ABOR2000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Terra Nullius, George Iv Of The United Kingdom, Stolen Generations
20 Jun 2018
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AUSTRALIAN HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-POLITICAL ISSUES STOLEN
GENERATIONS AND TRAUMA
Australia’s History
Aboriginal Australians have family members in current and/or previous generations who
have experienced human rights atrocities and violations;
- Starved/murdered/imprisoned
- Forced off traditional lands
- Stolen from their mothers/fathers and exposed to neglect, physical, psychological
and sexual abuse as children
In spite of dispossession, disease, discrimination, and destruction of culture, land and
identity, Indigenous Australians remain brave, courageous and positive
It is critically important to understand that we are not responsible for our nation’s past
However, we are all responsible for our future and ensuring that the story of our nation is
deconstructed and reconstructed accurately to acknowledge and embrace the Aboriginal
experience
Too often the events of the past have negatively and seriously impacted on Aboriginal
communities and the health of Indigenous Australians
These issues are usually classified and referred to as ‘Aboriginal Problems’ and have
been compartmentalised by using the title of ‘Aboriginal History’
We don’t acknowledge or make the connections about the ‘Aboriginal problems’ by using
social justice and human rights lens. Nor do we link the human rights atrocities and
violations to health outcomes or associate them with social determinants of health to
explain our history
Information about Indigenous Australians is segregated which denies non-Indigenous
society the correct information and story of ‘our’ nation
Captain Cook ignored the King’s instructions
- On 30th July 1768, King George IV gave the command to Captain Cook, as he
prepared to leave England to negotiate with the traditional land owners but these
orders were ignored
The legacy of Terra Nullius
- Despite the presence of Australia’s first peoples, the English invaders ignored
their existence and deemed Australia, ‘Land that belongs to no-one’
- It continues to remain a mystery as to why Captain Cook did not follow the
instructions of the King
- Although there are various theories, such as tyranny of distance/communication,
weather, no apparent evidence of property, rid Britain of the poor, convict depot,
land acquisition and land opportunities etc. to name a few
- We may never really know what happened during the process of invasion and
colonisation to fully comprehend and explain the decision to claim, ‘terra nullius’
- Terra nullius = British sovereignty
- Eurocentric values have sought to conquer and control Indigenous people since
the arrival of Captain Cook in 1770
“whatever the actions and behaviours of the invaders it has left Aboriginal people without
their land and denied sovereignty”
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
What we do know is that the invaders have left an indelible mark on our nation and these
actions have resulted in significant harm and suffering to the well-being of Indigenous
Australians
In order to work effectively with Indigenous Australians we must understand the impact
of the profound loss and grief that exists for Indigenous parents, families and entire
communities due the past eras;
- Protectionist (1909-1939)
- Assimilation (1939-1969)
Separation in NSW begins
By 1840, the nation of Europeanising Aboriginal Children had become well entrenched in
the dominant colonial discourse
The forcible separation of Aboriginal children was always framed in positive terms by the
new settlers
Missions/reserves/stations
Missions were first set up in the 19th Century, by the Churches, to house and force
Aboriginal people to conform to Christianity
Colonisers/invaders refused to accept Indigenous people’s spirituality
Spirituality
Dreaming stories are about the land and provide the oral form of the spiritual
dreaming which comprises;
- Customs; practical form, way of life
- Totems; spiritual form, sacred
- Lore; cultural form, rules
- Art; visual form, learning
- Dance; physical form, knowledge
- Music; acoustic form, wisdom
Spirituality = dreaming
Dreaming stories is everything that we know and understand about life and it is the
beginning of life or creation
The belief is that ancestral beings created rivers, mountains, valleys, hills, rocks and
vegetation etc. that made the landscape sacred to Indigenous people
Background
The Australian Human Rights Commission conducted the National Inquiry into the
separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families
The National Inquiry produced the report, titled Bringing Them Home, and it was
tabled in Parliament on 26th May 1997
Stolen Generations
“No inquiry in recent Australian history appeared to have, at least in the short term, a more
overwhelming reception and a more culturally transforming”
The Bringing Them Home Report (1997), cites testimonies from hundreds of
Indigenous people, who as children, experienced ongoing violence, abuse and neglect
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Aboriginal australians have family members in current and/or previous generations who have experienced human rights atrocities and violations; Stolen from their mothers/fathers and exposed to neglect, physical, psychological and sexual abuse as children. In spite of dispossession, disease, discrimination, and destruction of culture, land and identity, indigenous australians remain brave, courageous and positive. It is critically important to understand that we are not responsible for our nation"s past. However, we are all responsible for our future and ensuring that the story of our nation is deconstructed and reconstructed accurately to acknowledge and embrace the aboriginal experience. Too often the events of the past have negatively and seriously impacted on aboriginal communities and the health of indigenous australians. These issues are usually classified and referred to as aboriginal problems" and have been compartmentalised by using the title of aboriginal history". We don"t acknowledge or make the connections about the aboriginal problems" by using social justice and human rights lens.
