Australia's Bloody History

We are Australian

Last Friday was Australia Day – otherwise known as ‘Invasion’ or ‘Survival’ day. There is much to celebrate about being Australian but it is disappointing to see Australia Day degenerate into a noisy parade of popular nationalism (i.e. legitimised racism). History demands a pause in celebration to remember all those people on our shores who are denied the freedom of calling Australia home. This includes not only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, but also hundreds of the world’s most vulnerable people who have legitimately sought refuge on our shores only to get shafted by our shameful ‘Pacific solution’ immigration policies. Genuine refugees or live under the insecurity of Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) knowing that they can be deported at any time should the Minister give them the thumbs down.

Living History
History is so very important to the identity of central Australian Aboriginal people. For them, this history goes back thousands of years to the time of Dreaming. Contact with white folk only really began in the 1870s. At that time there were about 20,000 Aboriginal people lived in the Centre, clustered in tribal groups and living according to the social, economic and spiritual law of the land – having successfully adapted over centuries to survive the harsh local conditions.

Alice Springs started as the Stuart Telegraph station providing a link for the Overland Telegraph. Prospectors and pasturalists moved out during the 1870s, attracted by the cheap land and promise of striking it rich. Conflict inevitably arose with local Aboriginal people who were attempting to protect their land - particularly their scarce water resources. The police reacted aggressively and there were numerous massacres. The most well-known of which is the Conniston massacre, which was told to me by a local Arrente woman called Maria.

"A gold prospector stole an Aboriginal man’s wife and threatened her family with violence when they went to claim her. The family clubbed the prospector with boomerangs and cut his throat. The police sent a vigilant expedition who surrounded the family in camp so that no one could escape. Then they shot them. Official reports say there were thirty but there were almost certainly many, many more."

Maria spoke of the Conniston massacre like it was a recent family tragedy. The scar obviously remained so fresh in her consciousness.

Survivors
It many ways it is amazing that the Aboriginal nations have survived at all. One hundred years ago it was simply assumed that they would disappear by Darwinian natural selection. By the 1950s it became obvious that this wasn’t going to happen and the government needed a solution other than segregating them on reserves and in missions. Their solution then became assimilation, as a quote from Governor Hindmarsh illustrates:

"Black men, we wish to make you happy. But you cannot be happy unless you imitate white men. Build huts, wear clothes and be useful. Love white men and… learn English."

The debate about citizenship came to a head in the 1967 National Referendum, with an overwhelming vote in support of full citizenship. Since then there has been progress on many fronts, with limited recognition of traditional land owners and traditional law. However, the ideal of ‘self-determination’ is fraught with difficulties.

Repeating History?
As I peruse this history the thing that strikes me most strongly is that the majority of the white power-brokers did actually want to help the Aboriginal people. But at nearly every turn their paternalistic assistance has done more harm than good. It is still happening today. Indeed, until self-determination ceases being political hot air and really becomes tangible from the community level up I fear we are only finding new ways of making history repeat.