Selected reading about Western Australia’s Stolen Generations
Biskup, Peter, Not Slaves Not Citizens: The Aboriginal Problem in Western Australia 1898-1954, UQP, St Lucia, 1973 Choo, Christine, Mission Girls: Aboriginal Women on Catholic Missions in the Kimberley, 1900-1950, UWA Press, Nedlands, 2001. Multi-award winning title.
Davidson, W.S., Havens of Refuge: A history of Leprosy in Western Australia, UWA Press, Nedlands, 1978.
Haebich, Anna, For Their Own Good: Aborigines and Government in the South West of Western Australia, 1900-1940, UWA Press, Nedlands, 1988.
Haebich, Anna, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous families 1800-2000, FACP, Fremantle, 2000.
Hetherington, Penelope, Settlers, Servants & Slaves: Aboriginal and European Children in Nineteenth-century Western Australia, UWA Press, Nedlands, 2002.
Long, T., ‘The Development of Government Aboriginal Policy: The Effect of Administrative Changes, 1829-1977, in Aborigines of the West: Their Past and Present‘, edited by R.M. and C. Berndt, UWA Press, Nedlands, 1979.
Manne, Robert, In Denial: The Stolen Generations and the Right, The Australian Quarterly Essay, 1, 2001. (whole issue)
Marchant, R., Aboriginal Administration in Western Australia 1886 to 1905, AIATSIS, Canberra, 1981.
Rumley, Hilary and Sandy Toussaint, ‘For Their Own Benefit? A Critical Overview of Aboriginal Policy and Practice at Moola Bulla, East Kimberley, 1910-1955′, in Aboriginal History, vol.1, no. 14, 1990, pp.80-103.
The Stolen Children: Their Stories, edited by Carmel Bird, Random House, Sydney, 1998.
Legislation relating to removal of Aboriginal children in Western Australia
These are the policies which created the stolen generations.
6/1884 : An Act to prevent the enticing of girls of the aboriginal race away from school, or from any service in which they are employed.
It was an offence to remove girls without consent of the protector or school principal. Repealed 14/190511/1874 : Industrial Schools Act
Managers of charitable institutions for needy children, orphans and “children of Aborigines’ had power to retain children voluntarily surrendered to their care and stand in loco parentis to them. “Children of Aborigines” remained under manager’s control to age 21 and could be placed in apprenticeships to age 21 or into service for two to five years without parents’ consent. Parental consent was required for European children. Repealed 31/1907.
25/1886 : The Aborigines Protection Act For the “better protection and management” of Aborigines and to amend laws relating to Aboriginal employment contracts. It covered: – Administration: movement towards centralised and separate administration of Aboriginal affairs. It outlined the structure and duties of the Aborigines Protection Board (APB) and a system of honorary protectors whose duties included advice to the Governor “on proper care of Aboriginal children”. – Employment: contracts; Aboriginal prisoners; apprenticeship of Aboriginal children from age 6 to 21; employment conditions to be inspected but standards of care not stated; offending employers and apprentices liable for fines or imprisonment. – Persons under the Act: “every Aboriginal native of Australia, and every Aboriginal half-caste or child of half-caste or child habitually associating and living with Aboriginals”. Repealed by 14/1905.
5/1897 : Aborigines Act
Amended the 1889 Constitution Act to transfer control of Aboriginal affairs from British to Western Australian government; abolished the 1% clause relating to government revenue applied to Aboriginal welfare; provided for “better protection” of Aborigines. The Aboriginal Protection Board was abolished and the Aborigines Department (AD) was created with the same duties and an additional role of “providing custody, maintenance and education of children of Aborigines”.
14/1905 : Aborigines Act
To “make better provision for protection and care of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Western Australia”.
Major sections:
– Administration: Aborigines Department under the control of Chief Protector of Aborigines, honorary protectors; establishment of departmental institutions; controls over missions.
– Persons under the Act: Aborigines of full descent (referred to as ‘Aboriginal natives’); ‘half-castes’ (persons with Aboriginal parent on either side or children of such persons) who lived with Aboriginal as wife or husband or regularly associated with ‘Aboriginal natives’; ‘half-caste’ children under sixteen irrespective of lifestyle; Aborigines of”suitable degree of civilization” to apply for exemption from the Act.
– Controls over employment: agreements and permits; not to employ Aboriginal girls under age 14.
– Controls over movement: prohibited areas; Aboriginal reserves; removal to reserves and other locations; entry to towns; location of camps.
– Controls over personal and family life: Chief Protector to manage property, earnings, legal guardian of children to age 16 years; approve marriages of Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal men; sexual contact between Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal men prohibited; alcohol prohibition; maintenance.
– Penalties: arrest Aborigines without warrant; face six month prison sentences or fines. Repealed 79/1963.
1909 Regulations to 1905 Aborigines Act
Authorised any justice of the peace, any protector of Aborigines or police officer to remove any ‘half-caste’ child under age 8 without prior consultation with Chief Protector of Aborigines.
42/1911 : An Act to further amend the Aborigines Act 1905
Chief Protector the legal guardian of all illegitimate ‘half-caste’ children to the exclusion of mothers’ rights; mission managers to have powers and duties of managers to of children’s institutions under 1907 State Children’s Act; other: reserves, employment, possession of alcohol, removal of women from Aboriginal institutions, courts procedures. Repealed 79/1963.
43/1936 : Aborigines Act Amendment (Native Administration Act)
Significantly amended the Aborigines Act, 1905, with main sections: – Administration: Department of Native Affairs under a Commissioner of Native Affairs; brought more in line with Police Department; Travelling Inspectors; Department to generate own funds. – Application of the Act: extended to all persons of Aboriginal descent deemed ‘natives’ with exception of ‘quadroons’ over age 21, unless classed as ‘native’ by special magisterial order, and persons of less than ‘quadroon’ descent born before 31 January 1936; the latter not to associate with ‘natives’. – Employment: Departmental Native Medical Fund; the Act to cover all forms of labour. – Personal and family life: Commisssioner to be legal guardian of all legitimate and illegitimate ‘native’ children to age 21 regardless of whether has living parents or other family; medical examinations; approval of marriages; intestate Aboriginal estates; maintenance; any sexual contact between Aborigines and non-Aborigines prohibited. – Penalties for any offences increased. – Miscellaneous: Commissioner can intervene to stop traditional Aboriginal practices (eg initiation, child betrothal); Courts of Native Affairs; Aboriginal defendants. Repealed 79/1963.
23/1944 : Natives (Citizenship Rights) Act
Provisions for Certificate of Citizenship by application to Resident Magistrate; applicant must sign that he/she wants to become a citizen, has for two years dissolved tribal and native associations except with lineal descendants of native relatives of first degree, and has served with the armed forces with an honourable discharge, or is an otherwise fit and proper person; applicant to attach stating is of good character and industrious habits; Resident Magistrate must be convinced that for the two previous years the applicant has adopted a civilized life, that full citizenship rights are conducive to the applicant’s welfare; that the applicants can speak and understand English, does not have active leprosy, syphilis, granuloma or yaws, is of industrious habits and good behaviour and reputation and is reasonably capable of managing own affairs. The Resident Magistrate then issues a Certificate of Citizenship and the holder is deemed no longer a native and has all the rights of citizenship. The Resident Magistrate’s decision is final. Repealed 26/1971.
27/1951 : Natives (Citizenship Rights) Act Amendment Act, 1944-1950
Power to decide transferred from magistrate and vested in a board of the magistrate, including chairman of the road board and other prominent community member/s; decision of board to be unanimous. Repealed 26/1971.
60/1954 : Native Administration Act Amendment Act
Reinterpretation of ‘native’: persons of full descent and less who served in the armed forces overseas or for a minimum of six months full time with an honourable discharge to be deemed no longer natives. Repealed 79/1963.
64/1954 : Native Welfare Act
Department of Native Welfare under a Commissioner of Native Welfare; changes allowed for regionalisation of administration; no change to definition of ‘native’; Dept. of Native Welfare duties remained the same including “to provide for custody, maintenance and education of the children of natives. Repealed 24/1972.
24/1972 : Aboriginal Affairs Planning Authority (AAPA) Act and
31/1972 : Community Welfare Act 1972AAPA Act and Community Welfare Acts were to ensure Aboriginal access to all services available to the Western Australian community, to remove discriminatory nature of a welfare authority dealing only with a particular racial group by integrating family welfare and other services for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. It created a specialist organisation to foster services essential to programs promoting social and economic development of Aboriginal people that were not part of normal government programs. Welfare duties of Dept. of Native Welfare transferred to Department of Community; State Housing Commission to deal with urban Aboriginal housing; AAPA set up to consult with Aboriginal people, to coordinate activities of various government agencies and to foster economic, social and cultural advancement of Aborigines in WA through its Aboriginal Advisory Council, Aboriginal Affairs Co-ordinating Committee and the Aboriginal Lands Trust.
Hansard 14.05.15. W.A Parliament Hansard Excerpt -Contains letter to the Parliament by KSGAC Chairperson Mark Bin Bakar on the rights of Aboriginal people as read by HON ROBIN CHAPPLE (Mining and Pastoral)
I want to read a speech that was written on 1 May 2015 by Dr Mark Bin Bakar from Edith Cowan University on behalf of the Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation. It was delivered by KSGAC staff member Ms Vanessa Poelina, in the absence of its chair. The speech states —
I present this notice of sadness, regret and frustration on behalf of the Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation of this colonial attitude to Aboriginal people. Since day one they have been moving, killing, raping, murdering, oppressing our people across Australia with very calculating strategies to disempower, disrespect and discredit our Aboriginal nations across Australia. The big land grabs.
It is now over 200 years since the arrival of the first fleet and Aboriginal Australia is not going anywhere so, come on Colin Barnett and Tony Abbot get over it and work with our people.
That is the message —
We are who we are, what we are and we can never change that, we are the Natives of this land. We have collective evidence of our connection to this country over 60,000 years and trust me this is not a life choice decision but a Birthright.
We have responsibilities to our country, people, languages, identities and environment. We ask that you do not point the finger at our people’s situation; after all, it was created by you and your Westminster system. A system that has a superiority complex upon its head that elevates its thinking, planning and humanity at a level that looks down on our people and our being as Indigenous people of Australia.
If the do-gooders had left us in our traditional state in our own countries we would have been carrying out our life style … obligations in a natural God given capacity as was gifted to us since time immemorial. But no, your systems removed our people off country, rounded them all up and institutionalised our people, at times breaking every tie to our essence and responsibly to our country, language and culture.
However you could not break the Aboriginal inside of us, as we remain Aboriginal regardless, as the DNA determines who we are and why we are who we are. Something you and your bureaucrats would never ever be able to comprehend without direct consultation with us.
In your proud heritage achievements across our country you also contributed by most of your great explorers, pioneers and so on, who created this other so called evil you called the half-caste. And to cover up your evil intent and failures you behave as, so called decent human beings, as you, as men in power; concocted this policy of removing children from their families for their so called, own good.
What you created in fact is a great expansion of Aboriginal people despite colour differences but you still carried this removal policy and treated fellow Australians as less than human. You even had laws that classified us as Flora and Fauna. In fact the psyche has not changed in how you think of Aboriginal people, since colonisation.
Your great wisdom then assisted our people to return to country and help them in self-determination and all those catch cry terminologies etc. Only to now decide that they all once again, need to be rounded back up and bought back into regional centres. This will again create the anxiety, stress, ill health and broken freedom to care and live off country, let alone the burdens on regional centres.
How dare you think that our people are not worthy of proper support, recognition and assistance in your responsibility to provide this, as you may have been the so called conquerors of this country, one would think that you would have the compassion to treat our people with dignity, respect and with conviction of heart in this day and age.
The Stolen Generation people’s and living descendants are fully aware of the suffering that was imposed on our forebears and themselves in the name of removal for one’s own good. But you compromise the ultimate rule of life, that people belong in a place with their own language, identity and wellbeing, in our own sacred circles.
The apology given to Aboriginal Australia on behalf of Australia by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was a good intent that was well overdue, ignored by the previous regime of Prime Minister John Howard but also acknowledged by the Prime Minister Paul Keating’s Redfern Speech.
These speeches were given, delivered and spoken in good Australian spirit and good intent to tell the truth, seek justice, allow healing and also reconciliation and you just undo and
that classified us as Flora and Fauna. In fact the psyche has not changed in how you think of Aboriginal people, since colonisation.
Your great wisdom then assisted our people to return to country and help them in self-determination and all those catch cry terminologies etc. Only to now decide that they all once again, need to be rounded back up and bought back into regional centres. This will again create the anxiety, stress, ill health and broken freedom to care and live off country, let alone the burdens on regional centres.
How dare you think that our people are not worthy of proper support, recognition and assistance in your responsibility to provide this, as you may have been the so called conquerors of this country, one would think that you would have the compassion to treat our people with dignity, respect and with conviction of heart in this day and age.
The Stolen Generation people’s and living descendants are fully aware of the suffering that was imposed on our forebears and themselves in the name of removal for one’s own good. But you compromise the ultimate rule of life, that people belong in a place with their own language, identity and wellbeing, in our own sacred circles.
The apology given to Aboriginal Australia on behalf of Australia by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was a good intent that was well overdue, ignored by the previous regime of Prime Minister John Howard but also acknowledged by the Prime Minister Paul Keating’s Redfern Speech.
These speeches were given, delivered and spoken in good Australian spirit and good intent to tell the truth, seek justice, allow healing and also reconciliation and you just undo and denigrate all of this by your words and actions as a clear contradiction of power and demonstrate the way this English system is corrupt.
We are the victims of your systems inadequacies and racist attitude to our people. Always was and it seems, always will be.
This is 2015 and we just see the same old rules, policies and controls imposed on our people but just rebranded, renamed and a different strategy but same intent to denigrate our people and their sovereign right to just BE!
We as Aboriginal people know about the politics of deception and denigration through trial by negative media, policy and Government Authority to please the big end of town at the expense of the poor end of town, in this case our people. After all the birth of the Westminster system and western democracy was designed with this intent since day one; legal and illegal corruption.
We hope that all Australian Governments could show respect, compassion and consideration for the oldest living culture in the world in their very own country.
We live on country because it is our country!
Dr Mark Bin Bakar HonECU Chairperson
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