Background to Jasper Jones
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Transcript Background to Jasper Jones
Setting the scene – Australia pre 1960s
"I have heard men of
culture and refinement, of
the greatest humanity and
kindness to their fellow
whites ...talk, not only of
the wholesale butchery
...but of the individual
murder of natives, exactly
as they would talk of a
day’s sport, or of having to
kill some troublesome
animal.”
British High Commissioner Arthur
Gordon, April 1883
Inhuman treatment
Followed by protectionist ideas to deal with Aboriginal
survivors
But, manipulated to suit needs of white settler society
Rounded up, confined on reserves and missions
Used as cheap labour source
Protection policies converted to ‘policies of controlled
subjugation’
Federation 1901 gave control of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Affairs to individual states
“Protection” varied widely
Segregation
Assimilation
Eugenic programs
Heavy focus on children
Post WWII Nazi policies had made eugenicist ideas ‘distasteful’
New assimilationist agenda
Lift Aborigines from state of backwardness into civilised ways of
white men
Not a great deal changed, still denied basic rights non-indigenous
Australians took for granted
Difficult situation – whilst laws differed from state to state, themes of
persecution, oppression and discrimination were the same
The Federal Council for Aboriginal Advancement (FCAA) offered the
following summary of this complex and bleak situation:
“... the position in 1963 is that an Aboriginal or part-Aboriginal person
may be in a position where he is allowed to drink alcohol in one State,
but not in another; he may be forced to vote in State elections in one
State, but prohibited from voting in another; he may move freely in
one State, but not in another; he may be free to marry whom he
desires in one State, but not in another; he may mix freely with nonAborigines in one State, but not in another; he may have full rights in
a court of law in one State, but not in another; and so on.”
By 1967, eve of Aboriginal referendum, many of these discriminations
had been removed from policies, however, prejudice remained
Extreme poverty
Lack of basic services
Poor housing
Ill-health
Relentless surveillance,
control and intervention
by state and church
authorities.
Infant mortality high
Life expectancy low
Few able to obtain a
decent education
First recorded removal 1833
First legalisation: Industrial Schools Act 1874
Any Indigenous child ‘surrendered’ to an institution could be detained
there without parental consent or contracted to employment after the
age of 12 until the child reached 21
Aborigines Act 1905
Assessment of ‘behaviour’
now incorporated
Can an individual be
defined as Aboriginal or
not?
Chief Protector of Aborigines was legal guardian of every child, had
power to remove ‘half-caste’ children to a home or mission
By early 1950s removal had to go through Child Welfare courts, but
these practices continued into the 1970s
In 1948 a policy of legal racial
segregation, known as
apartheid, is enforced by the
National Party government
of South Africa until 1994.
In Australia, segregation is
imposed unofficially in
public places such as
theatres and swimming
pools.
Idea of segregation based
upon idea of ‘difference’ and
needing to contain this
1947 Massive assisted
British immigration
scheme
'It is my hope that for every
foreign migrant there will
be ten people from the
United Kingdom.'
Arthur Calwell, Minister for
Immigration, 1946.
Ten pound Pom
1973 'White Australia'
policy officially ends,
policy of multiculturalism
launched.
Ten pound Pom not enough
Migration important for securing our
borders and protection
1947 – Threw open doors to refugees
from Baltic countries as well
Greece
Italy
Russia
Poland
Croatia
Much suspicion of these arrivals –
had ‘no culture’ and may not be able
to ‘assimilate’ into the country, BUT
1948 – After Holocaust though,
countries sought to dismantle
discriminatory immigration policies
and introduce bills of rights
By 1950s – Citizenship ceremonies
being embraced by locals and new
migrants beginning to be welcomed
Became involved 1962
World divided between
nations that were
communist and those that
were not
Communism believed to be
a real threat to capitalist
societies like USA and
Australia
China – 1949
North Korea – 1950
Now Vietnam?
Increasingly look to USA to
contain communism in
this part of the world
47, 000 Australian men and a large
number of women served there
Debate around involvement in Vietnam
from day one
Nation grew more divided between the
anti-war movement and government
supporters over time
Anti-war movement strongly connected
to protests against conscription
Controversial issue during WWI and
since then
Birth date lottery to serve for a period of
two years
Men had 1 in 10 chance
Creation of ‘conscientious objection’ to
service
Consequence could be a jail sentence of
up to two years
Anti-war movement became more
extreme after 1966 Liberal election win
1955 – 68 Civil Rights movements in UK and USA
influence Aboriginal political activism
1965 – Charles Perkins leads a 'freedom ride' by
Aboriginal people and non- Aboriginal students
through New South Wales in support of Aboriginal
rights
Violent actions against Indigenous people puts Australia
on the defensive for the first time in regards to
Aboriginal policy, draws comparisons with Jim Crow
laws in Southern USA
1967 – National referendum gives Commonwealth
power to make and override state laws for Aboriginals
and to count them in the national census.