A Dormitory Girl's Story

A Dormitory Girl’s Story

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders often use the phrase ‘Living under the Act’. This refers to the period in Australian history where they were subject to the copious amounts of rules and regulations, and the policy and administration, imposed by the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act of 1897, as well as back lying subsequent legislation. Between the late 1800’s and 1950’s, the Queensland Government introduced a large range of legislation aimed at the Aboriginal population living in the state. The overwhelming majority of this legislation, and the rhetoric which surrounded it, insisted that the pure motive of this legislation was the focus on Aboriginal Protection and the survival and care of a dying race. However such legislation was derived for the main purpose of forcibly removing Aborigines from White communities, and the denial of their rights and Australian living. Every Aboriginal would illustrate their own story about ‘living under the act’ and as Australian Indigenous history is being embedded in Australian curricula, it is important to use such stories in the education of our hidden, and in some cases shameful history. An excellent text to endorse not only multicultural knowledge, but also a great autobiography giving comprehensive understanding on ‘living under the act’ is Ruth Hegarty’s autobiography, “Is That You Ruthie?”, published in 1999.
Ruth Hegarty’s life story from birth to the age of 60 is illustrated in her autobiography, winner of the David Unaipon Award. Through 141 pages she tells of sever social racism, overwhelming rules and legislation, maltreatment, and the only life she ever knew, as a dormitory girl. Ruth was born into the dormitory life as her mother and family were moved to the Aboriginal reserve in Cherbourg while .Ruth’s mother was pregnant. Once born, Ruth was separated from her mother and brought up as regular dormitory girl. Starting her predetermined and set out life as a dormitory girl going through basic schooling to eventually become a domestic labourer for the white society at the age of fourteen, which was what all these dormitory girls had to hope for, the only life they would ever know. These reserves were home to many aboriginals, young, old, male or female. Victims of Australia’s Eurocentric past, her story reflects on the comprehensiveness of government regulations, which controlled every aspect of her life as an Indigenous person while ‘living under the act’ in relation to the removal of Aborigines to reserves, education and employment.
Government rhetoric and legislation in the early twentieth century in Queensland was said to be focused on Aboriginal protection. This focus was mainly due to the belief that the Aboriginal race was ‘doomed’ or ‘dying-out’ which in fact, was the underlying intentions of most of the legislation. One of these acts introduced was the ‘Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act which was introduced through Queensland parliament in 1897 was influenced by humanitarian pressures on the government to protect the so-called, ‘dying race.’ Between the late 1800’s and 1950’s, the Queensland Government introduced a large range of legislation aimed at the Aboriginal population living in the state. The overwhelming majority of this legislation, and the rhetoric which surrounded it, insisted that the pure motive of this legislation was the focus on ‘Aboriginal Protection and the survival and care of a ‘dying race’. This Act was the first instance of separate legal control over the Aboriginies, and was more restrictive than most other legislation in Australia. Bleakley, the chief protector of Aboriginals in Queensland from 1914 placed great emphasis on the segregation of Aborigines and White-Europeans. He believed, “this the only possible way of improving the Aboriginal race.” (Bleakley, 1914) Bleakley continued with, “Complete separation of the two races was the only way to not only save a dying race from hopelessness and eventual extinction, but to also safeguard the purity of European blood.” In other words, by segregating races, placing Aboriginals in missions guarded by White enforcers, the Government could have complete control over an entire civilisation abiding with the belief that, “Aboriginal people were inferior to Europeans.” (Bleakley, 1914) By removing Aborigines to missions beyond their own will, they were virtually denying their right to live at all. By 1939, almost 7,000 Aborigines had been removed from basic civilisation and placed into reserves location near the district in which they once lived. (QPD, 1897 p. 1629) Hegarty (in Hegarty, 199 p. 54-7) tells of a very ‘military style’ and routine lifestyle at the reserve. The reserve was extremely strict as to what, Beakley would coin as “the inmates,” (Bleakley, 1914) could do, when they could do it and the punishments for even the slightest of wrongs were very severe, from shaving the hair from your head to being locked up into a lonely sell without dinner for a night. (Hegarty, 1999) Stories of total injustice were not only prevalent in the way aboriginals were treated and forced to live, but also in their education, or ‘lack of education’.
According to research by Thom Blake in 1991, the Indigenous people were considered as ‘primitives’ and not fit subjects to be provided with a high grade of education. There was a syllabus for use on all settlements which was considered to be sufficient enough, given the difference in environment and mental ability between the Aboriginal child and his white brother. Although Aboriginal children were supposed to receive the same educational opportunities as white children, in practise they often did not happen. “A higher standard of education was not deemed necessary because the commercial and academic world held no openings for the natives.” (Hegarty, 1999 p. 74) Bleakley (p. 10) often referred to Aborigines who were casted out of white civilisation and brought up in missions, as ‘in-mates’ who receive simple manual and domestic training calculated for them. Aboriginal education was basic reading, writing and arithmetic. As an auxiliary to basic education, girls were “trained in all the feminine accomplishments useful in native settlement life. Such training included laundering, baking, sewing and cleaning.” (Hegarty, 1999 p. 74) At the age of 14, these practises led them into the Aboriginal workforce, as domestic labourers. Richard B Howard (Reynolds and May, 1995 p. 186) stated, “That it was an aim to have every Aboriginal person in Queensland in employment.” “Even in discussing Aboriginal ability, it was constantly reiterated that discipline and control were necessary. The highest praise that could be envisioned for Indigenous people of this time was that they worked effectively for the white people.” (MacLeod and Dennon, 1991 p. 47-8) Once Aboriginals were over a certain age, they were moved out of the guarded reserves to be sent off for up to 12 months at a time to work for the White Europeans for a very minimal wage. As their education was not up to European standards, most Aboriginals were forced to do labour, either domestic or industrial. Beakley covered the truth by saying that by doing this it will, “make them self-reliant and industrious members of their own community.” (Beakley, 1914) However government dominance over employment perpetuated as most Aboriginals in the workforce, were considered as ‘slaves’ by their employees, and were not treated within the Aborigines minimal rights. In section 10 of the Aboriginal Prevent and Protection Act, it states that an employer does have a duty of care over there employee or employees and must treat their employee fairly. (Aborigines Preservation and Protection Act QLD, 1939) However in most cases this legislation was disobeyed as you can see in page 122 of “Is That You Ruthie?” when Ruth tells about her struggles as an Aboriginal employee of a white family. (Hegarty, 199 p. 122)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders often used the phrase, and still do, ‘Living under the Act.’ A period in Australian history which can be undoubtedly be regretted. These rules, legislations and administration that were imposed on Aboriginal people were covered as being of the main purpose to ‘preserve and protect.’ However by investigating into the maltreatment and social injustice towards the Aborigines in relation to education, employment and the removal from white society, it is easy to see that the clear derived impact was to endorse complete control over their culture and there way of life, literally denying their right to live an Australian lifestyle and to eventually completely remove their culture. ‘Living under the Act’ had a tremendous effect on the Aboriginal culture due to their removal from Australian society, the lack of education they received and their limitations to employment. The reaction and ongoing effects of living under the act can only be based largely on the publications of those courageous people who recorded their stories and posterity. Ruth wrote her autobiography in hope that her, and many other dormitory girls in that period stories would live on. Ruth Hegarty’s award winning 1999 “Is That You Ruthie?” autobiography would endorse these ‘truths’ about Australian history; if it was to be endorsed as one of the required texts in Aboriginal Studies not only in Tertiary, but also Primary and Secondary schooling.

References

Aborigines Preservation and Protection Act QLD, 1939
Blake, T. Deported At the Sweet Will of the Government: The removal of Aboriginies to Reserves in Queensland 1897-1939 in Aboriginal History, 1998. Vol 22.
Bleakley, J. Aboriginal Department-Information Contained in Report for the Year Ended 31st December 1929, Queensland Parlimentary Papers, no. 1.
Hegarty, R. 1999. Is That You Ruthie? University of Queensland Press.
MacLeod, R & Denoon, D. Health and Healing in Tropical Australia and Papua New Guinea, James Cook University, Townsville, 1991, p. 47-8.
Reynolds, H & May, D. Queensland in McGrath, A. Contested Ground: Australian Aboriginies Under the British Crown, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1995, p. 181-2.
Wilson, E. Hidden Agendas: The Rhetoric of Benevolence in Aboriginal Policy in Queensland 1900-1950.
Queensland Parlimentary Debates, 1897. Vol. 78 p. 1629.

References: Aborigines Preservation and Protection Act QLD, 1939 Blake, T. Deported At the Sweet Will of the Government: The removal of Aboriginies to Reserves in Queensland 1897-1939 in Aboriginal History, 1998. Vol 22. Bleakley, J. Aboriginal Department-Information Contained in Report for the Year Ended 31st December 1929, Queensland Parlimentary Papers, no. 1. Hegarty, R. 1999. Is That You Ruthie? University of Queensland Press. MacLeod, R & Denoon, D. Health and Healing in Tropical Australia and Papua New Guinea, James Cook University, Townsville, 1991, p. 47-8. Reynolds, H & May, D. Queensland in McGrath, A. Contested Ground: Australian Aboriginies Under the British Crown, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1995, p. 181-2. Wilson, E. Hidden Agendas: The Rhetoric of Benevolence in Aboriginal Policy in Queensland 1900-1950. Queensland Parlimentary Debates, 1897. Vol. 78 p. 1629.