Page 14 - Indiginous Australians

Mary Alp
equal rights & self–determination widened to include the hope that Indigenous Australians, like new Australians, would also be respected for their differences. With the strong support of many non- indigenous Australians change was happening, but the legacy of the past was still strong. We will see this when we look at the outlines of both Land claims & Human Rights Movements.
The land Claims Movement– Land Rights & Native Title include:
1963 saw the Australian Indigenous Yirrkala bark petition to Parliament which demanded Aboriginal owners right to be consulted before any mining happened on their traditional lands. This petition was the first traditional Native claim
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1966 saw the Northern Territory Wave Hill cattle station walk off by the Gurindji people over poor wages, poor living conditions & leading ultimately, to a demand for return of traditional land. This 7 year protest resulted in the 1972 Whitlam government returning part of the land to the traditional owners – I think some of us will remember the image of Whitlam pouring sand into Vincent Lingiari’s hand. Also interesting to note that John Kerr (later Sir – who dismissed the Whitlam Goverment in 1975 )- acted for the pastoralists at the 1965 Federal Arbitration Commission arguing that Aboriginal workers who were demanding equal pay
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were less efficient than other workers.
industry was built on the back off these Indigenous Australian stock men. We can also add the role of Indigenous Australian women & children whose labour like that of the men was swapped for being allowed to remain on their traditional land. Food, camping & very little else was given in return for their labour. Sexual favours were also given/taken by the white man. Elkin called this Indigenous involvement ‘Intelligent Parasitism’ – their country was taken therefore this
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arrangement was better -‘than guns & courts’. A 2020 article clearly states that
47 Broome Ibid p255.
48 ‘The Yirrkala bark petitions’, Creative spirits: Wikipedia, ‘Yirrkala bark petitions’. 49 Broome Ibid p.145.
50 Elkin Ibid pp364-365
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Amazing when we consider the pastoral
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document recognized by the Australian Parliament.