HIST106 Assessment 4 Cassandra Lia

What were the most important messages about Australian

Indigenous history presented at the site you visited and how did
the material you studied in HIST106 this semester help you
understand these key ideas?

The historical information presented throughout semester one of

this unit carried several important messages in regards to Indigenous
Australians. These messages are supported, reiterated and expanded
upon by the information I discovered at the Koorie Heritage Trust Cultural
centre. The conventional narrative of Australian history presents one side
of the story; from the white mans point of view. In investigating the
counter narrative provided throughout this semester we can discover the
messages provided by Indigenous Australians and compare narratives, the
conventional and the counter, to discover the truth about Australias past
and present. Perhaps the most important messages of all were in relation
to the mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians under the supposed
protection given to them in Missions and Reserves, and the hope that
continued to penetrate them in their need for recognition, identity and
equality.

The information provided at the Koorie Heritage Trust placed a large

emphasis on the culture of Indigenous Australians and the Dreaming,
passed on verbally through story telling. The Dreaming represents the
past and present to Aboriginal people and focuses on the Creation of the
earth, and teaching rules for living in physical and spiritual worlds.
Throughout Australia there are a large number of different tribes, and
each has their own way of discussing Creation (HIST106 Lecture Week
two: Journey of a different kind). For example, the Koorie people had their
own stories about the creation of fire and how it was kept by a water rat
and a cod fish, or about how Port Phillip was once dry land. However, one
constant is Bunjil, the creator. The information provided within the
lectures, as well as prior knowledge, have formed Bunjil as a familiar focus
to me within Aboriginal culture. Bunjil was mentioned within the Creation
stories provided at the Koorie Heritage Trust, though without prior
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knowledge I may not have understood who he was, or what he represents

to the Aboriginal culture. Within The Dreaming everything is connected.
The lectures informed me that, as a non-Indigenous person, what I was
reading at the Koorie Heritage Trust I am unable to fully understand or
comprehend the importance these Creation stories held to Aboriginal
Australians. It was discussed within the lectures that we have been taught
creation stories without their meaning and the link they hold to their
culture (HIST106 Lecture Week Two: Journey of a different kind). As stated
by Haynes (2009), their complex systems of knowledge and beliefs about
the heavenly bodies were integral to Aboriginal culture, and have been
passed down the generations for over forty thousand years (p5).
Ultimately we are all part of our own cultural frameworks, and the
background and links that are taught and understood by Indigenous
Australians are not present within other cultures.

This culture is unique to the Aboriginal Australians, in the way they

hunted, and still hunt, create and identify. The lectures mentioned the
importance of cultural identity within life, and how the Aboriginal cultural
identity in particular was interconnected with all elements of their life
(HIST106 Lecture Week Two, Journey of a different kind). However, the
information provided within the Koorie Heritage Trust expanded upon this.
The children and women would collect food, with the use of digging sticks
and scrapers, whilst the men would hunt swift prey using spears, nets,
clubs and boomerangs. At the site they discussed how trade was an
important part of Aboriginal culture, via trade routes of thousands of
kilometres, and that Aboriginal culture had its own social standings and
laws, such as the importance of marrying from a different tribe. It is this
which formed and added to the way Aboriginal Australians identify
themselves. Many laws instigated through colonialism do not take into
account the Indigenous way of life. As discussed by Burney et al. (as cited
by Foley, 2000), in current society it is accepted that being Aboriginal is
not the colour in your skin or how broad your nose is, rather it is the
spiritual connection, as well as an identity known only to that person
(p45). However, the concept of biological assimilation, which was also
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discussed at the site, was one which completely opposes this definition.
Dodson (2003) stated that since colonisation, Europeans have been
preoccupied with labelling Aborigines (p27). The Government became
obsessed with calculating their Aboriginal population, and developed
numerous policies involving the absorption of Aboriginal people into the
European population (HIST106 Lecture Week Six, Assimilation Policies-
suppressing and controlling Aboriginal Australians), The site did not go
into depth about the assimilation policies mentioned within our course,
preferring to simply mention it, meaning the prior knowledge I had
accumulated assisted me in making a connection between the messages
provided at the site and the lectures.

The Koorie Heritage Trust depicted in great detail the consequences

Missions and Reserves held for the Aboriginal population. On the site, they
depicted these as an attempt from the Aboriginal Protection Board to
protect the Aboriginal population. The first government Reserve for the
Koories was Coranderrk, which happened to be one of the Reserves we
focussed on throughout semester one. The government held great control
over this reserve, pushing the people down every time the Aboriginals
found success (HIST106 Lecture Week Five, Humanitarianism or control?
Protection, missions and reserves). I believe the thorough knowledge of
missions and reserves which I obtained throughout this semester helped
me understand the key messages provided at the site. As discussed on
the site, the fact that the Koorie population declined by 14, 220 people
between 1834 and 1881, after forty two years of protection gives a clear
message about the importance of this period of time in Aboriginal history.
To the Koorie people the price of protection was their lives, their culture
and their health. As stated by Broome (2010), the Aboriginal Protection
Board stated that in order to attain education, shelter and food the
Aboriginal people would have to submit to a manager (p173). However,
these were not the only the consequences of protection. Reiterated both
at the site and in lectures, the residents felt the impact of a sedentary
lifestyle and disease as a result of a poor diet and addiction, a turn around
from the healthy diet, active lifestyle and lack of substance abuse prior to
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European arrival (Lecture Week Five, Humanitarianism or control?

Protection, missions and reserves). Something which was only touched on
lightly within the lectures, but was given in great detail at the site, was
the emphasis on how invaluable Aboriginal labourers were in frontier
towns and pastoral properties. Many Koories lived on the fringes of
reserves, living a dual life and supplementing wages with bush foods.

The instigation of such missions and reserves was enabled by the

Aboriginal Protection Board. The Board was a recurring theme throughout
all of this semester, enabling me to garner a point of view both from an
outsiders point of view, and, as provided at the Koorie Heritage Trust, the
view held by Aboriginal people in regards to life under the board. In both
lectures and at the site it was mentioned that with sympathetic managers,
the Koorie showed proficiency in adapting to European agricultures.
However, instead of supporting the efforts of the Koorie to become self-
sufficient the Board would change regulations, sell properties and evict
people. I gained the impression that the hated Aboriginal Protection
Board enabled child removal, the appalling conditions on reserves,
exclusion from social welfare and colour bars in country towns (Lecture
Week Eight, Civil Rights- The Fight for Equality). This reflects Broomes
(2010) statement that living under the Board could be like a police state
(p173). The site visit only reinforced in my mind the harsh reality of the
conditions Aboriginal Australians were forced to live in. This is an element
of history that most Australians are not educated about within school.
Though, in saying this, without the knowledge given to me prior to my site
visit about the Aboriginal Protection Board throughout semester, I would
not have known of the circumstances under which the Board was created,
nor that it was Europeans who created as a way of controlling the
Indigenous population. (Lecture Week Six, Assimilation Policies-
suppressing and controlling Aboriginal Australians). However, the site
neglected to discuss that after 1957 the Board no longer had any
significant power (Lecture Week Seven, Child Removal).
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As well as enforcing the negative impacts European settlement had

on the Aboriginal population, the Koorie Heritage Trust put forth a
message for hope that sparked fuel for the first protests. This is something
which was covered in great depth in the last few weeks of semester,
meaning that walking onto the site I already had prior knowledge about
the efforts Indigenous Australians went to to have their voices heard. As
discussed at the site, the Koorie people fought in every conflict involving
Australians for a chance to be accepted as equals. Koorie people from
Coranderrk formed the first organised Aboriginal protest, walking from
Healesville to Parliament house. Whilst this was only briefly mentioned on
site, I already had knowledge of the walk led by William Barak from
lectures, and what it meant to the people on the Coranderrk reserve even
if it had little effect (Lecture Week Five, Humanitarianism or Control?
Protection, missions and reserves). Whilst the Koorie Heritage Trust
mentioned this walk and the National Day of Mourning, the Apology was
not mentioned. The last few weeks of this course were dedicated to the
reconciliation made towards the Aboriginal people, in particular the
Redfern Address, the Bringing Them Home report, sorry books and the
2008 Apology to the stolen generation (Lecture Week Eleven,
Reconciliation and Apology to Intervene). As stated by Haebich (2011),
this apology had been a long time coming (p1033). Many Australians
had been unaware of the stolen generation, or had forgotten. Whilst this
issue was discussed at the site, it seemed to avoid talking about the
knowledge and attitude of the wider Australian population. However, the
messages of hope that penetrates the Koorie Heritage Trust is enforced by
the list of policies, services and organisations that were developed and are
controlled by the Koorie population. This is something which was not
mentioned in the lectures. but gives a display of the ever growing equality
that is coming in greater force as time goes by.

The information presented at the Koorie Heritage Trust was mostly

familiar due to the knowledge I had acquired throughout the semester.
The messages they presented at the site, which reflected the one given in
lectures, were of despair at the treatment Aboriginal Australians faced on
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missions and reserves at the hands of the Aboriginal Protection Board.

However, the ultimate message that was portrayed was one of hope. The
hope that infused the Indigenous population at gaining equality,
recognition and, most of all, the freedom to express their own identity.

References

Broome, R (2010). Aboriginal Australians: A history since 1788 (4th ed).

NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Dodson, M. (2003). The end in the beginning: re(de)finding Aboriginality.

Melbourne, Australia: Melbourne University Press

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Foley, D. (2000). Too white to be black, too black to be white. Social

Alternatives, 19(4), 44-49. Retrieved from

web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.acu.edu.au

Haebich, A. (2011). Forgetting Indigenous histories: cases from the history

of Australias stolen generations. Journal of social history, 44(4),

1033-1046. Retrieved from http://jsh.oxfordjournals.org

Haynes, R. (2009). Dreaming the stars. EarthSong journal: Perspectives in

Ecology, Spirituality and Education, 11, 5-12. Retrieved from
leo.acu.edu.au

HIST106 Week Two: Journey of a different kind

HIST106 Week Five: Humanitarianism or control? Protection, missions and

reserves

HIST106 Week Six: Assimilation policies- suppressing and controlling

Aboriginal Australians

HIST106 Week Seven: Child removal

HIST106 Week Eight: Civil rights- the fight for equality

HIST106 Week Eleven: Reconciliation and apology to intervention

HIST106 Site Visit and Analysis Comments Template

This assignment assesses the following Learning Outcomes and Graduate Attributes:

Learning Outcomes: Graduate Attributes:

LO1 Knowledge of the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait GA1 demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for
Islander cultures by becoming more familiar with human diversity
historical processes and their importance to GA2 recognise their responsibility to the common good, the
contemporary contexts environment and society
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LO2 Critical awareness of Indigenous histories through a
variety of sources and perspectives, particularly local
Indigenous perspectives
LO3 Creative and critical reflection on the present responses,
concerns and initiatives of Indigenous Australians in
order to develop a greater understanding of
contemporary issues
LO4 Understanding of the development and persistence of
racism in Australian society
LO5 Recognition and appreciation of the protocols of
consultation with, and involvement of, Indigenous
communities in the research/study and/or teaching of
Indigenous Studies.
GA3 apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making
GA4 think critically and reflectively
GA5 demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes
appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA6 solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and
international perspectives into account
GA9 demonstrate effective communication in oral and written
English language and visual media

Name:

Criteria LO and GA Needs Satisfactory Good Excellent

Assessed Improvement
Engagement with Course Materials
Engagement with course readings from across the semester LO1,2, GA4
Engagement with lectures from across the semester LO1,2, GA4
Ability to make thematic connections between multiple LO1,2,3
weekly topics GA4,6
Synthesis and analysis of course materials, demonstrating LO1,2,3 GA4
original critique and reflection
Analysis and Reflection
Ability to convey key aspects of site visited LO1,2,3,4,5,
GA1,2,4
Ability to convey personal reflections on the site visited LO3,4,5,
GA1,2,3,4
Ability to compare the counter-narrative explored in this unit LO1,2,3,4,5,
with the those presented at the site visited GA1,2,3,4
Ability to connect historical events and processes with LO1,2,3,4,5,
contemporary issues in Australian society GA1,2,3,4
Relevance of response to set question LO3, GA4,5
Expression and Structure
Ideas are conveyed clearly and expressively (including correct GA5,9
spelling, grammar, and variety of vocabulary and sentence
structure)
Structure follows conventions of academic essay writing GA5,9
(1500 word essay option only)
Mini-essay establishes key points of learning activity or
creative piece and how these relate to the set question
(min-essay and learning activity/creative piece options)
Ideas are expressed in original and innovate ways GA4,5,9
Ideas are supported by evidence from readings, lectures and GA4,5,9
site visited
Adherence to academic styles and conventions (including GA5
citations and bibliography)
Comments:
Grade:
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