Western Australia Assimilation Approaches and the Impacts on the Aboriginal people

This essay outlines the approaches that the Western Australia authorities used to implement assimilation in the twentieth century and examines how this approach had devastating impacts on the Aborigines people. The essay discusses the different assimilation policies used, including white superiority, forced removal of children, denial of citizenship, and the Palm Island: Punishment Island assimilation policy. The essay concludes that assimilation failed its mission of making the life of Indigenous Australians much better.

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Western Australia Assimilation Approaches and the Impacts on the Aboriginal people
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Course
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Introduction
Assimilation was a policy in the ascendancy in Indigenous affairs from the 1930s to the
1960s. All Aborigines and part-Aborigines were supposed to attain a way of living which the rest
of the Australians lived. This was supposed to see all individuals in Australia live as one
community with the same rights, and responsibilities.1 Also, all were to observe the same
customs as well as be influenced by the same hopes, beliefs, and loyalty. Ideally, assimilation
involves enhancing a particular group in the society to suit the norms and culture practiced by the
rest of the society. This essay will clearly outline the approaches that the Western Australia
authorities used to implement assimilation in the twentieth century. It will examine how this
approaches had devastating impacts on the Aborigines people. In so doing, this paper will
articulate the factor that led to the assimilation process.
The first half of the twentieth century was not an encouraging moment for the
Aborigines. The western Authorities believed that they would inevitably die out. Unfortunately,
the massive growth of the indigenous population's half-casts pronounced to the authorities that
the Aborigines were not to extinct any day sooner. The then Australian government sought a
second plan.2 It decided to stop its protection rule of separating the Indigenous people from the
White people. Assimilation rule was the substitute which proposed a natural death of the full
blood Aborigines through elimination assimilating half-casts to the white community. Several
approaches were used to make the assimilation a success as discussed below:
1 Briscoe, Gordon. 2003. Counting, Health and Identity. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
2 Broome, Richard. 2010. Aboriginal Australians. Crows nest: Allen & Unwin

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To begin with, White superiority, it was an approach that was founded on black
inferiority and white superiority assumption. It is an assimilation approach that was initially
outlined during the first commonwealth and state Aboriginals authorities’ conference in the year
1937.3 During this conference, it was believed that those Aboriginals especially the half-casts
was supposed to be absorbed be assimilated by the commonwealth people. This policy was to be
applied to the end until all half casts were converted into White citizens. The assimilation
policies hypothesized that the indigenous people could enjoy the same living standards that the
white Australians were experiencing after fully assimilating European customs and beliefs. The
Australian government expected all Aborigines and part-Aborigines to attain the same manner of
living like the rest of the Australians. This could lead to the achievement of the policies goal of
achieving one community Australia with similar rights, privileges, same responsibilities, and
same customs observation under the influence of the same beliefs, hopes, and loyalties.
Unfortunately, the white superiority approach was not favorable to the Aborigines. In the
process of the assimilation, the identity and culture of the Indigenous people were undermined.
Similarly, dispossession of the Aborigines was justified. Many of the indigenous children were
removed from their parents. The assimilation policy acted on a well established as well as
widely-accepted ideology that the Aborigines were inferior in comparison to the Australians.
This meant that the Aboriginals ways of life, languages, and culture were substandard. The
assimilations main objective to extinct the Indigenous culture as well as the Indigenous people.
Secondly, the Aborigines were forced to live on the fringes as a way of assimilation.
During this era of conformity, most of the Aborigines were forced out of the reserves. The
3 Charlton, Alan. 2001. "Conceptualising Aboriginality: Reading AO Neville's Australia's Coloured
Minority." Australian Aboriginal Studies 2 (." Australian Aboriginal Studies 47-60.

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government reclaimed such areas for mining and housing.4 Despite the fact that life at the
reserves was not comfortable for the indigenous people, it was not easy for the Indigenous
people to get jobs at the cities and towns due to racism in broader society.5 Access to services
and venues such as swimming pools and hospitals was not granted to the Aborigines. This policy
never yielded any profits as instead of being assimilated; they were forced to languish in poverty
at the fringes of the towns.
Thirdly, the Western Australian government made use of the "stolen children" policy.
Children were considered to be more prone to assimilation in comparison to the adult
Aborigines. This is why absorption majorly focused on the children.6 Aborigine’s children were
forcefully evicted from their families. This was one of the main features of assimilation. In the
year 1910 to 1970, most of the Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their parents
under this approach. Hence the generation acquired the name Stolen Generation. The
government believed that half-caste children could easily become assimilated into the white
Australian community.7 This made such children vulnerable to removal from their families. This
assimilation policy left traumatic experiences to the Indigenous communities. This trauma and
loss have consistently affected individuals, families and Aboriginal communities.
4 Scrimgeour, Anne. 2016. "To Make It Brilliantly Apparent to the People of Australia': The Pilbara
Cooperative Movement and the Campaign for Aboriginal Civil Rights in the 1950s." Journal of Australian
Studies 16 - 31.
5 Perth, City of. 2017. "Department of Indigenous Affairs." Map of the Perth Prohibited Area 1927-1954”,
no date, available from “Kaartdijin Noongar-Noongar Knowledge 1-1.
6 Loo, Roma. 2011. Roma Loo with South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council. June 8. Accessed June
31, 2018. https://www.noongarculture.org.au/roma-loo-talks-about-the-coolbaroo-club-dances/.
7 Solonec, Cindy. 2013. "Proper Mixed-Up: Miscegenation among Aboriginal Australians." Australian
Aboriginal Studies 76 - 85.

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Denial of citizenship was another approach of assimilation that the Western Australian
authorities used to assimilate the Aborigine population into the white community.8
Constitutionally, the indigenous were not recognized as citizens. This was until the 1940s. The
indigenous people could not become citizens.9 After the Second World War, they were required
to apply for a certificate of citizenship. This made them be recommended as citizens. One was
supposed to give up all the links he or she had with the Indigenous people as well as families. In
most circumstances, the certificate was referred to an exemption certificate. This is because, on
possessing it, one was being exempted from the Aboriginal descent. It was through possession of
the document that one was able to move around without any restrictions, vote, buy alcohol as
well as other life activities. This meant that, for one to be able to make any decision concerning
their life. The government saw this as significant opportunity to force many people into
assimilation.10 Many people were motivated by the government to obtain the certificate as it
encouraged everyone to have it. Many aborigines looked down upon this certificates as they
compared them to dog licenses.
In 1965, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders Affairs Act repealed the 1939 legislation.
This consequently led to the formation of the Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Island
Affairs. Unfortunately, this act had little if no advantages to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people. It was through this act that the concept of an assistant Aborigine or islander
8 Lapham, Angela. 2016. "Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight for Aboriginal
People's Equality, 1948-1962." Aboriginal History 27-64.
9 Neville, A. O, and A. P. Elkin. 1947. Australia's Coloured Minority:. Museum victoria: A.O Nevilla.
10 Moran, Anthony. 2005. "White Australia, Settler Nationalism and Aboriginal Assimilation." Australian
Journal of Politics & History 168 - 193.

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came into existence.11 The idea argued that any Aborigine or Torres Strait Island who lived at the
reserve were considered to be assisting people and were subject to the act. It is the director of the
departments who had powers to move the assisted person from one reserve to another. : what
approaches did Western Australian authorities take to implementing assimilation in the twentieth
century (the 1900s) and what were the impacts on Aboriginal people. He or she also had powers
two declare an individual who lived in reserve as either an Aborigine or a Torres Strait Islander.
District officers remained with the authorities to be in charge of the Aboriginal and Islander
property. The district officers were to decide who was in their best interest.
Another assimilation that was used by the Western Australian government was the Palm
Island: Punishment Island assimilation policy. The palm island which is sixty-five kilometers
from the Townsville was a settlement island which is historically known for harsh conditions and
forced removals. This led to the name Punishment Island. Aboriginals were removed from
Queensland from 1918-1972 and isolated at the Palm Island. Some of the things that made
indigenous people, be removed from their homes and be kept in the Island included: being
disruptive, getting pregnant to a white man, or being a half-caste. People were flogged,
humiliated and imprisoned for long by the Superintendent of the settlement. He forced persons to
the nearby Eclipse Island. While being there, children separated from their parents.12 They were
forced not to speak their mother tongue. Some dormitories provided care as well as well as
operating as detention centers. This led to the massive death of the indigenous people more than
11 Host, John T, and Chris Owens. 2009. It's Still in My Heart, This Is My Country. Crawley, W.A: UWA
Press.
12 Soutphommasane, Dr Tim, Professor Greg Whitwell, Kate Jordan, and Philipp Ivanov. 2018. "Leading for
Change." Australian Human Rights Commission 1-44.

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they were born. This thoroughly ensured that the Aborigines population continued to decrease
drastically. Elderly and pregnant women were not even spared. They could work for up to more
than thirty hours in each week.
Conclusion
In conclusion, assimilation failed its mission of making the life of Indigenous Australians
much better. Probably, this happened due to the different logic behind the assimilation policy.
The policy expected Aboriginals to behave like the white people despite the fact that it never
offered an opportunity and rights to do so. Inferiority and culture undermine undermined the
effectiveness of the Assimilation policy.
Bibliography

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Briscoe, Gordon. 2003. Counting, Health and Identity. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
Broome, Richard. 2010. Aboriginal Australians. Crows nest: Allen & Unwin.
Charlton, Alan. 2001. "Conceptualising Aboriginality: Reading AO Neville's Australia's
Coloured Minority." Australian Aboriginal Studies 2 (." Australian Aboriginal Studies
47-60.
Host, John T, and Chris Owens. 2009. It's Still in My Heart, This Is My Country. Crawley, W.A:
UWA Press.
Lapham, Angela. 2016. "Stanley Middleton's Response to Assimilation Policy in His Fight for
Aboriginal People's Equality, 1948-1962." Aboriginal History 27-64.
Loo, Roma. 2011. Roma Loo with South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council. June 8.
Accessed June 31, 2018. https://www.noongarculture.org.au/roma-loo-talks-about-the-
coolbaroo-club-dances/.
Moran, Anthony. 2005. "White Australia, Settler Nationalism and Aboriginal Assimilation."
Australian Journal of Politics & History 168 - 193.
Neville, A. O, and A. P. Elkin. 1947. Australia's Coloured Minority:. Museum victoria: A.O
Nevilla.
Perth, City of. 2017. "Department of Indigenous Affairs." Map of the Perth Prohibited Area
1927-1954”, no date, available from “Kaartdijin Noongar-Noongar Knowledge 1-1.
Scrimgeour, Anne. 2016. "To Make It Brilliantly Apparent to the People of Australia': The
Pilbara Cooperative Movement and the Campaign for Aboriginal Civil Rights in the
1950s." Journal of Australian Studies 16 - 31.
Solonec, Cindy. 2013. "Proper Mixed-Up: Miscegenation among Aboriginal Australians."
Australian Aboriginal Studies 76 - 85.
Soutphommasane, Dr Tim, Professor Greg Whitwell, Kate Jordan, and Philipp Ivanov. 2018.
"Leading for Change." Australian Human Rights Commission 1-44.

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