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Bringing them home

8. States and Territories Laws & History - Key questions

Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales

To answer these questions you will need to refer to the The History – New South Wales resource sheet, The Laws – New South Wales resource sheet and The Laws – Australian Capital Territory resource sheet.

Read the resource sheets and answer the questions below.

1. How did Indigenous people and the settlers interact during the early settlement?
2. Reserves were formally set up under the control of the Aboriginal Protection Board. What were the reserves used for?
3. What was the main change brought about by the 1915 Aborigines Protection (Amending) Act? What arguments were presented against these changes?
4. After the 1937 meeting of State and Commonwealth governments, assimilation took place under welfare laws. An Indigenous child could only be removed if found to be in 'neglect'. What problems were identified with this approach?
5. During the 1940s and 1950s, fostering and adoption became the option preferred to institutionalisation. What reasons are offered for this? Can you think of other possible reasons?


Key questions Northern Territory

To answer these questions you will need to refer to The History – Northern Territory resource sheet and The Laws – Northern Territory resource sheet.

Read the resource sheets and answer the questions below.

1. According to the material, what was the main motivation behind settling in the Northern Territory?
2. What were the key points of the Northern Territory Aboriginals Act of 1910?
3. Soon after the Chief Protector's powers were extended in 1918, the removal of Indigenous children increased rapidly. What problems did this increase pose for managing missions, institutions and reserves? Give an example.
4. What was Chief Protector Cook's vision? Was it achieved through the missions and reserves? Why, or why not?
5. What understanding do you have of self-management? Give an example of a self-management initiative in the Northern Territory.


Key questions Queensland

To answer these questions you will need to refer to The History – Queensland resource sheet and The Laws – Queensland resource sheet.

Read the resource sheets and answer the questions below.

1. How would you describe relations between Indigenous people and the settlers during early settlement in Queensland?
2. Under what law were Indigenous children first separated from their families?
3. What was one reason for the government adopting a policy of restricting the movement of Torres Strait Islanders?
4. What happened to Indigenous children who were not living on the reserves or missions?
5. What did the 1975 Commission of Inquiry into Youth recommend about the care of Indigenous children?


Key questions South Australia

To answer these questions you will need to refer to The History – South Australia resource sheet and The Laws – South Australia resource sheet.

Read the resource sheets and answer the questions below.

1. How was South Australia originally settled?
2. Describe the powers of the Protector of Aborigines in South Australia.
3. What did Aboriginal people have to show in order to get an ‘exemption certificate’?
4. How many Indigenous children were in non-Indigenous foster homes by 1967?
5. What was one institution set up as a part of self-management of Indigenous affairs in the Indigenous community?


Key questions Tasmania

To answer these questions you will need to refer to The History – Tasmania resource sheet and The Laws – Tasmania resource sheet.

Read the resource sheets and answer the questions below.

1. When did white settlement begin in Tasmania?
2. What was the initial effect of moving Indigenous people to Flinders Island?
3. In the 1950s, officials increasingly moved Indigenous children to mainland Tasmania using the child welfare laws. What were the grounds for removal of Indigenous children under these laws?
4. Has self-management helped reduce the number of separations occurring through child welfare and criminal laws? Which Indigenous-operated organisations have helped with this?
5. When did the Tasmanian Government introduce the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle? What is the principle meant to do?


Key questions Victoria

To answer these questions you will need to refer to The History – Victoria resource sheet and The Laws – Victoria resource sheet.

Read the resource sheets and answer the questions below.

1. How did colonial settlement begin? What were the early schools for Indigenous children like?
2. Segregation policy aimed to separate Indigenous peoples from non-Indigenous peoples. What were the two main things the Aborigines Protection Board did to facilitate this separation?
3. What were the grounds for removing Indigenous children by private welfare agencies and individuals between 1887 and 1954?
4. What work did the Aboriginal Advancement League do to try and improve conditions for Indigenous people living under the policy of assimilation?
5. Did strategies of self-management, including Indigenous-operated community services, decrease or increase the number of Indigenous children removed from their families? By how much did this change?


Key questions Western Australia

To answer these questions you will need to refer to The History – Western Australia resource sheet and The Laws – Western Australia resource sheet.

Read the resource sheets and answer the questions below.

1. How was the settlement of Western Australia different to settlement in other Australian states?
2. What occurred at the Battle of Pinjarra? How did this effect the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people?
3. List some of the things that Indigenous people had to prove to be granted WA citizenship rights under the Native (Citizenship Rights) Act 1944.
4. How many Indigenous people were in institutions when the Department of Native Welfare was abolished in 1972?
5. Explain some of the reforms to child welfare which were introduced in the 1980s. What specific issues do you think were addressed by these changes?


8. Answer sheet

Australian Capital Territory and
New South Wales

To answer these questions students will need to refer to the The History – New South Wales + ACT resource sheet, The Laws – New South Wales resource sheet and The Laws – Australian Capital Territory resource sheet.

The responses below are suggestions only.

1. How did Indigenous people and the settlers interact during the early settlement?
  • Immediate conflict occurred between Indigenous people and settlers.
  • Indigenous people were forced off their traditional lands to make way for settlement.
  • Indigenous people protested over early land claims and development, leading to guerrilla warfare between Indigenous people and settlers.
  • Indigenous people were encouraged to send their children to ‘Native Institutions’, where they could undertake bible study.
2. Reserves were formally set up under the control of the Aboriginal Protection Board. What were the reserves used for?
  • Two types of reserves were set up – managed and unmanaged reserves.
  • Managed reserves provided education, rations and housing.
  • Unmanaged reserves were under police control and only provided rations.
3. What was the main change brought about by the 1915 Aborigines Protection (Amending) Act? What arguments were presented against these changes?
  • The act removed the requirement that an Aboriginal child had to be considered ‘neglected’ before the board removed them.
  • No court hearing was required for the removal of an Aboriginal child.
  • Arguments were put at the time that the new law allowed the board ‘to steal children away from their parents’ and to oversee ‘the re-introduction of slavery in NSW’.
4. After the 1937 meeting of state and Commonwealth governments, assimilation took place under welfare laws. An Indigenous child could only be removed if found to be in 'neglect'. What problems were identified with this approach?
  • Children’s courts were often located some distance from Indigenous communities.
  • Indigenous people had limited legal assistance at their disposal.
  • It was an offence for Indigenous people to leave either their employment or their home to attend court hearings.
  • Parents were threatened in various ways to ‘consent’ to their child being removed.
5. During the 1940s and 1950s, fostering and adoption became the option preferred to institutionalisation. What reasons are offered for this? Can you think of other possible reasons?
Financial problems were being encountered, as institutions and homes were costly to run. Fostering and adoption were therefore seen as more viable economic strategies.

Answer sheet Northern Territory

To answer these questions students will need to refer to The History – Northern Territory resource sheet and The Laws – Northern Territory resource sheet.

The responses below are suggestions only.

1. According to the material, what was the main motivation behind settling the Northern Territory?
  • The enormous wealth of natural resources, which led to a flood of pastoralists and many mining companies being established.
2. What were the key points of the Northern Territory Aboriginals Act of 1910?
The Act provided for the removal, detention and relocation of Aboriginal people on reserves.
3. Soon after the Chief Protector's powers were extended in 1918, the removal of Indigenous children increased rapidly. What problems did this increase pose for managing missions, institutions and reserves? Give an example.
  • The increase caused severe overcrowding in places where conditions were already poor.
  • Although some children were relocated, in many cases they were moved to temporary homes, with severe water shortages, extreme cold and lack of protection from the rain.
4. What was Chief Protector Cook's vision? Was it achieved through the missions and reserves? Why, or why not?
  • Cook stated that his intention was to ‘breed out the race’ and to ‘convert the half-caste into a white citizen’.
  • Cook was unsupportive of the missions and tried to make his vision their responsibility – but was ignored due to them focussing on education and protection instead.
5. What understanding do you have of self-management? Give an example of a self-management initiative in the Northern Territory.
One initiative in the move towards Indigenous self-management in the Northern Territory was the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle, which stated that where removal of an Indigenous child from its family because of adoption or fostering, the priority would be to place that child with another Indigenous family wherever possible.


Answer sheet Queensland

To answer these questions students will need to refer to The History – Queensland resource sheet and The Laws – Queensland resource sheet.

The responses below are suggestions only.

1. How would you describe relations between Indigenous people and the settlers during early settlement in Queensland?
  • There was little initial conflict between colonisers and Indigenous populations.
  • However, when free settlement began events escalated into extreme violence, with poisoning of and attacks on Indigenous camps.
2. Under what law were Indigenous children first separated from their families?
The Industrial and Reformatory Schools Act 1865.
3. What was one reason for the government adopting a policy of restricting the movement of Torres Strait Islanders?
To ensure their availability to work in the fishing industry.
4. What happened to Indigenous children who were not living on the reserves or missions?
  • Many were removed to government-run dormitories.
  • Many were put in positions of domestic labour.
5. What did the 1975 Commission of Inquiry into Youth recommend about the care of Indigenous children?
The Inquiry commented that placing Indigenous youth in non-Indigenous institutions was having a detrimental effect, and that alternative means of child care should be considered and Indigenous staff employed to work in the institutions.

Answer sheet South Australia

To answer these questions students will need to refer to The History – South Australia resource sheet and The Laws – South Australia resource sheet.

The responses below are suggestions only.

1. How was South Australia originally settled?
  • As a free settler colony.
  • South Australia was set up at a time when more humanitarian principles of colonisation were dominant in England, meaning Aboriginal rights were nominally recognised in the colony’s founding documents.
2. Describe the powers of the Protector of Aborigines in South Australia.
  • Appointed legal guardian of every ‘half caste and other protected Aboriginal child whose parents are dead or unknown’.
  • Allowed Indigenous children of a ‘suitable age’ to be sent to work as long as their parents agreed.
3. What did Aboriginal people have to show in order to get an ‘exemption certificate’?
  • Aboriginal people could open a bank account and live independently if they could show 'by reason of their character, standard of intelligence and development are considered capable of living in the general community without supervision'.
  • were excluded from the legal definition of ‘Aboriginal’.
4. How many Indigenous children were in non-Indigenous foster homes by 1967?
157
5. What was one institution set up as a part of self-management of Indigenous affairs in the Indigenous community?
The South Australian Aboriginal Child Care Agency.

Answer sheet Tasmania

To answer these questions students will need to refer to The History – Tasmania resource sheet and The Laws – Tasmania resource sheet.

The responses below are suggestions only.

1. When did white settlement begin in Tasmania?
  • Tasmania was first settled in 1803 as a penal colony.
  • Free settlement began in the 1820s.
2. What was the initial effect of moving Indigenous people to Flinders Island?
The combination of inadequate shelter, scarce rations, disease and loss of freedom meant very few survived the relocation. By 1843, only 50 of the original 200 survived. They were relocated back to the mainland.
3. In the 1950s, officials increasingly moved Indigenous children to mainland Tasmania using the child welfare laws. What were the grounds for removal of Indigenous children under these laws?
The Infants Welfare Act 1935 and the Child Welfare Act 1960 allowed children to be removed on the grounds of ‘neglect’.
4. Has self-management helped reduce the number of separations occurring through child welfare and criminal laws? Which Indigenous-operated organisations have helped with this?
  • The Aboriginal Information Service (now called the Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service) provided representation for Indigenous children and parents in neglect cases and juvenile justice matters.
  • This service went some way to reducing the number of removals through child welfare and criminal laws.
5. When did the Tasmanian Government introduce the Aboriginal Child Placement Principle? What is the principle meant to do?
  • 1984
  • The principle means that an Indigenous family must be the preferred placement for an Indigenous child in need of alternative care.

Answer sheet Victoria

To answer these questions students will need to refer to The History – Victoria resource sheet and The Laws – Victoria resource sheet.

The responses below are suggestions only.

1. How did colonial settlement begin? What were the early schools for Indigenous children like?
  • Colonial settlement began when settlers from Tasmania travelled across Bass Strait in 1834 in search of new farmland.
  • Early schools were almost always run by missionaries.
2. Segregation policy aimed to separate Indigenous peoples from non-Indigenous peoples. What were the two main things the Aborigines Protection Board did to facilitate this separation?
  • Keeping ‘full bloods’, who were thought to be dying out, on reserves.
  • Merging ‘half-castes’ into the white community.
3. What were the grounds for removing Indigenous children by private welfare agencies and individuals between 1887 and 1954?
Employment and education were seen as ways of successfully merging mixed-descent children into the white community.
4. What work did the Aboriginal Advancement League do to try and improve conditions for Indigenous people living under the policy of assimilation?
  • Expressed their concerns to the premier at the time about the physical and cultural future of Aborigines.
  • Advocated for a future of self-government instead of assimilation.
5. Did strategies of self-management, including Indigenous-operated community services, decrease or increase the number of Indigenous children removed from their families? By how much did this change?
The introduction of Indigenous operated community services in the mid 1970s led to a 40% reduction of the number of Indigenous children in homes by 1979.

Answer sheet Western Australia

To answer these questions students will need to refer to The History – Western Australia resource sheet and The Laws – Western Australia resource sheet.

The responses below are suggestions only.

1. How was the settlement of Western Australia different to settlement in other Australian states?
Western Australia was established for free settlers rather than for convicts.
2. What occurred at the Battle of Pinjarra? How did this affect the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people?
  • Governor Stirling led an expedition to the Indigenous camps and fired indiscriminately at them, killing 30 Indigenous people.
  • This led to further acts of violence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
3. List some of the things that Indigenous people had to prove to be granted WA citizenship rights under the Native (Citizenship Rights) Act 1944.
To be granted ‘citizenship’ under this Act, an Aboriginal person had to convince a magistrate that he/she had severed all ties to extended family and friends (parents, siblings and own children excepted), was free from disease, would benefit from holding citizenship and was ‘of industrious habits’.
4. How many Indigenous people were in institutions when the Department of Native Welfare was abolished in 1972?
3099 people, most of whom were children.
5. Explain some of the reforms to child welfare which were introduced in the 1980s. What specific issues do you think were addressed by these changes?
  • Aboriginal Child Care Agency introduced.
  • Aboriginal Child Placement Principle adopted.
  • Both reforms represented significant movement towards community participation in Indigenous child welfare.