Difference between revisions of "IND/Protection Acts"
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Prior to 1860 there was no official legislation dealing with Aboriginal peoples. In 1860 a Board of Protection was established in Victoria. By 1862 it superintended seven reserves and twenty-three small camping places. The Governor of Victoria could order the removal of any child to a reformatory or industrial school. The Protection Board could remove children from station families to be housed in dormitories. By 1869 about 50% of the Victorian Aboriginal population was living on missions or reserves. | Prior to 1860 there was no official legislation dealing with Aboriginal peoples. In 1860 a Board of Protection was established in Victoria. By 1862 it superintended seven reserves and twenty-three small camping places. The Governor of Victoria could order the removal of any child to a reformatory or industrial school. The Protection Board could remove children from station families to be housed in dormitories. By 1869 about 50% of the Victorian Aboriginal population was living on missions or reserves. | ||
| − | [[File:Indigenous Australian Fisherman 1902 Korensky.jpg|right| | + | [[File:Indigenous Australian Fisherman 1902 Korensky.jpg|right|250px|Indigenous Australian Fisherman 1902 Korensky]]After this time'' Aborigines Protection Acts'' were introduced colony by colony. The earliest, again, was introduced in 1869 in Victoria, as an ''Act to Provide for the Protection and Management of the Aboriginal Natives of Victoria'', which was later transformed into the ''Aborigines Protection Law Amendment Act 1886''. This was “the first statute to legislate for the differential treatment of ‘full-blood’ and ‘half-caste’” reflecting the type of thinking about ‘race’ and skin colour that we read about above (Haebich, 2000, p.165). The Queensland ''Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 ''set up a “system of segregation, surveillance and control” that was to provide the model for later laws that were passed in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory in the early years of the twentieth century (Haebich, 2000, p. 171). |
In NSW, a Protector of Aborigines was appointed in 1881 and a Aboriginal Protection Board was established in 1883. The NSW ''Aborigines Protection Act'' was introduced in 1909 and was not abolished until 1969. Indigenous people in New South Wales had their lives controlled by the Aborigines Protection Board and with the passing of this law Aboriginal people were forced to “merge with the wider community. This would lead, the Board hoped, to the eventual ‘withering away’ of the communities” (Haebich, 2000, p. 182). | In NSW, a Protector of Aborigines was appointed in 1881 and a Aboriginal Protection Board was established in 1883. The NSW ''Aborigines Protection Act'' was introduced in 1909 and was not abolished until 1969. Indigenous people in New South Wales had their lives controlled by the Aborigines Protection Board and with the passing of this law Aboriginal people were forced to “merge with the wider community. This would lead, the Board hoped, to the eventual ‘withering away’ of the communities” (Haebich, 2000, p. 182). | ||
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In Queensland, J. W. Bleakley, Chief Protector and Director of Native Affairs from 1913 to 1942, exercised a major influence over Queensland policy and the practices of officials and the missions. He believed firmly in the segregation of Indigenous people from non-Indigenous people. As he outline in 1919: | In Queensland, J. W. Bleakley, Chief Protector and Director of Native Affairs from 1913 to 1942, exercised a major influence over Queensland policy and the practices of officials and the missions. He believed firmly in the segregation of Indigenous people from non-Indigenous people. As he outline in 1919: | ||
| − | + | {{Cquote|It is only by complete separation of the two races that we can save him (‘the Aborigine’) from hopeless contamination and eventual extinction, as well as safeguard the purity of our own blood (Chief Protector Report 1919).}} | |
| + | |||
While policies in Queensland continued to emphasise segregation, other states shifted towards policies of cultural ‘assimilation’ and ‘biological absorption’, both of which were aimed at making the ‘Aboriginal problem’, and Aboriginal people, disappear. | While policies in Queensland continued to emphasise segregation, other states shifted towards policies of cultural ‘assimilation’ and ‘biological absorption’, both of which were aimed at making the ‘Aboriginal problem’, and Aboriginal people, disappear. | ||
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Below are links to some of the key Protection Acts in other colonies/states. | Below are links to some of the key Protection Acts in other colonies/states. | ||
| − | All of the original Protection legislation can be found on the [http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/collections/exhibitions/remove/index.html Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)] website: | + | All of the original Protection legislation can be found on the [http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/collections/exhibitions/remove/index.html Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)] website: |
'''Key Protection Acts:''' | '''Key Protection Acts:''' | ||
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'''Victoria''' | '''Victoria''' | ||
| − | [[File:Scarred tree Fitzroy Gardens.jpg|thumb| | + | [[File:Scarred tree Fitzroy Gardens.jpg|thumb|250px|Scarred tree in Fitzroy Gardens, the scar is left after a canoe has been cut out of the trunk]]The ''Aborigines Protection Act 1869'' constituted a ''“Board for the Protection of Aborigines”''. The Board was given no specific power until the ''Aborigines Protection Act 1886''. The Board gained regulatory powers in respect of ‘half-castes’ and the power to issue rations, clothing and blankets. |
[http://foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/vic7i_doc_1869.pdf To provide for the Protection and Management of the Aboriginal Natives of Victoria.] | [http://foundingdocs.gov.au/resources/transcripts/vic7i_doc_1869.pdf To provide for the Protection and Management of the Aboriginal Natives of Victoria.] | ||
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Prior to 1911 the Northern Territory was administered by South Australia. The first legislation was the ''[http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/num_act/tntaa1024o1910436/ Northern Territory Aborigines Act 1910]" passed by the South Australian parliament. The Northern Territory Aboriginal Department was set up with a duty to: | Prior to 1911 the Northern Territory was administered by South Australia. The first legislation was the ''[http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/num_act/tntaa1024o1910436/ Northern Territory Aborigines Act 1910]" passed by the South Australian parliament. The Northern Territory Aboriginal Department was set up with a duty to: | ||
| − | + | {{Cquote|“exercise a general supervision and care over all matters affecting the welfare of the Aboriginals, and to protect them against injustice, imposition and fraud” s6(6). }} | |
'''New South Wales''' | '''New South Wales''' | ||
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'''Western Australia''' | '''Western Australia''' | ||
| − | The ''[http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/wa/WE00403 Protection Act 1886]'' established the Aborigines Protection Board. The ''Aborigines Protection Act 1905'' was the main protection legislation. The Protection Board began setting up schools for the training of Aboriginal children. | + | The ''[http://www.findandconnect.gov.au/guide/wa/WE00403 Protection Act 1886]'' established the Aborigines Protection Board. The ''Aborigines Protection Act 1905'' was the main protection legislation. The Protection Board began setting up schools for the training of Aboriginal children.}} |
{{PrevNext|IND/Segretation, Protection, Assimilation: Overlapping Themes|IND/Segregation on Reserves and Missions}} | {{PrevNext|IND/Segretation, Protection, Assimilation: Overlapping Themes|IND/Segregation on Reserves and Missions}} | ||
Latest revision as of 04:26, 17 June 2016
Prior to 1860 there was no official legislation dealing with Aboriginal peoples. In 1860 a Board of Protection was established in Victoria. By 1862 it superintended seven reserves and twenty-three small camping places. The Governor of Victoria could order the removal of any child to a reformatory or industrial school. The Protection Board could remove children from station families to be housed in dormitories. By 1869 about 50% of the Victorian Aboriginal population was living on missions or reserves.
In NSW, a Protector of Aborigines was appointed in 1881 and a Aboriginal Protection Board was established in 1883. The NSW Aborigines Protection Act was introduced in 1909 and was not abolished until 1969. Indigenous people in New South Wales had their lives controlled by the Aborigines Protection Board and with the passing of this law Aboriginal people were forced to “merge with the wider community. This would lead, the Board hoped, to the eventual ‘withering away’ of the communities” (Haebich, 2000, p. 182).
In Queensland, J. W. Bleakley, Chief Protector and Director of Native Affairs from 1913 to 1942, exercised a major influence over Queensland policy and the practices of officials and the missions. He believed firmly in the segregation of Indigenous people from non-Indigenous people. As he outline in 1919:
| “ | It is only by complete separation of the two races that we can save him (‘the Aborigine’) from hopeless contamination and eventual extinction, as well as safeguard the purity of our own blood (Chief Protector Report 1919). | ” |
While policies in Queensland continued to emphasise segregation, other states shifted towards policies of cultural ‘assimilation’ and ‘biological absorption’, both of which were aimed at making the ‘Aboriginal problem’, and Aboriginal people, disappear.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, governments put in place extensive controls over the employment, working conditions and wages of Indigenous workers. These controls permitted, both explicitly and implicitly, the non-payment of wages to some Indigenous workers, as well as the underpayment of wages, and the diversion of wages into trust and savings accounts. Many Indigenous people never received the wages that were supposedly held in ‘trust’ for them. Often these funds were misappropriated by governments or sometimes taken by corrupt officials (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006; Kidd, 2007).
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