Rabbit-proof Fence
Overview
Relating Rabbit proof fence to the real situation of Aborigines in Australia. Considering the Legislation and Policies of Australia and the Methods used to exercise them. Comparing the terminology used in the movie to real life Australia.
History
- European Arrival
- British Settlement
- Gold Rush
- Various Massacres
- Myall Creek Massacre
- Battle Mountain
- Massacre at Coniston
- Stolen Generations = Genocide
- "breeding out the colour" would lead to Aborigines being "forgotten" = similar to views of Nazi Germany
- Debate over the existence of the Stolen Generation by Andrew Bolt
- 26 May 1998 - "National Sorry Day"
- 2004 - John Howard's refusal to apologize to the Aborigines
- Saw no need
- 2008 - Rudd's Apology to the Aborigines
Apology text
- At 9:30am on February 13, 2008, Rudd presented the apology to Indigenous Australians as a motion to be voted on by the house. The form of the apology was as follows:[68][69]
“ Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.
We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.we say sorryBold text
The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.
We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.
We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.
For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry. To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, .
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.
We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.
For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.
We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.
A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.
A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.
A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.
A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.
A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia.
Terminology
- Half Castes
- Stolen Generation
- Full blood (aborigines/white)
- White Status (advancement)
- Bred out/Die out
- Concept of "Helping the Native"
- Providing "Protection"
- 'crossbreeds', 'quadroons' and 'octoroons'
Legislation
- Immigration Act of 1901
- one of the first pieces of legislation passed under Australian Federation
- restricted non-European immigration to Australia
- White Australia Policy
- term used to describe eugenic legislation passed from 1901 to 1973
- Reversal of White Australia
- Whitlam Labor government passed series of admendments in 1973
- Migrants able to obtain citizenship
- Racial Discrimination Act of 1975 outlawed the use of racial criteria for any offical purpose
- Aboriginal Policies in Western Australia
- Aboriginal Act of 1905 - established 'Chief Protector' who was the legal guardian of every aboriginal or half-caste child under 16, removed children from parent's care, marriages between aboriginals and others had to be approved
- Aborgines Protection Policy 1909 - aborigine children could be removed to a mission at any time
- Native Administration Amendment Act 1941 - aborigines not allowed to travel from north to south across the 20th latitude line
Methods of "Breeding out"
- 1869-1969 (time period)
- Forced Sexual intercourse by White men on Aborigine Women
- Continuity can "breed out" the Aborigine blood
- Child removal (Aboriginal Protection Act 1869)
- "forcible removal",
- "removal under threat or duress",
- "official deception",
- "uninformed voluntary release", and
- "voluntary release".
- Half castes institutions
- Moore River Native Settlement in Western Australia,
- Doomadgee Aboriginal Mission in Queensland,
- Ebenezer Mission in Victoria and
- Wellington Valley Mission in New South Wales.
- 1930's - Statement by Dr. Cecil Cook, (Protector of Natives, Northern Territory)
"Generally by the fifth and invariably by the sixth generation, all native characteristics of the Australian Aborigine are eradicated. The problem of our half-castes will quickly be eliminated by the complete disappearance of the black race, and the swift submergence of their progeny in the white."
- 1930 -Statement by AO Neville (Chief Protector of the Aborigines, Western Australia)
“ Eliminate the full-blood and permit the white admixture to half-castes and eventually the race will become white.”
- Real life cases:
- Molly, Daisy and Gracie (Rabbit proof fence)
- Cubillo and Gunner
- Bruce Trevorrow
- Awarded $775,000 by the government
Life of the Girls
- Molly Craig
- Taken to the Moore River Settlement again in the 1940s with her two daughters. She escaped in 1941.
- Older daughter, Doris, was reunited with her mother, and published 'Rabbit-proof Fence'
- Molly's other daughter, Annabelle, was taken away from her in 1943. They were never reunited.
- Molly died in her sleep in 2004, believed to be 87.
- Daisy Burungu
- Gracie Fields
Bibliography
- "The words Rudd will use to say 'sorry'", ABC, February 12, 2008
- "Rudd says sorry", Dylan Welch, Sydney Morning Herald, February 13, 2008
- The West Australian online, 18 April 1930.
