Justification for the Stolen Generations in Australia
How was the removal of Aboriginal Children from their families justified by the Australian Government and white society??
At the turn of the twentieth century the systematic forced removal of Aboriginal children from their mothers, families and cultural heritage was commonplace. There were several reasons that the government and white society used to justify the separation but the prevailing ideology of nationalism and maintaining Australia for the ‘whites’ was the over-riding motivation and justification for their actions[1]. Progressive sciences such as anthropology espoused such theories as eugenics, miscegenation, biological absorption and assimilation which legitimated governmental policies relating to Aboriginal affairs[2]. It was perceived by white society that Aboriginal children were neglected and they were removed based on the premise that they needed protection from their community environment. It was further believed that the removal of these children was in their best interest for both the present and their future.[3]
That Australia was a racist country at the turn of the twentieth century is both widely acknowledged and documented. The British imperialist attitude of the perception of white superiority and racial purity was transported with the convicts and perpetuated by the restriction of immigrants that were not of British or white European background. The notion of the ‘white race’ as superior to the ‘black race’ evolved sometime in the 17th century and the increase in European colonialism saw blackness become linked to inferiority, barbarism and savagery.[4] This co-incided with the ideas of purity (white) and evil (black) and cemented the ‘black race’ as forever inferior in the minds of all whites.[5]
McGregor has put forth the idea that the Australian people would never fully accept people of a different colour and that prejudice against appearance and colour was an inherited Australian defect and not likely to change.[6] So deep was
At the turn of the twentieth century the systematic forced removal of Aboriginal children from their mothers, families and cultural heritage was commonplace. There were several reasons that the government and white society used to justify the separation but the prevailing ideology of nationalism and maintaining Australia for the ‘whites’ was the over-riding motivation and justification for their actions[1]. Progressive sciences such as anthropology espoused such theories as eugenics, miscegenation, biological absorption and assimilation which legitimated governmental policies relating to Aboriginal affairs[2]. It was perceived by white society that Aboriginal children were neglected and they were removed based on the premise that they needed protection from their community environment. It was further believed that the removal of these children was in their best interest for both the present and their future.[3]
That Australia was a racist country at the turn of the twentieth century is both widely acknowledged and documented. The British imperialist attitude of the perception of white superiority and racial purity was transported with the convicts and perpetuated by the restriction of immigrants that were not of British or white European background. The notion of the ‘white race’ as superior to the ‘black race’ evolved sometime in the 17th century and the increase in European colonialism saw blackness become linked to inferiority, barbarism and savagery.[4] This co-incided with the ideas of purity (white) and evil (black) and cemented the ‘black race’ as forever inferior in the minds of all whites.[5]
McGregor has put forth the idea that the Australian people would never fully accept people of a different colour and that prejudice against appearance and colour was an inherited Australian defect and not likely to change.[6] So deep was
Bibliography: Jacobs, Patricia, “Science and veiled assumptions: miscegenation in Western Australia. 1930 – 1937.” Australian Aboriginal Studies, Vol 2 (1986), pp 15 - 23 Manne, Robert McGregor, Russell. “Breed out the Colour or the Importance of Being White.” Australian Historical Studies, Vol 33: 120 (2002), pp 286 - 302 McGregor, Russell Macintyre, Stuart. The Oxford History of Australia: Volume 4, The Succeeding Age 1901 – 1942, , Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 2009 McLaren, Peter & Torres, Rodolfo Paisley, Fiona. “Race and Remembrance: Contesting Aboriginal Child Removal in the Inter War Years.” Accessed on: 8th April, 2010 at: http://www.australianhumanitiesreview.org/archive/Issue-November-1997/paisley.html Read, Peter. The Stolen Generations: The Removal of Aboriginal Children in New South Wales 1883 -1969 . Accessed on 7th April, 2010 from: http://www.daa.nsw.gov.au/publications/StolenGenerations.pdf Stannner, W.E.H and Barwick, Diane. “Not By Eastern Windows Only: Anthropological Advice to Australian Governments in 1938.” Aboriginal History, 3 (1) (1979), pp 37 - 61 Zogbaum, Heidi ----------------------- [1] Russell McGregor, “Breed out the Colour or the Importance of Being White.” Australian Historical Studies,Vol 33: 120 (2002): p 294 [8] Russell McGregor, “Breed out the Colour or the Importance of Being White.” Australian Historical Studies,Vol 33: 120 (2002): p 292. [9] Peter Read. “The Stolen Generations: The Removal of Aboriginal Children in NSW 1883 – 1969” (1981): p 3. Available from: http://www.daa.nsw.gov.au/publications/StolenGenerations.pdf [10] W.E.H Stannner & Diane Barwick [15] Peter Read, “The Stolen Generations”, p. 17 [16] Robert Manne, “The Stolen Generations”, (1998) http://tim-richardson.net/joomla15/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29Itemid=50