Tom+Law's+Homework

Stage 5 History: Changing Rights and Freedoms
**__ Questions 2-6 on pg 284 __** 2. White Australia felt the need to protect the Aboriginal Australians for their own good, although this ‘protection’ was in the form of separating them from white Australians. 3. Aboriginal children were taken from their families so that they could be put in with white families to learn the way of life as a white person and to integrate into society as a member of a white family. 4. The policy of assimilation was an attempt to make Aboriginal Australians accept the way of life of white Australians. It was the belief that Aboriginal people should now be ‘absorbed’ into ‘mainstream ’Australian culture, to be removed from reserves and missions and assisted to become more like white Australians. 5. The definition of assimilation is to try and make people to change their way of life or culture. The policy of assimilation would do just that and make the Aboriginals lose their culture. A change of statement suggested that Aboriginal people were not required to lose all of their cultural ideas, beliefs and customs, and soon another word was used for this policy to reflect the change of stance that had been made- Integration. 6. Self- Determination was the new official policy made in 1972 when the Whitlam government came to office. This new policy meant that Aboriginal people were to have full control over all the things that affected their lives. 1. The Day of Mourning is on the day of Australia’s 150th birthday. This celebration was a dark one for the Aboriginal people as it represented 150 years of white people having control of the land that was once theirs. They have come to realise 150 years of being pushed back by white civilisation and as white Australia grows, Aboriginal Australia lessens ever so slightly.
 * __ Questions 1-4 on page 286 __**

2. The Aboriginal Australians were seeking full citizen’s rights which included: - Old age pensions - Maternity bonus - Relief work when unemployed - Full Australian education for their kids

3. Assimilation was the policy that made Aboriginal people feel as if they were a special class. This was because White Australia saw the Aboriginals as outsiders so they policy of assimilation would be to make the Aboriginal Australian community absorb into the mainstream Australian culture. 4. From this source, I can see that the Aboriginals were treated as outcasts or as if they weren’t even there. They would cry out “Give us a chance!” but they were constantly ignored and treated as a lower class of people who cannot be bettered. Like it was embarrassing to have them as a part of Australian life and/or culture. The Aboriginal population feel as if they are being pushed further into the background as time goes by because they look at how much change has occurred since the Aboriginal ownership of this land before white settlement.

In 1965, a group of Sydney University students set out on a bus tour of western and coastal NSW towns to draw public attention to the poor state of Aboriginal health, education and housing. They hoped to point out and lessen the socially discriminatory barriers which existed between Aboriginal and white residents. The Freedom Ride was so important because it was sending such a huge message to white Australia to say ‘open your eyes and see through the colour of each other’s skin’ This message was so strong because of the publicity it gained raised consciousness of racial discrimination in Australia and strengthened the campaigns to eradicate it which followed.
 * __ Freedom Ride __**

The referendum of 1967 approved two amendments to the Australian constitution. This was subject to the 90.77% yes vote by the Australian voters. These two amendments enabled Aboriginal people to be counted in the national census and to be subject to Commonwealth laws, rather than just state laws. The referendum took place in May 6th 1967 and this action was influenced by colonial views of the 18th century the founding fathers of the Constitution incorporated sections which later ignited discussions which led to the 1967 Referendum. Before this referendum, States were given the power to create laws for especially the Aboriginal Population. These sections that were amended were sections 51 and 127, both relating directly to the Aboriginal population of Australia.
 * __ 1967 Referendum __**
 * __ Timeline __**


 * **Struggle for Land Rights ** ||


 * ~  ||~   ||~   ||   ||   || **1788 ** ||   || * British adoption of 'terra nullius' ||
 * **1963 ** || * Government gives Yirrkala to Nabalco ||
 * **1966 ** || * Wave Hill protest ||
 * **1971 ** || * Yolngu people lose their fight against Nabalco ||
 * **1972 ** || * The Tent Embassy protest ||
 * **1978 ** || * Queensland government took over Aurukun ||
 * **1992 ** || * Mabo decision ||
 * **1993 ** || * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Amendments made to Native Title Act ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||


 * __ Stolen Generations __**
 * 1. ** From the source you could tell that the Aboriginal children were obviously clueless as to what was happening to them and struggling to find any meaning from what was happening. The children were told that their mothers were dead so that they lived a life not properly knowing their own mother and not knowing that they were Aboriginal.
 * 2. ** Children were removed because the Aboriginal race was seen as an embarrassment to white Australia. The aim was to strip the children of their Aboriginality, and accustom them to live in a white Australia.

Activity 2 1. The caption ‘getting in the swim’ refers to being able to enter the swimming pool. 2. The cartoonist is suggesting that the older man is their father or relative and he is painting the children white so that they will be recognised as a white Australian and be allowed to swim whereas if they walked into the swimming pool in their normal skin colour then they would be sent away.

Complete the following table using information in your textbook and sources you have been accessing for homework:
 * Activity 3: Key Aboriginal Leaders **

- Became a student of Sydney Uni in 1963 - Became the first Aboriginal to earn a university degree 1966 - Joined Department of Aboriginal Affairs 1968 - Died 2000 || - Led the Freedom Ride of 1965 - Was a key influence in the 1967 Referendum || - Named joint Australian of the Year in 1979 || - Australian of the year - Honorary doctorate at Griffith University. || - First book: ‘We are Going’ 1964 || - She won many literary awards such as the Mary Gilmore medal and the Jessie Litchfield Award. || -Died 21st January 1992 - June 3rd 1992: The Mabo decision was passed. || -Awarded Human Rights Medal 1992 -Overturned the legal state of ‘terra nullius’ -Leader of gaining land rights for Aboriginals. || - Elected Leader of Gurundji communities in 1966 -Died 1988 || - Lead the Wave Hill Walk-Off - || Needs dates for the definitions and the paragraphs. These are essential for you to recall for an exam or a task. Otherwise precise and clear. 33/40
 * ** Individual ** || ** Dates & Relevant Events ** || ** Achievements ** ||
 * Charles Perkins || -Born 1936
 * Neville Bonner || -Joined Liberal party in 1967
 * Oodgeroo Noonuccal || -Identified herself as an activist and poet in 1960s
 * Eddie Mabo || -Born 1936
 * Vincent Lingiari || -Born 1908


 * __Activity 4: Bringing it all together__**

1. __ Compose a one page argument in response to this statement: ‘Despite the findings of the ‘Bringing them Home’ report, the authorities were right to take the Aboriginal children away from their families.’ __ In my eyes I feel as if no part of the Stolen Generation practice was right or fair. The idea was to take away the children of the Aboriginal families and put them in institutions or foster them away to white families. The aim was to assimilate children, particularly mixed bloody children, into white society. It was a practice that existed from 1913 to 1969.

The 'Bringing them Home' report was a 680 page report presented to the Keating Government. It was an inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The report contained the story of the removal of Aboriginal children which happened at a quick rate, 10-30% of children had been taken away from their parents for almost 60 years. These stories and statistics spoke volumes and was clearly indicative of the Stolen Generation times. (Enhance this by quoting an extract from one of the stories)

The authorities had no right to take innocent Aboriginal children from their families just because of their skin colour. They felt the need to assimilate the children with the white Australian families to kill off their Aboriginal culture and heritage. By stripping the Aboriginal children of their culture, the authorities would be stripping a huge part of Australian History and Australia’s future. Knowledge of existence before white settlement would lose all meaning if not be totally lost.

Such a hardship has been placed on Aboriginal Australians because they, as a race, were looking extinction right in the eye and to be an Aboriginal Australian at that time meant absolutely nothing, in fact you would feel embarrassed to be one as you had next to no rights and your race was not counted in the census, therefore giving a dog more value in society. (You need a paragraph on how soem of the wrongs have been addressed such as Kevin Rudd's sorry speech.)

In conclusion, I believe that it was totally and utterly wrong to do what our forefathers did to the Aboriginal children and families. No part of the Stolen Generation plan was humane or necessary and I believe compensation and a sincere apology to the Aboriginal Australian community is what is needed to even begin to seek forgiveness from what so terribly stripped the Aboriginal people of their culture and heritage.

A sound effort at presenting an argument but you need to add what I have suggested. 7/10