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Stealing People: The Lost Generation
Seven year old Lorna Cubillo was seized by officials and thrown into a truck with 15 other Aboriginal girls. Lorna was taken to a church-run foster home and was sexually abused. She never saw her mother again. Lorna Cubillo was one of 100 000 Aboriginal children who were removed from families and put in foster homes or missions run by whites. The authorities wanted to:
Cut the children off from their culture
Hopefully 'breed out the colour' as they later married whites
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1938: Celebrate or mourn?
On Australia Day in 1938 a meeting of Aboriginal people was held in Sydney. A document called 'Aboriginal Claim Citizen Rights' was circulated. This declaration was the first time Aboriginal peple had made a protest. It was widely reported in the papers and many white Australians now started to take notice of their plight. -
More Visible During the War
The awareness of the second-class status of Indigenous Australians became even more obvious to the general public as a result of World War II(1939-1945). Many Aborigines served in the armed forces and thousands moved into the towns to work in the wartime industries. Many white Australians felt that if Aboriginals could fight and die for their country they deserved a fair go. -
Changing Attidtudes and Better Treatment
After World War II white attiitudes towards the first Australians began to change. During the 1950s the Indigenous Australians wer allowed to:
Enrol for voting
Drink in hotels
Travel without restrictions By the early 1960s Aboriginal adults recieved pensions and maternity benefits. But inequalities remained in pay, voting, access to facilties, control of children and land rights. -
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Indigenous Australians Take the Initiative
1965- Freedon riders demand equal treatment. They protested about discrimination in facilities. 1966- Gurindji people demand a better deal. They wanted better wages, conditions and their land back. 1967- White voters demand a better deal for first Australians(90% yes vote). 1972- Aboriginal tent embassy set up in Canberra. 1974- Land rights to be granted to first Australians. Recommended they get their land back. 1975- First Aboriginal Land Rights Act. Gave only arid and useless land. -
Lost Land, Stolen Children
In the late 18th century Britian claimed the lands of Australia because they assumed nobody owned them. Some Torres Strait Islanders, led by Eddie Mabo, challenged this. Thier people had inhabited Murray Island for thousands of years and so were the rightful owners. In 1992 the High Court agreed saying terra nullius was wrong and racist. So the 1993 Native Title Act allowed Indigenous Australians to claim land rights. The stolen generation was one of Australia's worst secrets and few knew of it. -
Pride and Better Deals
Indigenous Australian leaders are gaining greater respect and the marches in 2000 showed that Australians of all races want the first people to get a better deal. Some are national heroes and there was great pride when Cathy Freeman lit the torch at the Sydney Olympics and won the 400 metres. There are still many problems to solve but hope remains. On the indigenous flag, the black stands for the people, the yellow for the sun and the red for the land. -
Putting Things Right?
In May 2000 250 000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge and up to 400 000 marched in Melbourne in December. Many marchers carried signs and bannes critical of the Prime Minister's refusal to say 'Sorry' to indigineous Australians for past wrongs. The Marches involved people of all ages and races. They showed increasing concern about the need to:
Apologise for their treatment in the past
Improve their living standards
Provide fair deals over land rights
Give their culture more status
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2007: A Long Way To Go
In the early 21st century the Indigenous Australians are caught in a culture trap. They are at various stages between their past and modern Australian life. Although Indigenous Australians now own some land, it is mostly desert and economically useless. The Aboriginal population is now growing rapidly and the governments need to help people adapt to modern life. 'Much of the poverty and disease in the Aboriginal community is the result of the dispossesion of their lands.' -
Hope For The Future?
The challenge for Australia in the 21st century is to restore Indigenous Australians' pride and nationhood. Positive steps could involve:
-Giving them a fair deal over land rights
-Providing compensation to the 'stolen generation'
-Saying 'sorry' officially
-Recognising that possibly 20 000 died defending their land in 'Australian wars'
-Providing more help to talented aboriginal sportspeople, artists, students and business people
-Educating Australians fully about their history