Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

I wish to cite the case of a mother whose children were taken from her. Judging by the conditionsassociated with her and judging by white standards, one might say that the department had aconsiderable amount of reason for its action. Here again is a case where sympathy andunderstanding might have averted the very serious trouble that overtook this woman. Her twochildren were taken from her and, as a result, the woman lost her reason. She was confined to theasylum, and the report from that institution is that she is in a very depressed state. I ask theHouse again to judge that case from the standpoint of a white woman. If a white woman weredeprived of her children she would fall into a very depressed state of mind and would sufferconsiderably. Although the power is given under the Child Welfare Act to take children fromundesirable [white] parents, such parents are given every opportunity to appreciate thepossibilities of the law and to mend their ways. When dealing with a native, a person whose graspof our white laws is only more or less that of a child, I say there should be sympathy, there shouldbe understanding, above all there should be help extended to the native before such a drastic stepis taken as to deprive a mother of her children (WA Hansard 22 November 1938 at page 2243).Abuses of powerLegislation authorised the majority of removals. It authorised what would otherwisehave been gross breaches of common law rights. Many of the practices carried out under‘protection’ legislation, however, should not have been countenanced. Sadly even wherea court hearing was required, courts were often less than vigilant about these abusivepractices.Some Protectors and Inspectors resorted to kidnap, taking the children from schoolor tricking them into their cars. Children disappeared without their parents’ knowledge. Awoman who had been taken to Cootamundra Girls’ Home in New South Wales spokeabout the practice of Robert Donaldson, MHR and Inspector: ‘he used to go around witha tin of boiled lollies, coaxing, taking little kiddies, different kiddies off different stations.Take them for a ride and never take them back’ (quoted by Hankins 1982 on page 2.1.13).When they came, they had things like balloons and party hats. They told us that we were going ona big party, all the kids. I didn’t realise what was happening. They took some of my cousins outof school and put us in the van. I could see Mum was crying. That’s when I got frightened. Iknew something was wrong. And Dad was running through, and he was like a madman (quotedby Stuart Rintoul submission 58).The police came one day from Halls Creek when they were going on patrol to L. [pastoralstation] and found me, a half-caste kid. They told the manager to take me to FitzroyCrossing to wait for the mail truck from Derby to take me to Moola Bulla [governmentstation]. When the manager’s wife told my Mum and [step] Dad that they were taking me toFitzroy Crossing for a trip, they told her, ‘You make sure you bring her back’. But little didthey know that I would never see them again.Confidential evidence 821, Western Australia: child brought up traditionally by her Aboriginalparents but captured at 12 years in the 1930s.Today the injustice of these practices is obvious, as the NSW Governmentrecognised in its interim submission to the Inquiry.