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Aboriginal Welfare Inquiry
An inquiry into the welfare of the Aboriginal population was undertaken by the Select Committee of the Legislative Council on the Aborigines in 1858, to study the condition of Aboriginal people and propose ways to improve their well-being. -
Release of the Aboriginal Welfare Report
The examiners often investigated the conditions, welfare, and treatment of Aboriginal people within their colony and culture. The report recommended the creation of reserves and missions for Aboriginal people to live on as well as the creation of a board to watch over and regulate the lives of Aboriginal people. When the report was released in 1860, and it was declared that the effectiveness of the Aboriginal Protectorate system was unsuccessful, and unfit to continue. -
Victorian Aboriginal Protection Act
Victoria was the first state to release the Aboriginal Protection Act, which enforced the 'removal of Aboriginal people of mixed descent from Aboriginal Stations or Reserves to force them to assimilate into White Society.' The Acts definition of an Aboriginal was very broad This meant there was a very broad definition for Aboriginality, and anyone deemed to fit within the definition would have their lives regulated by the Board. -
Board for the Protection of Aborigines NSW
In 1883, NSW, the Board for the Protection of Aborigines was established, and was initially established to provide ‘the duty of the State to assist in any effort which is being made for the elevation of the race, by affording rudimentary instruction, and by aiding in the cost of maintenance or clothing where necessary, as well as by the grant of land, gifts of boats, or implements of industrial work.’ -
The Aborigines Protection Act 1886
This followed the Aborigines Protection Act 1869, changing the definition of 'Aboriginal' to exclude those who were only 'half Aboriginal', or 'half-caste (only one parent was Aboriginal). This lead to young children being forcibly removed form missions and stations across Australia, which lead to many of them closing down. -
The Taking of Aboriginal Children
It was believed that by taking the children and placing them in white families or institutions they could be provided better lives. Government officials held racist beliefs that Aboriginal parents were automatically unfit to take care of their children. Many of these children were forced to work as servants for the families they lived with. -
Aborigines Protection Act 1909
This Act gave the board control over all reserves, including the ability to move people out of towns and manage the reserves. The Board could apprentice children of Aboriginal descent to non-Aboriginal people, subject to certain conditions outlined in the Apprentices Act 1901. -
Aborigines Act 1910
This declared 'half-caste' or 'half-white' children as Aboriginals again, but didn't stop the removal of indigenous children in Australia. -
Aborigines Act 1915
This amended version of the Act gave government officials the power and authority to remove or take any Aboriginal children for no apparent reason. The phrasing was so broad it lead to the inspectors interpretating it however they wished, and removed Aboriginal children from their family's for their race alone. -
1967 Referendum
Australian citizens voted weather to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the constitution. 90.77% of Australians voted to amend the constitution, allowing Aboriginal peoples to vote. The referendum was a big step in recognizing Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders as full equal citizens. -
Mambo High Court Decision
The 1992 Mabo High Court decision was a reignition of land ownership to the Meriam people of the Murray Islands in the Torres Strait. It altered Australian land lore, rejecting Australia's before title 'terra nullius' which stated that Australia was originally uninhabited before British settlement. It began the legal recognition of indigenous rights to Australia's land and water. -
Bringing Them Home Report
Bringing them Home was the name given to the final report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families, which was conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (Which at the time was called the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission). Followed by a nation wide year inquiry.