Invasion/Colonisation
1. Research the three historical issues below and answer the questions that follow for each issue.
a) From 1788, Australia was treated by the British as a colony of settlement, not of conquest. Aboriginal land was taken over by British colonists on the premise that the land belonged to no-one (‘terra nullius’). In the first hundred years there was no consensus about the basis of British sovereignty. “ Deaths in Custody Australia’s colonisation resulted in a drastic decline in the Aboriginal population.
Estimates of how many Indigenous people lived in Australia at the time of European settlement vary from 300,000 to 1 million. With the unknown deaths we don’t have an exact figure, they could off died from diseases. The colonisation of Australia had a devastating impact on Indigenous people, who have lived on this land for thousands of years.
b) European colonisation of Australia brought very rapid changes to Aboriginal society and dramatically affected Aboriginal land and the ways people lived.
c) Australia has always had a mix of cultures and people although not in the same way as it does today.
Stolen Generation
a) Between 1910-1970, many Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families as a result of various government policies. The generations of children removed under these policies became known as the Stolen Generations. The policies of child removal left a legacy of trauma and loss that continues to affect Indigenous communities, families and individuals. Children as young as babies were stolen from their families to be placed in girls and boys homes, foster families or missions.
b)
c)
White Australia Policy
a)
b)
c)
a) Give an overview of the issue
b) What was the impact on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people at the time?
c) How does this issue impact on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people today?
Thank you
