Historical Acts of Administration: Aboriginal Protection and Control

This essay examines the Queensland Aborigines Protection and Preservation Act of 1897, a historical act of administration that controlled the movements, employment, and finances of Aboriginal people. The act, enforced by police protectors and reserve superintendents, is criticized for its discriminatory practices, which included denying Aboriginals the right to vote and subjecting them to forced labor. The essay focuses on the government's control over Aboriginal people, leading to their isolation, segregation, and exploitation, particularly in the form of contracted domestic work. This practice, often involving long hours and low wages, is highlighted as a violation of human rights, reflecting a broader pattern of racial discrimination. The essay references key elements of the act, such as denial of voting rights and control by the Native Police. It draws parallels to contemporary societal biases, emphasizing the lasting impact of these historical injustices.

Running head: Historical Acts of Administration
Historical Acts of Administration
Aboriginal Protection and Restriction
Name of Student
Name of Institution

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The Queensland's Aborigines Protection and Preservation Act of 1897 is a historical Act
of administration whose primary object was the control of the movements of Aboriginals, their
right to negotiate and enter into employment contracts, the right to hold their own funds and
spend it as they wish (Attenbrow, 2010, p. 28). The control of such rights was reserved by the
Act to police protectors and reserve superintendents. The Act accorded Aboriginals inferior
status in the society and regarded them as slaves who did not deserve payment of wages as
opposed to the whites. The Act was a tool used to discriminate on Aboriginals who were blacks
(Frances, 2013, p. 19).
The Act had several key elements. The first element of the historical Act was the denial
of the majority of the persons from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trait the right to
participate in elections. They were disqualified by the Act from taking part in any of the General
elections by the Elections Act until its amendment in 1965. The other key element of the Act was
the control of the Aboriginal by the Native police as the main instrument used by the government
to administer and control the reserves where persons of Aboriginal origin lived. There was racial
discrimination and forced labor without any form of payment, and if there was any payment, it
was very meager.
The key element I want to discuss is the government control of the Aboriginal people
which led to isolation, segregation, and subjection of the people to forced labor. The young men
and women were contracted to undertake domestic work for the white people without any form
of consultation. It was a form of forced labor where the young men and women worked on
pastoral stations under the close watch and supervision of state officials (Rolls & Johnson, 2011,
p. 17). Though a few of the Aboriginal people were exempted from the application of the Act, a
considerable number of the population especially those who lived in the reserves were subjected

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to the provisions of the Act. Those persons who were subject to exemption were segregated and
were not allowed to have any form of contact with their relations (Chesterman & Galligan, 2011,
p. 12).
Persons of Aboriginal origin were exposed to long working hours and were to perform
quite many different tasks when compared to the work performed by the whites. There was no
much choice on the amount of work that a person could do except in very exceptional
circumstances (Mitchell, 2012, p. 43). Aboriginals worked for very long hours a day with no
holidays or leisure times and were still paid very low wages.
Forced labor and segregation of Aboriginals made them look very inferior and lesser
human beings in the eyes of their white masters. They were exposed to all manner of manual
work for very long periods in total disregard of their inherent human rights and freedoms. Their
freedoms were curtailed by the state through Acts whose implementation was overseen by the
Native Police and other government officials (Ungar, 2012, p. 25). Even in today’s contemporary
society, the whites regard black people as lesser human beings and look for every opportunity to
racially discriminate them.

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References
Attenbrow, V. (2010) Sydney's Aboriginal past: Investigating the archaeological and historical
records. Sydney, NSW: UNSW Press
Frances, R. (2013) Remapping the future: History, culture, and environment in Australia and
India Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Rolls, M., & Johnson, M. (2011) Historical dictionary of Australian Aborigines Lanham:
Scarecrow Press
Chesterman, J., & Galligan, B. (2011) Citizens without rights: Aborigines and Australian
citizenship. New York: Cambridge University Press
Mitchell, R. C. (2012). Politics, Participation & Power Relations: Transdisciplinary approaches
to critical citizenship in the classroom and community. Rotterdam: Sense Publ
Ungar, M. (2012). The social ecology of resilience: A handbook of theory and practice. New
York: Springer