Assilmation Policy Case

Under the law of Terra Nullius (Shafter 1916 p 1) Captain James Cook laid claim to the 132nd parallel for the British Crown in 1770. Eighteen years later the first fleet arrived and with it came British law. British law was predominately built around protection of private property (Shafter 1996 p 20). The same source goes on to explain that due to these ownership laws clash of customs and beliefs of the two cultures led to many conflicts resulting in the belief of British supremacy and inevitably denied Aboriginal people their rights. From the arrival of the first fleet all decisions regarding treatment, protection and educating of the aboriginal people has been decided by non-aboriginals in the interest of civilising, Christianizing and assimilating them into the white culture (Barani). In 1901 at the time of federation it was believe that the native Aboriginal was a dying race and were excluded from the census. Due to the exclusion Aboriginals were not considered to be citizens of Australia therefore they did not share all the rights and privileges granted to all Australian citizens. As a result of federation it was decided that all matters pertaining to the welfare of Aboriginals were to remain with each state (Burani). The Aboriginal Protection Act of the early 1900's effectively gave control of the Aboriginal people to official watchers called Protectors (Armitage 1998 p 18). The role of the protectors and sub protectors was to oversee and control the everyday life of the Aboriginal people. This included: what funds or allowance aboriginals could have and how they were to use it, where they lived and where their children lived and went to school. Another job of the Protectors was to determine who was Aboriginal and who were too white to be Aboriginal (Armitage 1998 p 18). The Protect ion Act continued until the 1930's with the introduction of the assimilation policy.

Assimilation represented a change from the older policy of protection. Assimilation means absorption; the absorption of indigenous people into mainstream society (swkirt.com.au). Assimilation of the Aboriginal people was a procedure of obtaining a single Australian community by which Aborigines were to live like white Australians. The same source goes on to say that as a single Australian community all Australian will have the same rights, responsibilities, observe the same customs and be influenced by the same loyalties. Assimilation meant a denial of all other culture differences. The Government of the time believed that the Aboriginal people were a dying race as with the forcible removal of non full blooded children that the native language, traditions, and spiritual beliefs would be forgotten (creative spirits) and a new white culture would be achieved.

Zeldenry and Yalmabirrra explains culture as a set of values and ideas that are past down from one generation to the next and with it experiences that shape traditional beliefs. Prior to Captain Cook

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