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Policy of white majority
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Response by Aboriginal minority
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Civilisation: Aborigines seen as savages because of their nomadic lifestyles and lack of clothing. White majority believed that they should be converted to Christianity, be clothed and civilised by kindness.
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Some Aborigines were attracted by food, blankets and clothes given by whites; they camped on the outskirts of white settlements; those who did gradually lost their survival skills and social elements of their culture.
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Extermination: The image of the Aboriginal as a ‘noble savage’ did not last long; as white settlers wanted land for their sheep and cattle and the Aborigines resisted or killed stock, they were increasingly seen as a nuisance and a bar to economic progress; white attitude changed to one which encouraged the driving of Aborigines from their land and extermination; they could be ‘justifiably’ killed by any means – shooting or poisoning.
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Aboriginal resistance to white occupation of their land throughout the nineteenth century and as late as the 1920s; against superior weapons and large numbers Aboriginal resistance was brief in some areas but in others it was prolonged. The most coordinated military action against the Aborigines was in Tasmania where Lieutenant Governor Arthur decided to rid the island of Aborigines.
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Protection: By the end of the nineteenth century, special reserves, some run by missions were set up in attempts to both protect and segregate the Aborigines; this was done as most white Australians believed that the Aborigines were a dying race and that they should be protected until they died out completely.
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Aborigines were encouraged to give up their traditional ways. In the outback the men found work as stockhands and labourers. The women were employed, at very low rates of pay, as servants and cooks. Most Aborigines became dependent upon Europeans for food and other goods. Alcoholism became a problem.
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Assimilation: On the assumption that the Australian European way of life was the most desirable, a policy of assimilation was adopted in the 1950s. The health, education, and homes of the Aborigines were to be improved in the belief that by doing so Aborigines would more easily fit into the dominant Australian society. The policy was seen as particularly desirable for Aborigines of mixed descent.
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The living conditions for some Aborigines improved but many did not wish to adopt European ways. Resentment increased towards the white Australian population, particularly as more Aborigines moved into urban areas, particularly of the state capitals.
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Self-determination: In the 1960s the restrictive laws of the protection era were slowly removed and Aborigines obtained the same rights under the law as other Australians. The assimilation policy came under criticism because it ignored the rights of Aborigines to choose their own way of life. Since the early 1970s government policy has been based on encouragement of Aborigines to determine their own future.
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The trend for Aborigines to live in large (capital) cities increased. There is a growing awareness of their own identity and the importance of their culture. Land, as a central part of Aboriginal culture, becomes politically significant and is expressed in the demands for land rights.
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