Colonisation and Modern History Knowledge

Captain Cook entered Botany Bay on the Endeavour. The British Government did not recognise the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their special connection with the land. Instead, they claimed the land for the British Crown and declared that Australia was terra nullius — land belonging to nobody.

Several years later on January 26th 1788, the First Fleet of British ships, led by Captain Arthur Phillip, entered Port Jackson in New South Wales. 

Diseases were brought to the Australian continent from Europe by colonisers. These included bronchitis, influenza, measles, fevers, chickenpox, smallpox and the common cold.

Smallpox decimated the Aboriginal population of Port Jackson, Botany Bay and Broken Bay. The disease spread inland and along the coast killing thousands of First Nations people.

Late 1700s to early 1900s – Massacres

Starting in 1794, mass killings of tens of thousands of people were first carried out by British soldiers, then by police and settlers. These were often acting together and continued for over 100 years, later by native police, working under the command of white officers supported by colonial governments.

Widespread massacres killed innocent Indigenous children, women and men. There are also many accounts describing the rape of Indigenous women and the torture and killing of Indigenous men.

The majority of these massacres were authorised based on rumour and personal opinion. A large proportion of illegal killing of Indigenous people would go untried and not heard in a court of law.

1901 – Australia becomes a Federation

Governing colonies in Australia became the Commonwealth of Australia. The Commonwealth constitution stated that natives would not be counted as citizens and would legislate for all races except Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. 

Throughout the 1900’s, federal and state governments exercised control over Indigenous Australians’ employment, wages and working conditions. This resulted largely in poverty wages or no wages. Furthermore, wages, when paid, were diverted to trust and savings accounts which were controlled by government authorities. 

Throughout this time of financial scarcity, Indigenous workers were also subjected to appalling working and living conditions.

Despite government officials being under a mandate to keep appropriate financial records and a recording of all money owed to Indigenous people, these amounts often went missing and unpaid to the rightful owner. 

Widespread evidence suggests that this money was misused by governments and was used in fraudulent activities by employers at the time. Even in the modern era, these wages, in most cases, have not been paid.

1910s to 1970s – Stolen Generations

INSERT STOLEN GENERATIONS IMAGE

Within this time many Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families as a result of various government policies.

The children became the ‘Stolen Generations‘. The policies of child removal left a legacy of trauma and loss that continues to affect Indigenous communities, families and individuals. 

The forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families was part of the policy of assimilation. Assimilation was based on the assumption about black inferiority and white superiority, which proposed that Indigenous people should be allowed to ‘die out’ through a process of controlled elimination.

Children taken from their parents were taught to reject their Indigenous heritage and forced to adopt white culture. Their names were often changed, and they were forbidden to speak their traditional languages. Some children were adopted by white families, and many were placed in institutions where abuse and neglect were common.

26th January 1938 – Day of Mourning

Aboriginal groups sent several petitions to governments with little or no response regarding the injustices suffered by the Indigenous peoples of Australia, so on 26th January 1938, the day began with a march through the streets of Sydney, and on the same day, the groups conducted a political meeting called the Australian Aborigines Conference.

This event continues to be held today by Indigenous Australians, but it is commonly named ‘Invasion day’ or ‘Survival day’, it is a day of mourning, and not a day to be celebrating the 150 years of theft and genocide.

1965 – Freedom Ride and 1967 Referendum

In 1965, a group of students from a Sydney university drove a bus around regional New South Wales for 15 days to expose the poor living conditions and racism that was present in the state. This drew national and international attention.

On this drive, the students highlighted that Aboriginal ex-servicemen were not being allowed access to local service clubs, Aboriginal children were denied access to public swimming pools and other racist practices that were commonplace in the day. 

The Freedom Ride was an important contributor to creating an environment for change and to redefine the relationships between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people.

The Freedom Ride helped move public opinion towards a ‘Yes’ vote in the 1967 referendum under the Holt government to remove the discrimination against Aboriginal Australians from the Australian Constitution.

90% of Australians voted that Indigenous Australians be included in the national census and to create laws that would benefit Indigenous Australians including fair pay, allowing Indigenous politicians and ‘control over self’ and many other basic human rights the Indigenous people did not have before.

1972 – First Indigenous person in Parliament and the Start of the Tent Embassy

In 1972 Neville Bonner became the first Aboriginal to be a member of Parliament and was elected to the Liberal party ticket in Queensland. 

Early in 1972, four Indigenous men hoisted a beach umbrella opposite parliament house in Canberra to protest the government’s approach to Indigenous land rights. It became known as the Tent Embassy. In the following months, over 2000 people joined the movement in front of Old Parliament House with many other tents of their own.

By this stage, government officials had changed legislation to remove the supporters who were a part of this movement. Police violently dismantled tents and confronted people with film crews and journalists watching on. This footage was played on national news and the public expressed their disgust in the federal government.

This event has stood as a strong symbol of political action by Aboriginal activists and continues to be held today in similar forms of justice and equity. 

Australia is one of the few settler-colonial Commonwealth nations not to have a treaty between the state and the First Nations. That said, there are many existing agreements between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia.

In 1988 the Barunga Statement called on the Government to recognise the rights of Indigenous Australians. The Hawke Government actively supported the idea of a treaty, but no agreement was reached and the idea of a treaty was later abandoned in favour of a policy of reconciliation.

Mabo Decision

• The Mabo Case was a significant legal case in Australia that recognised the land rights of the Meriam people, traditional owners of the Murray Islands (which include the islands of Mer, Dauer and Waier) in the Torres Strait.
• The High Court recognised the fact that Indigenous peoples had lived in Australia for thousands of years and enjoyed rights to their land according to their own laws and customs. Twelve months later the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) was passed
• The five Meriam people who mounted the case were Eddie Koiki Mabo, Reverend David Passi, Sam Passi, James Rice and one Meriam women, Celuia Mapo Sale. Eddie Koiki Mabo was the first named plaintiff and the case became known as the Mabo Case.
• On 3 June 1992, six of the seven High Court judges upheld the claim and ruled that the lands of this continent were not terra nullius or ‘land belonging to no-one’ when European settlement occurred, and that the Meriam people were ‘entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of (most of) the lands of the Murray Islands’.

• It’s a beautiful story, here is the link to ABC iview movie. https://iview.abc.net.au/show/mabo

1992 – Paul Keating Redfern Address

This was a speech Indigenous Australians will never forget.

The 10th of December each year marks the anniversary of Paul Keating’s Redfern Speech which conceded the violence and dispossession perpetrated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the continent that had long remained unacknowledged.

In 2022, we celebrate the momentous achievements of First Nations people advocating for rights and justice 30 years on from that speech in Redfern Park. He was the first Prime Minister to acknowledge the impact of European settlement on Indigenous Australians.

1997 – Bringing Them Home Report

The Bringing Them Home Report highlighted the impacts caused to children and their families and was a national inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. It was conducted by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.The inquiry made 54 recommendations, which included access to Country, appropriate cultural engagement, compensation and many others.

2008 – National Apology

On February 13th 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made an apology to the stolen generations and to Indigenous Australians as a whole. He acknowledged and took responsibility for past government policies and actions. This apology took place at Parliament House.

Many Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were touched and moved by the Prime Minister’s remarks. This has been reinforced in the public and private sectors by a greater commitment to reconciliation. 

2017 – Uluru Statement from the Heart 

On May 26th 2017 the Uluru Statement from the Heart was born, it is an invitation to the Australian people from First Nations Australians. It asks Australians to walk together to build a better future by establishing a First Nations Voice to Parliament at national and regional levels and the establishment of a Makarrata Commission for the purpose of treaty making and truth-telling. 

Makarrata is a word from the language of the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land. The Yolngu concept of Makarrata captures the idea of two parties coming together after a struggle, healing the divisions of the past. It is about acknowledging that something has been done wrong, and it seeks to make things right.

2020 – Destruction of 46,000-Year-Old Caves at the Juukan Gorge

On 24 May 2020, the mining giant Rio Tinto destroyed 46,000-year-old caves at the Juukan Gorge in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Rio Tinto conducted their own studies, found artefacts and knew of the cultural significance to the traditional owners though they blew it up anyway. These caves were of great cultural and historic significance to the traditional owners in the area—the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples.

The report ‘Never Again’ also highlighted that the traditional landowners had no support or protection to stop the devastation from happening despite voicing their concerns; they were let down by Rio Tinto, the State Government, the Commonwealth Government, current legislation, and even their own lawyers.

This tragedy has been a significant event that has made resource companies and governments take action to protect Indigenous heritage sites. In the latest report, the Commonwealth Government made several recommendations on how this could be avoided in the future.

Sources:

Agreement Treaties and Negotiated Settlements – https://www.atns.net.au/treaties-landing#:~:text=Australia%20is%20one%20of%20the,non%2DIndigenous%20peoples%20in%20Australia.

AIATSIS – https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/mabocase#:~:text=In%20Mabo%20v.,their%20own%20laws%20and%20customs.

You Tube Vote Yes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaJdm4KGfls

The Uluru Statement – https://ulurustatement.org/the-statement/

You Tube – The Tent Embassy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGiRzD-XEr4

The Guardian – ‘We took the traditional lands’

National Museum of Australia – 07 – The Stolen Generation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDuxRddyZQY

Antar – https://antar.org.au/resources/redfern-speech-30-years-on/

You tube – 2008 Apology https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RThkO3XBThs