Music in Australia: A Critical Bibliography of Protest Songs

This report presents a critical bibliography on protest music in Australia, focusing on the theme of songs of protest and healing, particularly in the context of the Stolen Generation. The assignment, fulfilling the requirements of a Monash University music course, analyzes five scholarly references, offering an overview of each source's main argument and a critical perspective. The selected articles and books, which do not overlap with the provided reading guide, explore the historical context of the Stolen Generation, the impact of government policies on indigenous communities, and the role of music in expressing grief, trauma, and resilience. The bibliography examines the contributions of key musicians and the ways in which protest songs have served as a form of cultural resistance, remembrance, and advocacy for social change. It highlights the significance of music in addressing issues of racism, injustice, and the ongoing struggle for reconciliation in Australia. The report emphasizes the power of music in reflecting and shaping the experiences of indigenous Australians, and its role in raising awareness about historical wrongs and promoting healing.

Running head: MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA
Music in Australia
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA
Music is one of the most well-known forms of art for the humans. Music allows the
humans to express their emotions and feelings. Almost every country has its own form of
music and the musical artists. The same is the case with that of Australia. The musical scene
in Australia had developed long time ago. The music in the country dates back to the ancient
times, which continued to the time of the stolen generation. It was the times when the
indigenous Australian children were taken from their homes and relocated to the cities where
they were given different names. The protest music which develops during this time informed
about the people about the acts of the government snatching the children away from them.
The purpose of this assignment is to create a critical bibliography about the
concept of the protest music in the country of Australia.
The stolen generation refers to the time when the Australian Government has made
the decision to remove the children belonging to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders due to
the assumptions that the Aborigines are dying off. These children are then moved to the
society, where they were adapted by the people and given education and employment. The
protest music developed during this time so that the people of the country (Kelada, 2016).
The singers of the protest music, many of whom belonged to the classes of the Aboriginals
and the Torres Strait Islanders, wanted their listen about their own experiences about being
taken away from their homes.
The musicians who had developed their music during this period wanted to draw the
attention of the listeners to the situation which had happened in the country at that time. The
songs tell the listeners of the various reason why the Government wanted to remove the
children from their homes and their parents (Hutchings, 2015). The essay tells the readers
about the fact that the Government wanted the Aborigines and the Torres Island Strait
children to be adapted by the whites in the country. The readers get the idea from the case

2MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA
that almost one and ten children in every area were taken forcefully by the people from the
Government. The songs of this times also tells the listeners about the long history of the racist
policies and the mistreatment of the Government. The indigenous and the Aboriginals of
these times also suffered from other policies of the Government. These are the policies which
allowed the singers of the times to write the protest songs which would highlight the wrong
doings of the Government. The songs also informed the people about the racist policies
suffered by the Aboriginals form the whites in the country (Kelada, 2015).
In addition to this, the songs also inform the listeners about the various policies about
the Government in relation to the wages of the people. The readers get to know that the
wages were directly paid to the state by the employers. This was mainly done to protect the
indigenous people of the state. This was mainly done so that the indigenous people of the
state are able to get their salaries at the right time. Sometimes, the payments were also being
held by the Government so that the indigenous people of the times were ready to hand over
their children to the Government. In addition to this, the Queensland Government had
recently decided to settle the class action lawsuit about the stolen wage for a total of $190
million for the aboriginals in the country.
Barney, Katelyn, and Elizabeth Mackinlay. "'Singing Trauma Trails': Songs of the
Stolen Generations in Indigenous Australia." Music and Politics 4, no. 2 (2010).
In this article, the authors have stated the various information related to the stolen
generation in Australia and how the Aboriginals and the Torres Island Strait people were
deprived of their children. The readers get to know form this article the reason behind the
Government adapting such policies for the Aboriginals and the other indigenous people. In
addition to this, the readers also get to know about wages which got stolen from the
indigenous people of the country.
It is because of this that the reason that the singers like Jessie Lloyd had decided to
sing the songs dedicated to the poor people of Indigenous Australia who had lost their loved

3MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA
ones in the policies of the Government. Her song Story of the Irex tells the reader about the
boat which was used to carry the people to the indigenous people to the Palm Island. The
song is also an account of the sufferings of the indigenous people in the country. The songs in
this context are used to tell the story of the past, present and the future of these indigenous
people of the country.
Dunbar-Hall, Peter. "Politics or music? Australian music educators' attitudes to the
teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music." Australian Journal of Music
Education 1 (2002): 6.
In this article, the readers get to know about the impact of the policies of the
Australian Government on the indigenous Australian like the Torres and the Aboriginals. The
authors have also discussed about the impact of the protest music on the society. In addition
to this, it can be said that the authors have also shed some light on the reason why such
decision was taken by the Government.
In addition to this, the article also talks to the readers about the importance of the
songs of Brown Skin Baby by Bob Randall and how the song is important and reflects the
wrong decision of the Government to take the children from their homes. Hence, this article
is considered to be important for the readers. This is because this article tells the readers
about the songs of protest in the country, and how these songs have led to the Government
changing their rules and regulations in the country itself.
Murphy, Fiona. "Memorialising the story of Australian Aboriginal child removal: The
story of Reconciliation Place." In Memory and Recovery in Times of Crisis, pp. 32-46.
Routledge, 2017.
In this book, the author tells the readers about the songs of protests which had
developed in the country against the Government’s policies against the Aboriginals and the
Torres Strait Islanders in the country. The book is an example of the grief and the pain of the
Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islanders when children were being taken away from them
under the rules and the regulations of the Australian Government.

4MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA
The readers of the book also get to know about the importance of the song “They took
the children away” sung by Archie Roach. The song is important because it tells the readers
about the singer’s feelings about being taken away from his parents in the country and given
a new life. It is because of this reason that the book is considered to be an accurate source on
the music of The Stolen Generations in the country of Australia.
Carlson, Bronwyn. "Striking the right chord: Indigenous people and the love of
country."
This article is an account of the subject matter of the protests music in the country of
Australia and how the indigenous people who were taken from their parents had themselves
contributed to the protest music in the country.
The readers get the idea about the various types of songs which were sung by the
people belonging to this indigenous group of Australians. The most notable singers in this
case, included those of Jessie Lloyd, Archie Roach, and Bob Randall, all of whom had
contributed to the growth of the protest music in the country. Hence, this is the reason this is
considered to be important for the readers.
Alternative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples 12, no. 5 (2016): 498-512.
This article tells the readers about the types of the indigenous people available in the
country of Australia and how the policies made during the Stolen Generation had affected
these people from the Stolen Generations in the country.
Thus, the readers will get an adequate idea about the sufferings of the Aboriginals in
the country from the policies, which led to the protest music in the country. The readers also
get to know about the how the indigenous people of the country had protested against the
policies of the Government in the country, when they took the children away from these
people. There lies the importance of these protest music in the country.

5MUSIC IN AUSTRALIA
Thus, from the above discussions, it can be concluded that the protest music indeed
plays an important role in Australia. The actions of the Government led to the Aboriginals
and the Torres Strait Islander children losing out on their identities. Thus, the songs serves as
a reminder to the people of the modern generations about the wrongdoings of the
Government in the country. Here lies the importance of the concepts of songs for protest and
healing, also known as the protest music of the country.