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We was bought like a market. We was all lined up in white dresses, and they’d come roundand pick you out like you was for sale.Confidentialsubmission 695, New South Wales: woman fostered at 10 years in the 1970s; one of a family of 13siblings all removed; raped by foster father and forced to have an abortion.I clearly remember being put in line-ups every fortnight, where prospective foster parents wouldview all the children. I wasn’t quite the child they were looking for.Confidentialevidence 133, Victoria: man removed at 6 months in the 1960s; institutionalised for 3years beforebeing fostered by a succession of white families.
6 Tasmania… there does not appear to be any likelihood in the immediate future for further [voluntary] …admissions being effective as a method of assimilation of children. Firstly, there appears to be aclose bond between children and parents and they are naturally reluctant to let them go (report ofchild welfare officer to the Director of Child Welfare on the officer’s visit to Cape Barren Islandin 1961, quoted by Tasmanian Government final submission on page A-28).Policies and practicesThe forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families occurred during twoperiods in Tasmania. The first commenced with the European occupation of VanDieman’s Land (as Tasmania was called until 1856) in 1803 and lasted until the middleof the nineteenth century. The second commenced in the 1930s with the forcible removalof Indigenous children from Cape Barren Island under general child welfare legislationand continues into the present. However in recent times the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centrehas been successful in intervening in potential removal situations to keep Indigenousfamilies together and welfare practice in Tasmania now regards removal as a last resort.The colonial periodVan Dieman’s Land was occupied in 1803 as a penal colony. Bitter conflict ensued.Many Indigenous people were shot and Indigenous children taken to be used for theirlabour. By 1818 the Aboriginal population had fallen from an estimated 4,000 tosomewhere below 2,000 (Ryan 1981 page 79).In 1814 Governor Davey issued a proclamation expressing his ‘utter indignation andabhorrence’ about the kidnapping of Aboriginal children (quoted by Reynolds 1995 onpage 90) but by 1816 ‘kidnapping had become widespread’ (Ryan 1981 page 78).Governor Sorrell made a similar declaration in 1819 and ordered the ResidentMagistrates and District Constables to list all the children and youths held by ‘Settlers orStock-keepers, stating from whom, and in what manner, they were obtained’ (quoted byRowley 1970 on page 44). He ordered that those who had been taken without parentalconsent were to be sent to Hobart where they would be maintained and educated atgovernment expense.Removal to Flinders IslandBy the late 1820s the conflict between Aboriginal people and the non-Indigenouspopulation had escalated to the ‘Black War’ as it was known at the time. After a spate ofattacks on settlers in 1830, Colonel George Arthur decided ‘to deliver the knock-out blowthat would bring the conflict to an end once and for all’ (quoted by Reynolds 1995 onpage 117). It was known as the ‘Black Line’. Over 2,000 men moved in a line across theIsland for six weeks with the aim of driving the Aboriginal population onto twopeninsulas in the far south-east. This costly plan was an utter failure.Warfare continued and the government looked for other strategies to deal with ‘the
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(c) examine the principles relevant
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The Inquiry’s recommendations are
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child. We’d like to take this bab
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The benefits that influenced the pa
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Confidential submission 843, Queens
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Fair 23.4% 13.0%Poor 5.7% 2.4%Not s
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The Inquiry is aware that many othe
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Part 2Tracing the HistoryC h a p t
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appointed a Select Committee to inq
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The ‘protectionist’ legislation
Page 27: From this time on, States began ado
Page 30 and 31: For the Aboriginal child growing up
Page 33 and 34: 3 New South Wales and the ACTAt Dar
Page 35 and 36: Indigenous children from their fami
Page 37 and 38: 1933 and to those resisting removal
Page 39 and 40: towards their people since the time
Page 41 and 42: By the late 1930s it was clear the
Page 43 and 44: Mt Penang Training Centre [in the e
Page 45 and 46: had died.In Sydney my mother and Es
Page 47 and 48: She made us stay up late sewing, kn
Page 49 and 50: her family background made sure of
Page 51 and 52: and publicity that occurs with prop
Page 53 and 54: on the conditions under which Indig
Page 55 and 56: was rare for legal representation t
Page 57 and 58: whatever. Considering I come from a
Page 59 and 60: Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA
Page 61 and 62: unacceptable or unchristian-like be
Page 63 and 64: government policy until at least 19
Page 65 and 66: Forcible separation through the dor
Page 67 and 68: ecome very frightened of her. We cl
Page 69 and 70: leave or escape from such reserve o
Page 71 and 72: and financial responsibilities.In 1
Page 73 and 74: Night is drawing nearThis always up
Page 75 and 76: several days later that she was adm
Page 77: than an Aboriginal Penal Colony. Ou
Page 81 and 82: Ten years later few of the Islander
Page 83 and 84: with that. It was just the way of l
Page 85 and 86: in Tasmania. The idea being to even
Page 87 and 88: and my brothers and sisters.Confide
Page 89 and 90: domestic and farm work. Under the I
Page 91 and 92: If the police sent me only the most
Page 93 and 94: [In 1926] came a visit from A.J. Ne
Page 95 and 96: ‘neglect’ was not a justificati
Page 97 and 98: accepted into the state schools. Fr
Page 99 and 100: I never received any money from my
Page 101 and 102: Several more years passed and I sti
Page 103 and 104: 8 South AustraliaThe general opinio
Page 105 and 106: South lobbied for the power to remo
Page 107 and 108: In 1936 David Unaipon spoke on the
Page 109 and 110: Confidential submission 112, South
Page 111 and 112: tried to place all Indigenous child
Page 113 and 114: culture was gone, our family was go
Page 115 and 116: Goldsmith, argued for the establish
Page 117 and 118: At The Bungalow in the 1920s about
Page 119 and 120: future ‘absorption’. He wanted
Page 121 and 122: The stated intentions of the missio
Page 123 and 124: The assembled children were loaded
Page 125 and 126: emoval only on a children’s court
Page 127 and 128: Department of Aboriginal Affairs wh
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All the girls slept in one dormitor
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Part 3Consequences of RemovalChapte
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Totality of separationThe overwhelm
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When I first met my mother - when I
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Institutional conditionsThe living
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Confidential evidence, New South Wa
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Sexual assaults reported by Inquiry
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A good home with a kindly mistress
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They had to - if they didn’t do i
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and babies, infants and young child
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Confidential submission 109, Queens
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We were constantly told that we did
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of religion to us. We used to have
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poverty. These in turn cause their
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He says looking within himself that
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Most families provide growing child
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(Wolkind and Rutter 1984 page 47).
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The effects of institutionalisation
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Confidential submission 126, Victor
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Helen Siggers, a former nursing sis
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sense of being different from other
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The Sydney Aboriginal Mental Health
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The following table summarises the
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The effects of separation from the
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The policies of separation were oft
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It is possible for Aboriginal peopl
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aged between 6 months and 7 years.]
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Eventually I got married when I was
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The effects on family and community
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profound disadvantages (‘other li
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That’s also impacted on my own li
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Association in the Northern Territo
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I look at my son today who had to b
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Now I understand why Mum is the way
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emoved. More than one-third of thos
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Mother Jenny:Jenny grew up in a cha
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He was about 6 month becaus he was
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articulated needs to trace their fa
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Quoted by Link-Up (NSW) submission
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Bonds broken foreverEven for those
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I was in one of the cottages [in a
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the last she saw of him. She said t
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We kept in contact with one another
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Part 4ReparationKooris Come in All
Page 217 and 218:
Two broad periodsBroadly speaking t
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the kingdom. The law defended indiv
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Jaggs 1986 page 7). However, no Sta
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The manner in which children were t
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page 211; see also Ex parte Earl of
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Source: Appendices to this report.F
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understanding. Indigenous children
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Nations Resolution of 1946, followe
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Article 2 states that,Everyone is e
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The Convention confirmed that genoc
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the extent to which that intention
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y Australia in July 1949, came into
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14 Making ReparationThe Government
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A human rights frameworkPrinciples
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(submission 754 page 50).The Broome
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(c) An official declaration or a ju
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There would be few Aboriginal peopl
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On behalf of our constituent nation
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It must be acknowledged that, no ma
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and effects of forcible removals.Ju
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[Thus] it will be the relevant indi
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The significance of Indigenous lang
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This recommendation extends only to
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general damages for the pain and su
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the United Nations Special Rapporte
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In relation to the compensation iss
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medical, psychological and social a
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It should be appreciated that the a
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Part 5Services for Those AffectedEm
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Inquiry to examine all services app
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governments should confine their ro
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the history of forcible removal and
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16 Access to Personal and Family Re
Page 283 and 284:
Little effort has been made to iden
Page 285 and 286:
What was very disturbing … was th
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through all of their files to disco
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Confidentiality provisions within t
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a former ward who was harmed or abu
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derogatory and racist language, so
Page 295 and 296:
family history. Other agencies, how
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Non-discriminationThe arrangements
Page 299 and 300:
Adequate resourcesThe deployment of
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implications’ of this task ‘sho
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That a consistent approach be adopt
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and access procedures so that they
Page 307 and 308:
Murri academic Henrietta Fourmile m
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Recommendation 29b: That the Counci
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Royal Commission Recommendation 52
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can be kept to a minimum because of
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The SA Aboriginal Child Care Agency
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• consultation regarding record a
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operation.The funding constraints l
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States when James was six. The adop
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Confidential evidence 553, Northern
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expectations of two different cultu
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In other cases psychiatrists do not
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The need for trauma and grief couns
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worker is based at the State’s ps
Page 333 and 334:
The Yorgum Aboriginal Family Counse
Page 335 and 336:
When we began [in 1991], we were se
Page 337 and 338:
Most States and the Northern Territ
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Territory Health Service [must] rec
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services, Aboriginal and Islander C
Page 343 and 344:
It is a model that takes into accou
Page 345 and 346:
There are very strong and cogent ar
Page 347 and 348:
The effects of forcible removal are
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needed services. The point was clea
Page 351 and 352:
Carol[Carol’s grandmother was rem
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me how to be a good mother. A year
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statements expressing understanding
Page 357 and 358:
Policy deficienciesThe general expe
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Likewise there can be cases where r
Page 361 and 362:
We have proposed that the churches
Page 363 and 364:
A further problem is that we alread
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issues with relevant communities’
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Part 6Contemporary SeparationsThere
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disappointment in the family is you
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when I got my holidays from work. S
Page 373 and 374:
missing information in both of thes
Page 375 and 376:
part of welfare practice. The forma
Page 377 and 378:
integrated into the Aboriginal Chil
Page 379:
Reliance on a view of culture as fi
Page 382 and 383:
Non-Indigenous care for Indigenous
Page 384 and 385:
were placed with non-Aboriginal fos
Page 386 and 387:
The protocol also provides for CSV
Page 388 and 389:
identified an urgent need for statu
Page 390 and 391:
Inadequate consultation with AICCAs
Page 392 and 393:
The assessment of prospective foste
Page 394 and 395:
seen as pathological or dysfunction
Page 396 and 397:
It is not surprising, given the exp
Page 398 and 399:
Department of Social Security inacc
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acknowledged and addressed.Conclusi
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have the scar today.I did not know
Page 404 and 405:
22 AdoptionThere can be little argu
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of care (Ban 1993 page 5).• The c
Page 408 and 409:
and counselling is to ‘explore al
Page 410 and 411:
Aboriginal child. The Aboriginal ag
Page 412 and 413:
In possession of this evidence, the
Page 414 and 415:
Confidential submission 9, Queensla
Page 416 and 417:
The criteria are alien to aborigina
Page 418 and 419:
never got kicked out because she ne
Page 420 and 421:
23 Family LawFamily law plays a rol
Page 422 and 423:
• whether stability is to be pref
Page 424 and 425:
family member. Thus there is still
Page 426 and 427:
judges (Nicholson 1995 page 13, Coo
Page 428 and 429:
without any legislative base. Howev
Page 430 and 431:
The Australian Institute of Crimino
Page 432 and 433:
While there are many occasions wher
Page 434 and 435:
However, NSW had the highest number
Page 436 and 437:
Dec 95 254 481.1 491 25.0Mar 96 276
Page 438 and 439:
custody,• the Children’s Court
Page 440 and 441:
In addition Indigenous people gener
Page 442 and 443:
wilderness trek with several weeks
Page 444 and 445:
submission pages D-26 to D-28).West
Page 446 and 447:
Responses to law and order problems
Page 448 and 449:
Arrests for public order offences s
Page 450 and 451:
legislation. The available evidence
Page 452 and 453:
also to provide greater control ove
Page 454 and 455:
had high proportions of Indigenous
Page 456 and 457:
alternative facilities. At times, n
Page 458 and 459:
communities and show no understandi
Page 460 and 461:
conferences lack specific time fram
Page 462 and 463:
Similarly, when questioned about th
Page 464 and 465:
Repeat offendersRecent changes to s
Page 466 and 467:
justice system’ (1995 page 69).Pu
Page 468 and 469:
[Significantly] contributes to on-g
Page 470 and 471:
The Inquiry was repeatedly told tha
Page 472 and 473:
oys will have no family visits for
Page 474 and 475:
people or to reduce the levels of p
Page 476 and 477:
Education (interim submission page
Page 478 and 479:
dispossession and marginalisation -
Page 480 and 481:
• the implicit or explicit interp
Page 482 and 483:
their initiatives include programs
Page 484 and 485:
private dwellings, of which three-q
Page 486 and 487:
During the early part of the twenti
Page 488 and 489:
always associated with the alienati
Page 490 and 491:
Because of their high unemployment
Page 492 and 493:
26 A New FrameworkAn entrenched pat
Page 494 and 495:
ecognised international right of al
Page 496 and 497:
ange of possible outcomes other tha
Page 498 and 499:
Aboriginal local governing bodies r
Page 500 and 501:
submission 309, Anglican Church Soc
Page 502 and 503:
matter holding instead that ‘we m
Page 504 and 505:
‘internally legitimised tribal au
Page 506 and 507:
and/or the establishment of regiona
Page 508 and 509:
In 1992 the Council of Australian G
Page 510 and 511:
3. That negotiated agreements will
Page 512 and 513:
Recommendation 44: That the Council
Page 514 and 515:
It is not surprising, given the exp
Page 516 and 517:
inevitably face and be able to addr
Page 518 and 519:
ureaucratic procedures (Homes for B
Page 520 and 521:
designed for Indigenous children mu
Page 522 and 523:
Rule 8. RecordingEvery interview mu
Page 524:
currently sets out four principles
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