Victoria. Senior secondary history students will find this site useful in preparation for assessment tasks and the analysis of written and visual material to critically respond to historical evidence in order to make sense of the past’.
  • Indigenous Law Resources
    Search by title, year, agency/author.
  • Indigenous Settlements of Australia
    Report by ‘Dr Paul Memmott and Mark Moran [for the] Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2001’. Extensive presentation, multiple parts.
  • Legal Information
    Use this link for legal information including links to legal documentation, on the Indigenous Australia page.
  • Population Distribution
    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2006. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Check other tabbed sections including Past & Future Releases.
  • Reconciliation
    Use this link for information concerning reconciliation, groups and understandings, on the Indigenous Australia page.
  • Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
    National, regional, Individual Death Reports, report on the Underlying Issues, summary.
  • The Australian Freedom Rides
    US origins of the idea, the Sydney clash, Charles Perkins, Walgett, Moree, aftermath of the ride. First-hand accounts, short sound grabs.

Native Title & Land Rights

For the Mabo and Wik decisions, see the link in the Specific Events section.

  • Aboriginal Australian Native Title
    ‘Keeps track of leading relevant University and Governmental information facilities’.
  • Aboriginal Strike [Walk-off] at Wave Hill
    ‘The Wave Hill walk-off was well supported and made headlines all over Australia. While the initial strike was about wages and living conditions, it soon spread to the more fundamental issue about their traditional lands’.
  • Central Land Council
    ‘Land use, land acquisition, mining, permits in central and south Northern Territory’.
  • Frontier Online
    ‘Frontier Online will link the historical events portrayed in Frontier, the ABC-TV documentary series on Australia’s 150 year land war, to the contemporary debate on national reconciliation’.
  • National Native Title Tribunal
    The Tribunal, Native Title Applications, other information, publications, more.

Stolen Generations, The

  • ‘Bringing Them Home’
    The report on The Stolen Generations, completed in the 1990s.
  • Bringing Them Home Education Module
    Developed by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and updated in 2007. One DVD copy free.
  • Content of Apologies
    State and Territory Parliaments. Listed online and as a Word version. Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. See the national apology link in the Specific Events section.
  • Stolen Generations
    Emergence of the removal policy, policy in practice, social impact, historical debates, public awareness and recognition, Australian Government apology, legal status, compensation, films, books, notable people, comparisons to similar countries, references, links. From Wikipedia.
  • Stolen Generations Alliance
    Background, education kit, media, implementing Bringing Them Home, speeches, links, media.
  • Stolen Generations - The Full Wiki
    Emergence of the child removal policy, The policy in practice, Social impact on members of the Stolen Generations, Historical debates over the Stolen Generations, Public awareness and recognition. Australian federal parliament apology, Legal status and compensation, Cases, Films and books, References, External links. Very extensive and well presented.
  • The History of The Separation Of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children From Their Families
    ‘This timeline details the history of forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. Information is primarily taken from the findings of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, and from a wide range of other sources’. Done in specific year groupings.
  • The Stolen Generations
    Article by Robert Manne.

Specific Events

1967 Referendum

Mabo

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Massacres

A number occurred from settlement through to the 1930s. Links to specific massacres and general listings are provided.

National Government Apology

The apology issued on behalf of the Federal Government on 13 February 2008.

  • Apology to the Stolen Generations
    ‘The 42nd Parliament of Australia opened on February 13, 2008, with a Welcome to Country speech by The Prime Minister of Australia, the Honourable Kevin Rudd, MP. Mr Rudd then moved a motion in the Federal Parliament offering an apology to Australia’s Indigenous people’. Links to background, media releases, speeches, broadcasts.
  • Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples
    Online video, audio, sign language version, full transcript. Australia.gov.au.

Wik Decision

  • An Overview Of The Wik Decision
    Article, University of New South Wales Law Journal.
  • Land and Sea Rights
    Provides information on both aspects plus information on Native Title. Northern Land Council.
  • Wik - What do we Do Now ?
    ‘What Australia does about Wik and how it does it will be an important mark of our maturity as a nation. In this presentation I want to canvass some possible responses to the decision as options for consideration by all the stakeholders’. Article by Justice French.

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>via: http://www.aussieeducator.org.au/tertiary/subjects/history/australian/indigen...