Analyzing Aboriginal Exclusion in Australia's Nation Building Project

This essay delves into the exclusionary nature of Australia's nation-building project, focusing on the marginalization of the Aboriginal population. It examines how European colonization and the imposition of a 'statist' society led to the exclusion of Aboriginals from the benefits and processes of nation building. The essay highlights the clash of worldviews, differing interests, and unequal power dynamics between the European settlers and the Aboriginals, who were content with their traditional, subsistence-based lifestyle. It argues that the British colonizers, driven by a desire to 'civilize' and modernize, viewed the Aboriginals as uncivilized and in need of a government, thus justifying their exclusion from the project. The essay explores the concept of the 'white man's burden' and how it was used to legitimize the domination and exploitation of Aboriginal lands and resources. It references several academic sources to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive analysis of the historical context and its consequences.

Running head: NATION BUILDING
NATION BUILDING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1NATION BUILDING
The image of the Australian nation that we find today is but a product of colonialism and
the mass immigration of the white skinned Australians to the island nation to the point of
outnumbering the indigenous aboriginal population. The concept of a modern state, a complex
society, political boundaries, legal set up and other characteristic features that could be
associated with modernity had taken place in Australia after the advent of the European
colonizers who had paved the way for the deconstruction of the aboriginal image of Australian
and the construction of the new nation which was modeled after the European style of a statist
society1. The concept of freedom and autonomy was something which was present in the
aboriginal Australia and the system of governance was largely self government and with the
entry of the European colonizers the highly sophisticated system of governance such as
democracy and sovereignty replacing the rudimentary forms of democratization and self
governance were replaced by the highly sophisticated and highly bureaucratized state apparatus
which had provided an institutionalized form to the freedom and system of governance that
existed in aboriginal Australia. Thus modernization of Australia had been a result of nation
building which was however not an inclusive process as the aborigines were excluded out of it
and was championed only by the white Europeans who had by virtue of occupying a position of
preponderance in terms of number and power had marginalized the aborigines not just as a
community but as a political group as well who had no say in what shall become of the land
which used to be their sole prerogative2.
In this particular essay the focus of the essay shall be on the central question as to who
was excluded by the nation building project and why with particular reference to the aboriginal
1 Macintyre, Stuart, and Alison Bashford, eds. The Cambridge History of Australia: Indigenous and Colonial
Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
2 Pascoe, Rob, and Rob Pascoe. The manufacture of Australian history. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1979.

2NATION BUILDING
past of Australia and the advent of the white Europeans into the island territory. It is a matter of
fact that the modernization had happened in Australia as a result of the coming of the Europeans
and that had been a result of depriving the indigenous aborigines of their agency and their sole
prerogative over the Australian territory. The discussion shall be focusing primarily on why had
the nation building project been an exclusionary project and how had the exclusion of the
aborigines been executed as a process with a critical undertone along with supporting evidences
from literary and academic sources.
As it has already been mentioned that the project of nation building had excluded the
aborigines from it and the project carried out by the Europeans in order to suit their economic
and political needs of colonizing the island territory and perpetrating their rule and dominance in
the nation. However the entire project had been carried out citing the fact that the Europeans
were doing a favour to the Aborigines by means of modernizing and civilizing them in a statist
set up. The prime reason why the nation building project had excluded the aborigines from it had
been basically because the British colonizers who had come to Australia had been convinced of
the fact that aborigines of the Australia needed a government and thus they needed a nation
building project. However the worldview of the aborigines were not as developed as that of the
Europeans hence by that logic, the aborigines needed someone to take up the tack of nation
building on their behalf, which made the factor of exclusion of the aborigines very much evident
and inevitable a step in order to ensure that the project proceeds without any form of restraint.
The first thing that the British colonizers had noticed about the aborigines was the lifestyle which
they led and was subsistence oriented which lacked any strong central authority or government.
The aborigines led a primitive lifestyle which was governed by their customary laws and rules
which were not documented and were transferred from one generation to the other. The form of

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division which existed among them comprised of the division of tribes which was however not
very strict or regulated any well detailed document or institutionalized rule3.
Even then the aborigines functioned well in whatever primitive style of life they lead.
The aborigines comprised of several tribes and they also had their own customs and rituals, their
separate territories which were not trespassed upon by the members of other tribes and also the
share on the natural resources was not trespassed upon by members of other tribes. The
aborigines led a primitive lifestyle but it was quite disciplined. They surely lacked an
institutionalized set up of the modern world but that did not mean that they lacked any kind of
discipline or that they led a life of chaos and total chaos and anarchy as described by Hobbes in
his social contract theory the state of nature. The aborigines as per the anthropological accounts
led a peaceful life and that was highly disciplined which meant that the chances of conflict
between the aborigines were quite less as they respected the customs of the land. This shows that
even without the presence of the state machinery, the aborigines led a life of stability content
with their primitive lifestyle, regulated by the primitive customs4.
However it was the British colonizers who felt that the Aborigines were in need of a state
machinery in order to lead a better life and enjoy the benefits of the modernity and also lead a
civilized life. The most basic and the most important impression that the British colonizers had
of the aborigines was that of uncivilized and savage and in need of redemption which only the
British colonisers could give it to them and thus the only way of helping them out was that of
civilizing them and that could be done only by means of transforming the society of the
aborigines and also transforming of the entire territory of Australia. Thus the first reason that was
sought to embark upon by the British colonists was that of civilizing the so called savage
3 Connor, Michael. "Aboriginal Australia before Pete Seeger." Quadrant 61, no. 1/2 (2017): 32.
4 Gare, Deborah, and David Ritter. "Making Australian History: perspectives on the past since 1788." (2008).

4NATION BUILDING
aborigines and modernize them by means of transforming their primitive style of governance
into a modern statist society. The reason why the aborigines were being kept out of the project of
nation building was primarily because they were unaware of the modern system of statism and
were contented with whatever condition they were into as it was self sufficient according to
them. The aborigines were indigenous residents of Australia but the Europeans were the
outsiders who had to win over the aborigines that they were trying to benefit the aborigines and
make them civilized. It was a matter of brainwashing and false propaganda that the colonisers
had embarked upon in order to make their project of building a nation a success and gain access
to the vast mineral resources that were there in Australia. Thus this shows that the civilization
mission was but a façade which the British colonisers had created in order to legitimize their
ulterior motive of dominating and taking over the natural resources of the territory from the
aborigines. However since the Aborigines and the settlers lacked a common medium of
communication, there was a clash of interest, there was unequal power dynamics and also the
world view of the aborigines and the settler Europeans differed which is why the Aborigines
were kept out of the project of nation building5.
The need for the nation building thus becomes clear was something which the European
colonisers needed and not the aborigines since the aborigines were content with a subsistence life
and they did not want to exploit the natural resources in order to gain more profit, something
which the European settlers wanted, which makes the difference in the interest manifest. The life
which the Europeans led was much more complex compared to that of the ones led by the
aborigines hence anything which did not match with the bureaucratic, modernist,
institutionalized style and the rational mindset of the Europeans was rendered as savage and
5 Gould, Richard A. "SUBSISTENCE BEHAVIOUR AMONG THE WESTERN DESERT ABORIGINES OF
AUSTRALIA 1." Oceania 39, no. 4 (1969): 253-274.

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unacceptable. This Eurocentric vision of the British settlers had led to the Europeans looking
down upon the aborigines, which makes the difference in the worldview and the unequal power
dynamics manifest. Thus these are the reasons why the Europeans had excluded the aborigines
from the project of nation building. This makes the logic of the white man’s burden very much
manifest, a logic which the Europeans had used to justify their domination over the Aborigines,
exploit their resources and also establish a foothold over their land, which was however not an
easy task and had to be embarked upon by means of nation building and making the aborigines a
part of the project would have meant lack of success of the project6.
Hence for the reasons of the Aborigines and the settlers lacking a common medium of
communication, there was a clash of interest, there was unequal power dynamics and also the
world view of the aborigines and the settler Europeans differed which is why the Aborigines
were kept out of the project of nation building, that the Aborigines were kept out of the project of
nation building.
6 Short, Damien. Reconciliation and colonial power: Indigenous rights in Australia. Routledge, 2016.

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References
Connor, Michael. "Aboriginal Australia before Pete Seeger." Quadrant 61, no. 1/2 (2017): 32.
Gare, Deborah, and David Ritter. "Making Australian History: perspectives on the past since
1788." (2008).
Gould, Richard A. "SUBSISTENCE BEHAVIOUR AMONG THE WESTERN DESERT
ABORIGINES OF AUSTRALIA 1." Oceania 39, no. 4 (1969): 253-274.
Hartati, Anna Yulia, and Aileyas Kabo. "PENGAKUAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DI
AUSTRALIA." SOSIO DIALEKTIKA 2, no. 2 (2018).
Macintyre, Stuart, and Alison Bashford, eds. The Cambridge History of Australia: Indigenous
and Colonial Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Pascoe, Rob, and Rob Pascoe. The manufacture of Australian history. Melbourne: Oxford
University Press, 1979.
Short, Damien. Reconciliation and colonial power: Indigenous rights in Australia. Routledge,
2016.