HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

HIST106 Assignment Task 3 - Essay

For most of the first half of the twentieth century, Western Australia had laws

and policies which segregated Aboriginal people from the non-Indigenous

population and enforced harsh restrictions on Aboriginal peoples freedom of

movement. What were the impacts of these laws and policies, and to what

extent were Aboriginal people able to resist or overcome them?

___________________________________________________________________

Western Australias history during the first half of the twentieth century was

beset with the part British and Australian nationalism that was prevalent around the

country, creating situations that would be the base of shocking headlines in all

newspapers published today. This essay will argue that the recently settled state at

the turn of the century was plagued with racist and prejudiced ideas of patriarchal

figures that decided that Indigenous people should be stripped of the freedoms

awarded to the non-Indigenous population. It will examine legislation and

government documents from the time, expert examination, as well as primary

documents that detail personal experiences through the process of assimilation. In

doing so, it will reveal the enormous power taken by those within positions of power

over the lives of Indigenous people, without consideration or accountability for those

people or their humanity.

During the first half of the twentieth century, the lifestyles, movements, job

prospects and even marriages of Indigenous peoples were decided by members of

government in a truly patriarchal, authoritarian and devastating way. While British

colonisation in India and Africa allowed indigenous leaders to interact and cooperate

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

with colonists there in order to campaign for their interests and cultures, Aboriginal

people within Australia were not given any meaningful representation or

acknowledgement by the governing parties.1 The Western Australian branches of

government that were positioned as being responsible for Indigenous affairs were

founded and controlled by non-Indigenous figures, often without formal expertise and

who were influenced by pseudo-science found in racist ideals, such as the first Chief

Protector of Aborigines Henry Prinsep.2 Despite British government disapproval of

the terror and atrocities done shown in legislation before the turn of the century and

in the 1904 Royal Commission describing horrible conditions for and atrocities

against Indigenous persons in Western Australia, their lives continued to be

controlled and at risk.3 This paper by Walter Roth, while on the surface was

designed to bring accountability, focused on the acts of Asian pearling crews more

than authorities and highlighted common concerns about drunkenness and

prostitution and... the growing half-caste population. 4 As such, the subsequent

Aborigines Act in 1905 severely disregarded the rights of Indigenous people in

favour of government control over their movement, relationships and property to

move towards a white, civilised society.5

The Aborigines Act of 1905 created the role of Chief Protector, who was given

legal powers as guardian of all Aboriginal or half-caste children.6 This was

1
Anna Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000. (Fremantle, W.A.:
Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2000), 204-244.
2
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 270.
3
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 210; Victorian Government
Royal Commission on the Aborigines, in Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families
1800-2000, 210.
4
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 215.
5
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 216; Sean Gorman, "Ugly
Town." Thesis Eleven 135, no. 1 (2016): 100.
6
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 221.

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

extended on in the 1936 Native Administration Act which negated the existence of

Indigenous or non-Indigenous relatives.7 It enabled situations where children were

taken from their parents and institutionalised despite the existence of even non-

indigenous relatives, who were willing to provide education and care for them. For

Sarah, this meant that when her uncle campaigned to care for her and provide her

with an education like his own child, he was rebuffed with a statement that she was

light-skinned and shouldn't be allowed to mix with natives. 8 This idea was common

throughout the first half of the twentieth century, where Indigenous children were

separated with the idea that they could pass as whitefellas and absorbed into

mainstream Australian society. 9 This involved the negation of Indigenous cultural,

familial and social associations and an acceptance of being apart from both the

Indigenous and European population. 10 Due to the beliefs of persons such as the

Prinsep, who believed that children who returned to their families would revert to

evil...barbarism, children were told of myriad of lies to ensure that they did not

attempt to find them. 11 For Sarah, this involved being constantly told that [they]

didnt have families. 12 Herself and other children at Sister Kates Childrens Home

were taught that they were white and to fear other Indigenous people. During

occasions when they were allowed out for dental appointments, they were forbidden

7
Native Administration Act 1936 (W.A.) in Angela Lapham, "Stanley Middleton's Response to
Assimilation Policy in His Fight for Aboriginal People's Equality, 1948-1962," Aboriginal History 40,
(2016): 30; Cindy Solonec, "Proper Mixed-Up: Miscegenation among Aboriginal Australians,"
Australian Aboriginal Studies, no. 2 (2013): 35.
8
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sarahs Story, 1997 (updated 2001), available
from Australian Human Rights Commission, accessed 02/05/2017,
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/
bringing-them-home-sarah-story.
9
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Millicents Story, 1997 (updated 2001),
available from Australian Human Rights Commission, accessed 02/04/2017,
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/
bringing-them-home-millicent-story.
10
Anthony Moran, "White Australia, Settler Nationalism and Aboriginal Assimilation," Australian
Journal of Politics & History 51, no. 2 (2005): 172.
11
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 214-215.
12
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sarahs Story.

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

from interacting with Aboriginal people and punished if they took longer than

expected with the assumption that this time was used for this purposes. 13 Other

children were told that their family did not want or care about them. 14 All these

measures were done with the assumption that the children would be better off

without their family and integrated into white society, while still not fully accepted

within such a society.

Language surrounding policies that regarded control over Indigenous peoples

moved from the colour of their skin to their culture and traditions, but on each

occasion was based on racist ideals that glorified the white man and disregarded the

long histories, cultures, languages and communities of Aboriginal peoples. After

federation, the Australian government was first presented with an authority that could

be hold them responsible for its treatment of Aboriginal people with Australia signing

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after World War II.15 Scientific consensus

moved from supporting biological miscegenation to the idea of social assimilation;

that mixed-descent people could be worked upon and advanced to a civilised

European way of life.16 This was considered by some to be a moral obligation for

Europeans.17 Despite it being upheld through policy, assimilation was not

appropriately defined until 1961;

13
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sarahs Story.
14
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Millicents Story.
15
Lapham, "Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight for Aboriginal People's
Equality, 1948-1962," 76.
16
Moran, "White Australia, Settler Nationalism and Aboriginal Assimilation," 183; Solonec, "Proper
Mixed-Up: Miscegenation among Aboriginal Australians." 81.
17
Lapham, Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight for Aboriginal People's
Equality, 1948-1962," 30.

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

The policy of assimilation means that all aborigines and part aborigines

are expected to eventually attain the same manner of living as other

Australians and to live as members of a single Australian community

enjoying the same rights and privileges, accepting the same

responsibilities, observing the same customs and influenced by the same

beliefs, hopes and loyalties as other Australians.18

Consequently, for Indigenous persons to gain the same human rights as their

white counterparts, they had to uphold foreign customs often in juxtaposition of their

own and integrate into the same society that stripped them of their rights in the first

place. The only way an Aboriginal Australian could escape legislative control and

access mainstream services and rights was by applying for exemption and arguing in

court that for two years prior he/she had lived as a member of the non-Aboriginal

community.19 Anthony Moran described this acceptance as involving the negation of

Aboriginality, biologically and/or culturally.20 Governments worked together with

police to maintain records regarding the accommodation, employment, relations and

even the attitudes of Indigenous individuals, which could be used as evidence for the

gaining of citizenship within the white society. 21 It was said by Stanley Middleton,

the Commissioner of Native Affairs from 1948-1962, that in 1952, 90% of Aboriginal

people were under surveillance and supervision by welfare staff.22 It was almost

18
Haebich, Spinning the Dream: Assimilation in Australia 19501970 in Anna Haebich, "Fever in the
Archive," Thesis Eleven 135, no. 1 (2016): 91.
19
Lapham, Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight for Aboriginal People's
Equality, 1948-1962," 30.
20
Moran, "White Australia, Settler Nationalism and Aboriginal Assimilation," 172.
21
Lapham, Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight for Aboriginal People's
Equality, 1948-1962," 30.
22
Lapham, Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight for Aboriginal People's
Equality, 1948-1962," 30.

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

impossible for Indigenous people to maintain familial connections and cultural

practices within such segregation and attention.

Whilst Indigenous people were under the oppressive control of government,

law and public members of the community, there are documented occasions where

individuals strived for and enjoyed moments of freedom of existence. One such

example was that of White City within Perth. What began as an area of charitable

businesses to white widowers and young, struggling families, grew into a small

amusement park that drew in a myriad of different people. This context of

undesirable white people, in turn created a place that Aboriginal social organization

and kinship links could be found.23 Unfortunately, as laws increasingly prejudices

the lives of Indigenous people, public opinion grew in associating Aboriginal people

and criminality and pressure to limit areas such as White City. 24 On 9 March 1927,

the Governor of Western Australia selected the central area of Perth as a Prohibited

Area for all Indigenous persons. 25 This was enabled by the Aborigines Act of 1905,

which gave the Governor this power and would allow any or all Aboriginals to be

arrested from this area if they did not possess an employment permit from a local

protector.26 This power led to the abolishment of White City, but local residents

found refuge just 2 blocks away from the Prohibited Area in the Coolbaroo Club. 27

This was a small club that held dances on Friday for both Indigenous and non-

23
Gorman, "Ugly Town," 107.
24
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 222.
25
Gorman, "Ugly Town," 102; Department of Indigenous Affairs, Map of the Perth Prohibited Area
1927-1954, no date, available from Kaartdijin Noongar-Noongar Knowledge, accessed 02/05/2017,
https://www.noongarculture.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ProhibitedMAP-final-
new.pdf.
26
Haebich, Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000, 220.
27
Department of Indigenous Affairs, Map of the Perth Prohibited Area 1927-1954, no date, available
from Kaartdijin Noongar-Noongar Knowledge.

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

Indigenous people of all ages. Most importantly, it provided a place for those who

didnt have nowhere (sic) to go to congregate, interact and relax. 28 Within such a

small but positive environment, Indigenous people could connect with the culture,

community and family that government and law had deprived them of.

The first half of the twentieth century in Western Australia tells of a history of

racist and cruel individuals and bodies of government who implemented policies that

reflected similar motivations as seen in previous years. However, these laws and

official measures give some translucency to the prejudice within the minds of those

in positions of power and the enormous power non-Indigenous persons had over the

Aboriginal population. While there are documented instances where people were

able to regain some decency and connection. Stories of the cruelty, segregation and

devastation opposed on the Indigenous people in Western Australia must be

remembered and acknowledged as part of a shared history, to build a more

accepting and welcoming community.

Words: 1467

28
Roma Loo with South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, Roma Loo Talks About the
Coolbaroo Club Dances, 8 June 2011, available from Kaartdijin Noongar-Noongar Knowledge,
accessed 06/05/2017, https://www.noongarculture.org.au/roma-loo-talks-about-the-coolbaroo-club-
dances/.

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Department of Indigenous Affairs, Map of the Perth Prohibited Area 1927-1954, no

date, available from Kaartdijin Noongar-Noongar Knowledge, accessed

27/04/2017, https://www.noongarculture.org.au/wp-

content/uploads/2012/07/ProhibitedMAP-final-new.pdf.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Millicents Story, 1997 (updated

2001), available from Australian Human Rights Commission, accessed

02/04/2017, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/bringing-them-

home-millicent-story.

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sarahs Story, 1997 (updated

2001), available from Australian Human Rights Commission, accessed

02/05/2017, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/bringing-them-

home-sarah-story.

Roma Loo with South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, Roma Loo Talks

About the Coolbaroo Club Dances, 8 June 2011, available from Kaartdijin

Noongar-Noongar Knowledge, accessed 27/04/2017,

https://www.noongarculture.org.au/roma-loo-talks-about-the-coolbaroo-club-

dances/.

Secondary Sources:

Gorman, Sean. "Ugly Town." Thesis Eleven 135, no. 1 (2016): 99-114.

Haebich, Anna. "Fever in the Archive." Thesis Eleven 135, no. 1 (2016): 82-98.

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HIST106 Essay Melissa Kelly

Haebich, Anna. Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800-2000.

Fremantle, W.A: Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 2000.

Lapham, Angela. "Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight

for Aboriginal People's Equality, 1948-1962." Aboriginal History 40, (2016):

27-64.

Moran, Anthony. "White Australia, Settler Nationalism and Aboriginal Assimilation."

Australian Journal of Politics & History 51, no. 2 (2005): 168-93.

Solonec, Cindy. "Proper Mixed-Up: Miscegenation among Aboriginal Australians."

Australian Aboriginal Studies, no. 2 (2013): 76-85.