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First World War 1914-18 | The Australian War Memorial

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Australia's involvement in the First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war on 4 August 1914, and both Prime Minister Joseph Cook and Opposition Leader Andrew Fisher, who were in the midst of an election campaign, pledged full support for Britain.

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Australian Involvement In The First World War

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When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, most Australians greeted the news with great enthusiasm. Volunteers rushed to enlist for an exciting war which was expected to be over by Christmas. For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most costly conflict in terms of deaths and casualties.

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The name (pronounced [əˈstɹæɪljə, -liə] in Australian English,) is derived from the Latin australis, meaning "southern", and specifically from the hypothetical Terra Australis postulated in pre-modern geography. The name was popularised by the explorer Matthew Flinders from 1804, and it has been in official use since 1817, replacing " New Holland" as the name for the continent.

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Unique Facts about Oceania: Origin of the name 'Austarlia'

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Unique Facts-Origin of the name 'Australia'

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Peter Fintan Lalor (; 5 February 1827 - 9 February 1889) was an Irish-Australian rebel and, later, politician who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event controversially[according to whom? ] identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia.

Lalor was born at Tenakill House, Raheen, in Queen's County (later Laois) in Ireland, which was part of the United Kingdom at the time. He was the son of Ann (née Dillon) and Patrick "Patt" Lalor, a landowner and supporter of the abolition of tithes who was a member of the British parliament (MP) in 1832-1835; Patt Lalor was the first Catholic MP from Queen's County since the anti-Catholic Test Acts of the 17th century. He had 11 children: Joseph Lalor, James Flintan Lalor, Richard Lalor, Mary Lalor, Patrick Lalor, Thomas Lalor, Catherine Lalor, Margrett Ellen Lalor, Jerome Lalor, john Lalor and William A.Lalor snr., of whom Peter was the youngest. The eldest brother was James Fintan Lalor, who was later involved in the Young Ireland movement and the unsuccessful rebellion of 1848. Another brother, Richard Lalor, also became a member of the British Parliament, representing the Parnellite nationalist party. Their mother died on 4 June 1835; Patt Lalor later remarried, to Ellen Mary Anne Loughnan (with whom he had no children). Peter Lalor was educated at Carlow College and then trained as a civil engineer at Trinity College.

Three of the Lalor brothers migrated to America and fought on both sides of the Civil War. However, Peter and his brother Richard decided to go to Australia, arriving in Victoria in October 1852. Lalor worked first in the construction of the Melbourne- Geelong railway line, but resigned to take part in the Victorian Gold Rush. He began mining in the Ovens diggings ( Beechworth), then moved to the Eureka Lead at Ballarat where he befriended Duncan Gillies (who later became Premier of Victoria). His brother Richard returned to Ireland, becoming politically active and himself a member of the House of Commons.

The agitation against the goldfields licences (which were 30 shillings each) began at Bendigo in 1853, and was quickly taken up at Ballarat, and a Reform League was formed amongst the diggers on the various goldfields for the redress of grievances. In October 1854, the Government ordered the police to go out hunting for unlicensed diggers two times a week.

In the later half of 1854 a digger named James Scobie was killed in a scuffle at the Eureka Hotel, on Specimen Hill; Bentley who was the publican, was considered by the diggers to have participated in the murder. He and others were charged with the murder and arrested, but with the police court, they were discharged.

An indignation meeting was held at Ballarat on 17 October, close to the spot where Scobie was killed. At this meeting a committee was appointed, of which Peter Lalor was one. The authorities, fearing that the meeting might lead to an attack on Bentley's hotel, sent police to act as a guard over it. A youth threw a stone at the lamp in front of the building, breaking the glass. That act of violence was the spark. With cries of "Down with the house" and "Burn it", the angry mob stormed the hotel and set fire to it. Three people were arrested and charged with act of incendiarism, and were committed and imprisoned.

A mass meeting was held on Bakery Hill on 11 November 1854, to demand the release of the alleged incendiaries. It also passed resolutions affirming the right of the people to full representation, manhood suffrage, the abolition of the property qualification for members, payment of members, short Parliaments, and the abolition of the Gold Commission and the diggers' licenses. Bentley, in the meantime, had been re-arrested on the advice of the Attorney-General William Stawell for the murder of Scobie, and convicted. He was sentenced to three years on the roads.

On 29 November a meeting of about 12,000 men was held at Ballarat. This is said to be the first public meeting that Mr. Lalor addressed. He moved one of the resolutions submitted and passed. It called for a meeting of the Reform League for the following Sunday to elect a central committee. The "insurgent flag" was hoisted on the platform. It represented the Southern Cross constellation. One of the resolutions passed at the meeting declared the license fee to be an unjustifiable imposition. A bonfire was soon kindled and the licences burnt. At this meeting, the rebellion was formally inaugurated.

We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.

The Eureka Oath from Lalor's famous speech in 1854.

Lalor led the miners' opposition against the incompetent and often brutal administration of the goldfields, and was elected to lead the men in the armed uprising after the meeting on Bakery Hill. The diggers formed a barricade, where they were attacked by troops and police on 3 December. Lalor was seriously wounded in the left arm, resulting in its amputation. A warrant for Lalor's arrest on charges of sedition was initially sought, but he was taken from Ballarat and hidden by his supporters in the Young Queen Hotel at South Geelong. The warrant was withdrawn in June 1855 after juries had found 13 other ringleaders not guilty of sedition.

As a result of the uprising a number of the miners' complaints were resolved. Legislation was passed to give miners the right to vote. A new form of licensing of Miners Rights costing £1 per year was introduced. The monthly gold tax was abolished. A general amnesty for the three miners arrested after the Bentley's Eureka Hotel fire and the 114 arrested at the Eureka Stockade was proclaimed.

Lalor's escape

While the victors of Eureka were removing them alive from the stockade, Peter Lalor, the diggers' leader, lay under the pile of slabs in which he had been hidden, bleeding from the wound in his arm. A musket ball had shattered the bone close to the shoulder, and the few who knew where he was lying saw the blood trickling from beneath the pile of slabs even while the soldiers, keen to capture him, were still in the stockade. When the last of them had gone, Lalor was helped from his hiding place, put upon a white horse, and rode away through the bush towards Warrenheip. There he claimed shelter at the hut of a man he knew. The digger was absent, and his wife went to look for him. Lalor, however, doubted her genuineness, and believing that she had gone to communicate with the police, he took to the bush again for shelter. All that night he wandered about, with his crushed arm still swinging useless and unattended. He was greatly weakened from loss of blood, and only his indomitable pluck kept him up. Towards morning he determined to seek assistance from Stephen Cummins, an old friend whom he could trust, and who lived with his wife on Pennyweight Hill.

It was on the early morning of the Monday following the fight that Mrs. Cummins drew her husband's attention to a man walking slowly between the holes on the flat, and said, "That is Peter Lalor; I feel sure of it". "As I ran down to help him", Steve Cummins told a friend, "his face was grey and worried. He looked like a frail old man rather than a powerful young one, so greatly had pain and loss of blood during the 24 hours weakened him. I helped him into the hut, where as well as we could, my wife and I bandaged the wounded arm. I knew that my hut was no place for him. A reward of £200 had been offered for his arrest, and there were many mean spirits keen to earn it. Our friendship was well known, and I felt sure that sooner or later my place would be searched by the police. I ran at once across the gully to the Roman Catholic Presbytery and told Father Smyth that Lalor was in my tent badly wounded and in need of surgical assistance. I told him my fears as to the police visiting us, and Father Smyth said, 'He will be safer here, I think. Bring him over after dark.' So that night we took him across to the presbytery, meeting, fortunately, not a soul upon the road." Steve Cummins's intuition had served him well, for next night the police searched his hut, just at the time when he was watching Drs. Doyle and Stewart amputating Peter Lalor's arm, for the severity of the wound and the delay in treating it precluded any possibility of the arm being saved. Through the ordeal of amputation, as in every other emergency of life, he showed that fine courage which nothing could shake!

A man employed about the Presbytery took the severed arm away as soon as the operation was over, and threw it down an abandoned shaft, but by Father Smyth's orders it was recovered later and properly buried. The first operation was not complete. A portion of the bullet remained lodged in the stump of the arm, and it was only after a second operation at Geelong that the wound healed properly.

Due to the political changes caused by the Eureka Stockade, Lalor was elected to the Victorian Legislative Council in November 1855 as Member for the new district of Ballaarat, and remained in this role until March 1856. In November 1856, under the new, more democratic constitution (featuring near-universal white male suffrage) Lalor was elected unopposed to the Legislative Assembly seat of North Grenville (Ballarat West). As he was the Eureka hero his policies were not scrutinised at all before the election and his later voting record as a parliamentarian shows he once opposed a bill to introduce full white male suffrage in the colony of Victoria.

During a speech in the Legislative Council in 1856 he said, "I would ask these gentlemen what they mean by the term 'democracy'. Do they mean Chartism or Communism or Republicanism? If so, I never was, I am not now, nor do I ever intend to be a democrat. But if a democrat means opposition to a tyrannical press, a tyrannical people, or a tyrannical government, then I have been, I am still, and will ever remain a democrat."

Weston Bate wrote that the role of landowner and company director seemed to suit him more than that of rebel, and that Peter Lalor "disgraced himself in democratic eyes" by trying to use Chinese as strike-breakers at the Clunes mine, of which he was a director. Some argue that he was ruthless in using low-paid Chinese workers to get rid of Australians seeking better and safer working conditions. In parliament he supported a repressive land Bill in 1857 which favoured the rich. There were 17,745 Ballarat signatures to a petition against Lalor's land Bill. Withers and others were puzzled and hurt that the folk hero should prove to be a better fighter for money and political position than for the people's rights. Like many young radicals he undoubtedly became more conservative in later life. However, he was consistent in being a risk-taker and, in his later business career, undoubtedly suffered lows as well as highs, at one point narrowly avoiding having to declare bankruptcy. Lalor held North Grenville until August 1859, but never represented Ballarat again, and in the October 1859 election he stood for and won South Grant in the Legislative Assembly instead.

Lalor held South Grant for over eleven years after this point, finally losing it in January 1871. In 1871 he also contested but lost the seat of North Melbourne. In May 1874 he was re-elected to South Grant, holding it until April 1877, then taking the Legislative Assembly seat of Grant in May 1877, which he would hold for another almost twelve years until his death in February 1889.

Lalor's key political postings were as Commissioner Trade & Customs and Postmaster-General of Victoria from August to October 1875, then Commissioner Trade & Customs from May 1877 until March 1880, as well as postmaster-general again from May to July 1877. Lalor also served as chairman of committees in the period from 1859 to 1868.

As successor to Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, his most effective political post was probably that of Speaker, a post he held from 1880 until 1887 when illness forced his retirement; he was awarded a pension of £4,000 by parliament.

Lalor married Alicia Dunne on 10 July 1855 in Geelong. Their daughter, Anne (Annie), was born in Prahran in 1856; their son Joseph was born at Sandridge (now called Port Melbourne) on 18 December 1857. Annie Lalor married Thomas Lempriere in 1882, but died three years later of pulmonary phthisis. Joseph Lalor became a medical doctor, marrying Agnes McCormick of Dublin, Ireland and leaving descendants.

Alicia Lalor died on 17 May 1887 at the age of 55 years. Following her death, Peter Lalor took leave from Parliament and visited San Francisco, California.

Lalor died on Saturday, 9 February 1889 at age 62 at his son's home in Richmond and was buried at the Melbourne General Cemetery.

A statue of Peter Lalor was erected at Sturt Street in Ballarat in 1893. It was presented to the municipality by a friend of Lalor's, James Oddie, who was also first Chairman of the city, and was unveiled by another friend, the Premier, the Hon. Duncan Gillies.

The Melbourne suburb of Lalor, Victoria, was named after him in 1945. The suburb was originally pronounced "LAW-luh", after Peter Lalor, and although many people still pronounce it as such, in recent times the pronunciation "LAY-lor" has become predominant.

Peter Lalor Vocational College (formerly Peter Lalor Secondary College), in the Lalor area, is named in his honour.

A federal electorate in the south-western suburbs of Melbourne, the Division of Lalor, was named after him in 1948. It has been held successively by senior Labor figures Reg Pollard, Jim Cairns, Barry Jones and Julia Gillard. The suburb of Lalor is not in the electorate, which is pronounced "LAW-luh".

Lalor Street in Ballarat East was also named in his honour.

The University of Ballarat (now known as Federation University Australia) honoured him by naming one of the two Mt Helen campus' Halls of Residence after him (the other being named after Bella Guerin, the first woman to graduate from an Australian university).

Portrayals of Lalor's role in the Eureka Rebellion appear in film.
The first film to have Lalor appear in is supposed to beEureka Stockade (1907 film), but only a seven-minute fragment thereof has survived. In 1915, Lalor was portrayed by Leslie Victor in the silent film The Loyal Rebel-this film is also considered lost. Next, he was played by Chips Rafferty in the 1949 British film Eureka Stockade (released in United States of America under the title, Massacre Hill). He was played by Australian actor Bryan Brown in Eureka Stockade, a two-part television mini-series which aired on the Seven Network in 1984. The last film to date to picture Lalor was the Australian documentary Riot or Revolution: Eureka Stockade 1854 from 2006, with Lalor played by Andrew Larkins.

For further information about the various films depicting Peter Lalor, see: Eureka Rebellion#Film and television.

Lalor has also been depicted in the commemorative Son et lumière "Blood Under the Southern Cross" at Sovereign Hill since 1992.

A caricature bollard by artist Jan Mitchell depicting Peter Lalor holding the Eureka flag was erected on the Geelong foreshore in 1999 as part of the Waterfront Geelong bollard walk.

His portrait is featured on two commemorative postage stamps, a 38c Ireland stamp released on 3 May 2001 in the "Rebel Spirit, Irish Heritage of Australia" series and a 2004 AUD 2.45 Australian stamp commemorating the Eureka Stockade.

Serle, Percival (1949). "Lalor, Peter". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.

"Peter Lalor's pistol at the State Library of Victoria". Archived from the original on 25 May 2009.

Mennell, Philip (1892). "Lalor, Hon. Peter" . The Dictionary of Australasian Biography. London: Hutchinson & Co - via Wikisource.

Ian Turner, 'Lalor, Peter (1827-1889)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 5, Melbourne University Press, 1974, pp 50-54.

Additional sources listed by the Australian Dictionary of Biography:

W. B. Withers, The History of Ballarat (Ballarat, 1887); L. Fogarty (ed), James Fintan Lalor (Dublin, 1947); T. J. Kiernan, The Irish Exiles in Australia (Melb, 1954); Historical Studies, Eureka Supplement (Melb, 1965); C. Turnbull, Australian Lives (Melb, 1965); Parliamentary Debates (Victoria) 1856-87; Australasian, 19, 26 June 1880, 17, 24 September 1887, 16 February 1889; Freeman's Journal (Sydney), 16 February 1889; J. Parnaby, The Economic and Political Development of Victoria, 1877-1881 (Ph.D. thesis, University of Melbourne, 1951); G. Robinson, The Political Activities of Peter Lalor (B.A. Hons thesis, University of Melbourne, 1960); Lalor family papers ( National Library of Ireland).

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Peter Fintan Lalor (; 5 February 1827 - 9 February 1889) was an Irish-Australian rebel and, later, politician who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event controversially[according to whom? ] identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia.

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peter - biographical entry - electronic encyclopedia of gold in australia

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Lalor, Peter - Biographical entry - Electronic Encyclopedia of Gold in Australia

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Lalor, Peter - Biographical entry - Electronic Encyclopedia of Gold in Australia, e-Gold is a biographical, bibliographical and archival database that tells the story of gold through images, stories and multimedia interactives, connecting individual stories to wider historical themes.

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Peter Lalor was an Irish migrant who led the rebellion of the Eureka Stockade. In his early days he was relatively disinterested in politics, but the Eureka rebellion sparked a passion for justice that began his political career.

Born in Ireland in 1827, Lalor migrated to Australia in 1852 and headed to the Ballarat goldfields in 1854. Although aware of the growing resentment towards the government's laws regarding diggers, Lalor was initially not involved with the miners' rebellions.

However, on 29 November 1854, 12,000 diggers met under the Southern Cross flag, pledging to unite in protest against the unfair laws they faced. The next day, with none of the regular spokesmen present, Lalor reluctantly stepped up as leader, rallying the miners and calling on them to arm themselves for battle. According to one observer, Lalor:

...knelt down, the head uncovered, and with right hand pointing to the standard (flag), exclaimed in a measured tone: 'We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other to defend our rights and liberties. A universal well-rounded Amen was the determined reply.
- Raffaello Carboni, Eureka Stockade digger

Although the diggers were overpowered by the stronger, better-armed police and military, Lalor escaped with a wound to his arm, which he later had to have amputated. A reward was posted for information leading to his arrest, but no one claimed it. There was enormous public sympathy for the miner's cause, and Lalor's heroism in leading them at such odds.

After the Eureka miners were later aquitted, Lalor went on to take a seat in the Victorian Upper House, continuing to fight for the rights of the miners and the common working class. However, Lalor's political stance could be viewed as inconsistent.

He supported protection of local industry, but was also an advocate of assisted immigration. He supported land reforms, but also advocated the sale of land to the wealthy middle class, instead of working-class men who lacked the money to fully develop it.

His conflicting stances made him unpopular with some members of parliament, but he continued his career until 1887. When his wife and daughter died shortly after one another that year, Lalor lost the heart for politics and resigned. He died two years later.

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Peter Lalor was an Irish migrant who led the rebellion of the Eureka Stockade. In his early days he was relatively disinterested in politics, but the Eureka rebellion sparked a passion for justice that began his political career. Born in Ireland in 1827, Lalor migrated to Australia in 1852 and headed to the Ballarat goldfields in 1854.

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Steve Irwin was a famous Australian wildlife enthusiast who was at the helm of the popular Crocodile Hunter series.

Synopsis

Born in Melbourne, Australia, on February 22, 1962, Steve Irwin grew up on a wildlife park owned by his parents and went on to become an animal enthusiast and TV personality, hosting the popular series Crocodile Hunter and appearing on major talk shows. Irwin's work spawned an array of merchandise tie-ins. He was killed by a stingray during a diving expedition on September 4, 2006, off the coast of Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia.

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Early Life

Famed conservationist and television show host Steve Irwin was born on February 22, 1962, in Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Part wildlife expert and part entertainer, Irwin became world famous for his TV series The Crocodile Hunter, among other nature programs. While he had no scientific degree, he grew up studying and caring for animals at his parents' wildlife park, which is now known as the Australia Zoo. He first learned how to catch and handle his beloved crocodiles from his father and once received a python as a birthday present.

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Crocodile Hunter Premieres

Irwin met American-born Terri Raines, who in was in Australia on vacation, in 1991. The couple later married and spent part of their honeymoon filming crocodiles. This footage became part of their 1992 Australian TV show The Crocodile Hunter. Four years later, the series was picked up by the American cable network Animal Planet. At the peak of its popularity, the show aired in more than 200 countries.

Audiences were often spellbound by Irwin's dangerous encounters with animals on the series. He thought nothing of tangling with deadly snakes, spiders, lizards, and, of course, crocodiles. In addition to his hair-raising adventures, Irwin considered himself a wildlife educator, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for animals with his viewers.

Always in his trademark khaki shirt and shorts, Irwin became a well-known figure in popular culture. He even had his own catchphrase-"Crikey!"-an Australian expression of surprise or excitement. There have been countless parodies and spoofs of the famed adventurer-even The Simpsons and South Park featured send-ups of Irwin. He wasn't afraid to poke fun at his image as an energetic naturalist and showman. Irwin appeared as himself in the 2001 film Dr. Dolittle 2 with Eddie Murphy. The following year, Irwin and his wife starred in their own film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.

Controversy

Irwin occasionally drew criticism for his stunts. Some said that he was exploiting the animals that appeared on his shows. He stirred up even greater controversy in 2004 for feeding a crocodile while holding his infant son. Many were shocked by the images of Irwin and his son Robert with the snapping crocodile and accused Irwin of child endangerment. Irwin was never charged in regard to this incident and stated that his son was never in harm's way. He had grown up in a zoo environment, and wanted the same experience for his son and his daughter, Bindi Sue.

Tragic Death

On September 4, 2006, Irwin was filming a new program off the coast of Port Douglas in Queensland, Australia. Snorkeling near a stingray, he was pierced in the chest by its barb, which hit his heart. Irwin died of cardiac arrest shortly after being stung.

Stunned by the news of his sudden death, people around the world mourned his passing. Many left flowers and notes at the Australia Zoo, which he and his wife ran, taking over for his parents. Others posted messages expressing their grief on the Web. Wildlife experts, such as Jack Hanna, noted that Irwin was a great conservationist.

Steve Irwin continues to be remembered today for his many contributions to the field of wildlife education and conservation, including running an organization to rescue and protect crocodiles and supporting numerous other animal charities. November 15 has been designated Steve Irwin Day, an international tribute held annually in recognition of his life and work.

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Steve Irwin was a famous Australian wildlife enthusiast who was at the helm of the popular Crocodile Hunter series. Born in Melbourne, Australia, on February 22, 1962, Steve Irwin grew up on a wildlife park owned by his parents and went on to become an animal enthusiast and TV personality, hosting the popular series Crocodile Hunter and appearing on major talk shows.

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Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 - 4 September 2006), known as " The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist.

Irwin grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles and was educated regarding them by his father Bob. He achieved international fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter (1996-2007), an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series that he co-hosted with his wife Terri. The couple also hosted the series (1999-2001), The Crocodile Hunter Diaries (2002-2006), and New Breed Vets (2005). They also co-owned and operated Australia Zoo, founded by Irwin's parents in Beerwah, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of the Queensland state capital of Brisbane. They had two children, Bindi and Robert.

In 2006, while filming a documentary in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Irwin died from an injury caused by a stingray. His death became international news and was met with expressions of shock and grief by fans, the media, governments, and non-profit organizations. Numerous parks, zoos, streets, the vessel MY Steve Irwin, the snail species Crikey steveirwini, and the asteroid 57567 Crikey have been named in his honour. The Irwin family continues to operate Australia Zoo.

Stephen Robert Irwin was born on his mother's 20th birthday to Lynette "Lyn" Hakainsson (1942-2000) and Bob Irwin in Upper Ferntree Gully, a suburb of Melbourne. His parents were both of English and Irish descent, with some Swedish on his mother's side. His great-great-grandfather Joseph Irwin from Dublin settled in Tasmania, Australia in the 1870s. He has 2 sisters named Joy and Mandy. He moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970, where he attended Landsborough State School and Caloundra State High School. Irwin described his father as a wildlife expert interested in herpetology, while his mother Lyn was a wildlife rehabilitator. After moving to Queensland, Bob and Lyn Irwin started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.

Irwin became involved with the park in a number of ways, including taking part in daily animal feeding, as well as care and maintenance activities. On his sixth birthday, he was given a 12-foot (4 m) scrub python. He began handling crocodiles at the age of nine after his father had educated him on reptiles from an early age. Also at age nine, he wrestled his first crocodile, again under his father's supervision. He worked as a volunteer for Queensland's East Coast Crocodile Management program and captured over 100 crocodiles, some of which were relocated, while others were housed at the family park. Irwin took over the management of the park in 1991 and renamed it Australia Zoo in 1998.

The Crocodile Hunter and related work

Irwin and Terri with Wes Mannion, the other cast member of The Crocodile Hunter.

Steve and his wife Terri spent their honeymoon trapping crocodiles together. Film footage of their honeymoon, taken by John Stainton, became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter. The series debuted on Australian TV screens in 1996 and made its way onto North American television the following year. The Crocodile Hunter became successful in the United States, the UK, and over 130 other countries, reaching 500 million people. Irwin's exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, signature khaki shorts, and catchphrase 'Crikey!' became known internationally. Sir David Attenborough praised Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying 'He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was. He was a born communicator'.

American satellite and cable television channel Animal Planet ended The Crocodile Hunter with a series finale titled 'Steve's Last Adventure'. The last Crocodile Hunter documentary spanned three hours with footage of Irwin's across-the-world adventure in locations including the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park.

After The Crocodile Hunter, Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including , The Crocodile Hunter Diaries and New Breed Vets. Animal Planet also created the annual Croc Week marathon, which lasted a full week in the middle of June, every year from 2000 to 2007. During a January 2006 interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin - a plan realized after his death as the series Bindi the Jungle Girl.

Irwin in 2000

In 1998, Irwin continued his television career, working with director Mark Strickson to present The Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World. He appeared on several episodes of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A 2000 FedEx commercial with Irwin lightheartedly dealt with the possibility of occupational death from snakebite and the fanciful notion that FedEx would have saved him, if only FedEx were used.

Under Irwin's leadership, the operations grew to include the zoo, the television series, the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation (later renamed Wildlife Warriors), and the International Crocodile Rescue. Improvements to the Australia Zoo include the Animal Planet Crocoseum, the rainforest aviary and Tiger Temple. Irwin mentioned that he was considering opening an Australia Zoo in Las Vegas, Nevada, and possibly at other sites around the world.

In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2, in which an alligator warns Dolittle that he knows Irwin is going to grab him and is prepared to attack when he does, but Dolittle fails to warn Irwin in time. Irwin's only starring feature film role was in 2002's The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which was released to mixed reviews. In the film, Irwin (who portrayed himself and performed numerous stunts) mistakes some CIA agents for poachers. He sets out to stop them from capturing a crocodile, which, unknown to him, has actually swallowed a tracking transmitter. The film won the Best Family Feature Film award for a comedy film at the Young Artist Awards. The film was produced on a budget of about US$12 million, and has grossed $33 million. To promote the film, Irwin was featured in an animated short produced by Animax Entertainment for Intermix.

In 2002, Irwin and his family appeared in the Wiggles video/DVD release Wiggly Safari, which was set in Australia Zoo and featured singing and dancing inspired by Australian wildlife. Irwin fronted an advertising campaign for The Ghan in 2003, a passenger train operating between Adelaide, Alice Springs, and Darwin. A Pacific National NR class locomotive was named Steve Irwin as part of the campaign.

Irwin died on 4 September 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a short-tail stingray barb while filming in the Great Barrier Reef with Philippe Cousteau Jr. The stinger penetrated his thoracic wall, causing massive trauma. He was at Batt Reef, near Port Douglas, Queensland, taking part in the production of the documentary series Ocean's Deadliest. Irwin's death is believed to be the only fatality from a stingray captured on video. His death was met with shock and grief by fans, the media, governments and non-profit organisations.

A private funeral service took place on 9 September 2006. Irwin was buried in a private ceremony at Australia Zoo later that same day. A public memorial service was held in Australia Zoo's 5,500-seat Crocoseum on 30 September 2006; this service was broadcast live and it is estimated to have been seen by over 300 million viewers.

Flowers left in Irwin's memory the day after his death

Irwin feeding a crocodile at Australia Zoo in 2005

Irwin was a passionate conservationist and believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: 'I consider myself a wildlife warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species'. Irwin bought 'large tracts of land' in Australia, Vanuatu, Fiji, and the United States, which he described as 'like national parks' and stressed the importance of people realising that they could each make a difference.

Irwin founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which became an independent charity and was later renamed ' Wildlife Warriors Worldwide'. He also helped found International Crocodile Rescue, the Lyn Irwin Memorial Fund (named in memory of his mother, who died in an automobile crash in 2000), and the Iron Bark Station Wildlife Rehabilitation Facility.

Irwin urged people to take part in considerate tourism and not support illegal poaching through the purchase of items such as turtle shells or shark-fin soup.

Sir David Attenborough was an inspiration to Irwin, according to his widow. When presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award to Attenborough after Irwin's death at the British National Television Awards on 31 October 2006, Terri Irwin said, 'If there's one person who directly inspired my husband it's the person being honoured tonight.... [Steve's] real, true love was conservation - and the influence of tonight's recipient in preserving the natural world has been immense'. Attenborough reciprocated by praising Irwin for introducing many to the natural world, saying, 'He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was[;] he was a born communicator'.

Irwin loved mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting/grappling system of Gaidojutsu.

Like many Australians, he was an avid cricket fan. This was seen during his visit to Sri Lanka where he played cricket with some local children and said 'I love cricket' and 'It's a shame we have to go catch some snakes now'. This was seen during the Crocodile Hunter episode 'Island of the Snakes'.

Having grown up in Essendon, Irwin was a fan of the Essendon Bombers, an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League. Irwin took part in an Australian Rules football promotion in Los Angeles as part of 'Australia Week' in early 2006. After his death, a picture of Irwin wearing a Bombers guernsey was shown by ESPN.com in their Bottom 10 ranking of the worst Division I FBS college football teams after Week 1 of the season in tribute to him.

Having lived in Queensland most of his life, Irwin was also a fan of rugby league. As a teenager, he played for the Caloundra Sharks as a second-rower, and as an adult he was known to be a passionate Brisbane Broncos fan and was involved with the club on several occasions. On one occasion after turning up to training he asked if he could tackle the largest player, Shane Webcke. Despite being thrown to the ground and looking like he'd been crushed he was jovial about the experience.

Irwin also supported rugby union, being a fan of the national team, the Wallabies. He once wore a Wallaby jersey during a demonstration at the zoo. A behind-the-scenes episode of The Crocodile Hunter showed Irwin and the crew finding a petrol station in a remote part of Namibia to watch the Wallabies defeat France in the 1999 Rugby World Cup Final.

Irwin was also a talented surfer.

A poster from Irwin's Quarantine Matters! campaign

Irwin was involved in several media campaigns. He enthusiastically joined with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to promote Australia's strict quarantine requirements, with advertisements and posters featuring slogans such as, 'Quarantine Matters! Don't muck with it'. His payments for these advertising campaigns were directed into his wildlife fund.

In 2004, Irwin was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, the passenger train running from Adelaide to Alice Springs in the central Australian outback, when the line was extended all the way to Darwin on the northern coast that year. For some time he was sponsored by Toyota.

Irwin was a keen promoter for Australian tourism in general and Queensland tourism in particular. In 2002, the Australia Zoo was voted Queensland's top tourist attraction. His immense popularity in the United States meant he often promoted Australia as a tourist destination there. As a part of the United States' 'Australia Week' celebrations in January 2006, Irwin appeared at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.

In November 2003, Irwin was filming a documentary on sea lions off the coast of Baja California Peninsula in Mexico when he heard via his boat's radio that two scuba divers were reported missing in the area. Irwin and his entire crew suspended operations to aid in the search. His team's divers searched with the rescue divers, and Irwin used his vessel to patrol the waters around the island where the incident occurred, as well as using his satellite communications system to call in a rescue plane. On the second day of the search, kayakers found one of the divers, Scott Jones, perched on a narrow rock ledge jutting out from the side of a cliff. Irwin and a crew member escorted him to Irwin's boat. The other lost diver, Katie Vrooman, was found dead by a search plane later the same day not far from Jones' location.

In 1991, Irwin met Terri Raines, an American naturalist from Eugene, Oregon, who was visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia and had decided to visit the zoo. According to the couple, it was love at first sight. Terri said at the time, 'I thought there was no one like this anywhere in the world. He sounded like an environmental Tarzan, a larger-than-life superhero guy'. They were engaged four months later and were married in Eugene on 4 June 1992. Together they had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve Irwin's favourite animals: Bindi, a saltwater crocodile, and Sui, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Robert is named after Irwin's father Bob and Terri's father Clarence.

Irwin once described his daughter Bindi as 'the reason [he] was put on the Earth'. His wife once said, 'The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more'. Although the Irwins were happily married, they did not wear wedding rings; they believed that in their line of work, wearing jewellery could pose a hazard to them or the animals. Irwin frequently said that if he was to be remembered for anything, he hoped that it would be for being a good father.

On 11 February 2000, Irwin's mother Lyn was killed in a car accident. In an online tribute, he called her 'the most beautiful, loving, nurturing, and caring person to have ever blessed this world'.

Irwin provided his voice for the 2006 animated film , as an elephant seal named Trev. The film was dedicated to Irwin, as he died during post-production. Another, previously incomplete scene, featuring Irwin providing the voice of an albatross and essentially playing himself, was restored to the DVD release.

In 2007, a special episode of The Crocodile Hunter was made in tribute to him; Crikey! What an Adventure: An Intimate Look at the Life of Steve Irwin. The documentary features archive footage from The Crocodile Hunter. Later that year, Bindi released the documentary My Daddy, the Crocodile Hunter in Irwin's memory. He appears in several episodes of Bindi the Jungle Girl via archive footage. Archive footage of him has also been used in the television series Crikey! It's the Irwins, which began airing in 2018.

Steve Irwin Day is an annual event on 15 November, honouring the life and legacy of Irwin. The date was chosen because it takes place on the birthday of one of Irwin's favourite animals, a tortoise from the Galápagos Islands. Events that take place include people raising money for Wildlife Warriors to help continue Irwin's conservation work, and employees at Australia Zoo wearing khaki uniforms in Irwin's memory.

Steve Irwin Memorial, Mooloolaba, Queensland

In 1997, while on a fishing trip on the coast of Queensland with his father, Irwin discovered a new species of turtle. Later given the honour of naming the newly discovered species, he named it Irwin's turtle (Elseya irwini) after his family. Another newly discovered Australian animal - a species of air-breathing land snail, Crikey steveirwini, was named after Irwin in 2009.

Irwin was awarded the Centenary Medal by the Australian government in 2001 for his 'service to global conservation and to Australian tourism'. In 2004, he was recognised as Tourism Export of the Year. He was also nominated in 2004 for Australian of the Year but it was awarded to Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh, while Irwin was named 2004 Queensland Australian of the Year. Shortly before his death, Irwin was to be named an adjunct professor at the University of Queensland's School of Integrative Biology. On 14 November 2007, Irwin was awarded the adjunct professorship posthumously. In 2007, Irwin was posthumously inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.

In May 2007, the government of Rwanda announced that it would name a baby gorilla after Irwin as a tribute to his work in wildlife conservation. Also in 2007, the state government of Kerala, India named the Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre at Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in his honour; however, Terri objected that this action had been taken without her permission and asked the Kerala government in 2009 to stop using Irwin's name and images - a request with which the state government complied in mid-2009.

Irwin, after his death, was described by Mark Townend, CEO of RSPCA Queensland, as a 'modern-day Noah'. British naturalist David Bellamy lauded his skills as a natural historian and media performer. Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki paid tribute to Irwin, noting that '[h]umanity will not protect that which we fear or do not understand. Steve Irwin helped us understand those things that many people thought were a nuisance at best, a horror at worst. That made him a great educator and conservationist'.

After his death, the vessel MV Robert Hunter owned by the environmental action group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was renamed MY Steve Irwin. Shortly before his death, Irwin had been investigating joining Sea Shepherd's 2007-2008 voyage to Antarctica to disrupt Japanese whaling activity. Following his death, the organisation suggested renaming their vessel, and this idea was endorsed by Terri. Regarding the ship and its new name, Terri said, 'If Steve were alive, he'd be aboard with them!'

Irwin was inducted in 2009 into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame, recognised for international entrepreneurship both in business and wildlife conservation, significantly contributing to Queensland and its international reputation and in 2015, Irwin was a posthumous recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards. In 2017 it was announced that Irwin would be posthumously honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star was unveiled on 26 April 2018. On 22 February 2019, the 57th anniversary of Irwin's birth, the search engine Google released a Google Doodle commemorating him, in the form of a slideshow.

In the years after his death, Irwin's likeness, catchphrases, mannerisms, and contributions have made Steve Irwin synonymous with Australia among both citizens and foreigners. His likeness has been used by the government of Queensland to promote tourism in the state with them regarding Australia Zoo as one of the states most iconic tourist destinations. His son Robert became a spokesperson for Queensland's tourism board in 2020.

In 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, many Australians voiced support for the nation's currency to feature Irwin instead of King Charles III, with two citizens filing separate petitions to gather support for the cause. When asked by the press on the matter, prime minister Anthony Albanese declined to take a position offering that it wasn't the right time to discuss who would be on the currency in the immediate wake of the Queen's death.

On 2 January 2004, Irwin carried his one-month-old son, Robert, in his arm while hand-feeding a chicken carcass to Murray, a 3.8-metre (12 ft 6 in) saltwater crocodile. The infant was close to the crocodile, and comparisons were made in the press to Michael Jackson dangling his son outside a German hotel window. In addition, some child welfare groups, animal rights groups, and some of Irwin's television viewers criticised his actions as irresponsible and tantamount to child abuse. Irwin apologised on the US NBC show . Both he and his wife publicly stated that Irwin was in complete control of the situation, as he had dealt with crocodiles since he was a small child, and based on his lifetime of experience neither he nor his son was in any danger. He also showed footage of the event shot from a different angle, demonstrating that they were much farther from the crocodile than they had appeared in the publicised clip. Terri said their child was in no more danger than one being taught to swim. No charges were filed; according to one journalist, Irwin told officials he would not repeat the action. The incident prompted the Queensland Government to change its crocodile-handling laws, banning children and untrained adults from entering crocodile enclosures.

In June 2004, allegations were made that he disturbed wildlife (namely whales, seals and penguins) while filming The Crocodile Hunter episode " Ice Breaker" in Antarctica. The matter was subsequently closed without charges being laid.

After questions arose in 2003 about Irwin being paid $175,000 worth of taxpayers' money to appear in a television advertisement and his possible political ties, Irwin told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that he was a conservationist and did not choose sides in politics. His comments describing Australian Prime Minister John Howard as the 'greatest leader in the world' earned him scorn in the media.

In response to questions of Australia's problems with overgrazing, salinity, and erosion, Irwin responded: "Cows have been on our land for so long that Australia has evolved to handle those big animals". The Sydney Morning Herald concluded with the opinion that his message was confusing and amounted to "eating roos and crocs is bad for tourism, and therefore more cruel than eating other animals".

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Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 1962 - 4 September 2006), known as " The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles and was educated regarding them by his father Bob.

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Early years

Born to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb on the outskirts of Victoria's capital Melbourne, Irwin moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970. Bob was a reptile enthusiast and when the family moved, his parents started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles. Steve became involved with the park in a number of ways, including taking part in daily animal feedings, as well as care and maintence activities.

On his 6th birthday he was given a srub python. Bob educated Steve on reptiles, with Steve getting involved physically with crocodiles at the age of 9. He became a crocodile trapper, removing crocodiles from near populated areas, performing the service for free with the quid pro quo that he kept them for the park. Steve followed in his fathers' footsteps, becoming a volunteer for the Queensland Government's East Coast Crocodile Management program.

Steve's father, Bob, described Steve as "a monster" (Discovery: Steve's Story) that was fascinated in animals. Even much so, his father recalled that before their (rare) vacations everyone was ready and packed when steve was out 'chasing and studying' lizards and other animals.

Career

Rise to fame

The park was a family business, with Lyn and Bob turning it over in 1991 to Steve. He took over the running of the park, now renamed the "Australia Zoo", and in 1992 met (at the park) and married Terri. The footage, shot by John Stainton, of their crocodile-trapping honeymoon became the first episode of The Crocodile Hunter, which became wildly successful in America and the UK. His exuberant and enthusiastic presenting style, broad Australian accent, constant wearing of khakis and catch-phrase "Crikey!" became known worldwide: The Crocodile Hunter aired in over 122 countries worldwide.

Under Irwin's expansive leadership, the operations grew to include the zoo, the television series, The Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, and International Crocodile Rescue. Improvements to his Australia Zoo include the Animal Planet Crocoseum, the rainforest aviary, and Tiger Temple.

Film

In 2001, Irwin appeared in a cameo role in the Eddie Murphy film Dr. Dolittle 2. In 2002, his first feature film, The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, was released. In general, reviews of this film were negative. In 2003 Irwin was reportedly in line to host a chat show on Australian network television, a series that never eventuated.

Animal Planet

Animal Planet then released a Crocodile Hunter special called "Crocodiles & Controversy", which attempted to explain both the "Baby Bob Incident" and the Antarctica incident (see below). This special argues that Irwin's son was never in danger of being eaten by the crocodile, and that Irwin could not have endangered animals in Antarctica.

Animal Planet ended The Crocodile Hunter with a series finale entitled "Steve's Last Adventure". The last Crocodile Hunter documentary went for three emotional hours with footage of Irwin's across-the-world adventure, visiting locations like the Himalayas, the Yangtze River, Borneo, and the Kruger National Park.

Irwin went on to star in other Animal Planet documentaries, including The Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets.

Later projects

In January 2006 as part of Australia Week celebrations in the USA, Irwin appeared at the Pauley Pavilion, UCLA Los Angeles, California. During an interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Irwin announced that Discovery Kids would be developing a show for his daughter, Bindi Sue. The show, Jungle Girl, was tipped to be similar to The Wiggles movies, with songs that surround a story. A feature-length episode of Australian kids TV show The Wiggles entitled "Wiggly Safari" appears dedicated to Steve, and he features in it heavily with his wife and daughter and a pie named "Sweety". The show includes the song "Crocodile Hunter, Big Steve Irwin".

Steve Irwin was active in politics and was a supporter of the conservative Liberal Party of Australia. In particular, he strongly supported the incumbent Prime Minister John Howard, describing him once as "the greatest leader Australia has ever had" and the "greatest leader in the entire world"; comments which drew a cynical reaction in the Australian media.

Media Work

As well as being a general ambassador for Australia due to the nature of his work, Irwin was also involved in several media campaigns. He was employed by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to promote Australia's strict quarantine/customs requirements, with advertisements andposters featuring slogans such as, "Quarantine Matters! Don't muck with it" [don't mess around with it].

In 2004 he was appointed ambassador for The Ghan, an Adelaide to Darwin train that began operations in 2004.

He was also a keen promoter for Australian tourism and in general and Queensland tourism in particular. In 2002 the Australia Zoo was voted Queensland's top tourist attraction.

Honours

In 2004 he was nominated for Australian of the Year, which was won by Steve Waugh.

Environmentalism

Irwin believed in promoting environmentalism by sharing his excitement about the natural world rather than preaching to people. He was concerned with conservation of endangered animals and land clearing leading to loss of habitat. He urged people to take part in considerate tourism and not support illegal poaching through the purchase of items such as turtle shells. He considered conservation to be the most important part of his work: "I consider myself a wild-life warrior. My mission is to save the world's endangered species."

He founded the Steve Irwin Conservation Foundation, which was later renamed Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, and became an independent charity. He and his wife remained patrons and major supporters along with the AFL clubs of Australia.

Family

Steve Irwin was married to Terri Irwin (1992) and had two children: a daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin (born 24 July 1998), and a son, Robert Clarence "Bob" Irwin (born 1 December 2003). Bindi Sue is jointly named after two of Steve's animals: Bindi, a salt water crocodile, and Sui, Steve's dog, who died in June 2004.

Irwin was as enthusiastic about his family as he was about his work. He once described his daughter Bindi as "the reason he was put on the Earth". His wife Terri once said, "The only thing that could ever keep him away from the animals he loves are the people he loves even more."

Interesting Facts about Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin was a great fan of the Singapore Zoo, which he considered a sister institution of the Australia Zoo.

Steve Irwin loved mixed martial arts competitions and trained with Greg Jackson in the fighting/grappling system of Gaidojutsu.

Steve Irwin appeared in a 2006 ESPN television commercial in their This is SportsCenter series. In the commercial, he wrestled the Gator mascot of the University of Florida to the ground in an ESPN studio hallway.

A parody of Steve and Terri forms one of the themes of Irregular Webcomic!

A parody of Steve, Strewth Irwin, is a recurring character on the Flash cartoon On The Moon.

He appeared in Dr. Dolittle 2 as The Crocodile Hunter who tried to wrestle an alligator and lost his arm.

In 2004, during an interview with Larry King, he admitted that after receiving many painful bites he had a fear of parrots.

Steve Irwin was a fan of the Essendon Bombers in the Australian Football League, Essendon being where he grew up as a boy. Steve made several appearances with players and was part of an Australian rules football promotion in Los Angeles as part of Australia week in early 2006.

Steve Irwin's popularity has led to him becoming a popular character at fancy dress parties in Australia and the United States

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Information about Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter

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Born to Lyn and Bob Irwin in Essendon, a suburb on the outskirts of Victoria's capital Melbourne, Irwin moved with his parents as a child to Queensland in 1970. Bob was a reptile enthusiast and when the family moved, his parents started the small Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park, where Steve grew up around crocodiles and other reptiles.

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The Captain Cook Birthplace Museum marks the site of Cook's birthplace in Marton on the outskirts of Middlesbrough and is situated in the beautiful landscaped grounds of Stewart Park. Outside a traditionally carved Nootka totem pole from Canada guards the entrance

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James Cook

FRS

Portrait by Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, c. 1775, National Maritime Museum

Born

7 November [O.S. 27 October] 1728

Marton, North Riding of Yorkshire, England

Died

14 February 1779 (aged 50)

Kealakekua Bay, Hawaiʻi

Cause of death | Stab wound
Nationality | British
Education | Postgate School, Great Ayton
Occupation | Explorer, navigator, cartographer

Spouse(s)

Elizabeth Batts

​

(m. )​

Children | 6

Military career
Branch | Royal Navy
Service years | 1755–1779
Rank | Captain (Post-captain)

Battles/wars

Seven Years' War

Battle of the Plains of Abraham

Signature

James Cook FRS (7 November 1728[NB 1] – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and to New Zealand and Australia in particular. He made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand.

Cook joined the British merchant navy as a teenager and joined the Royal Navy in 1755. He saw action in the Seven Years' War and subsequently surveyed and mapped much of the entrance to the St. Lawrence River during the siege of Quebec, which brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and the Royal Society. This acclaim came at a crucial moment for the direction of British overseas exploration, and it led to his commission in 1766 as commander of HMS Endeavour for the first of three Pacific voyages.

In these voyages, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted areas of the globe. He mapped lands from New Zealand to Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean in greater detail and on a scale not previously charted by Western explorers. He surveyed and named features, and recorded islands and coastlines on European maps for the first time. He displayed a combination of seamanship, superior surveying and cartographic skills, physical courage, and an ability to lead men in adverse conditions.

Cook was attacked and killed in 1779 during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific while attempting to kidnap the ruling chief of the island of Hawaiʻi, Kalaniʻōpuʻu, in order to reclaim a cutter taken from one of his ships after his crew took wood from a burial ground. He left a legacy of scientific and geographical knowledge that influenced his successors well into the 20th century, and numerous memorials worldwide have been dedicated to him. However, there is controversy over Cook's role as 'an enabler of colonialism',[1] and the violence associated with his contacts with indigenous peoples.

Early life and family

James Cook was born on 7 November 1728 (NS) in the village of Marton in the North Riding of Yorkshire and baptised on 14 November (N.S.) in the parish church of St Cuthbert, where his name can be seen in the church register.[2][3] He was the second of eight children of James Cook (1693–1779), a Scottish farm labourer from Ednam in Roxburghshire, and his locally born wife, Grace Pace (1702–1765), from Thornaby-on-Tees.[2][4][5] In 1736, his family moved to Airey Holme farm at Great Ayton, where his father's employer, Thomas Skottowe, paid for him to attend the local school. In 1741, after five years' schooling, he began work for his father, who had been promoted to farm manager. Despite not being formally educated he became capable in mathematics, astronomy and charting by the time of his Endeavour voyage.[6] For leisure, he would climb a nearby hill, Roseberry Topping, enjoying the opportunity for solitude.[7] Cooks' Cottage, his parents' last home, which he is likely to have visited, is now in Melbourne, Australia, having been moved from England and reassembled, brick by brick, in 1934.[8]

In 1745, when he was 16, Cook moved 20 miles (32 km) to the fishing village of Staithes, to be apprenticed as a shop boy to grocer and haberdasher William Sanderson.[2] Historians have speculated that this is where Cook first felt the lure of the sea while gazing out of the shop window.[5]

After 18 months, not proving suited for shop work, Cook travelled to the nearby port town of Whitby to be introduced to Sanderson's friends John and Henry Walker.[8] The Walkers, who were Quakers, were prominent local ship-owners in the coal trade. Their house is now the Captain Cook Memorial Museum. Cook was taken on as a merchant navy apprentice in their small fleet of vessels, plying coal along the English coast. His first assignment was aboard the collier Freelove, and he spent several years on this and various other coasters, sailing between the Tyne and London. As part of his apprenticeship, Cook applied himself to the study of algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation and astronomy—all skills he would need one day to command his own ship.[5]

His three-year apprenticeship completed, Cook began working on trading ships in the Baltic Sea. After passing his examinations in 1752, he soon progressed through the merchant navy ranks, starting with his promotion in that year to mate aboard the collier brig Friendship.[9] In 1755, within a month of being offered command of this vessel, he volunteered for service in the Royal Navy, when Britain was re-arming for what was to become the Seven Years' War. Despite the need to start back at the bottom of the naval hierarchy, Cook realised his career would advance more quickly in military service and entered the Navy at Wapping on 17 June 1755.[10]

Cook married Elizabeth Batts, the daughter of Samuel Batts, keeper of the Bell Inn in Wapping[11] and one of his mentors, on 21 December 1762 at St Margaret's Church, Barking, Essex.[12] The couple had six children: James (1763–1794), Nathaniel (1764–1780, lost aboard HMS Thunderer which foundered with all hands in a hurricane in the West Indies), Elizabeth (1767–1771), Joseph (1768–1768), George (1772–1772) and Hugh (1776–1793, who died of scarlet fever while a student at Christ's College, Cambridge). When not at sea, Cook lived in the East End of London. He attended St Paul's Church, Shadwell, where his son James was baptised. Cook has no direct descendants—all of his children died before having children of their own.[13]

Start of Royal Navy career

Cook's first posting was with HMS Eagle, serving as able seaman and master's mate under Captain Joseph Hamar for his first year aboard, and Captain Hugh Palliser thereafter.[14] In October and November 1755, he took part in Eagle's capture of one French warship and the sinking of another, following which he was promoted to boatswain in addition to his other duties.[10] His first temporary command was in March 1756 when he was briefly master of Cruizer, a small cutter attached to Eagle while on patrol.[10][15]

In June 1757 Cook formally passed his master's examinations at Trinity House, Deptford, qualifying him to navigate and handle a ship of the King's fleet.[16] He then joined the frigate HMS Solebay as master under Captain Robert Craig.[17]

Newfoundland

During the Seven Years' War, Cook served in North America as master aboard the fourth-rate Navy vessel HMS Pembroke.[18] With others in Pembroke's crew, he took part in the major amphibious assault that captured the Fortress of Louisbourg from the French in 1758, and in the siege of Quebec City in 1759. Throughout his service he demonstrated a talent for surveying and cartography and was responsible for mapping much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege, thus allowing General Wolfe to make his famous stealth attack during the 1759 Battle of the Plains of Abraham.[19]

Cook's surveying ability was also put to use in mapping the jagged coast of Newfoundland in the 1760s, aboard HMS Grenville. He surveyed the northwest stretch in 1763 and 1764, the south coast between the Burin Peninsula and Cape Ray in 1765 and 1766, and the west coast in 1767. At this time, Cook employed local pilots to point out the "rocks and hidden dangers" along the south and west coasts. During the 1765 season, four pilots were engaged at a daily pay of 4 shillings each: John Beck for the coast west of "Great St Lawrence", Morgan Snook for Fortune Bay, John Dawson for Connaigre and Hermitage Bay, and John Peck for the "Bay of Despair".[20]

While in Newfoundland, Cook also conducted astronomical observations, in particular of the eclipse of the sun on 5 August 1766. By obtaining an accurate estimate of the time of the start and finish of the eclipse, and comparing these with the timings at a known position in England it was possible to calculate the longitude of the observation site in Newfoundland. This result was communicated to the Royal Society in 1767.[21]

His five seasons in Newfoundland produced the first large-scale and accurate maps of the island's coasts and were the first scientific, large scale, hydrographic surveys to use precise triangulation to establish land outlines.[22] They also gave Cook his mastery of practical surveying, achieved under often adverse conditions, and brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society at a crucial moment both in his career and in the direction of British overseas discovery. Cook's maps were used into the 20th century, with copies being referenced by those sailing Newfoundland's waters for 200 years.[23]

Following on from his exertions in Newfoundland, Cook wrote that he intended to go not only "farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it is possible for a man to go".[16]

First voyage (1768–1771)

On 25 May 1768,[24] the Admiralty commissioned Cook to command a scientific voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of the voyage was to observe and record the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun which, when combined with observations from other places, would help to determine the distance of the Earth from the Sun.[25] Cook, at age 39, was promoted to lieutenant to grant him sufficient status to take the command.[26][27] For its part, the Royal Society agreed that Cook would receive a one hundred guinea gratuity in addition to his Naval pay.[28]

The expedition sailed aboard HMS Endeavour, departing England on 26 August 1768.[29] Cook and his crew rounded Cape Horn and continued westward across the Pacific, arriving at Tahiti on 13 April 1769, where the observations of the transit were made.[30] However, the result of the observations was not as conclusive or accurate as had been hoped. Once the observations were completed, Cook opened the sealed orders, which were additional instructions from the Admiralty for the second part of his voyage: to search the south Pacific for signs of the postulated rich southern continent of Terra Australis.[31]

Cook then sailed to New Zealand where he mapped the complete coastline, making only some minor errors. With the aid of Tupaia, a Tahitian priest who had joined the expedition, Cook was the first European to communicate with the Māori.[32] However, at least eight Māori were killed in violent encounters.[33] Cook then voyaged west, reaching the southeastern coast of Australia near today's Point Hicks on 19 April 1770, and in doing so his expedition became the first recorded Europeans to have encountered its eastern coastline.[NB 2]

On 23 April, he made his first recorded direct observation of Aboriginal Australians at Brush Island near Bawley Point, noting in his journal: "... and were so near the Shore as to distinguish several people upon the Sea beach they appear'd to be of a very dark or black Colour but whether this was the real colour of their skins or the C[l]othes they might have on I know not."[34]

Endeavour continued northwards along the coastline, keeping the land in sight with Cook charting and naming landmarks as he went. On 29 April, Cook and crew made their first landfall on the continent at a beach now known as Silver Beach on Botany Bay (Kamay). Two Gweagal men of the Dharawal / Eora nation opposed their landing and in the confrontation one of them was shot and wounded.[35][36][37]

Cook and his crew stayed at Botany Bay for a week, collecting water, timber, fodder and botanical specimens and exploring the surrounding area. Cook sought to establish relations with the Indigenous population without success.[38][b][39] At first Cook named the inlet "Sting-Ray Harbour" after the many stingrays found there. This was later changed to "Botanist Bay" and finally Botany Bay after the unique specimens retrieved by the botanists Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander.[40] This first landing site was later to be promoted (particularly by Joseph Banks) as a suitable candidate for situating a settlement and British colonial outpost.[41]

After his departure from Botany Bay, he continued northwards. He stopped at Bustard Bay (now known as Seventeen Seventy) on 23 May 1770. On 24 May, Cook and Banks and others went ashore. Continuing north, on 11 June a mishap occurred when Endeavour ran aground on a shoal of the Great Barrier Reef, and then "nursed into a river mouth on 18 June 1770".[42] The ship was badly damaged, and his voyage was delayed almost seven weeks while repairs were carried out on the beach (near the docks of modern Cooktown, Queensland, at the mouth of the Endeavour River).[5] The crew's encounters with the local Aboriginal people were mostly peaceful, although following a dispute over green turtles Cook ordered shots to be fired and one local was lightly wounded.[43]

The voyage then continued and at about midday on 22 August 1770, they reached the northernmost tip of the coast and, without leaving the ship, Cook named it York Cape (now Cape York).[44] Leaving the east coast, Cook turned west and nursed his battered ship through the dangerously shallow waters of Torres Strait. Searching for a vantage point, Cook saw a steep hill on a nearby island from the top of which he hoped to see "a passage into the Indian Seas". Cook named the island Possession Island, where he claimed the entire coastline that he had just explored as British territory.[45]

Return to England

Cook returned to England via Batavia (modern Jakarta, Indonesia), where many in his crew succumbed to malaria, and then the Cape of Good Hope, arriving at the island of Saint Helena on 30 April 1771.[46] The ship finally returned to England on 12 July 1771, anchoring in The Downs, with Cook going to Deal.[47]

Interlude

Cook's journals were published upon his return, and he became something of a hero among the scientific community. Among the general public, however, the aristocratic botanist Joseph Banks was a greater hero.[5] Banks even attempted to take command of Cook's second voyage but removed himself from the voyage before it began, and Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg Forster were taken on as scientists for the voyage. Cook's son George was born five days before he left for his second voyage.[48]

Second voyage (1772–1775)

Portrait of James Cook by William Hodges, who accompanied Cook on his second voyage

Shortly after his return from the first voyage, Cook was promoted in August 1771 to the rank of commander.[49][50] In 1772, he was commissioned to lead another scientific expedition on behalf of the Royal Society, to search for the hypothetical Terra Australis. On his first voyage, Cook had demonstrated by circumnavigating New Zealand that it was not attached to a larger landmass to the south. Although he charted almost the entire eastern coastline of Australia, showing it to be continental in size, the Terra Australis was believed to lie further south. Despite this evidence to the contrary, Alexander Dalrymple and others of the Royal Society still believed that a massive southern continent should exist.[51]

Cook commanded HMS Resolution on this voyage, while Tobias Furneaux commanded its companion ship, HMS Adventure. Cook's expedition circumnavigated the globe at an extreme southern latitude, becoming one of the first to cross the Antarctic Circle on 17 January 1773. In the Antarctic fog, Resolution and Adventure became separated. Furneaux made his way to New Zealand, where he lost some of his men during an encounter with Māori, and eventually sailed back to Britain, while Cook continued to explore the Antarctic, reaching 71°10'S on 31 January 1774.[16]

Illustration from the 1815 edition of Cook's Voyages, depicting Cook watching a human sacrifice in Tahiti c. 1773

Cook almost encountered the mainland of Antarctica but turned towards Tahiti to resupply his ship. He then resumed his southward course in a second fruitless attempt to find the supposed continent. On this leg of the voyage, he brought a young Tahitian named Omai, who proved to be somewhat less knowledgeable about the Pacific than Tupaia had been on the first voyage. On his return voyage to New Zealand in 1774, Cook landed at the Friendly Islands, Easter Island, Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu.

Before returning to England, Cook made a final sweep across the South Atlantic from Cape Horn and surveyed, mapped, and took possession for Britain of South Georgia, which had been explored by the English merchant Anthony de la Roché in 1675. Cook also discovered and named Clerke Rocks and the South Sandwich Islands ("Sandwich Land"). He then turned north to South Africa and from there continued back to England. His reports upon his return home put to rest the popular myth of Terra Australis.[52]

Cook's second voyage marked a successful employment of Larcum Kendall's K1 copy of John Harrison's H4 marine chronometer, which enabled Cook to calculate his longitudinal position with much greater accuracy. Cook's log was full of praise for this time-piece which he used to make charts of the southern Pacific Ocean that were so remarkably accurate that copies of them were still in use in the mid-20th century.[53]

Upon his return, Cook was promoted to the rank of post-captain and given an honorary retirement from the Royal Navy, with a posting as an officer of the Greenwich Hospital. He reluctantly accepted, insisting that he be allowed to quit the post if an opportunity for active duty should arise.[54] His fame extended beyond the Admiralty; he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society and awarded the Copley Gold Medal for completing his second voyage without losing a man to scurvy.[55] Nathaniel Dance-Holland painted his portrait; he dined with James Boswell; he was described in the House of Lords as "the first navigator in Europe".[16] But he could not be kept away from the sea. A third voyage was planned, and Cook volunteered to find the Northwest Passage. He travelled to the Pacific and hoped to travel east to the Atlantic, while a simultaneous voyage travelled the opposite route.[56]

Third voyage (1776–1779)

Hawaii

On his last voyage, Cook again commanded HMS Resolution, while Captain Charles Clerke commanded HMS Discovery. The voyage was ostensibly planned to return the Pacific Islander Omai to Tahiti, or so the public was led to believe. The trip's principal goal was to locate a Northwest Passage around the American continent.[57] After dropping Omai at Tahiti, Cook travelled north and in 1778 became the first European to begin formal contact with the Hawaiian Islands.[58][59] After his initial landfall in January 1778 at Waimea harbour, Kauai, Cook named the archipelago the "Sandwich Islands" after the fourth Earl of Sandwich—the acting First Lord of the Admiralty.[59]

North America

From the Sandwich Islands, Cook sailed north and then northeast to explore the west coast of North America north of the Spanish settlements in Alta California. He sighted the Oregon coast at approximately 44°30′ north latitude, naming Cape Foulweather, after the bad weather which forced his ships south to about 43° north before they could begin their exploration of the coast northward.[60] He unknowingly sailed past the Strait of Juan de Fuca and soon after entered Nootka Sound on Vancouver Island. He anchored near the First Nations village of Yuquot. Cook's two ships remained in Nootka Sound from 29 March to 26 April 1778, in what Cook called Ship Cove, now Resolution Cove,[61] at the south end of Bligh Island. Relations between Cook's crew and the people of Yuquot were cordial but sometimes strained. In trading, the people of Yuquot demanded much more valuable items than the usual trinkets that had been acceptable in Hawaii. Metal objects were much desired, but the lead, pewter, and tin traded at first soon fell into disrepute. The most valuable items which the British received in trade were sea otter pelts. During the stay, the Yuquot "hosts" essentially controlled the trade with the British vessels; the natives usually visited the British vessels at Resolution Cove instead of the British visiting the village of Yuquot at Friendly Cove.[62]

After leaving Nootka Sound in search of the Northwest Passage, Cook explored and mapped the coast all the way to the Bering Strait, on the way identifying what came to be known as Cook Inlet in Alaska.[60] In a single visit, Cook charted the majority of the North American northwest coastline on world maps for the first time, determined the extent of Alaska, and closed the gaps in Russian (from the west) and Spanish (from the south) exploratory probes of the northern limits of the Pacific.[16]

HMS Resolution and Discovery in Tahiti

By the second week of August 1778, Cook was through the Bering Strait, sailing into the Chukchi Sea. He headed northeast up the coast of Alaska until he was blocked by sea ice at a latitude of 70°44′ north. Cook then sailed west to the Siberian coast, and then southeast down the Siberian coast back to the Bering Strait. By early September 1778 he was back in the Bering Sea to begin the trip to the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands.[63] He became increasingly frustrated on this voyage and perhaps began to suffer from a stomach ailment; it has been speculated that this led to irrational behaviour towards his crew, such as forcing them to eat walrus meat, which they had pronounced inedible.[64]

Return to Hawaii

Cook returned to Hawaii in 1779. After sailing around the archipelago for some eight weeks, he made landfall at Kealakekua Bay on Hawai'i Island, largest island in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Cook's arrival coincided with the Makahiki, a Hawaiian harvest festival of worship for the Polynesian god Lono. Coincidentally the form of Cook's ship, HMS Resolution, or more particularly the mast formation, sails and rigging, resembled certain significant artefacts that formed part of the season of worship.[5][64] Similarly, Cook's clockwise route around the island of Hawaii before making landfall resembled the processions that took place in a clockwise direction around the island during the Lono festivals. It has been argued (most extensively by Marshall Sahlins) that such coincidences were the reasons for Cook's (and to a limited extent, his crew's) initial deification by some Hawaiians who treated Cook as an incarnation of Lono.[65] Though this view was first suggested by members of Cook's expedition, the idea that any Hawaiians understood Cook to be Lono, and the evidence presented in support of it, were challenged in 1992.[64][66]

Death

Marker at the shoreline of Kealakekua Bay near the spot Captain Cook was slain

After a month's stay, Cook attempted to resume his exploration of the northern Pacific. Shortly after leaving Hawaii Island, however, Resolution's foremast broke, so the ships returned to Kealakekua Bay for repairs.

Tensions rose, and a number of quarrels broke out between the Europeans and Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay, including the theft of wood from a burial ground under Cook's orders.[67] An unknown group of Hawaiians took one of Cook's small boats. The evening when the cutter was taken, the people had become "insolent" even with threats to fire upon them.[68] Cook attempted to kidnap and ransom the King of Hawaiʻi, Kalaniʻōpuʻu.

The following day, 14 February 1779, Cook marched through the village to retrieve the king. Cook took the king (aliʻi nui) by his own hand and led him away. One of Kalaniʻōpuʻu's favourite wives, Kanekapolei, and two chiefs approached the group as they were heading to the boats. They pleaded with the king not to go. An old kahuna (priest), chanting rapidly while holding out a coconut, attempted to distract Cook and his men as a large crowd began to form at the shore. At this point, the king began to understand that Cook was his enemy.[68] As Cook turned his back to help launch the boats, he was struck on the head by the villagers and then stabbed to death as he fell on his face in the surf.[69] He was first struck on the head with a club by a chief named Kalaimanokahoʻowaha or Kanaʻina (namesake of Charles Kana'ina) and then stabbed by one of the king's attendants, Nuaa.[70][71] The Hawaiians carried his body away towards the back of the town, still visible to the ship through their spyglass. Four marines, Corporal James Thomas, Private Theophilus Hinks, Private Thomas Fatchett and Private John Allen, were also killed and two others were wounded in the confrontation.[70][72]

The routes of Captain James Cook's voyages. The first voyage is shown in red, second voyage in green, and third voyage in blue. The route of Cook's crew following his death is shown as a dashed blue line.

Aftermath

The esteem which the islanders nevertheless held for Cook caused them to retain his body. Following their practice of the time, they prepared his body with funerary rituals usually reserved for the chiefs and highest elders of the society. The body was disembowelled and baked to facilitate removal of the flesh, and the bones were carefully cleaned for preservation as religious icons in a fashion somewhat reminiscent of the treatment of European saints in the Middle Ages. Some of Cook's remains, thus preserved, were eventually returned to his crew for a formal burial at sea.[73]

Clerke assumed leadership of the expedition and made a final attempt to pass through the Bering Strait.[74] He died of tuberculosis on 22 August 1779 and John Gore, a veteran of Cook's first voyage, took command of Resolution and of the expedition. James King replaced Gore in command of Discovery.[75] The expedition returned home, reaching England in October 1780. After their arrival in England, King completed Cook's account of the voyage.[76]

Legacy

Ethnographic collections

The Australian Museum acquired its "Cook Collection" in 1894 from the Government of New South Wales. At that time the collection consisted of 115 artefacts collected on Cook's three voyages throughout the Pacific Ocean, during the period 1768–80, along with documents and memorabilia related to these voyages. Many of the ethnographic artefacts were collected at a time of first contact between Pacific Peoples and Europeans. In 1935 most of the documents and memorabilia were transferred to the Mitchell Library in the State Library of New South Wales. The provenance of the collection shows that the objects remained in the hands of Cook's widow Elizabeth Cook, and her descendants, until 1886. In this year John Mackrell, the great-nephew of Isaac Smith, Elizabeth Cook's cousin, organised the display of this collection at the request of the NSW Government at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London. In 1887 the London-based Agent-General for the New South Wales Government, Saul Samuel, bought John Mackrell's items and also acquired items belonging to the other relatives Reverend Canon Frederick Bennett, Mrs Thomas Langton, H.M.C. Alexander, and William Adams. The collection remained with the Colonial Secretary of NSW until 1894, when it was transferred to the Australian Museum.[77]

Navigation and science

A 1775 chart of Newfoundland, made from James Cook's Seven Years' War surveyings

Cook's 12 years sailing around the Pacific Ocean contributed much to Europeans' knowledge of the area. Several islands, such as the Hawaiian group, were encountered for the first time by Europeans, and his more accurate navigational charting of large areas of the Pacific was a major achievement.[78] To create accurate maps, latitude and longitude must be accurately determined. Navigators had been able to work out latitude accurately for centuries by measuring the angle of the sun or a star above the horizon with an instrument such as a backstaff or quadrant. Longitude was more difficult to measure accurately because it requires precise knowledge of the time difference between points on the surface of the earth. The Earth turns a full 360 degrees relative to the sun each day. Thus longitude corresponds to time: 15 degrees every hour, or 1 degree every 4 minutes.[79] Cook gathered accurate longitude measurements during his first voyage from his navigational skills, with the help of astronomer Charles Green, and by using the newly published Nautical Almanac tables, via the lunar distance method – measuring the angular distance from the moon to either the sun during daytime or one of eight bright stars during night-time to determine the time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, and comparing that to his local time determined via the altitude of the sun, moon, or stars.

On his second voyage, Cook used the K1 chronometer made by Larcum Kendall, which was the shape of a large pocket watch, 5 inches (13 cm) in diameter. It was a copy of the H4 clock made by John Harrison, which proved to be the first to keep accurate time at sea when used on the ship Deptford's journey to Jamaica in 1761–62.[80] He succeeded in circumnavigating the world on his first voyage without losing a single man to scurvy, an unusual accomplishment at the time. He tested several preventive measures, most importantly the frequent replenishment of fresh food.[81] For presenting a paper on this aspect of the voyage to the Royal Society he was presented with the Copley Medal in 1776.[82][83] Cook became the first European to have extensive contact with various people of the Pacific. He correctly postulated a link among all the Pacific peoples, despite their being separated by great ocean stretches (see Malayo-Polynesian languages). Cook theorised that Polynesians originated from Asia, which scientist Bryan Sykes later verified.[84] In New Zealand the coming of Cook is often used to signify the onset of the colonisation[5][8] which officially started more than 70 years after his crew became the second group of Europeans to visit that archipelago.

Cook carried several scientists on his voyages; they made significant observations and discoveries. Two botanists, Joseph Banks and the Swede Daniel Solander, sailed on the first voyage. The two collected over 3,000 plant species.[85] Banks subsequently strongly promoted British settlement of Australia,[86][87] leading to the establishment of New South Wales as a penal settlement in 1788. Artists also sailed on Cook's first voyage. Sydney Parkinson was heavily involved in documenting the botanists' findings, completing 264 drawings before his death near the end of the voyage. They were of immense scientific value to British botanists.[5][88] Cook's second expedition included William Hodges, who produced notable landscape paintings of Tahiti, Easter Island, and other locations. Several officers who served under Cook went on to distinctive accomplishments. William Bligh, Cook's sailing master, was given command of HMS Bounty in 1787 to sail to Tahiti and return with breadfruit. Bligh became known for the mutiny of his crew, which resulted in his being set adrift in 1789. He later became Governor of New South Wales, where he was the subject of another mutiny—the 1808 Rum Rebellion.[89] George Vancouver, one of Cook's midshipmen, led a voyage of exploration to the Pacific Coast of North America from 1791 to 1794.[90] In honour of Vancouver's former commander, his ship was named Discovery. George Dixon, who sailed under Cook on his third expedition, later commanded his own.[91] Henry Roberts, a lieutenant under Cook, spent many years after that voyage preparing the detailed charts that went into Cook's posthumous atlas, published around 1784.

Cook's contributions to knowledge gained international recognition during his lifetime. In 1779, while the American colonies were fighting Britain for their independence, Benjamin Franklin wrote to captains of colonial warships at sea, recommending that if they came into contact with Cook's vessel, they were to "not consider her an enemy, nor suffer any plunder to be made of the effects contained in her, nor obstruct her immediate return to England by detaining her or sending her into any other part of Europe or to America; but that you treat the said Captain Cook and his people with all civility and kindness ... as common friends to mankind."[92]

Memorials

A U.S. coin, the 1928 Hawaii Sesquicentennial half-dollar, carries Cook's image. Minted for the 150th anniversary of his discovery of the islands, its low mintage (10,008) has made this example of an early United States commemorative coin both scarce and expensive.[93] The site where he was killed in Hawaii was marked in 1874 by a white obelisk. This land, although in Hawaii, was deeded to the United Kingdom by Princess Likelike and her husband, Archibald Scott Cleghorn, to the British Consul to Hawaii, James Hay Wodehouse, in 1877.[94][95][failed verification] A nearby town is named Captain Cook, Hawaii; several Hawaiian businesses also carry his name. The Apollo 15 Command/Service Module Endeavour was named after Cook's ship, HMS Endeavour,[96] as was the Space Shuttle Endeavour.[97] In addition, the first Crew Dragon capsule flown by SpaceX was named for Endeavour.[98] Another shuttle, Discovery, was named after Cook's HMS Discovery.[99]

The first institution of higher education in North Queensland, Australia, was named after him, with James Cook University opening in Townsville in 1970.[100] Numerous institutions, landmarks and place names reflect the importance of Cook's contributions, including the Cook Islands, Cook Strait, Cook Inlet and the Cook crater on the Moon.[101] Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest summit in New Zealand, is named for him.[102] Another Mount Cook is on the border between the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian Yukon territory, and is designated Boundary Peak 182 as one of the official Boundary Peaks of the Hay–Herbert Treaty.[103] A life-size statue of Cook upon a column stands in Hyde Park located in the centre of Sydney. A large aquatic monument is planned for Cook's landing place at Botany Bay, Sydney.[104]

One of the earliest monuments to Cook in the United Kingdom is located at The Vache, erected in 1780 by Admiral Hugh Palliser, a contemporary of Cook and one-time owner of the estate.[105] A large obelisk was built in 1827 as a monument to Cook on Easby Moor overlooking his boyhood village of Great Ayton,[106] along with a smaller monument at the former location of Cook's cottage.[107] There is also a monument to Cook in the church of St Andrew the Great, St Andrew's Street, Cambridge, where his sons Hugh, a student at Christ's College, and James were buried. Cook's widow Elizabeth was also buried in the church and in her will left money for the memorial's upkeep. The 250th anniversary of Cook's birth was marked at the site of his birthplace in Marton by the opening of the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum, located within Stewart Park (1978). A granite vase just to the south of the museum marks the approximate spot where he was born.[108] Tributes also abound in post-industrial Middlesbrough, including a primary school,[109] shopping square[110] and the Bottle 'O Notes, a public artwork by Claes Oldenburg, that was erected in the town's Central Gardens in 1993. Also named after Cook is James Cook University Hospital, a major teaching hospital which opened in 2003 with a railway station serving it called James Cook opening in 2014.[111] The Royal Research Ship RRS James Cook was built in 2006 to replace the RRS Charles Darwin in the UK's Royal Research Fleet,[112] and Stepney Historical Trust placed a plaque on Free Trade Wharf in the Highway, Shadwell to commemorate his life in the East End of London. A statue erected in his honour can be viewed near Admiralty Arch on the south side of The Mall in London. In 2002, Cook was placed at number 12 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.[113]

In 1959, the Cooktown Re-enactment Association first performed a re-enactment of Cook's 1770 landing at the site of modern Cooktown, Australia, and have continued the tradition each year, with the support and participation of many of the local Guugu Yimithirr people.[114]

Cultural references

Cook was a subject in many literary creations; one of the earliest was "Captain Cook" by Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L.E.L.). In 1931, Kenneth Slessor's poem "Five Visions of Captain Cook" was the "most dramatic break-through" in Australian poetry of the 20th century according to poet Douglas Stewart.[115]

The Australian slang phrase "Have a Captain Cook" means to have a look or conduct a brief inspection.[116]

Controversy

Statue of James Cook, Hyde Park, Sydney. The rear inscription reads: "Discovered this territory, 1770".

The period 2018 to 2021 marked the 250th anniversary of Cook's first voyage of exploration. A number of countries, including Australia and New Zealand, arranged official events to commemorate the voyage[117][118] leading to widespread public debate about Cook's legacy and the violence associated with his contacts with Indigenous peoples.[1][119] In the leadup to the commemorations, various memorials to Cook in Australia and New Zealand were vandalised and there were public calls for their removal or modification due to their alleged promotion of colonialist narratives.[120][121] On 1 July 2021, a statue of James Cook in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, was torn down following an earlier peaceful protest about the deaths of Indigenous residential school children in Canada.[122] There were also campaigns for the return of Indigenous artefacts taken during Cook's voyages (see Gweagal shield).[123] Alice Proctor argues that the controversies over public representations of Cook and the display of Indigenous artefacts from his voyages are part of a broader debate over the decolonisation of museums and public spaces and resistance to colonialist narratives.[124] While a number of commentators argue that Cook was an enabler of British colonialism in the Pacific,[1][125] Geoffrey Blainey, among others, notes that it was Banks who promoted Botany Bay as a site for colonisation after Cook's death.[126] Robert Tombs defended Cook, associating him with the values of the Enlightenment and positing him as "The leading figure in an age of scientific exploration".[127]

See also

New Zealand places named by James Cook

Australian places named by James Cook

European and American voyages of scientific exploration

Exploration of the Pacific

List of places named after Captain James Cook

List of sea captains

Death of Cook (paintings)

References

Notes

1. ^ Old Style date: 27 October

2. ^ At this time, the International Date Line had yet to be established, so the dates in Cook's journal are a day earlier than those accepted today.

Citations

1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Daley, Paul (29 April 2020). "Commemorating Captain James Cook's arrival, Australia should not omit his role in the suffering that followed". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.

2. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rigby & van der Merwe 2002, p. 25

3. ^ Robson 2009, p. 2

4. ^ Stamp 1978, p. 1

5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h Collingridge 2003

6. ^ Frost, Alan (19 October 2018). Mutiny, Mayhem, Mythology: Bounty's Enigmatic Voyage. Sydney University Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-74332-587-2. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2018.

7. ^ Collingridge 2003, p. 15

8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Horwitz 2003

9. ^ Hough 1994, p. 11

10. ^ Jump up to: a b c Rigby & van der Merwe 2002, p. 27

11. ^ "Famous 18th century people in Barking and Dagenham: James Cook and Dick Turpin" (PDF). London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2013.

12. ^ Robson 2009, pp. 120–21

13. ^ Stamp 1978, p. 138

14. ^ Robson 2009, pp. 19–25

15. ^ McLynn 2011, p. 21

16. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Williams, Glyn (17 February 2011). "Captain Cook: Explorer, Navigator and Pioneer". BBC. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2011.

17. ^ Capper, Paul (1985–1996). "The Captain Cook Society: Cook's Log". Life in the Royal Navy (1755–1767). Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2011.

18. ^ Kemp & Dear 2005

19. ^ Hough 1994, p. 19

20. ^ Whiteley, William (1975). "James Cook in Newfoundland 1762–1767" (PDF). Newfoundland Historical Society Pamphlet Number 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 27 August 2012.

21. ^ Cook, James; Bevis, J. (1 January 1767). "An Observation of an Eclipse of the Sun at the Island of New-Found-Land, August 5, 1766, by Mr. James Cook, with the Longitude of the Place of Observation Deduced from It". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 57: 215–216. doi:10.1098/rstl.1767.0025.

22. ^ Government of Canada (2012). "Captain James Cook R.N." Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

23. ^ Hough 1994, p. 32

24. ^ Kippis, Andrew (1788). Narrative of the voyages round the world, performed by Captain James Cook; with an account of his life during the previous and intervening periods. Chapter 2. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.

25. ^ Collingridge 2003, p. 95

26. ^ Rigby & van der Merwe 2002, p. 30

27. ^ Beazley, Charles Raymond (1911). "Cook, James" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 71.

28. ^ Beaglehole 1968, p. cix

29. ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald". National Library of Australia. 2 May 1931. p. 12. Retrieved 4 September 2012.

30. ^ "BBC – History – Captain James Cook". Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2017.

31. ^ "Secret Instructions to Captain Cook, 30 June 1768" (PDF). National Archives of Australia. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2011.

32. ^ Salmond, Anne (1991). Two worlds : first meetings between Māori and Europeans, 1642–1772. Auckland, N.Z.: Viking. ISBN 0-670-83298-7. OCLC 26545658.

33. ^ Beaglehole (1974). pp. 198-200, 202, 205-07

34. ^ "Cook's Journal: Daily Entries, 22 April 1770". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.

35. ^ "Voices heard but not understood". Gujaga Foundation. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

36. ^ "Cook's Journal: Daily Entries, 29 April 1770". southseas.nla.gov.au. South Seas. Retrieved 25 October 2019.

37. ^ Blainey (2020). pp. 141-43

38. ^ FitzSimons, Peter (2019). James Cook : the story behind the man who mapped the world. Sydney, NSW. ISBN 978-0-7336-4127-5. OCLC 1109734011.

39. ^ Blainey (2020). pp. 146-57

40. ^ Beaglehole (1974). p. 230

41. ^ Blainey (2020). p. 287

42. ^ Robson 2004, p. 81

43. ^ Blainey, Geoffrey (2020) pp 220-21

44. ^ Cook, James (21 August 1770). "Cook's Journal: Daily Entries". National Library of Australia. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 28 August 2020.

45. ^ Cook, James, Journal of the HMS Endeavour, 1768–1771, National Library of Australia, Manuscripts Collection, MS 1, 22 August 1770

46. ^ Beaglehole 1968, p. 468

47. ^ "The First Voyage (1768–1771)". The Captain Cook Society (CCS). Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

48. ^ "Captain Cook: Obsession & Discovery. (Part 2 of 4) – Britain on DocuWatch – free streaming British history documentaries". 2011. Archived from the original on 7 April 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.

49. ^ Hough 1994, p. 180

50. ^ McLynn 2011, p. 167

51. ^ Hough 1994, p. 182

52. ^ Hough 1994, p. 263

53. ^ "Captain James Cook: His voyages of exploration and the men that accompanied him". National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original on 21 April 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.

54. ^ Beaglehole 1974, p. 444

55. ^ Rigby & van der Merwe 2002, p. 79

56. ^ Hough 1994, p. 268

57. ^ Collingridge 2003, p. 327

58. ^ Fish, Shirley (2011). The Manila-Acapulco Galleons : The Treasure Ships of the Pacific: With An Annotated List of the Transpacific Galleons 1565–1815. AuthorHouse. pp. 360–. ISBN 978-1-4567-7543-8. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.

59. ^ Jump up to: a b Collingridge 2003, p. 380

60. ^ Jump up to: a b Hayes 1999, pp. 42–43

61. ^ "Resolution Cove". BC Geographical Names. Retrieved 6 March 2013.

62. ^ Fisher 1979

63. ^ Beaglehole 1968, pp. 615–23

64. ^ Jump up to: a b c Obeyesekere 1992

65. ^ Sahlins 1985

66. ^ Obeyesekere 1997

67. ^ Sparks, Jared (1847). Life of John Ledyard, American Traveller. C. C. Little and J. Brown. pp. 136–139. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2018.

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Bibliography

Beaglehole, J. C., ed. (1968). The Journals of Captain James Cook on His Voyages of Discovery. Vol. I: The Voyage of the Endeavour 1768–1771. Cambridge University Press. OCLC 223185477.

Beaglehole, John Cawte (1974). The Life of Captain James Cook. A & C Black. ISBN 978-0-7136-1382-7.

Collingridge, Vanessa (2003). Captain Cook: The Life, Death and Legacy of History's Greatest Explorer. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-188898-5.

Fernandez-Armesto, Felipe (2006). Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06259-5.

Fisher, Robin (1979). Captain James Cook and his times. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-7099-0050-4.

Hayes, Derek (1999). Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest: Maps of exploration and Discovery. Sasquatch Books. ISBN 978-1-57061-215-2.

Horwitz, Tony (October 2003). Blue Latitudes: Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-0-7475-6455-3.

Hough, Richard (1994). Captain James Cook. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-82556-3.

Kemp, Peter; Dear, I. C. B. (2005). The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. OUP. ISBN 978-0-19-860616-1.

Kippis, Andrew (1788). Narrative of the voyages round the world, performed by Captain James Cook; with an account of his life during the previous and intervening periods. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.

McLynn, Frank (2011). Captain Cook: Master of the Seas. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-11421-8.

Moorehead, Alan (1966). Fatal Impact: An Account of the Invasion of the South Pacific, 1767–1840. H Hamilton. ISBN 978-0-241-90757-3.

Mundle, Rob (2013). Cook: from Sailor to Legend. ABC Books. ISBN 978-1-46070-061-7.

Obeyesekere, Gananath (1992). The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691056807.

Obeyesekere, Gananath (1997). The Apotheosis of Captain Cook: European Mythmaking in the Pacific (PDF). Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05752-1. With new preface and afterword replying to criticism from Sahlins

Rigby, Nigel; van der Merwe, Pieter (2002). Captain Cook in the Pacific. National Maritime Museum, London. ISBN 978-0-948065-43-9.

Robson, John (2004). The Captain Cook Encyclopædia. Random House Australia. ISBN 978-0-7593-1011-7.

Robson, John (2009). Captain Cook's War and Peace: The Royal Navy Years 1755–1768. University of New South Wales Press. ISBN 978-1-74223-109-9.

Sahlins, Marshall David (1985). Islands of history. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73358-6.

Sahlins, Marshall David (1995). How "Natives" Think: About Captain Cook, for example. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-73368-5.

Sidney, John Baker (1981). The Australian Language: An Examination of the English Language and English Speech as Used in Australia, from Convict Days to the Present. Melbourne: Sun Books. ISBN 978-0-7251-0382-8.

Stamp, Tom and Cordelia (1978). James Cook Maritime Scientist. Whitby: Caedmon of Whitby Press. ISBN 978-0-905355-04-7.

Sykes, Bryan (2001). The Seven Daughters of Eve. Norton Publishing: New York City and London. ISBN 978-0-393-02018-2.

Wagner, A. R. (1972). Historic Heraldry of Britain. London: Phillimore & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85033-022-9.

Wharton, W. J. L. (1893). Captain Cook's Journal during his first voyage round the world made in H.M. Bark "Endeavour" 1768–71. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 16 July 2012.

Further reading

Aughton, Peter (2002). Endeavour: The Story of Captain Cook's First Great Epic Voyage. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 978-0-304-36236-3.

Beazley, Charles Raymond (1911). "Cook, James" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). pp. 71–72.

Edwards, Philip, ed. (2003). James Cook: The Journals. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-043647-1. Prepared from the original manuscripts by J. C. Beaglehole 1955–67

Forster, Georg, ed. (1986). A Voyage Round the World. Wiley-VCH. ISBN 978-3-05-000180-7. Published first 1777 as: A Voyage round the World in His Britannic Majesty's Sloop Resolution, Commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the Years, 1772, 3, 4, and 5

Hawkesworth, John; Byron, John; Wallis, Samuel; Carteret, Philip; Cook, James; Banks, Joseph (1773), An account of the voyages undertaken by the order of His present Majesty for making discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere, and successively performed by Commodore Byron, Captain Wallis, Captain Carteret, and Captain Cook, in the Dolphin, the Swallow, and the Endeavour drawn up from the journals which were kept by the several commanders, and from the papers of Joseph Banks, esq, London Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, Volume I, Volume II–III.

Igler, David (2013). The Great Ocean: Pacific Worlds from Captain Cook to the Gold Rush. New York: Oxford U.P.[ISBN missing]

Kippis, Andrew (1904). The Life and Voyages of Captain James Cook. George Newnes, London & Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.

Richardson, Brian. (2005) Longitude and Empire: How Captain Cook's Voyages Changed the World (University of British Columbia Press.) ISBN 0-7748-1190-0.

Sydney Daily Telegraph (1970) Captain Cook: His Artists – His Voyages The Sydney Daily Telegraph Portfolio of Original Works by Artists who sailed with Captain Cook. Australian Consolidated Press, Sydney

Thomas, Nicholas The Extraordinary Voyages of Captain James Cook. Walker & Co., New York. ISBN 0-8027-1412-9 (2003)

Uglow, Jenny, "Island Hopping" (review of Captain James Cook: The Journals, selected and edited by Philip Edwards, London, Folio Society, three volumes and a chart of the voyages, 1,309 pp.; and William Frame with Laura Walker, James Cook: The Voyages, McGill-Queen University Press, 224 pp.), The New York Review of Books, vol. LXVI, no. 2 (7 February 2019), pp. 18–20.

Villiers, Alan (Summer 1956–57). "James Cook, Seaman". Quadrant. 1 (1): 7–16.[ISBN missing]

Williams, Glyndwr, ed. (1997). Captain Cook's Voyages: 1768–1779. London: The Folio Society.

Withey, Lynne. Voyages of discovery: Captain Cook and the exploration of the Pacific (Univ of California Press, 1989).[ISBN missing]

External links

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Cook.

Captain Cook Society

Captain Cook historic plaque, Halifax

"Explorer, navigator, coloniser: revisit Captain Cook's legacy with the click of a mouse". The Conversation. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.

"Articles on Captain Cook". The Conversation. 2017–2020. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

Biographical dictionaries

"Cook, James (1728–1779)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (online ed.). National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. 1966. Retrieved 8 January 2016.

Williams, Glyndwr (1979). "Cook, James". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.

Mackay, David. "Cook, James". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Journals

The Endeavour journal (1) and The Endeavour journal (2), as kept by James Cook – digitised and held by the National Library of Australia

The South Seas Project: maps and online editions of the Journals of James Cook's First Pacific Voyage, 1768–1771. Includes full text of journals kept by Cook, Joseph Banks and Sydney Parkinson, as well as the complete text of John Hawkesworth's 1773 Account of Cook's first voyage.

Digitised copies of log books from James Cook's voyages at the British Atmospheric Data Centre

Works by James Cook at Project Gutenberg

Works by or about James Cook at Internet Archive

Works by James Cook at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

Log book of Cook's second voyage: high-resolution digitised version in Cambridge Digital Library

Digitised Tapa cloth catalogue held at Auckland Libraries

Collections and museums

The Library of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia specialises in collecting works on Captain James Cook, his voyages and HMS Endeavour

Cook's Pacific Encounters: Cook-Forster Collection online Images and descriptions of more than 300 artefacts collected during the three Pacific voyages of James Cook.

Images and descriptions of items associated with James Cook at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

"Archival material relating to James Cook". UK National Archives.

Captain Cook Birthplace Museum Marton

Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby

Cook's manuscript maps of the south-east coast of Australia, held at the American Geographical Society Library at UW Milwaukee.

Newspaper clippings about James Cook in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

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Biography - James Cook - Australian Dictionary of Biography

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'Cook, James (1728-1779)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/cook-james-1917/text2279, published first in hardcopy 1966, accessed online 17 May 2018.

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Did you know that Sir Donald's average in Test matches reached 50 with his 3rd innings, and stayed above 50 for the rest of his career? This is just one of the interesting facts and statistics you'll find here.

Bradman's Career Statistics

How many Sixes did Don Bradman hit in his Test career?

Don hit just six sixes in his Test career, five v. England and one v. India. He also hit two fives and a staggering 618 fours in Test cricket.

How many Test wickets did he take?

Two. The first was taken in December 1930. A West Indies player, Ivan Barrow, LBW to Bradman for 27 runs, first Test in Adelaide, second innings. The second was when he bowled Walter Hammond for 85 runs in the spiteful third Test in Adelaide, January 1933, second innings.

When was Don's first century?

Don Bradman's first century (115 n.o.) was played when he was 12 ie. the 1920/21 season. The young Don was playing for Bowral School against Mittagong School. The exact date is unknown.

Was Don Bradman nervous in his first Test appearance?

Don Bradman has been recorded as feeling a great ease when playing cricket, and unlike many others, he has described himself as being fortunate not to suffer nerves like so many other batsman.

Fellow teammates have also described his confidence and ability to concentrate his performance particularly when rising to dangers and difficulties at the crease.

Walter Hammond, former England Test Captain: "I was forced to admire the cool way Don batted. On one or two occasions, when he was well set, and when he saw me move a fieldsman, he would raise his gloved hand to me in mock salute, and then hit the next ball exactly over the place from which the man had just been moved. Reluctantly I had to admit once more that he was out of the ordinary run of batsmen - a genius!"

Bill Brown, former Australian Test batsman: "He could analyse the game much more deeply and quickly than the average player. He controlled the game so much when he was at the wicket."

CB Fry, former England Test cricketer: "This young man owes half his perfection to an outright power of concentration".

Current test records still held by Don Bradman

Highest Individual Test Batting Average (minimum 15 innings) 99.94

Highest Test Batting Average for a 5-Test Series 201.50 (v South Africa, Australia, 1931-32)

Equal top-scorer of triple centuries (with Lara) 2

5th wicket partnership (with Sid Barnes 1946-47) 405

Only Test batsman to score more than 5,000 runs v an opponent (5,028 v England)

7 times scored 500 or more runs in a Test series (Equal with Lara)

Six times scored centuries in an interval (once pre lunch, twice lunch-tea, three times tea-stumps)

Scored the most runs in a single day's play 309 v England, Leeds, 1930

Awards & Honours

Knighted in 1949. The only Australian cricketer ever to receive a knighthood and the first Test cricketer so honoured.

Received a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1979.

Voted the greatest male athlete of the past 200 years by the Australian Confederation of Sport in 1988.

Selected as one of only two Australians by International Who's Who top 100 people who have done the most to shape the 20th century. The other (former) Australian selected was Rupert Murdoch

Nominated among the Top Ten sportspeople of the 20th century by the World Confederation of Sport.

Named Male Athlete of the Century in 1999 by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Ranked the No.1 Australian Athlete of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated magazine.

In 2000 he was voted the greatest cricketer of the 20th century by Wisden Cricket Almanack. This decision was unanimous amongst the 100 judges.

Nominated captain of the Australian Cricket Team of the Century

Some extra facts about Sir Donald Bradman

Did you know....

Don Bradman scored 28,067 runs in First-class cricket at an average of 95.15, with a top score of 452 not out

The record for the highest partnership for any wicket by Australia against all countries was established by Don Bradman and Bill Ponsford at The Oval in 1934 (451 for the second wicket)

Against India, Don Bradman averaged 178.75 in 6 innings. His average against all countries in 80 innings was 99.94

In his Test career, Don Bradman scored 26% of the team's total runs

Don Bradman described himself as "predominately a back foot player"

Bradman's average in Test matches reached 50 with his 3rd innings, and stayed above 50 for the rest of his career

Don Bradman's batting average over his career in Test matches against all countries was 99.94 - if he had remained not out or scored 4 more runs and lost his wicket in his final Test innings at The Oval in 1948, he would have averaged 100 per innings

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Donald Bradman Statistics - The Greatest Ever | Bradman Foundation

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Did you know that Sir Donald's average in Test matches reached 50 with his 3rd innings, and stayed above 50 for the rest of his career? This is just one of the interesting facts and statistics you'll find here. Don hit just six sixes in his Test career, five v.

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Donald George Bradman was the youngest son of George and Emily (née Whatman) Bradman, and was born on 27 August 1908 at Cootamundra, New South Wales (NSW). He had a brother, Victor, and three sisters-Islet, Lilian and Elizabeth May. Bradman was of English heritage on both sides of his family.

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Gideon Haigh on Don Bradman
The poor boy who came to walk among kings
Bradman was cricket's first modern hero, a man who transcended his game, embodied the modern Australian journey, and became a symbol of mastery over fate

Stats analysis
The greatest of them all
In terms of numbers, Don Bradman's achievements are so staggering that many of them will almost certainly never be equalled

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Gideon Haigh on Don Bradman The poor boy who came to walk among kings Bradman was cricket's first modern hero, a man who transcended his game, embodied the modern Australian journey, and became a symbol of mastery over fate Stats analysis The greatest of them all In terms of numbers, Don Bradman's achievements are so staggering that many of them will almost certainly never be equalled

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By Neil McMahon

Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size

"My jubilee in the theatre is being celebrated in Australia in such a wonderful way. There's postage stamps.There's a coin. I'm on a coin! They've named a street in Melbourne after me. Melbourne is a city in Australia." Dame Edna.
As she did a decade ago, on her 50th anniversary, Dame Edna has always felt it necessary to explain Melbourne both to itself and to the wider world. Today, on her 60th birthday, Edna is physically absent but ever present - perhaps the city's most remarkable and enduring artistic export, a woman of the times and of another time all together.

Dame Edna Everage, 60 years a mega-star.
Photo: Mick Tsikas

It was on December 13, 1955 that a Melbourne theatre audience first clapped eyes on the mother from Moonee Ponds who would over time transform herself into the globe-straddling, guffaw-inducing, gut-wrenching monster from Moonee Ponds. Fellow expat Clive James would eventually sum up this glorious and ghastly creation by describing her alter ego Barry Humphries: "The Devil gets into him, and he seems to welcome the invasion. Certainly Edna welcomes the invasion. She would, being a witch."

The "witch" made her debut in a very different Melbourne, a very different Australia.

December 1955. We were a year away from even seeing television. Queen Elizabeth - much later, incredibly, to willingly join the ranks of Edna's comic foils - had been on the throne a mere three years. The Melbourne Olympics were 12 months off.

Barry Humphries performing as Edna Everage in 1959.
Photo: Supplied

Edna, as Humphries recalled in Adelaide earlier this year, was born of boredom - he found the falsetto and the fierce satire to be wielded with it on a bus, taking the mickey out of the Country Women's Association matrons who would greet a touring theatre company on arrival in rural Australia.

When she made her stage debut - 60 years ago today, at the Union Theatre of Melbourne University where Humphries was a student - she was Mrs Norman Everage, of Humoresque Street, Moonee Ponds. It was the annual revue, and Edna shared a stage with Noel Ferrier in a skit on the subject of the moment: the city had asked families to billet Olympic athletes, and Edna was the star of a bit they called Olympic Hostess.

No one present that night, not even Humphries himself, could have imagined what she'd become, as he said at the South Australian Press Club this past June.

"They said to me at the end of my first season in Melbourne, 'Would you go up to Sydney because television has come to Australia?' And I was invited to do a sketch with this woman, little Edna, in Sydney and it was a big deal.

"They said in Melbourne, 'Don't do Edna in Sydney, they won't get it, it's too Melbourne'. Then after a while in Sydney when Edna did catch on a bit, they said, 'Don't go overseas, they won't get it. She's too Australian'.

"Then I played in London and after a while they started to like this Edna character and they said, 'Well, never go to the United States, she's too British'. Then in New York, to my surprise and to everyone's surprise, she won a few awards, a Tony and what have you. They said 'she's too metropolitan. Don't take that character to Melbourne, Florida'. And they were right."

If true, Melbourne, Florida, was one of the few places not to fall under the Edna spell over the last 60 years.

In 1974 - as part of the movie Barry McKenzie Holds His Own - Edna was made a dame by then PM Gough Whitlam, and after that there was no stopping her.

Humphries went to the UK in 1959 but kept strong links to his land of birth, bringing most of his Dame Edna shows to Australia in the 1970s.
Photo: Trevor Dallen

By the 1980s she had her first of several chat and game shows in the UK. In the US version, everyone from Cher to Charlton Heston submitted to the Edna treatment. It was territory she truly conquered, adding a Tony Award-winning Broadway show at the turn of the century.

By the new millennium, she was - as she'd always been, in her own estimation - part of the showbiz establishment on three continents.

When the Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee in 2002, it was Edna who introduced the "jubilee girl" to ecstatic crowds at Buckingham Palace. "Are you sitting comfortably now, Ma'am? I should warn you the show is a little loud," Edna advised. Her Majesty - and several heirs to the throne - rocked with laughter in the expensive seats.

Edna has, for the most part, retired now, or so Humphries says. He took her across the US on the modestly billed Dame Edna's Glorious Goodbye earlier this year, but then she popped up again a couple of months ago flogging the wares of another contentious expat: as spokeswoman for the tablet apps of Rupert Murdoch's Australian tabloids.

After 60 years of always making just one more surprise appearance, it's unlikely to be the last we hear from Mrs Norman Everage of Moonee Ponds. Happy anniversary, Dame.

EDNA QUOTES:

"Hello possums."

"I'm not sure why he [Gough] made me a Dame. It could have been for political reasons because we see eye to eye on most topics. And my services to conservation are well, well known. In fact the United Nations has given me special mention, not just Australian landscape which I've conserved, but our wildlife, particularly our lovely old marsupials."

"I had a phone call from Mr Hawke ... 78 of per cent of Australians adore me, he said. I said, 'Darling, you only need another 22 per cent to be neck-and-neck with me, possum'." - 1984

"I was talking to the Queen this morning. She's always very relaxed with me, even a little bit raunchy. Did you know she has a very slight Cockney accent?"

"You mustn't judge Australia by the Australians."

"Here's a bit of a revelation. I'm an Aborigine."

THE BEST OF EDNA

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"My jubilee in the theatre is being celebrated in Australia in such a wonderful way. There's postage stamps.There's a coin. I'm on a coin! They've named a street in Melbourne after me. Melbourne is a city in Australia." Dame Edna.

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John Barry Humphries, (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, satirist, artist, and author. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film producer and script writer, a star of London's West End musical theatre, an award-winning writer, and an accomplished landscape painter.

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Dame Edna Everage is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured or " wisteria hue" hair and cat eye glasses or "face furniture", her favourite flower, the gladiolus ("gladdies") and her boisterous greeting: "Hello, Possums!" As Dame Edna, Humphries has written several books including an autobiography, My Gorgeous Life, appeared in several films and hosted several television shows (on which Humphries has also appeared as himself and other alter-egos).

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Delivering rugby fans the latest news, rugby fixtures & results, video and rugby statistics for the NSW Waratahs and Shute Shield.

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Israel Folau ( Tongan: Isileli Folau; born 3 April 1989) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who plays for the Waratahs in Super Rugby. He has previously played professional rugby league and Australian rules football.

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Tongan migrants to Australia have tended to make their homes in the "arrival city" suburbs of Sydney's west. This pattern began in the 1970s, intensified in the 1980s, and continues today. As of 2011, over 60% of Tongan-born Australians live in the state of New South Wales.

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Australia, New Zealand, Tonga - Migration News | Migration Dialogue

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Tonga. Tonga, the Pacific Islands' last monarchy, had the highest share of remittances in its GDP of any country, 38 percent, in 2002. Tonga is one of 14 members of the Pacific Islands Forum that includes Australia and New Zealand, which have many migrants from PIF islands.

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The Kingdom of Tonga, an archipelago of islands in the South Pacific, is the last surviving Polynesian kingdom. Although a British protectorate for 70 years, Tonga managed to survive the ravages of the colonial world with much of its heritage and authority intact, including indigenous chiefly leadership, Tongan-only land ownership, and a robust subsistence farming and fishing economic sector. An independent nation and member of the British Commonwealth since 1970, Tonga is a constitutional monarchy under the leadership of King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the fourth modern monarch in a hereditary chiefly line.

Throughout the last half of the 20th century, internal and overseas migration have been part of a steady transformation of the kingdom-one that has redefined its economy and is now challenging its polity. Today, many of the most profound changes in the kingdom, as well as the most salient issues of the day, are intimately tied to migration.
A Brief Migration History
In the 1930s, the Tongan population of about 32,000 was distributed across three island groups on 36 habitable islands; not quite half of the population resided on the main island of Tongatapu in 60 different villages. The capital city of Nuku'alofa was home to only about one in 10 Tongans. After World War II, this distribution began to shift. With an increasing pull of education and work opportunities on the main island, and a mushrooming population facing a shortage of agricultural land, young Tongans began to move.

The first moves were internal, from outer to main islands, and from smaller to larger towns. The next journeys were overseas, to the primary destinations of New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. At the time, migration from Tonga was a welcome solution to rampant population growth. With raw birth rates that often exceeded 35/1,000, the national population had swelled to 77,429 by 1966, more than double the 1930s level, and by 1976, the population, at more than 90,000, had almost tripled. Central planners in Tonga were necessarily worried about unbridled population growth in a country dependent on small-holder agriculture with a land mass of only 288 square miles, only two-thirds of it arable or planted.

Differentials in wages and educational opportunities-made more critical by the land shortage- fueled overseas migration. Tongan islanders ventured to New Zealand and Australia, the closest industrial nations and fellow members of the British Commonwealth, but also to the United States.

Many of the earliest Tongan emigrants to the U.S. were converts to Mormonism (Church of the Latter Day Saints or LDS), the result of intensive missionary activity in Tonga. The LDS church provided new converts with a plane ticket to the United States, a fact which greatly encouraged conversion. The policy resulted in the establishment of some of the first Tongan-American communities in the U.S. in Salt Lake City, Utah and Oahu, Hawaii.

Beginning as a trickle in the 1950s, Tongans' overseas migration stepped up after 1965, when the U.S. relaxed migration policies for non-Europeans, and burgeoned during the 1970s and 1980s, reaching migration rates of more than two percent annually. By the mid-1980s, more than 1,900 Tongans were leaving Tonga each year, slowing the natural population growth rate of 2.3 percent annually to only 0.3 by the census year 1996.

The results of three decades of migration were apparent in the last Tongan census. Of Tonga's population of 97,784, almost seven of 10 Tongans now reside on the main island of Tongatapu, and practically one-quarter of the entire population lives in the capital, Nuku'alofa. Outer island areas are depopulating rapidly, leading to new government policies aimed at stemming the tide of internal population movement. Although recent population estimates suggest that migration overseas may be slowing, today half of the estimated 216,000 Tongans in the world are abroad, and almost every household has a relative resident in another country. About two in 10 of Tonga's expatriates are residents of Australia, while four out of every 10 overseas Tongans live in the U.S., and another four out of 10 live in New Zealand. The connections between migrants and their homeland have created a new global village of Tongans, with profound implications for their homeland.
Migration, Remittances, and the Tongan Economy
The out-migration of Tongans has had many more ramifications than the curbing of population growth. At both the village and national levels, migration and migrants have become central to the economic and social fabric of contemporary Tongan society.

Like many other Pacific island nations, Tonga has become a so-called MIRAB economy, that is, an economy dependent on migration, remittances, foreign aid, and government bureaucracy as its major sources of revenue. Despite efforts to diversify, Tonga has a limited export sector, consisting of agricultural exports including squash, fish, root crops, vanilla, and kava, and a fledging tourist industry. Since the 1960s, imports have exceeded exports, resulting in a consistent pattern of negative trade balances. In 2002, total imports to Tonga were more than six times its exports. Building materials, agricultural chemicals, fuel, and imported food (despite the fact that 65 percent of the work force is in agriculture) make up the bulk of imported items.

It is migration, along with the remittances of cash and goods from migrants who live and work overseas, that keeps the Tongan economy afloat. At the national level, remittances are the major source of foreign exchange and accounted in FY2002 for about 50 percent of GDP. At the village and household levels, remittances are an integral part of income and consumption. In addition to receiving shipping containers filled with appliances, clothing, toys, and building materials, villagers are regularly sent cash remittances from their relatives overseas. Seventy-five percent of all Tongan households report receiving remittances from overseas, making remittances the single most widespread source of income in Tonga. Remittances also comprise a sizable proportion of total household income, second only nationally to "wages and salaries" as the largest income source. At a national level, reported remittances-and there is ample evidence that much more is received than formally reported-comprise 22 percent of income derived from all cash sources, including wages, salaries, and sales of produce. In some villages, remittances account for as much as 50 percent of all household income.

Although individuals and families are the main benefactors of remittances from overseas Tongans, communal remittances are also extremely important in Tonga, and have greater economic significance here than in most other areas of the world. Overseas Tongans regularly send back money to their villages and local institutions, underwriting public ceremonial events, such as the anniversary of a local school, and funding practical communal projects, such as the purchase of a new village water pump.

Overseas Tongans have, perhaps unwittingly, re-oriented income-generating activities in the village as well. Where villagers wanting extra cash once concentrated on handicraft items for tourists-baskets, tikis, and tapa cloth placemats-there is now a robust trade in traditional wealth and food items for Tongans. Village women are much busier making tapa cloth and pandanus mats for visiting Tongans or relatives overseas, and men have found new markets for kava and traditional food items.

The tourist industry itself is now bolstered substantially by overseas Tongans' visits "home" for holidays and special events. Of the reported 35,000 tourists who visited the kingdom in 2002, about half had come to visit friends and relatives. This is more than six times the proportion of visiting relatives just two decades ago, and a clear indication of the currently critical role of Tongan migrants in the tourist economy.

The diverse contributions of migrants to the Tongan economy-from family remittances, to communal aid, to tourism and business investments-have not escaped the notice of the Tongan government, which has responded by supporting overseas Tongans with favorable domestic policies. Tongans wishing to become citizens overseas may retain their Tongan citizenship as well as their land rights in Tonga. The king quashed proposed legislation that would limit the land rights of those residents permanently overseas, out of the legitimate fear that such a law would anger overseas Tongans and diminish remittances.

All told, migration underwrites a relatively prosperous island lifestyle, and rural Tongans enjoy many more amenities than they once had. In 1986, fewer than five percent of Tongan households owned a refrigerator and less than three percent owned a motor vehicle. Spurred by remittance money, ownership of a vehicle had climbed by 1996 to 34.4 percent of households and almost half of all households had a refrigerator. Running water and electricity are now available in Tonga's more remote areas, and phones, TVs, VCRs, and other appliances are increasingly common village fare.

While most Tongans appreciate the increased material abundance that migration and remittances have brought, they must also deal with migration's economic downsides. Out-migration coupled with high birth rates has left a higher proportion of young and old in the kingdom, resulting in high dependency ratios (79 percent in 1996) in the villages.

Overseas money flowing into the kingdom has encouraged a high rate of consumption, but that material prosperity is coupled with high inflation rates-more than 10 percent in 2002 and 2003-and uncertainty about how long the overseas largesse will continue.
Tongans Overseas
In many ways, the health of the Tongan economy depends on its relationship to migrants, on migrants' enduring sentiments about Tonga, and on the economic success of migrants in their new countries. Thus far, Tongans overseas have sent a steady stream of remittances home, one that does not appear to deteriorate markedly with the amount of time a migrant is overseas. Migrants visit in large numbers and invest in Tongan businesses, stimulating the local economy, just as they provide substantial community aid, particularly in times of greatest need. But the future of these revenue streams is uncertain. They depend on the changing social and economic fabric of overseas Tongan communities.

The first Tongan migrants were young single men, and occasionally women, who left home ostensibly for a few years to earn high overseas wages that would help feather nests back in Tonga. Many "temporary" migrants, however, became permanent. Individuals or couples who had made a foothold overseas in the 1960s began bringing over family members, providing housing and support for the new migrants until they could manage a residence of their own. This "chain migration" resulted in geographical concentrations of Tongans-in Auckland, New Zealand or Melbourne, Australia; San Mateo, California or Oahu, Hawaii-where the Tongan language and customs were retained and new migrants could find a dense network of social and financial support. A new migrant could find a Tongan church service, a Polynesian grocery store or dance troupe, a Tongan kava-drinking club, and a travel agent who spoke the mother tongue.

Because of their potential for support and familiarity, these communities attracted even more Tongans. Between 1980 and 1990, the U.S. population of Tongans rose 58 percent; in the five-year period between 1996 and 2001, New Zealand saw a 30 percent increase, and the number of Tongans entering Australia each year tripled during the 1990s.

The Tongan islands have remained an integral part of these burgeoning overseas communities, both materially and ideologically. Tonga means "home" to many and the source of wanted news, relationships, and traditions. Overseas Tongans teach island history, folklore, customs, and family ways in an attempt to raise their children with Tongan values; island dignitaries, customs, dance, traditional goods, and food from the islands remain central in reproducing Tongan-ness (anga fakaTonga) overseas. The return flow of these identity processes is continued remittances and visits to Tonga.

In part, the ability of overseas Tongans to continue their high level of remittances is based on their own economic success. Tongan migration was fueled by the wage differentials between Tonga and the host countries, and still, in 2003, a Tongan migrant in the U.S. earned 10 times more than a Tongan islander. However, compared to norms in their host countries, Tongans overseas earn much less than their non-Tongan counterparts, only about 75 percent of the earnings other New Zealanders and 70 percent of the earnings other Americans. Tongans overseas have higher rates of underemployment and unemployment, and occupy jobs in sales, service, construction, manufacturing, and transportation that are more vulnerable to the fluctuations of the economy. All this makes it more difficult to sustain large and regular remittances.

Perhaps the biggest threat to the stability of remittance patterns, however, is the natural transformation of the migrant population itself. Because migration only really began in earnest in the late 1960s, most Tongans overseas in the 1980s were not only relatively recent migrants, they were also Tongan-born. These Tongans, however, produced a next generation of Tongan-Americans, Tongan-Zealanders, and Tongan-Australians. This generation will soon come of age, have children of their own, and hold the economic purse strings.

In 2004, the composition of the Tongan overseas population is on the brink of changing, only a few years away from having the majority of its members be overseas born. In the United States, 46.5 percent of Tongans (by race) in the 2000 Census were born in the United States. In New Zealand, the overseas born, at 53 percent, have already become the majority. Although this population is still young, within a decade or two, they will be the ones making the primary economic decisions.

This new generation of New Zealanders, Americans, and Australians with Tongan heritage has more tenuous ties to Tonga. Although their identification as Tongans is still generally strong, they have never lived in a village, felt the same loyalty to a local noble, or grown up with people who are living in Tonga. About 40 percent of this overseas-born group cannot hold an everyday conversation in Tongan, and a considerable number have never seen the islands. One can only guess the future effects of these demographic changes on remittances, but they do not bode well for the Tongan economy. It is unlikely that these children and grandchildren of migrants will remit as strongly or as consistently as those who have known Tonga as their childhood home.
Political Reverberations in the Kingdom
Migrants, as well as the prospect of their declining remittances, figure importantly in the growing political tensions within the kingdom. For many years, migration has been a stop-gap way of dealing with economic discontent, funneling large numbers of prospective job seekers overseas at the same time that it has propped up local Tongan assets and aspirations with remittance money. As planners look to the future, when remittances threaten to slow, the economic horizon looks bleaker unless new actions are taken. This prospect is bringing new political issues to the fore.

Tongan youth continue to move in large numbers from Tonga's outer islands to its main island in search of work, and each year 700-800 school leavers graduate with the expectation of salaried government employment or a place in industry. However, Tonga's government bureaucracy cannot keep pace with the demand for jobs, even among its educated. If anything, the government sector is cutting back. To stabilize its economy and cut costs, planners are proposing to reduce wages and cut more than 550 civil service posts. The government is scrambling to address its employment crisis by revamping the educational system to prepare school leavers for non-government work, by discouraging internal migration, and by promoting the development of private-sector jobs.

Although the expansion of the private sector was a major priority in Tonga's seventh Strategic Development Plan (2001-2003), private industry has been lethargic, accounting for only 19 percent of jobs in the last census. In 2003, manufacturing represented only a scant three percent of GNP. Without substantial job openings in either industry or government bureaucracy, the country faces growing internal problems as it attempts to deal with rapidly rising underemployment and unemployment, now at 13.3 percent. Discontent with employment opportunities is one of the key issues feeding the Tongan Democracy Movement (TDM), which has simultaneously been fueled by the expansion of Tonga's middle class and its influential overseas communities.

Democracy, middle class life, and migration are all related historical phenomenon, and it is no surprise that the sentiment for democratic reform in Tonga began to arise in the late 1970s, after migration was in full swing. With many family members residing overseas and remitting, Tongan villagers saw rising expectations for themselves in income, lifestyle, and education, as well as a wider political purview that included both greater familiarity with democratic systems and new social attitudes in their overseas relatives.

By the 1990s, this democratic sentiment had congealed into the TDM, which was formally organized in 1992, according to its website, to "...to achieve the goal of forming an open, free and democratic government of the people, elected by the people, for the people, based on the principles of equality, justice and peace." Among its targets for complaints is the composition of Tonga's Legislative Assembly, which is made up of 30 voting members. Disproportionate power is held by the king and nobles because Tonga's 33 noble families elect nine seats; more than 100,000 commoners elect another nine "People's Representatives" seats; and the king appoints the additional 12 seats from among his own cabinet ministers. The TDM aims include greater equality for commoners in parliamentary power, more government accountability, and an equal distribution of educational and economic opportunities.

In its short history, the TDM has fought on two primary fronts: electing pro-democracy candidates to the People's Representatives seats, and exposing irregularities and inequities in the political system through the press. In the 1993 elections, pro-democracy candidates won six commoner seats, and since this time a pro-democracy bloc has held the majority of such seats. In the March 2002 election, seven of nine elected representatives of the people were chosen under the pro-democracy banner, with the remaining two representing "traditionalist" values.

During this process, the alternative press-alternative, that is, to the government-controlled daily newspaper, the Tongan Chronicle- has provided an important forum to air grievances and publish accusations of mismanagement and financial abuse lodged by the TDM, which recently renamed itself the Tonga Human Rights & Democracy Movement (THRDM). One of these papers, The Tongan Times, is at the center of a recent controversy that threatens to produce significant changes in the political climate.

In February of 2003, the king banned the paper, which is published in the Tongan language from the Tongan editor's home base in New Zealand, and serves both Tongan islanders and migrants. After the courts overturned the ban, the royalty-controlled Legislative Assembly initiated and passed legislation to "allow the government to exert control over coverage of 'cultural' and 'moral' issues, ban publications it deems offensive, and ban foreign ownership of the media," according to the U.S. Department of State. The new legislation also limited the right of courts to review royal decisions. In October 2003, this legislation spurred the largest protest in Tongan history, after which, in mid-December, the king very quietly signed the newspaper ban into law. In 2004, the new law has already been used to confiscate copies of The Tongan Times from shelves in the capital.

The facts of the protest-everything from its size, to its membership, to its meaning-are hotly disputed among royal and pro-democracy spokesmen. Royal representatives suggest that the protest was marginal, and that the democracy movement is made up of a fringe Catholic minority and overseas migrants and foreigners. However, there is clearly wide support within the kingdom, even among some of Tonga's nobles, for pro-democracy issues such as government accountability.

While democracy supporters, including the overseas press, represent the king as an unsupported "quasi-dictator," many Tongans-even those in the THRDM-have an abiding loyalty to traditional Tongan life, including its respect for chiefly presence, prerogative, and privilege. It is yet unclear whether the Tongan people would really support a full Western-style representative democracy. What is clear, however, is that the incident is but one example of an overarching 21st century process: the production of new national sensibilities and issues through the interaction of global and local forces. Migration has played a key role in this process, and will continue to loom large in Tonga's economic, political, and cultural future.
Sources
Asian Development Bank. 2003. Asian Development Outlook 2003 : II. Economic Trends and Prospects in Developing Asia, (http://www.adb.org/Documents/Books/ADO/2003/ton.asp), Manila, Philippines

Bertram, Geoffrey and R. F. Watters. 1985. "The MIRAB Economy and South Pacific Microstates," Pacific Viewpoint 26 (3): 497-520.

Brown, Richard P.C. 1995 "Hidden Foreign Exchange Flows: Estimating Unofficial Remittances to Tonga and Western Samoa." Asian and Pacific Migration Journal. 4 (1), p. 35-54.

------------1998 "Do Migrants' Remittances Decline over Time? Evidence from Tongans and Western Samoans in Australia," The Contemporary Pacific, 10 (1): 107-151.

Connell, John and Richard P.C. Brown. 1995. "Migration and Remittances in the South Pacific: Towards New Perspectives." Asian and Pacific Migration Journal, 4 (1): 1-33.

Dixon, David. 2003. Tongans in the United States: The Results of Census 2000. Unpublished MA Thesis. Northern Arizona University.

Evans, Mike. 1999. "Is Tonga's MIRAB Economy Sustainable? A View From the Village and a View Without It," Pacific Studies, 22 (3-4): 137-166.

Faeamani, Sione 'U. 1995. "The Impact of Remittances on Rural Development in Tongan Villages," Asian and Pacific Migration Journal. 4 (1): 139-155.

James, Kerry. 2002. "The Recent Elections in Tonga," The Journal of Pacific History. 37(3): 313-322.

Kingdom of Tonga, Statistics Department. June 1991. Statistical Abstract 1989, Nuku'alofa, Tonga

------------1999 (October) Tonga Population Census, 1996: Household Analysis, Department of Statistics, Nuku'alofa, Tonga.

Kingdom of Tonga, Ministry of Education. 2002. "Social Aspects of Sustainable Development in Tonga," Ministry of Education National Assessment Report, Nuku'alofa, Tonga.

Kingdom of Tonga, Statistics Department, http://www.spc.int/prism/Country/TO/stats (updated November 24 2003). On-line reports: International Merchandise Trade Report; Household Income and Expenditure Survey; Labour Force Report, 1996 Census; Tonga Visitor's Bureau, Visitors and Purpose of Visit 1998-2002.

Human Rights and Democracy Movement in Tonga. "Who We Are and What We Do," Nuku'alofa Tonga. http://www.planet-tonga.com/HRDMT

Lee, Helen M. 2003. Tongans Overseas: Between Two Shores. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press.

New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs. July/Aug 2003. Pacific Division Economic Update (Tonga), Wellington, N.Z.

Secretariat of the Pacific Community. March 2001. Country Statement 20 (Kingdom of Tonga), Regional Seminar on Population and Development, Noumea, New Caledonia.

Statistics New Zealand (Te Tari Tatau), Wellington, New Zealand) " Tongan People in New Zealand" (reports on Tongan Language, Labour Force, Population and Income) available online

Small, Cathy A. 1997. Voyages: From Tongan Villages to American Suburbs. Ithaca: Cornell University Press

--------------2001, Tongan Population Simulation, Report to TONGA Community Development Trust, April 29, 2001.

Wood, A. H. 1978 (reprinted from 1943) History and Geography of Tonga. Canberra: Kalia Press.

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David Dixon Cathy A. Small, David L. Dixon 

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The Kingdom of Tonga, an archipelago of islands in the South Pacific, is the last surviving Polynesian kingdom. Although a British protectorate for 70 years, Tonga managed to survive the ravages of the colonial world with much of its heritage and authority intact, including indigenous chiefly leadership, Tongan-only land ownership, and a robust subsistence farming and fishing economic sector.

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A Short History of the Australian Theatre to 1910

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Australian theatre has a long and distinguished history. It is a history which was influenced by the two great western powers, the United States and Britain. The influence of the British tradition on Australian theatre should not be underestimated. British born entrepreneurs were the fathers of Australian theatre.

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Chris Hemsworth's Australian bucket list - Tourism Australia

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One of the most well-known Aussies in the world, Chris Hemsworth, tells us his top 5 Australian bucket list experiences.

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New Holland ( Dutch: Nieuw Holland ; Latin: Nova Hollandia ) is a historical European name for mainland Australia. The name was first applied to Australia in 1644 by the Dutch seafarer Abel Tasman.

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Charles Darwin: Charles Darwin, English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection founded modern evolutionary studies.

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Charles Darwin is best known for his work as a naturalist, developing a theory of evolution to explain biological change.

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Politics

Read why Aboriginal children were stolen from their families, where they were taken and what happened to them. The horrific abuse they suffered in institutions and foster families left thousands traumatised for life.

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Wishing you knew more about Aboriginal culture? Search no more.

Get key foundational knowledge about Aboriginal culture in a fun and engaging way.

This is no ordinary resource: It includes a fictional story, quizzes, crosswords and even a treasure hunt.
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Quick overview

One of the darkest chapters of Australian history was the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Children as young as babies were stolen from their families to be placed in girls and boys homes, foster families or missions. At the age of 18 they were 'released' into white society, most scarred for life by their experiences.

These Aboriginal people are collectively referred to as the 'Stolen Generations' because several generations were affected.

Many Aboriginal people are still searching for their parents and siblings.

Watch this 8-minute video from Australian Screen that summarised the key points of the Stolen Generations:

I feel our childhood has been taken away from us and it has left a big hole in our lives. -Jennifer, personal story in the Bringing Them Home Report

A guide to the Stolen Generations

Define 'Stolen Generations'

The term "Stolen Generations" is used for Aboriginal people forcefully taken away (stolen) from their families between the 1890s and 1970s, many to never to see their parents, siblings or relatives again. Because the period covers many decades we speak of "generations" (plural) rather than "generation".

Why were Aboriginal children stolen?

This is the most burning question for members of the Stolen Generations. In removing their children white people stole Aboriginal people's future. Language, tradition, knowledge, dances and spirituality could only live if passed on to their children. In breaking this circle of life white people hoped to end Aboriginal culture within a short time and get rid of "the Aboriginal problem".

In the early 20th century under the assimilation policy white Australians thought Aboriginal people would die out. In three generations, they thought, Aboriginal genes would have been 'bred out' when Aboriginal people had children with white people.

"It was a presumption for many years that we girls would grow up and marry nice white boys," says Aboriginal woman Barbara Cummings, a member of the Stolen Generations [31]. "We would have nice fairer children who, if they were girls, would marry white boys again and eventually the colour would die out. That was the original plan - the whole removal policy was based on the women because the women could breed."

Adult Aboriginal people resisted efforts to be driven out of towns by simply coming back. But children taken away were much easier to control.

I grew up feeling alone, a black girl in a white world, and I resented them for trying to make me white but they couldn't wash away thousands of years of dreaming.-Aunty Rhonda Collard, member of the Stolen Generations [10]

Aboriginal children who were taken away also fed the insatiable demand for station workers and domestic servants. Without these cheap, and often unpaid, labourers white Australians wouldn't have been able to build the wealth and infrastructure that helped them prosper. This is where the Stolen Generations and the stolen wages become one story.

Authorities also took children away pretending that Aboriginal parents would neglect them. There is evidence, however, that kids were malnourished or starving because Aboriginal people were not paid the full wages they were owed [7].

Which children were taken away?

Authorities targeted mainly children of mixed descent, i.e. what they called 'half-caste' Aboriginal children (caution, this is a derogative term!). It was thought these Aboriginal children could be assimilated more easily into white society.

During this time many children were not told that they were Aboriginal and discovered this much later in their lives. So-called 'A grade' babies were not obviously Aboriginal and were fostered out without telling their new parents their heritage. For 'B grade' babies, one could tell their Aboriginal heritage if knowing "what to look out for". [46]

Aboriginal author Sally Morgan wrote about her experiences in her book ' My Place '.

What happened to the stolen children?

Often babies were stolen at birth, and their mother given no chance of seeing them for the first time. They were called ' Blanket Babies ' because nurses covered them with a blanket to hide them from their mothers. [46]

The stolen children were raised on missions or by foster parents, totally cut off from their Aboriginality. They were severely punished when caught talking their Aboriginal language. Some children never learned anything traditional and received little or no education. Instead the girls were trained to be domestic servants, the boys to be stockmen.

Many of the stolen girls and boys were physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Many babies born to girls raped by white men were also taken away from them, sometimes as soon as they were born.

There is no black or white, we are both of those. I am black and I am white. We were the product of white men raping our traditional women. We were an embarrassment. No-one wanted us. They just wanted us out of the way. -Zita Wallace, taken aged eight years [8]

Boys and girls were brought into separate institutions which they (and some experts) would later compare with German concentration camps and the holocaust. Many tried to run away but few succeeded. Many never saw their parents again or were told they were orphans.

We were each handed a pair of pyjamas with a number Mr Borland, the manager, had given us earlier printed on the pocket, and a shirt and pair of shorts also. I was number 33. Not Bill. Not even Simon. Just number 33. -Bill Simon, taken away aged 10 [14]

The most infamous institutions are following. Be careful when you mention them to Aboriginal people, a lot of hurt and bad memories might come up.

Bomaderry Children's Home (United Aborigines Mission) operated from 24 May 1908 to 1981 (59 Beinda Street, Bomaderry).

Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls' Home (Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls), originally a hospital, operated from 1911 to 1969. About 1,200 girls were placed in Cootamundra during this time. It celebrated its centenary on 11 August 2012.

Kinchela Aboriginal Boys' Home (Kinchela Training Institution) which moved to Kempsey in 1924. About 600 Aboriginal boys passed through Kinchela before it was closed in 1970. www.kinchelaboyshome.org.au

Mittagong Boys' Home

Kempsey

Parramatta Girls' Home which operated from 1887 until 1986. About 30,000 girls were locked up during that time. The home was also knows as the Industrial School for Girls, Girls Training School and Girls Training Home. Parragirls is a network of more than 350 women who lived in the home. Parramatta Girls is a play by Alana Valentine that is part of the HSC syllabus since 2010, contributing to the survivor's healing process.

Kahlin Compound, Darwin

The Bungalow, Alice Springs

Box Hill Boys Home, Melbourne

Many of those who were stolen established links with the area where they stayed for many years. After they left the institutions these people settled in the area.

However, the women and men also passed on the kinds of abuse they suffered to their own children (intergenerational trauma).

Sometimes at night we'd cry with hunger. We had to scrounge in the town dump, eating old bread, smashing tomato sauce bottles, licking them. - Bringing Them Home - Community Guide, children's experiences

Aerial photo of the former Cootamundra Girls Home. The property is near 39 Rinkin Street, Cootamundra, NSW 2590.

How many children were stolen?

That is not easy to answer. Few records of stolen children were kept, some were deliberately destroyed or just lost. Some administrations tried to tout their "successful assimilation" of Aboriginal people by deliberately understating Aboriginal numbers, thus distorting data.

Hence numbers can only be roughly estimated. It is estimated that between 1883 and 1969 more than 6,200 children were stolen in NSW alone [1][32].

A 1994 survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that one in every ten (10%) Aboriginal people aged over 25 had been removed from their families in childhood [2], a figure which seems to be confirmed by research since the Bringing Them Home Report [3]. Australia-wide numbers are in the tens of thousands.

If you apply this proportion to the 2011 Census figures of the Aboriginal population you'll get around 14,700 Stolen Generations members for that year. Considering those with immediate family who had been removed, an additional 160,000 Aboriginal people are directly affected by the policies of the Stolen Generations. [52]

The [South Australian] government was unable to say how many Stolen Generation people live in the state. -Statement in a 2007 article about the first court-ordered compensation ruling [5]

When were the children stolen?

Towards the end of the 19th century authorities started to take children away without a legal framework. A framework was established in 1909 with the Aborigines Protection Act.

During the 1960s the child removal process slowed down but continued well into the 1970s. Some of the schools and missions who held the Stolen Generations did not close until the early 1980s (e.g. Bomaderry Children's Home in NSW [12]).

What were the effects on the stolen children?

The effects on the stolen children and their families were profound and are ongoing.

Aboriginal people suffer from many social and personal problems including mental illness, violence, alcoholism and welfare dependance, but there are many more issues members of the Stolen Generations suffer from.

Is there any official documentation of the Stolen Generations?

On 26 May 1997 the landmark Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament. The report was the result of a national inquiry that investigated the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report was a vital step in the healing journey of many Stolen Generations members. It was the first time their stories were acknowledged in public. It was also the first time it was formally reported that what governments did to these children was inhumane and the impact has been lifelong.

The full report is available at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

You can also watch the Commission's 30-minute documentary about the separation of Aboriginal children from their families.

More children are being taken today than during the Stolen Generations period

2,785

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in 1997 when the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament [49].

16,846

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in June 2016 [49].

Children continue to be taken from their families. The Department of Community Services (DoCS) has the authority to remove children from their families if they were "at risk of significant harm".

The injustices of the past must never, never happen again.-former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, in his apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008.

If you don't already know, the Stolen Generation scenario still applies today and has been here for a long time and will continue to be here.-Paul Ralph, CEO of KARI Aboriginal Resources Inc [28]

About 60 children are being taken away every month by child protection services, says Elder Djiniyini Gondarra, who represents 8,000 Yolngu people of east Arnhem Land [29]. "Children are being taken away from us at numbers not seen since the Stolen Generations."

Indeed, since the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008 the number of Aboriginal children in care has increased by 65% [44].

Aboriginal children are

almost 8 times more likely to be the subject of departmental intervention,

9 times more Aboriginal children are on care and protection orders [21], and

10 times more Aboriginal children are in out-of-home care than non-Aboriginal kids [39].

The current generation may one day grow up to say they, too, had been removed from their families.

In Victoria, only about 60% of Koorie children in care remained connected to their family and culture [37].

Fact In 2012, Olga Havnen, a senior Northern Territory government official, revealed that more than $80m was spent on the surveillance of families and the removal of children compared with just $500,000 on supporting the same impoverished families. Her warning of a second Stolen Generation led to her sacking. [41]

Why are they still taken away?

Intergenerational effects of separation from family and culture are partly to blame: parents stolen as kids are passing on this trauma to their own children.

But many government workers who decide about removing children seem to have difficulty telling neglect from poverty.

Larrakia elder Dr Christine Fejo-King was a consultant to the NT Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. She found neglect was the biggest reason why Aboriginal children were removed from their families, but the system was confusing the effects of absolute poverty with the concept of neglect. [53]

"There's a difference between absolute poverty which is often then equated to neglect as opposed to actual life-threatening situations for that child as a result of the people that they're living with in an unsafe place," she said.

Aboriginal children are mostly removed for 'neglect' or 'emotional abuse'. I have seen first hand how these judgements are made on a racist basis, or arise directly from the extreme poverty faced by families.-Padraic Gibson, Senior Researcher, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney [43]

Homework: Three generations fearing for their kids

Here is what Aboriginal mother Kelly Briggs said about her own fears, those of her mum and of her grandmother [40]:

"What happens if the small amount of work I have gained dries up [...]? What if money again becomes so tight that shoes, uniforms, excursions, lunches or transport [...] become issues that keep my kids from turning up at school on occasion? What exactly is the scope of these truancy officers? Do they give my kids lunch? Buy them uniforms? Will my name be added to some department of community services list somewhere? Will there be a mark upon my name that gives rise to visits from people who can remove my children from my care?

"I spoke honestly and frankly with my mother about my worries. She was amazed that this is still happening [...]. We spoke of her own mother's obsession with cleanliness, which sprang from her fear of the dreaded 'welfare man', a government employee who could come to your house and demand to be let inside to ensure your house was clean, that there was adequate food available, that the children were going to school.

"She then went on to tell me about her own fears when she was raising me and my siblings: the absolute terror she felt when she had to collect food vouchers of some nameless person swooping in to take us kids off her because she was facing hardship after my father passed away. The tremble in her voice as she recounted this broke my heart."

Questions

Why is Aunty Kelly fearing her kids can be taken away?

Find out how much Kelly has to pay for the items she has listed.

Find one word that represents the effect the women's worries had on their lives.

In which years were the women in Kelly's family worried about their children?

Research what rights the "welfare man" had, which government agency was allowed to take kids "facing hardship", and what can happen today if kids don't turn up at school.

With the background of Kelly's story above, explain what she said below.

In the back of my mind, I always hear the voice that says "don't ever let anyone know you're doing it tough, because they will take your kids from you".-Kelly Briggs, Aboriginal mother [40]

The new Stolen Generation is much larger

A Special Commission of Inquiry into the Department of Community Services found that in March 2008 there were 4,458 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care,4 times as many Aboriginal children as were in foster homes, institutions or missions in 1969, during the Stolen Generations [19]. 8% of Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over were removed from their natural families in 2008 [22].
By 2014, almost 35% of all children in care were Aboriginal. But Aboriginal children were making up only 4.4% of Australia's total child population. [44]

From February 2001 to August 2007 the number of children reported to DoCS increased by 300% to 55,303 [18].

In Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represent 6.3% of the under-18s, yet in 2006 they made up over 25% of those in out-of-home care [26]. In 2011 in New South Wales, 33% of Aboriginal children and young people were in the care system, and the national figure was 36% [28].

In Western Australia, 46% of children in state care were Aboriginal in 2011, in regional areas "nearly 100%" were thought to be Aboriginal [24].

Filmmaker John Pilger investigates this new stolen generation in Utopia. "The theft is now higher than at any time in the last century," he found. In mid-1997 there were 2,785 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care across Australia. By mid-2012 there were 13,299 - almost a five-fold increase.

Pilger notes the NT government spent $80 million in one year removing children but just $500,000 supporting impoverished families. [38]

If you don't fix the underlying issues-unemployment, housing-that contribute to child protection, Aboriginal children will continue to be removed from their families. -Julie Tommy Walker, Aboriginal leader and Innawonga woman [24]

If Aboriginal children are put into foster care, they should at least be put into other Aboriginal families. These children's safety is "always grounded in their culture" [20] because they need to remain connected to the communities and be sure and strong in their cultural identity.

But in 2013, in the Northern Territory, about 66% of children are taken away from their culture and community. To no surprise, one-third of the Aboriginal children removed to non-Aboriginal homes have told the government they had lost all contact with family [36].

The madness of the past is still the cruelty of today.-Jeff McMullen, journalist [36]

Only one day a year

An Aboriginal Perth father can only see his two daughters for what equates to one day a year [23].

His two children have been removed from their mother's care by the Department of Child Protection (DCP) and placed with non-Aboriginal carers for 4 years.

The father lodged a complaint saying that the department failed to let the children know about their family and culture. He was only allowed to see his daughters one hour every fortnight which "equates to one day a year".

The man's mother was a member of the Stolen Generations. "[I ] saw my mother and all her siblings taken from my grandparents, and my grandparents taken from my great grandparents," he said.

Today's numbers of stolen children are so high that in January 2014 Aboriginal grandmothers from Gunnedah in northern NSW formed the group Grandmothers Against Removals in an effort to highlight the process of removal used by the New South Wales Department of Children's Services.

Was it legal to steal Aboriginal children?

With all the pain and trauma caused by the child removal policies one has to ask: Was this legal? Didn't these laws violate basic human rights?

These questions were put to Australia's High Court in 1997 when two members of the Stolen Generations sued the Commonwealth (Kruger vs Commonwealth). They argued that the laws breached basic fundamental human rights such as the right to due process before the law, equality before the law, freedom of movement and freedom of religion.

In a "dramatic demonstration of Australia's lack of rights protection" [27] the High Court held that none of these rights were protected. We are not talking Aboriginal rights here-we are talking human rights!

In other words, it was perfectly legal for Australia's government to forcibly remove Aboriginal children.

Australia's failure to protect basic human rights falls hardest on the poor, the marginalised and the socioeconomic disadvantaged. That is, they fall hardest on Aboriginal people, families and communities.

Stolen Generation reunions

Members of the Stolen Generations yearn most to reunite with their lost loved ones. Sometimes family members find each other just in time, sometimes just a short time too late. Services which help people reunite need more funding.

We didn't find our family until I was 11 or 12. -Prof. Larissa Behrendt, Aboriginal barrister [6]

Stolen Generation member dies only months after reunion

A 107-year-old member of the Stolen Generations died only months after she was finally reunited with members of her original people in Port Hedland, Western Australia [4]. Belinda Dann's life is a sad example of many other members of the Stolen Generations, many of whom died broken-hearted because they never saw their loved ones again.

Belinda was six years old when she was taken from her mother. Along with sisters she was taken to Beagle Bay mission in north-western Australia. When they asked for their mother they were told she would come which she never did. She married as a teenager and moved to Port Hedland. She remembered her Aboriginal name but did not know who she was and where she came from.

By coincidence one of Belinda's grandsons mentioned her Aboriginal name in a conversation with an Aboriginal girl who had heard of Belinda and was connected to her people. A 100-year-long search was over. Belinda met her people and, incredibly, started speaking in her native Aboriginal language again. Four months later she died.

We didn't know we were related. You find it out at 20 or 30, sitting in a pub drinking. -Richard Pittman, Stolen Generations member, taken aged four [11]

Re-union services need more funding

The main service members of the Stolen Generations can use to find loved ones is Link-Up (see below). But Link-Up needs more resources to work effectively [25]. Reunions take too long to be organised, and once they had been, they were far too short, or people were unable to afford return visits.

Some Aboriginal people feel like being "stolen again" when they are unable to revisit their newly found family [25].

Healing members of the Stolen Generations

The hibiscus flower is a symbol for the Stolen Generations. It was chosen because its lilac colour denotes spiritual healing and compassion and for the fact that it is widespread, grows everywhere and is a survivor [30]. Photo: butupa, Flickr

On 13 February 2009, one year after it apologised to the Stolen Generations, the Australian government promised to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation.

The foundation is designed to deal with the "trauma experienced by all Aboriginal people as the after-effect of colonisation" [13], but with a particular focus on the Stolen Generations.

It won't deliver healing services, instead it funds healing work, educates communities and social workers and evaluates healing programs to find out what works.

According to Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist Dr Greg Phillips, healing is "a spiritual process that includes recovery from addiction, therapeutic change and cultural renewal" [13].

Healing is not just another government program. It has taken many generations to get to this level of trauma and it will take quite a few to fully recover from it. -Dr Greg Phillips, Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist from the Waanyi people [13]

Many members of the Stolen Generations attend annual reunions where they meet fellow Aboriginal people to share their stories and experiences they endured as children in the institutions where they were raised. The Link-Up service (see bottom of this page) often supplies funding for these reunions. For many this is the start of their journey of healing.

Denying history: 'Not stolen, but rescued'

A significant number of Australians disagreed with the apology delivered in February 2008 to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Here are their main arguments:

The Stolen Generations don't exist. Some people simply and flatly deny that children were stolen. They want to see 'proof' and claim no-one could 'find' them. For example, journalist Andrew Bolt claimed the Stolen Generations were "a giant intellectual fraud with unforgivable consequences" and "no one has yet produced a single child who was stolen under a government policy to remove children just because they were Aboriginal and not because they needed help." [45]

Aboriginal children were 'rescued'. Supporters claim that Aboriginal children were not stolen but 'rescued' from a family and community environment that was "rife with rape, incest, drug and/or alcohol abuse and insanitary living conditions" [9]. The Aboriginal children were 'given a chance'.

I've asked my granny if she thought she was rescued. She replied, "I didn't need rescuing from my mother's love."-Che Cockatoo-Collins [16]

'We did not do it'. People who refuse to apologise to the Stolen Generations feel that they or their ancestors had no part in what happened, hence shared no responsibility for the pain caused.

An apology leads to compensation claims. Many people fear that after the apology "a flood of compensation claims will be forthcoming" running to "millions of dollars" [9].

The "white stolen generations"

Did you know that in Australia there is another stolen generation, one which shares the pain and consequences? It's called the "white stolen generation" to distinguish it from the Aboriginal stolen generation.

In the five decades up to 1982, the newborn babies of young, single women were forcibly removed from them for adoption, a practice sometimes called 'baby farming'. Mothers were drugged, tethered to beds, not allowed to see their babies, told they were dead. [47] Many of these adoptions occurred after the mothers were sent away by their families due to the stigma associated with being pregnant and unmarried.

More than 250,000 white mothers lost their babies to forcible removal at birth by these past illegal adoption practices. Groups such as Adoption Loss Adult Support and Apology Alliance offer help and support.

Between 2010 and 2012 apologies were offered by Western Australia, South Australia, ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered a national apology to those affected by forced adoptions in 2013.

"My birth father never knew I existed"

Here is the story of a member of the white stolen generation [48]:

Both my parents were given up to adoption, as was I. In my case my mother, at the time aged 16, was forced by her adoptive mother to give me up. She had no say in the matter and it's something that she had great difficulty dealing with for 42 years till the time that I tracked her down.

My birth father was never even told of my existence, and if not for a chance run-in with my mother ten years after my birth in Sydney would have never even known I existed. He was never asked for permission to give me up for adoption.

My birth mother's adoptive family went to great lengths to hide the fact that their teenage daughter was pregnant. They sent her off to Auckland, NZ, to give birth to me then give me up.

It wasn't until three years ago, when my birth father in Melbourne tracked me down, that I finally learnt the truth.

Stolen generations in other countries

Australia is not alone with its history of stolen children. Across the world are other countries with similar histories.

Argentina

A military coup in 1976 brought one of Argentina's "most brutal dictatorships" to power. The dictatorship took new-born babies away from their mothers during what is known as the "dirty war". It was uses as an instrument of war, social engineering or political revenge. [54]

Courts established later that the theft of babies was a systematic plan. When the Junta's hit squads abducted pregnant women they considered opponents to the regime, they imprisoned the women until they had given birth. Their babies were given to childless friends of the regime. Many mothers were then killed along with other prisoners.

Argentina's Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organisation trying to find the stolen children. Founded in 1977, by 2016 it had helped find 120 of the more than 500 children kidnapped.

China

Families who violate China's one-child policy face a constant threat of authorities illegally taking away their children.

Just like in Australia, some families say beatings and threats are used to force them into giving up their daughters. Others say they are tricked into signing away their parental rights [35].

Each town has a family-planning office, usually staffed by Communist Party cadres who have broad powers to order abortions and sterilisations. People who have additional babies can be fined up to 6 times their annual income.

Since the early 1990s, more than 80,000 Chinese children have been adopted abroad, most going to families in the United States. Officials are motivated by thousands of dollars that adoptive parents pay orphanages [35].

Since 2003, if people can't pay their fines, officials would take away their babies.

An official's statement is strikingly similar to what Australian officials told parents: ''They're better off with their adoptive parents than their birth parents,'' says Wu Benhua, director of Zhenyuan's civil affairs bureau.

It's too late. Your daughter has already gone to America.-Response Zhou Changqi got whose six-month-old daughter was taken in 2002 by family-planning officials in Guiyang [35]

Germany

Before Germany united in 1989, the German Democratic Republic's intelligence service ("Stasi") took away children of parents who eyed the West or had attempted to flee the communist state. Deemed unfit to bring up their kids "for the purpose of socialism" parents sometimes spent "half a lifetime searching" for them [34].

An estimated 1,000 families were torn apart by the GDR authorities. Forced adoptions could hit anyone considered "suspect", for example, a mother staying home for her children-incompatible with socialist guidelines.

Hundreds of Germans are still searching for their children, parents or siblings [34].

Ireland & England

The film Philomena brought widespread attention to the unmarried Irish mothers forced to surrender their babies to the Catholic church.

Norway

Norway's Child Protection Service, known as Barnevernet, is removing children from parents it deems unfit for parenting, and places them into foster care. Some of the young mothers had been reported - falsely - as mentally 'ill' by their parents in order to claim welfare payments, and the service then uses this information against them. [50]

About 1,500 children a year are removed from their parents. Between 2008 and 2013, emergency removals increased by 70%. While most of these cases are for valid reasons, a "growing number" of parents claim they happen without cause. Parents are told they "lack parenting skills".

Research found that 20% of the removal system is not working well, says Einar Salvesen, a whistleblower who has previously worked as a consultant psychologist for Barnevernet.

Some families feel that racial intolerance is a "big part" of their experience. Other countries accused Barnevernet of stripping children of their cultural identity.

An organisation, The Change Factory, gives stolen children a voice by sharing their experiences and knowledge with policy makers.

Spain

It was revealed in 2011 that the theft of children, begun under Franco for ideological ends, had turned into a form of baby trafficking that continued into the 1990s, with the complicity of doctors and the church. [54]

Switzerland

From the early 1800s to the 1950s thousands of Swiss children who were orphaned, illegitimate or from impoverished families were sent to work on farms as cheap labour. Many children suffered abuse at the hands of their host families while authorities turned a blind eye.

The Foster Boy ("Der Verdingbub"), a 2011 movie and one of the most successful Swiss films between 2007 and 2013, deals with this shameful chapter in the history of a country that is so often seen in a positive light.

From 1926 to 1973, the Swiss government had a semi-official policy of institutionalising Yeniche parents and having their children adopted by more "normal" Swiss citizens, in an effort to eliminate Yeniche culture. About 590 children were taken from their parents and put into orphanages, mental institutions and even prisons. [51]

Children of the Open Road (1992), named after the government program, tracks these policies towards the Rom (gypsies).

Stolen Generations resources

Free Stolen Generations booklet

A must-read is the report by Peter Read, 'The Stolen Generations - The removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales 1883 to 1969'.
Published in 1981 it was then a ground-breaking first attempt to document the devastating consequences of the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report's chapters are: 2006: The return of the Stolen Generations, Introduction, A typical case, The laws regarding children, The number of children taken, Life in the homes, Employment, Fostering, Going home, The effects, Why did they do it?, Appendix.

The 34-page report comes with several black-and-white images and can be downloaded as a PDF file from the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Free Bringing Them Home DVD

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, a government body, published a DVD in 1997. The free DVD is based on the Bringing Them Home Report which was released on the 26th May that year.

The DVD is a 32-minute documentary, interviewing Aboriginal people of the Stolen Generations and showing historical footage. It is a must-see for all interested in learning more and listening to the stories of Aboriginal people who were stolen. But be warned: The content is sometimes heartbreaking.

The first DVD is free, any further copy is just AUD 5. To order your copy send an email or letter to:

Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission
Level 8, Piccadilly Tower
133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000
www.humanrights.gov.au
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 02 9284 9672
Fax: 02 9284 9611

Watch movies about the Stolen Generations

A very good movie which tells the story of three young girls taken away from their family is Rabbit-Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce.

Baz Luhrmann's Australia also treats the Stolen Generations as a central theme of the movie.

The documentary Lousy Little Sixpence was the first film to tell shocked Australians the story of five girls stolen from their families.

Some short films by Aboriginal directors discuss Stolen Generations, e.g. Back Seat by Pauline Whyman or Bloodlines by Jacob Nash.

Or try the award-winning documentary Why me? - Stories from the Stolen Generations by Rick Cavaggion.

The film Children of the Open Road (1992, original title Kinder der Landstrasse) presents striking parallels between the Stolen Generations and Swiss government policies towards the Rom (gypsies) in the first half of the 20th century.
More movies about Aboriginal people or by Aboriginal directors

I was crying for the kids. It brought back personal memories for us. I was like him. I was like them. I was taken away.-Dorothy Beto, stolen aged 7 years, reacting to the movie Australia which tells about the Stolen Generations [17]

Teacher resource: 2 ways to teach about the Stolen Generations

When members of the Stolen Generations tell their stories in schools students are often in tears. Some stories might be too harsh for them.

Some teachers have found softer ways of teaching [33] which still show the full emotional impact the policies had on people.

1. Role playing. Children role play, for example, "we're going to take you to live with us because we think it's better. How do you feel?"

2. Tearing drawings. Students make a drawing of their family at home and include valued items such as pets or computers. The teacher then tells the story of stolen children and, while walking around the room, tears away part of each student's drawing. A student could then talk about how they felt about their valuable work being ripped apart and how they would feel being ripped from their family.

Stolen Generations organisations

There are a few organisations helping Aboriginal people from the Stolen Generations.

National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC)

The community-based National Sorry Day Committee was formed in 1998 after the Bringing Them Home report recommended that a National Sorry Day be held each year on 26 May "to commemorate the history of forcible removals and its effects."

The NDSC aims to achieve all 54 recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report, and its Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal supporters work together with Stolen Generations members, Aboriginal communities, government, social justice and community organisations to achieve this goal.

Link-Up

Founded in 1980 and based in New South Wales, Link-Up helps members of the Stolen Generations to find their relatives. It also offers counselling to newly reunited families.

Link-Up has offices in almost every Australian state. In South Australia from 1999 to 2007 Link-Up arranged 160 family reunions and brought together 4,915 people.
List of Australian Link-Up services
Family Link

Family Link was established in 2009 to identify family and kin placements for Aboriginal children in foster care.

The service, funded by Link-Up, works with the Department of Community Services to place them with other family members when Aboriginal children cannot live safely with their parents.

While only 4% of NSW's children are Aboriginal they make up 31% of all placements.

Family Link
Hazelbrook, Blue Mountains, NSW 2779

Family Records Unit

The Family Records Unit helps Aboriginal people in NSW access records about themselves and their families, particularly members of the Stolen Generations.

The Unit is run by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs which is the custodian of the records of the Aborigines Welfare Board.

Family Records Unit
NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs
Level 13, Tower B, Centennial Plaza
280 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Family Records Unit

Find and Connect

Find and Connect is a resource for the Forgotten Australians (all Australians who have been 'in care', including British Child Migrants and the Stolen Generations) who wish to find their history. It does not provide access to personal records, but helps individuals locate institutional records about them.

Find and Connect can help those of the Stolen Generations identify which institution(s) they received out-of-home 'care' in. For those wishing to find out more about their past it is then possible to find out where the institution's records are kept and how to access them.

Tip: Get free Stolen Generations postcards to send to your friends!

Quick overview

One of the darkest chapters of Australian history was the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families. Children as young as babies were stolen from their families to be placed in girls and boys homes, foster families or missions. At the age of 18 they were 'released' into white society, most scarred for life by their experiences.

These Aboriginal people are collectively referred to as the 'Stolen Generations' because several generations were affected.

Many Aboriginal people are still searching for their parents and siblings.

Watch this 8-minute video from Australian Screen that summarised the key points of the Stolen Generations:

I feel our childhood has been taken away from us and it has left a big hole in our lives. -Jennifer, personal story in the Bringing Them Home Report

A guide to the Stolen Generations

Define 'Stolen Generations'

The term "Stolen Generations" is used for Aboriginal people forcefully taken away (stolen) from their families between the 1890s and 1970s, many to never to see their parents, siblings or relatives again. Because the period covers many decades we speak of "generations" (plural) rather than "generation".

Why were Aboriginal children stolen?

This is the most burning question for members of the Stolen Generations. In removing their children white people stole Aboriginal people's future. Language, tradition, knowledge, dances and spirituality could only live if passed on to their children. In breaking this circle of life white people hoped to end Aboriginal culture within a short time and get rid of "the Aboriginal problem".

In the early 20th century under the assimilation policy white Australians thought Aboriginal people would die out. In three generations, they thought, Aboriginal genes would have been 'bred out' when Aboriginal people had children with white people.

"It was a presumption for many years that we girls would grow up and marry nice white boys," says Aboriginal woman Barbara Cummings, a member of the Stolen Generations [31]. "We would have nice fairer children who, if they were girls, would marry white boys again and eventually the colour would die out. That was the original plan - the whole removal policy was based on the women because the women could breed."

Adult Aboriginal people resisted efforts to be driven out of towns by simply coming back. But children taken away were much easier to control.

I grew up feeling alone, a black girl in a white world, and I resented them for trying to make me white but they couldn't wash away thousands of years of dreaming.-Aunty Rhonda Collard, member of the Stolen Generations [10]

Aboriginal children who were taken away also fed the insatiable demand for station workers and domestic servants. Without these cheap, and often unpaid, labourers white Australians wouldn't have been able to build the wealth and infrastructure that helped them prosper. This is where the Stolen Generations and the stolen wages become one story.

Authorities also took children away pretending that Aboriginal parents would neglect them. There is evidence, however, that kids were malnourished or starving because Aboriginal people were not paid the full wages they were owed [7].

Which children were taken away?

Authorities targeted mainly children of mixed descent, i.e. what they called 'half-caste' Aboriginal children (caution, this is a derogative term!). It was thought these Aboriginal children could be assimilated more easily into white society.

During this time many children were not told that they were Aboriginal and discovered this much later in their lives. So-called 'A grade' babies were not obviously Aboriginal and were fostered out without telling their new parents their heritage. For 'B grade' babies, one could tell their Aboriginal heritage if knowing "what to look out for". [46]

Aboriginal author Sally Morgan wrote about her experiences in her book ' My Place '.

What happened to the stolen children?

Often babies were stolen at birth, and their mother given no chance of seeing them for the first time. They were called ' Blanket Babies ' because nurses covered them with a blanket to hide them from their mothers. [46]

The stolen children were raised on missions or by foster parents, totally cut off from their Aboriginality. They were severely punished when caught talking their Aboriginal language. Some children never learned anything traditional and received little or no education. Instead the girls were trained to be domestic servants, the boys to be stockmen.

Many of the stolen girls and boys were physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Many babies born to girls raped by white men were also taken away from them, sometimes as soon as they were born.

There is no black or white, we are both of those. I am black and I am white. We were the product of white men raping our traditional women. We were an embarrassment. No-one wanted us. They just wanted us out of the way. -Zita Wallace, taken aged eight years [8]

Boys and girls were brought into separate institutions which they (and some experts) would later compare with German concentration camps and the holocaust. Many tried to run away but few succeeded. Many never saw their parents again or were told they were orphans.

We were each handed a pair of pyjamas with a number Mr Borland, the manager, had given us earlier printed on the pocket, and a shirt and pair of shorts also. I was number 33. Not Bill. Not even Simon. Just number 33. -Bill Simon, taken away aged 10 [14]

The most infamous institutions are following. Be careful when you mention them to Aboriginal people, a lot of hurt and bad memories might come up.

Bomaderry Children's Home (United Aborigines Mission) operated from 24 May 1908 to 1981 (59 Beinda Street, Bomaderry).

Cootamundra Aboriginal Girls' Home (Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls), originally a hospital, operated from 1911 to 1969. About 1,200 girls were placed in Cootamundra during this time. It celebrated its centenary on 11 August 2012.

Kinchela Aboriginal Boys' Home (Kinchela Training Institution) which moved to Kempsey in 1924. About 600 Aboriginal boys passed through Kinchela before it was closed in 1970. www.kinchelaboyshome.org.au

Mittagong Boys' Home

Kempsey

Parramatta Girls' Home which operated from 1887 until 1986. About 30,000 girls were locked up during that time. The home was also knows as the Industrial School for Girls, Girls Training School and Girls Training Home. Parragirls is a network of more than 350 women who lived in the home. Parramatta Girls is a play by Alana Valentine that is part of the HSC syllabus since 2010, contributing to the survivor's healing process.

Kahlin Compound, Darwin

The Bungalow, Alice Springs

Box Hill Boys Home, Melbourne

Many of those who were stolen established links with the area where they stayed for many years. After they left the institutions these people settled in the area.

However, the women and men also passed on the kinds of abuse they suffered to their own children (intergenerational trauma).

Sometimes at night we'd cry with hunger. We had to scrounge in the town dump, eating old bread, smashing tomato sauce bottles, licking them. - Bringing Them Home - Community Guide, children's experiences

Aerial photo of the former Cootamundra Girls Home. The property is near 39 Rinkin Street, Cootamundra, NSW 2590.

How many children were stolen?

That is not easy to answer. Few records of stolen children were kept, some were deliberately destroyed or just lost. Some administrations tried to tout their "successful assimilation" of Aboriginal people by deliberately understating Aboriginal numbers, thus distorting data.

Hence numbers can only be roughly estimated. It is estimated that between 1883 and 1969 more than 6,200 children were stolen in NSW alone [1][32].

A 1994 survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics stated that one in every ten (10%) Aboriginal people aged over 25 had been removed from their families in childhood [2], a figure which seems to be confirmed by research since the Bringing Them Home Report [3]. Australia-wide numbers are in the tens of thousands.

If you apply this proportion to the 2011 Census figures of the Aboriginal population you'll get around 14,700 Stolen Generations members for that year. Considering those with immediate family who had been removed, an additional 160,000 Aboriginal people are directly affected by the policies of the Stolen Generations. [52]

The [South Australian] government was unable to say how many Stolen Generation people live in the state. -Statement in a 2007 article about the first court-ordered compensation ruling [5]

When were the children stolen?

Towards the end of the 19th century authorities started to take children away without a legal framework. A framework was established in 1909 with the Aborigines Protection Act.

During the 1960s the child removal process slowed down but continued well into the 1970s. Some of the schools and missions who held the Stolen Generations did not close until the early 1980s (e.g. Bomaderry Children's Home in NSW [12]).

What were the effects on the stolen children?

The effects on the stolen children and their families were profound and are ongoing.

Aboriginal people suffer from many social and personal problems including mental illness, violence, alcoholism and welfare dependance, but there are many more issues members of the Stolen Generations suffer from.

Is there any official documentation of the Stolen Generations?

On 26 May 1997 the landmark Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament. The report was the result of a national inquiry that investigated the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report was a vital step in the healing journey of many Stolen Generations members. It was the first time their stories were acknowledged in public. It was also the first time it was formally reported that what governments did to these children was inhumane and the impact has been lifelong.

The full report is available at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

You can also watch the Commission's 30-minute documentary about the separation of Aboriginal children from their families.

More children are being taken today than during the Stolen Generations period

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in 1997 when the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Federal Parliament [49].

Number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in June 2016 [49].

Children continue to be taken from their families. The Department of Community Services (DoCS) has the authority to remove children from their families if they were "at risk of significant harm".

The injustices of the past must never, never happen again.-former prime minister, Kevin Rudd, in his apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008.

If you don't already know, the Stolen Generation scenario still applies today and has been here for a long time and will continue to be here.-Paul Ralph, CEO of KARI Aboriginal Resources Inc [28]

About 60 children are being taken away every month by child protection services, says Elder Djiniyini Gondarra, who represents 8,000 Yolngu people of east Arnhem Land [29]. "Children are being taken away from us at numbers not seen since the Stolen Generations."

Indeed, since the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008 the number of Aboriginal children in care has increased by 65% [44].

Aboriginal children are

almost 8 times more likely to be the subject of departmental intervention,

9 times more Aboriginal children are on care and protection orders [21], and

10 times more Aboriginal children are in out-of-home care than non-Aboriginal kids [39].

The current generation may one day grow up to say they, too, had been removed from their families.

In Victoria, only about 60% of Koorie children in care remained connected to their family and culture [37].

Fact In 2012, Olga Havnen, a senior Northern Territory government official, revealed that more than $80m was spent on the surveillance of families and the removal of children compared with just $500,000 on supporting the same impoverished families. Her warning of a second Stolen Generation led to her sacking. [41]

Why are they still taken away?

Intergenerational effects of separation from family and culture are partly to blame: parents stolen as kids are passing on this trauma to their own children.

But many government workers who decide about removing children seem to have difficulty telling neglect from poverty.

Larrakia elder Dr Christine Fejo-King was a consultant to the NT Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory. She found neglect was the biggest reason why Aboriginal children were removed from their families, but the system was confusing the effects of absolute poverty with the concept of neglect. [53]

"There's a difference between absolute poverty which is often then equated to neglect as opposed to actual life-threatening situations for that child as a result of the people that they're living with in an unsafe place," she said.

Aboriginal children are mostly removed for 'neglect' or 'emotional abuse'. I have seen first hand how these judgements are made on a racist basis, or arise directly from the extreme poverty faced by families.-Padraic Gibson, Senior Researcher, Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney [43]

Homework: Three generations fearing for their kids

Here is what Aboriginal mother Kelly Briggs said about her own fears, those of her mum and of her grandmother [40]:

"What happens if the small amount of work I have gained dries up [...]? What if money again becomes so tight that shoes, uniforms, excursions, lunches or transport [...] become issues that keep my kids from turning up at school on occasion? What exactly is the scope of these truancy officers? Do they give my kids lunch? Buy them uniforms? Will my name be added to some department of community services list somewhere? Will there be a mark upon my name that gives rise to visits from people who can remove my children from my care?

"I spoke honestly and frankly with my mother about my worries. She was amazed that this is still happening [...]. We spoke of her own mother's obsession with cleanliness, which sprang from her fear of the dreaded 'welfare man', a government employee who could come to your house and demand to be let inside to ensure your house was clean, that there was adequate food available, that the children were going to school.

"She then went on to tell me about her own fears when she was raising me and my siblings: the absolute terror she felt when she had to collect food vouchers of some nameless person swooping in to take us kids off her because she was facing hardship after my father passed away. The tremble in her voice as she recounted this broke my heart."

Why is Aunty Kelly fearing her kids can be taken away?

Find out how much Kelly has to pay for the items she has listed.

Find one word that represents the effect the women's worries had on their lives.

In which years were the women in Kelly's family worried about their children?

Research what rights the "welfare man" had, which government agency was allowed to take kids "facing hardship", and what can happen today if kids don't turn up at school.

With the background of Kelly's story above, explain what she said below.

Questions

In the back of my mind, I always hear the voice that says "don't ever let anyone know you're doing it tough, because they will take your kids from you".-Kelly Briggs, Aboriginal mother [40]

The new Stolen Generation is much larger

A Special Commission of Inquiry into the Department of Community Services found that in March 2008 there were 4,458 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care,4 times as many Aboriginal children as were in foster homes, institutions or missions in 1969, during the Stolen Generations [19]. 8% of Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over were removed from their natural families in 2008 [22].
By 2014, almost 35% of all children in care were Aboriginal. But Aboriginal children were making up only 4.4% of Australia's total child population. [44]

From February 2001 to August 2007 the number of children reported to DoCS increased by 300% to 55,303 [18].

In Queensland, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children represent 6.3% of the under-18s, yet in 2006 they made up over 25% of those in out-of-home care [26]. In 2011 in New South Wales, 33% of Aboriginal children and young people were in the care system, and the national figure was 36% [28].

In Western Australia, 46% of children in state care were Aboriginal in 2011, in regional areas "nearly 100%" were thought to be Aboriginal [24].

Filmmaker John Pilger investigates this new stolen generation in Utopia. "The theft is now higher than at any time in the last century," he found. In mid-1997 there were 2,785 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care across Australia. By mid-2012 there were 13,299 - almost a five-fold increase.

Pilger notes the NT government spent $80 million in one year removing children but just $500,000 supporting impoverished families. [38]

If you don't fix the underlying issues-unemployment, housing-that contribute to child protection, Aboriginal children will continue to be removed from their families. -Julie Tommy Walker, Aboriginal leader and Innawonga woman [24]

If Aboriginal children are put into foster care, they should at least be put into other Aboriginal families. These children's safety is "always grounded in their culture" [20] because they need to remain connected to the communities and be sure and strong in their cultural identity.

But in 2013, in the Northern Territory, about 66% of children are taken away from their culture and community. To no surprise, one-third of the Aboriginal children removed to non-Aboriginal homes have told the government they had lost all contact with family [36].

The madness of the past is still the cruelty of today.-Jeff McMullen, journalist [36]

Only one day a year

An Aboriginal Perth father can only see his two daughters for what equates to one day a year [23].

His two children have been removed from their mother's care by the Department of Child Protection (DCP) and placed with non-Aboriginal carers for 4 years.

The father lodged a complaint saying that the department failed to let the children know about their family and culture. He was only allowed to see his daughters one hour every fortnight which "equates to one day a year".

The man's mother was a member of the Stolen Generations. "[I ] saw my mother and all her siblings taken from my grandparents, and my grandparents taken from my great grandparents," he said.

Today's numbers of stolen children are so high that in January 2014 Aboriginal grandmothers from Gunnedah in northern NSW formed the group Grandmothers Against Removals in an effort to highlight the process of removal used by the New South Wales Department of Children's Services.

Was it legal to steal Aboriginal children?

With all the pain and trauma caused by the child removal policies one has to ask: Was this legal? Didn't these laws violate basic human rights?

These questions were put to Australia's High Court in 1997 when two members of the Stolen Generations sued the Commonwealth (Kruger vs Commonwealth). They argued that the laws breached basic fundamental human rights such as the right to due process before the law, equality before the law, freedom of movement and freedom of religion.

In a "dramatic demonstration of Australia's lack of rights protection" [27] the High Court held that none of these rights were protected. We are not talking Aboriginal rights here-we are talking human rights!

In other words, it was perfectly legal for Australia's government to forcibly remove Aboriginal children.

Australia's failure to protect basic human rights falls hardest on the poor, the marginalised and the socioeconomic disadvantaged. That is, they fall hardest on Aboriginal people, families and communities.

Stolen Generation reunions

Members of the Stolen Generations yearn most to reunite with their lost loved ones. Sometimes family members find each other just in time, sometimes just a short time too late. Services which help people reunite need more funding.

We didn't find our family until I was 11 or 12. -Prof. Larissa Behrendt, Aboriginal barrister [6]

Stolen Generation member dies only months after reunion

A 107-year-old member of the Stolen Generations died only months after she was finally reunited with members of her original people in Port Hedland, Western Australia [4]. Belinda Dann's life is a sad example of many other members of the Stolen Generations, many of whom died broken-hearted because they never saw their loved ones again.

Belinda was six years old when she was taken from her mother. Along with sisters she was taken to Beagle Bay mission in north-western Australia. When they asked for their mother they were told she would come which she never did. She married as a teenager and moved to Port Hedland. She remembered her Aboriginal name but did not know who she was and where she came from.

By coincidence one of Belinda's grandsons mentioned her Aboriginal name in a conversation with an Aboriginal girl who had heard of Belinda and was connected to her people. A 100-year-long search was over. Belinda met her people and, incredibly, started speaking in her native Aboriginal language again. Four months later she died.

We didn't know we were related. You find it out at 20 or 30, sitting in a pub drinking. -Richard Pittman, Stolen Generations member, taken aged four [11]

Re-union services need more funding

The main service members of the Stolen Generations can use to find loved ones is Link-Up (see below). But Link-Up needs more resources to work effectively [25]. Reunions take too long to be organised, and once they had been, they were far too short, or people were unable to afford return visits.

Some Aboriginal people feel like being "stolen again" when they are unable to revisit their newly found family [25].

Healing members of the Stolen Generations

The hibiscus flower is a symbol for the Stolen Generations. It was chosen because its lilac colour denotes spiritual healing and compassion and for the fact that it is widespread, grows everywhere and is a survivor [30]. Photo: butupa, Flickr

On 13 February 2009, one year after it apologised to the Stolen Generations, the Australian government promised to establish the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation.

The foundation is designed to deal with the "trauma experienced by all Aboriginal people as the after-effect of colonisation" [13], but with a particular focus on the Stolen Generations.

It won't deliver healing services, instead it funds healing work, educates communities and social workers and evaluates healing programs to find out what works.

According to Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist Dr Greg Phillips, healing is "a spiritual process that includes recovery from addiction, therapeutic change and cultural renewal" [13].

Healing is not just another government program. It has taken many generations to get to this level of trauma and it will take quite a few to fully recover from it. -Dr Greg Phillips, Aboriginal trauma and grief specialist from the Waanyi people [13]

Many members of the Stolen Generations attend annual reunions where they meet fellow Aboriginal people to share their stories and experiences they endured as children in the institutions where they were raised. The Link-Up service (see bottom of this page) often supplies funding for these reunions. For many this is the start of their journey of healing.

Denying history: 'Not stolen, but rescued'

A significant number of Australians disagreed with the apology delivered in February 2008 to the Stolen Generations by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Here are their main arguments:

The Stolen Generations don't exist. Some people simply and flatly deny that children were stolen. They want to see 'proof' and claim no-one could 'find' them. For example, journalist Andrew Bolt claimed the Stolen Generations were "a giant intellectual fraud with unforgivable consequences" and "no one has yet produced a single child who was stolen under a government policy to remove children just because they were Aboriginal and not because they needed help." [45]

Aboriginal children were 'rescued'. Supporters claim that Aboriginal children were not stolen but 'rescued' from a family and community environment that was "rife with rape, incest, drug and/or alcohol abuse and insanitary living conditions" [9]. The Aboriginal children were 'given a chance'.

I've asked my granny if she thought she was rescued. She replied, "I didn't need rescuing from my mother's love."-Che Cockatoo-Collins [16]

'We did not do it'. People who refuse to apologise to the Stolen Generations feel that they or their ancestors had no part in what happened, hence shared no responsibility for the pain caused.

An apology leads to compensation claims. Many people fear that after the apology "a flood of compensation claims will be forthcoming" running to "millions of dollars" [9].

The "white stolen generations"

Did you know that in Australia there is another stolen generation, one which shares the pain and consequences? It's called the "white stolen generation" to distinguish it from the Aboriginal stolen generation.

In the five decades up to 1982, the newborn babies of young, single women were forcibly removed from them for adoption, a practice sometimes called 'baby farming'. Mothers were drugged, tethered to beds, not allowed to see their babies, told they were dead. [47] Many of these adoptions occurred after the mothers were sent away by their families due to the stigma associated with being pregnant and unmarried.

More than 250,000 white mothers lost their babies to forcible removal at birth by these past illegal adoption practices. Groups such as Adoption Loss Adult Support and Apology Alliance offer help and support.

Between 2010 and 2012 apologies were offered by Western Australia, South Australia, ACT, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania. Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered a national apology to those affected by forced adoptions in 2013.

"My birth father never knew I existed"

Here is the story of a member of the white stolen generation [48]:

Both my parents were given up to adoption, as was I. In my case my mother, at the time aged 16, was forced by her adoptive mother to give me up. She had no say in the matter and it's something that she had great difficulty dealing with for 42 years till the time that I tracked her down.

My birth father was never even told of my existence, and if not for a chance run-in with my mother ten years after my birth in Sydney would have never even known I existed. He was never asked for permission to give me up for adoption.

My birth mother's adoptive family went to great lengths to hide the fact that their teenage daughter was pregnant. They sent her off to Auckland, NZ, to give birth to me then give me up.

It wasn't until three years ago, when my birth father in Melbourne tracked me down, that I finally learnt the truth.

Stolen generations in other countries

Australia is not alone with its history of stolen children. Across the world are other countries with similar histories.

Argentina

A military coup in 1976 brought one of Argentina's "most brutal dictatorships" to power. The dictatorship took new-born babies away from their mothers during what is known as the "dirty war". It was uses as an instrument of war, social engineering or political revenge. [54]

Courts established later that the theft of babies was a systematic plan. When the Junta's hit squads abducted pregnant women they considered opponents to the regime, they imprisoned the women until they had given birth. Their babies were given to childless friends of the regime. Many mothers were then killed along with other prisoners.

Argentina's Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo is a human rights organisation trying to find the stolen children. Founded in 1977, by 2016 it had helped find 120 of the more than 500 children kidnapped.

China

Families who violate China's one-child policy face a constant threat of authorities illegally taking away their children.

Just like in Australia, some families say beatings and threats are used to force them into giving up their daughters. Others say they are tricked into signing away their parental rights [35].

Each town has a family-planning office, usually staffed by Communist Party cadres who have broad powers to order abortions and sterilisations. People who have additional babies can be fined up to 6 times their annual income.

Since the early 1990s, more than 80,000 Chinese children have been adopted abroad, most going to families in the United States. Officials are motivated by thousands of dollars that adoptive parents pay orphanages [35].

Since 2003, if people can't pay their fines, officials would take away their babies.

An official's statement is strikingly similar to what Australian officials told parents: ''They're better off with their adoptive parents than their birth parents,'' says Wu Benhua, director of Zhenyuan's civil affairs bureau.

It's too late. Your daughter has already gone to America.-Response Zhou Changqi got whose six-month-old daughter was taken in 2002 by family-planning officials in Guiyang [35]

Germany

Before Germany united in 1989, the German Democratic Republic's intelligence service ("Stasi") took away children of parents who eyed the West or had attempted to flee the communist state. Deemed unfit to bring up their kids "for the purpose of socialism" parents sometimes spent "half a lifetime searching" for them [34].

An estimated 1,000 families were torn apart by the GDR authorities. Forced adoptions could hit anyone considered "suspect", for example, a mother staying home for her children-incompatible with socialist guidelines.

Hundreds of Germans are still searching for their children, parents or siblings [34].

Ireland & England

The film Philomena brought widespread attention to the unmarried Irish mothers forced to surrender their babies to the Catholic church.

Norway

Norway's Child Protection Service, known as Barnevernet, is removing children from parents it deems unfit for parenting, and places them into foster care. Some of the young mothers had been reported - falsely - as mentally 'ill' by their parents in order to claim welfare payments, and the service then uses this information against them. [50]

About 1,500 children a year are removed from their parents. Between 2008 and 2013, emergency removals increased by 70%. While most of these cases are for valid reasons, a "growing number" of parents claim they happen without cause. Parents are told they "lack parenting skills".

Research found that 20% of the removal system is not working well, says Einar Salvesen, a whistleblower who has previously worked as a consultant psychologist for Barnevernet.

Some families feel that racial intolerance is a "big part" of their experience. Other countries accused Barnevernet of stripping children of their cultural identity.

An organisation, The Change Factory, gives stolen children a voice by sharing their experiences and knowledge with policy makers.

Spain

It was revealed in 2011 that the theft of children, begun under Franco for ideological ends, had turned into a form of baby trafficking that continued into the 1990s, with the complicity of doctors and the church. [54]

Switzerland

From the early 1800s to the 1950s thousands of Swiss children who were orphaned, illegitimate or from impoverished families were sent to work on farms as cheap labour. Many children suffered abuse at the hands of their host families while authorities turned a blind eye.

The Foster Boy ("Der Verdingbub"), a 2011 movie and one of the most successful Swiss films between 2007 and 2013, deals with this shameful chapter in the history of a country that is so often seen in a positive light.

From 1926 to 1973, the Swiss government had a semi-official policy of institutionalising Yeniche parents and having their children adopted by more "normal" Swiss citizens, in an effort to eliminate Yeniche culture. About 590 children were taken from their parents and put into orphanages, mental institutions and even prisons. [51]

Children of the Open Road (1992), named after the government program, tracks these policies towards the Rom (gypsies).

Stolen Generations resources

Free Stolen Generations booklet

A must-read is the report by Peter Read, 'The Stolen Generations - The removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales 1883 to 1969'.
Published in 1981 it was then a ground-breaking first attempt to document the devastating consequences of the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families.

The report's chapters are: 2006: The return of the Stolen Generations, Introduction, A typical case, The laws regarding children, The number of children taken, Life in the homes, Employment, Fostering, Going home, The effects, Why did they do it?, Appendix.

The 34-page report comes with several black-and-white images and can be downloaded as a PDF file from the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

Free Bringing Them Home DVD

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, a government body, published a DVD in 1997. The free DVD is based on the Bringing Them Home Report which was released on the 26th May that year.

The DVD is a 32-minute documentary, interviewing Aboriginal people of the Stolen Generations and showing historical footage. It is a must-see for all interested in learning more and listening to the stories of Aboriginal people who were stolen. But be warned: The content is sometimes heartbreaking.

The first DVD is free, any further copy is just AUD 5. To order your copy send an email or letter to:

Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission
Level 8, Piccadilly Tower
133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000
www.humanrights.gov.au
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: 02 9284 9672
Fax: 02 9284 9611

Watch movies about the Stolen Generations

A very good movie which tells the story of three young girls taken away from their family is Rabbit-Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce.

Baz Luhrmann's Australia also treats the Stolen Generations as a central theme of the movie.

The documentary Lousy Little Sixpence was the first film to tell shocked Australians the story of five girls stolen from their families.

Some short films by Aboriginal directors discuss Stolen Generations, e.g. Back Seat by Pauline Whyman or Bloodlines by Jacob Nash.

Or try the award-winning documentary Why me? - Stories from the Stolen Generations by Rick Cavaggion.
More movies about Aboriginal people or by Aboriginal directors
The film Children of the Open Road (1992, original title Kinder der Landstrasse) presents striking parallels between the Stolen Generations and Swiss government policies towards the Rom (gypsies) in the first half of the 20th century.

I was crying for the kids. It brought back personal memories for us. I was like him. I was like them. I was taken away.-Dorothy Beto, stolen aged 7 years, reacting to the movie Australia which tells about the Stolen Generations [17]

Teacher resource: 2 ways to teach about the Stolen Generations

When members of the Stolen Generations tell their stories in schools students are often in tears. Some stories might be too harsh for them.

1. Role playing. Children role play, for example, "we're going to take you to live with us because we think it's better. How do you feel?"

2. Tearing drawings. Students make a drawing of their family at home and include valued items such as pets or computers. The teacher then tells the story of stolen children and, while walking around the room, tears away part of each student's drawing. A student could then talk about how they felt about their valuable work being ripped apart and how they would feel being ripped from their family.

Some teachers have found softer ways of teaching [33] which still show the full emotional impact the policies had on people.

Stolen Generations organisations

There are a few organisations helping Aboriginal people from the Stolen Generations.

National Sorry Day Committee (NSDC)

The community-based National Sorry Day Committee was formed in 1998 after the Bringing Them Home report recommended that a National Sorry Day be held each year on 26 May "to commemorate the history of forcible removals and its effects."

The NDSC aims to achieve all 54 recommendations of the Bringing Them Home report, and its Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal supporters work together with Stolen Generations members, Aboriginal communities, government, social justice and community organisations to achieve this goal.

Link-Up

Founded in 1980 and based in New South Wales, Link-Up helps members of the Stolen Generations to find their relatives. It also offers counselling to newly reunited families.
List of Australian Link-Up services
Link-Up has offices in almost every Australian state. In South Australia from 1999 to 2007 Link-Up arranged 160 family reunions and brought together 4,915 people.

Family Link

Family Link was established in 2009 to identify family and kin placements for Aboriginal children in foster care.

The service, funded by Link-Up, works with the Department of Community Services to place them with other family members when Aboriginal children cannot live safely with their parents.

While only 4% of NSW's children are Aboriginal they make up 31% of all placements.

Family Link
Hazelbrook, Blue Mountains, NSW 2779

Family Records Unit

The Family Records Unit helps Aboriginal people in NSW access records about themselves and their families, particularly members of the Stolen Generations.

The Unit is run by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs which is the custodian of the records of the Aborigines Welfare Board.

Family Records Unit
NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs
Level 13, Tower B, Centennial Plaza
280 Elizabeth Street
Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Family Records Unit

Find and Connect

Find and Connect is a resource for the Forgotten Australians (all Australians who have been 'in care', including British Child Migrants and the Stolen Generations) who wish to find their history. It does not provide access to personal records, but helps individuals locate institutional records about them.

Find and Connect can help those of the Stolen Generations identify which institution(s) they received out-of-home 'care' in. For those wishing to find out more about their past it is then possible to find out where the institution's records are kept and how to access them.

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A guide to Australia's Stolen Generations

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Politics Read why Aboriginal children were stolen from their families, where they were taken and what happened to them. The horrific abuse they suffered in institutions and foster families left thousands traumatised for life. Close this Get key foundational knowledge about Aboriginal culture in a fun and engaging way.

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Pike was born on 4 September 1892 in Newcastle, New South Wales., eldest child of Charles Pike and Jane Isabella Liddell He started his career as a jockey in 1907, and won the Caulfield Cup at just 15 with Welcome Jack. He went to England the following year and competed in 17 races, winning 2 and 5 placings.

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Phar Lap (4 October 1926 - 5 April 1932) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the Australian public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia by Harry Telford.

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People

Not many Australians know a famous Aboriginal person although most have one in their wallet. Aboriginal role models and activists influence the next generation of Australian youth.

Close this

Wishing you knew more about Aboriginal culture? Search no more.

Get key foundational knowledge about Aboriginal culture in a fun and engaging way.

This is no ordinary resource: It includes a fictional story, quizzes, crosswords and even a treasure hunt.
Stop feeling bad about not knowing. Make it fun to know better.
Sold! Show me how No, thank you

Why we need Aboriginal role models

Apart from obvious reasons like inspiration, setting an example, or showing what is possible, there's a more opaque reason we need Aboriginal role models: the media.

Journalists lack interest in reporting about Aboriginal achievers. "When you hear of some brilliant Indigenous person working in any of the professional sectors," says Jeff McMullen, a journalist himself, "the media turns away... The media needs to shift its message to an empowering one that gives individuals and families as a whole a sense of inclusiveness." [12] Read my tips for journalists.

Who's missing?
Let me know if you think there's a famous Aboriginal Australian missing from this page!

David Unaipon

David Unaipon on a 50-dollar note. Some notes show his name at the bottom, some don't.

If you live in Australia, do you know that you're probably carrying a famous Aboriginal man in your wallet?

David Unaipon (1872 - 1967) was a Ngarrindjeri man, a preacher, inventor and writer. Among his patents was a helicopter design based on the principle of a boomerang [1].

David Unaipon is featured on the front of Australia's 50-dollar note (first issued on 4 October 1995), along with drawings from one of his inventions, and an extract from the original manuscript of his book Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines.

The 50-dollar note shows a couple standing in front of Raukkan Church. They are Milerum "Clarence" Long (about 1869-1941) and Polly Beck who were living in the Raukkan community (Unaipon's birthplace) in the Coorong area, southeast of Adelaide, in the late 19th century. They are the great-grandfather and great-grandmother of Aboriginal footballer Michael O'Loughlin [7]. Milerum was the last initiated member of the local native tribe. He was highly respected and played a huge role in the recording of history of the native people of the Coorong area. The illustration is based on a photograph provided to the designer by Jean and Henry Rankine from Point McLeay [6].

David Unaipon fact file

Nation: Ngarrindjeri, South Australia

Born: 28 September 1872, Raukkan community, South Australia

Died: 7 February 1967, Tailem Bend, South Australia

Famous for: inventions, writing

Family: partner: Katherine Carter (married 1902), father: James Unaipon, mother: Nymbulda Ngunaitponi

Education: Point McLeay Mission School (renamed Raukkan in 1982)

Inventions: Improved hand tool for sheep shearing (1909), helicopter, based on the principle of the boomerang (1914)

Publications: Articles entitled 'Aboriginals: Their Traditions and Customs' (Sydney Daily Telegraph, 2 August 1924), 'The Story of the Mungingee' (The Home magazine, February 1925), booklet 'Native Legends' (1929).

Awards: Coronation Medal (1953), FAW Patricia Weickhardt Award for Aboriginal writers (posthumously in 1985)

Cathy Freeman

Cathy Freeman is one of the most well-known Aboriginal Australians. Her skills and achievements as a runner have been seen by people all over the world as she has competed in multiple Olympic Games.

Freeman's greatest achievement was being the first Aboriginal person to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event (400 metres sprint). Freeman was further honoured by being given a vital role at the Sydney Olympics (2000), which was the lighting of the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony.

Cathy Freeman fact file

Nation: Kuku Yalanji, Queensland

Born: 16 February 1973, Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland

Famous for: winning a gold medal at the Olympics, displaying the Aboriginal flag

Family: mother: Cecelia Freeman, father: Norman Freeman; partner: James Murch, daughter: Ruby Anne Susie Murch

Education: Kooralbyn International school, Fairholme Colledge, University of Melbourne

Achievements: First-ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medalist at age 16 in 1990, 200 m and 400 m gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, 400 m silver medal in the 1996 Olympics, 400 m gold at the 1997 World Championships, 400 m gold at the 1999 World Championships.

Neville Bonner

Neville Bonner was Australia's first Aboriginal politician. He then became a senator for Queensland and served for twelve years (1971-1983). He was also the first Aboriginal person to sit in federal parliament.

A central focus to his work as a politician involved improving the conditions of his fellow Aboriginal people. Bonner helped change the face of Aboriginal rights in Australia. He was an honest man who never let anger dominate his work.

Neville Bonner fact file

Nation: Jagera, Queensland

Born: 28 March 1922, Ukerebagh Island, New South Wales

Died: 5 February 1999 (aged 76), Ipswich, Queensland

Famous for: involvement in politics, engagement for Aboriginal people

Family: partner: Mona Bonner (deceased), Heather Bonner

Political parties: Liberal (1971-83), Independent (1983)

Archie Roach

Archie is Australia's beloved, respected and admired Aboriginal singer/songwriter. He captured the hearts and minds of a nation in 1990 with his debut album Charcoal Lane and the landmark song Took The Children Away which tells the story when he was stolen from his family. Throughout his life Archie has worked tirelessly to heal the Stolen Generations.

In the late 1980s Archie and his long-term partner and soul mate Ruby Hunter formed a band, the Altogethers, with several other Aboriginal musicians.

In 2010 Ruby died, shattering Archie. In mid 2011 he was diagnosed with the early stages of lung cancer and had to go into rehabilitation.

Archie has gone from singing songs about suffering and pain to more uplifting songs after letting go of the past and overcoming his challenges.

Archie Roach fact file

Bronwyn Bancroft

Bronwyn Bancroft is an Australian artist who is amongst the first Australian fashion designers invited to show her work in Paris. Trained in Canberra and Sydney, Bancroft worked as a fashion designer, and is an artist, illustrator, and arts administrator.

In 1985, Bancroft established a shop called Designer Aboriginals, selling fabrics made by Aboriginal artists including herself. She is also a founding member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative.

Art work by Bancroft is held by the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. She has provided art work for more than 20 children's books, including Stradbroke Dreaming by writer and Aboriginal activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal, and books by artist and writer Sally Morgan.

Bancroft has a long history of involvement in community activism and arts administration, and has served as a board member for the National Gallery of Australia. Her painting Prevention of AIDS (1992) was used in a campaign to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Australia.

Bronwyn Bancroft fact file

Adam Goodes

Adam Goodes is a champion Australian Rules (AFL) football player with the Sydney Swans. He holds an elite place in AFL history, winning two Brownlow Medals (2003 and 2006) and two premierships (2005 and 2012). Adam is a four-time All-Australian (2003, 2006, 2009, 2011), member of the Indigenous Team of the Century, and has represented Australia in the International Rules Series. He is also Australian of the Year 2014.

Adam is actively involved with several Aboriginal sport and community programs. He has spent time working with troubled youth, including those in youth detention centres. Together with his cousin and former teammate Michael O'Loughlin, Adam established the Go Foundation which empowers the next generation of Aboriginal role models in all walks of life. Adam co-chairs the foundation, focused on promoting education, employment and healthy lifestyles.

Adam is a great role model and advocate for the fight against racism both on and off the field. Because of this he has endured more than 12 months of booing from audiences between 2014 and 2015 which led to a "I Stand With Adam" campaign against racism.

Adam Goodes fact file

Albert (Elea) Namatjira

Albert Namatjira (Elea is his birth name) was the first Aboriginal person to become an internationally renowned artist. He always enjoyed painting whilst he was growing up, but it was not until 1934 (aged 32 years) that he began to paint seriously. A man named Rex Battarbee taught Namatjira a lot about the skill of painting, and Namatjira showed Rex some of the best places to paint in Australia. Namatjira's art was very different to traditional Aboriginal art.

His first exhibition went on show in 1936 in Melbourne, where his paintings sold out. His success continued and his paintings became very valuable. Although he had become very successful and made a great deal of money, Namatjira still had to follow the strict laws placed on Aboriginal people during that time. He was not allowed to buy a home or any land, and could not rent a property.

In 1957, Namatjira became the first Aboriginal person to become an Australian citizen. His art and his life made governments aware of how Aboriginal people were being treated in Australia during that period.

Albert Namatjira fact file

Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Emily Kame Kngwarreye is one of Australia's most significant contemporary Aboriginal artists. Emily was born at the beginning of the 20th century and grew up in a remote desert area known as Utopia, 230 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, distant from the art world that sought her work.

Although Emily began to paint late in her life she was a prolific artist who often worked at a pace that belied her advanced age. It is estimated that she produced more than 3,000 paintings in the course of her 8-year painting career-an average of one painting per day.

For virtually two-thirds of her life she had only sporadic contact with the outside world. It was not until she was about 80 that she became, almost overnight, an artist of national and international standing. She received the Australian Artist's Creative Fellowship award in 1992.

Her remarkable work was inspired by her cultural life as an Anmatyerre elder, and her lifelong custodianship of the women's Dreaming sites in her clan country, Alhalkere.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye fact file

Benn Harradine

Ben Harradine is the Australian and Commonwealth discus champion, and the first Australian male to reach the Olympics final in this discipline.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Harradine became the first Aboriginal athlete to represent Australia in a field event, and in 2010 the first Aboriginal Australian to win a gold field medal. [9] Benn is coached by his father Ken and Melbourne's stalwart throws coach Gus Puopolo.

Benn studied Exercise Physiology at University of Newcastle and Deakin University in Melbourne. He can speak German and a bit of Swedish (he lives part-time in Sweden). Benn only found out his Aboriginal heritage in 2005 when he was 22 after his father wrote letters trying to discover who his relatives were. [9]

He is a speaker and role model for young Australians of all backgrounds. He was a mentor for Athletics Australia's Jump Start to London 2012 program.

Benn Harradine fact file

Evonne Goolagong Cawley

Evonne Goolagong Cawley AO MBE is an Australian former World No. 1 female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: 7 in singles (four Australian Open, two Wimbledon and one French Open), 6 in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley ranked in the top 10 for nine years and climbed to the top of the rankings for one week in 1976. She was the first Aboriginal Australian to win a Wimbledon Tennis Championship in 1971. She won Wimbledon again as a mother in 1980, only the second woman to do so. Nicknamed "Gong", she finished her career in the mid-1980s.

Renowned for her grace, ethereal touch and fluid speed around the court, Goolagong Cawley started playing as a young girl by hitting a ball against a wall with a board from an apple crate.

Fact In 1993, the State Transit Authority named a RiverCat ferry in Sydney after Goolagong.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley fact file

Lowitja O'Donoghue

Lowitja O'Donoghue CBE AO (also known as Lois Smart) is an Aboriginal Australian retired public administrator. At the age of two she was taken away from her mother, who she was not to see for 33 years. She never met her Irish father from whom she inherits her last name.

In 1967 Lowitja joined the Commonwealth Public Service as a junior administrative officer in the Adelaide office of the newly formed Department of Aboriginal Affairs. After 8 years she became the Director of the Department's office in South Australia, a senior officer position, responsible for the local implementation of national Aboriginal welfare policy. This work was recognised in 1976 when Lowitja became the first Aboriginal woman to be inducted into the new Order of Australia.

In 1990, she was appointed inaugural chairperson of the now dissolved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC),[10] a position she held until 1996.

In December 1992, O'Donoghue became the first Aboriginal Australian to address the United Nations General Assembly during the launch of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous People.

Following her retirement, she formally added the name Lowitja to her existing legal name, Lois O'Donoghue Smart, to emphasise her Luritjan heritage.

In February 2015 she launched the Lowitja Institute - Australia's National Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research.

She continues to be a speaker, writer, mover and shaker on behalf of her people.

Lowitja O'Donoghue fact file

Anita Heiss

Anita is one of Australia's most well-known Aboriginal writers. Her books range from historical novels to children's books and poetry collections. In 2007 she released her first 'chick lit' title (or as she says, tongue-in-cheek, "choc lit" [11]) that sought to find common ground between mainstream and Aboriginal Australia.

She is constantly working to enhance her readers' understanding of Aboriginality for which she has been labelled "destroyer of stereotypes". [11]

She is also working for the publication of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature, a snapshot of 200 years of Aboriginal literature.

Anita is a strong advocate for Aboriginal education and works to ensure that Aboriginal literature is written and produced by Aboriginal writers and companies.

Lots of my first dates turn into cultural awareness training workshops.-Anita Heiss [11]

Anita Heiss fact file

Aboriginal Australians of the Year

Each year on Australia Day (January 26th) Australia honours the Australian of the Year, persons who "inspire us through their achievements and challenge us to make our own contribution to creating a better Australia" [3].

Here is a list of the Aboriginal Australians of the Year.

2014 Adam Goodes (AFL player)

2009 Mick Dodson (Professor of law)

1998 Cathy Freeman (athlete)

1992 Mandawuy Yunupingu (Yothu Yindi band leader)

1984 Lowitja O'Donoghue (nurse and ATSIC chairperson)

1979 Neville Bonner (first Aboriginal parliamentarian)

1978 Galarrwuy Yunupingu (Yolngu leader, brother of Mandawuy)

1971 Evonne Goolagong Cawley (tennis player)

1968 Lionel Rose (boxer)

Fact In 2014, there were 14 Aboriginal finalists for the Australian of the Year Awards. By 2015, one in 7 Australian of the Year recipients were Aboriginal.

It's this increasingly casual reaction to Indigenous achievement and success that is a marker of how far we've come. It's becoming unexceptional to have successful Indigenous filmmakers, artists, doctors, academics, lawyers, nurses and politicians. This is the other side, the often - and unfortunately - untold side, of the story we hear about Indigenous Australia.-Mick Dodson, Australian of the Year 2009 [4]

Check out the collection of famous Aboriginal sports people.

Aboriginal role models

Who do you look up to? Who's inspiring you? A role model. We all need them to motivate us go through tough times and gather our self-discipline.

But there are only few notable Aboriginal Australian role models to inspire Aboriginal children. Politicians, actors, musicians, comedians-most of these in Australia are non-Indigenous.

Part of this problem is the high rate of Aboriginal unemployment, but also the appalling low rate of airplay for Aboriginal music and the few occasions where Australians can celebrate their Indigenous actors in Aboriginal films.

Sport, particularly football and rugby league, is the only area where Aboriginal players are so successful that, at times, they outshine their non-Indigenous team mates.

Video: Role Models and Leaders Australia

Role Models and Leaders Australia (RMLA) is a not-for-profit charitable organisation which aims to develop and empower Aboriginal youth through leadership, sport and education. It runs Girls' Academy programs in high schools with Aboriginal girls in Years 7 through to 12 who experience poverty, sickness, misfortune or disconnectedness from their community. RMLA operates several Aboriginal Girls Academies across WA, the NT and NSW, catering to more than 850 Aboriginal girls.

Case study: Samantha Harris

Samantha came into modelling when she was 10 or 11 years old. Since then her modelling career has brought her success and fame. She is now considered a role model for Aboriginal children [5].

The daughter of a father of English-German descent and an Aboriginal mother, Samantha grew up in Tweed Heads, northern NSW. From an early age her mother entered her in child beauty pageants.

While in high school she won a Dolly Magazine model workshop, and about 2 years later became a finalist in Girlfriend magazine's Model Search.

Harris became aware of her Aboriginality, and that her mother is a member of the Stolen Generations.

Being called a role model for Aboriginal children now sits comfortably with Samantha, although it initially confused her-being relatively young herself.

Harris is an ambassador for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Sydney, and One Laptop per Child Australia. Once a year she travels to Uluru to mentor young and aspiring models.

The Sydney Morning Herald listed her among the "most influential people in Australian fashion" in 2016.

Samantha Harris fact file

[Being a role model] I think it's great that indigenous girls can look up to me and they can set goals for themselves because I have pursued what I have whanted to do.-Samantha Harris [2]

Why we need Aboriginal role models

Apart from obvious reasons like inspiration, setting an example, or showing what is possible, there's a more opaque reason we need Aboriginal role models: the media.

Journalists lack interest in reporting about Aboriginal achievers. "When you hear of some brilliant Indigenous person working in any of the professional sectors," says Jeff McMullen, a journalist himself, "the media turns away... The media needs to shift its message to an empowering one that gives individuals and families as a whole a sense of inclusiveness." [12] Read my tips for journalists.

Who's missing?
Let me know if you think there's a famous Aboriginal Australian missing from this page!

David Unaipon

David Unaipon on a 50-dollar note. Some notes show his name at the bottom, some don't.

If you live in Australia, do you know that you're probably carrying a famous Aboriginal man in your wallet?

David Unaipon (1872 - 1967) was a Ngarrindjeri man, a preacher, inventor and writer. Among his patents was a helicopter design based on the principle of a boomerang [1].

David Unaipon is featured on the front of Australia's 50-dollar note (first issued on 4 October 1995), along with drawings from one of his inventions, and an extract from the original manuscript of his book Legendary Tales of the Australian Aborigines.

The 50-dollar note shows a couple standing in front of Raukkan Church. They are Milerum "Clarence" Long (about 1869-1941) and Polly Beck who were living in the Raukkan community (Unaipon's birthplace) in the Coorong area, southeast of Adelaide, in the late 19th century. They are the great-grandfather and great-grandmother of Aboriginal footballer Michael O'Loughlin [7]. Milerum was the last initiated member of the local native tribe. He was highly respected and played a huge role in the recording of history of the native people of the Coorong area. The illustration is based on a photograph provided to the designer by Jean and Henry Rankine from Point McLeay [6].

David Unaipon fact file

Nation: Ngarrindjeri, South Australia

Born: 28 September 1872, Raukkan community, South Australia

Died: 7 February 1967, Tailem Bend, South Australia

Famous for: inventions, writing

Family: partner: Katherine Carter (married 1902), father: James Unaipon, mother: Nymbulda Ngunaitponi

Education: Point McLeay Mission School (renamed Raukkan in 1982)

Inventions: Improved hand tool for sheep shearing (1909), helicopter, based on the principle of the boomerang (1914)

Publications: Articles entitled 'Aboriginals: Their Traditions and Customs' (Sydney Daily Telegraph, 2 August 1924), 'The Story of the Mungingee' (The Home magazine, February 1925), booklet 'Native Legends' (1929).

Awards: Coronation Medal (1953), FAW Patricia Weickhardt Award for Aboriginal writers (posthumously in 1985)

Cathy Freeman

Cathy Freeman is one of the most well-known Aboriginal Australians. Her skills and achievements as a runner have been seen by people all over the world as she has competed in multiple Olympic Games.

Freeman's greatest achievement was being the first Aboriginal person to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event (400 metres sprint). Freeman was further honoured by being given a vital role at the Sydney Olympics (2000), which was the lighting of the Olympic flame during the opening ceremony.

Cathy Freeman fact file

Nation: Kuku Yalanji, Queensland

Born: 16 February 1973, Slade Point, Mackay, Queensland

Famous for: winning a gold medal at the Olympics, displaying the Aboriginal flag

Family: mother: Cecelia Freeman, father: Norman Freeman; partner: James Murch, daughter: Ruby Anne Susie Murch

Education: Kooralbyn International school, Fairholme Colledge, University of Melbourne

Achievements: First-ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medalist at age 16 in 1990, 200 m and 400 m gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada, 400 m silver medal in the 1996 Olympics, 400 m gold at the 1997 World Championships, 400 m gold at the 1999 World Championships.

Neville Bonner

Neville Bonner was Australia's first Aboriginal politician. He then became a senator for Queensland and served for twelve years (1971-1983). He was also the first Aboriginal person to sit in federal parliament.

A central focus to his work as a politician involved improving the conditions of his fellow Aboriginal people. Bonner helped change the face of Aboriginal rights in Australia. He was an honest man who never let anger dominate his work.

Neville Bonner fact file

Nation: Jagera, Queensland

Born: 28 March 1922, Ukerebagh Island, New South Wales

Died: 5 February 1999 (aged 76), Ipswich, Queensland

Famous for: involvement in politics, engagement for Aboriginal people

Family: partner: Mona Bonner (deceased), Heather Bonner

Political parties: Liberal (1971-83), Independent (1983)

Archie Roach

Archie is Australia's beloved, respected and admired Aboriginal singer/songwriter. He captured the hearts and minds of a nation in 1990 with his debut album Charcoal Lane and the landmark song Took The Children Away which tells the story when he was stolen from his family. Throughout his life Archie has worked tirelessly to heal the Stolen Generations.

In the late 1980s Archie and his long-term partner and soul mate Ruby Hunter formed a band, the Altogethers, with several other Aboriginal musicians.

In 2010 Ruby died, shattering Archie. In mid 2011 he was diagnosed with the early stages of lung cancer and had to go into rehabilitation.

Archie has gone from singing songs about suffering and pain to more uplifting songs after letting go of the past and overcoming his challenges.

Archie Roach fact file

Bronwyn Bancroft

Bronwyn Bancroft is an Australian artist who is amongst the first Australian fashion designers invited to show her work in Paris. Trained in Canberra and Sydney, Bancroft worked as a fashion designer, and is an artist, illustrator, and arts administrator.

In 1985, Bancroft established a shop called Designer Aboriginals, selling fabrics made by Aboriginal artists including herself. She is also a founding member of Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative.

Art work by Bancroft is held by the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. She has provided art work for more than 20 children's books, including Stradbroke Dreaming by writer and Aboriginal activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal, and books by artist and writer Sally Morgan.

Bancroft has a long history of involvement in community activism and arts administration, and has served as a board member for the National Gallery of Australia. Her painting Prevention of AIDS (1992) was used in a campaign to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Australia.

Bronwyn Bancroft fact file

Adam Goodes

Adam Goodes is a champion Australian Rules (AFL) football player with the Sydney Swans. He holds an elite place in AFL history, winning two Brownlow Medals (2003 and 2006) and two premierships (2005 and 2012). Adam is a four-time All-Australian (2003, 2006, 2009, 2011), member of the Indigenous Team of the Century, and has represented Australia in the International Rules Series. He is also Australian of the Year 2014.

Adam is actively involved with several Aboriginal sport and community programs. He has spent time working with troubled youth, including those in youth detention centres. Together with his cousin and former teammate Michael O'Loughlin, Adam established the Go Foundation which empowers the next generation of Aboriginal role models in all walks of life. Adam co-chairs the foundation, focused on promoting education, employment and healthy lifestyles.

Adam is a great role model and advocate for the fight against racism both on and off the field. Because of this he has endured more than 12 months of booing from audiences between 2014 and 2015 which led to a "I Stand With Adam" campaign against racism.

Adam Goodes fact file

Albert (Elea) Namatjira

Albert Namatjira (Elea is his birth name) was the first Aboriginal person to become an internationally renowned artist. He always enjoyed painting whilst he was growing up, but it was not until 1934 (aged 32 years) that he began to paint seriously. A man named Rex Battarbee taught Namatjira a lot about the skill of painting, and Namatjira showed Rex some of the best places to paint in Australia. Namatjira's art was very different to traditional Aboriginal art.

His first exhibition went on show in 1936 in Melbourne, where his paintings sold out. His success continued and his paintings became very valuable. Although he had become very successful and made a great deal of money, Namatjira still had to follow the strict laws placed on Aboriginal people during that time. He was not allowed to buy a home or any land, and could not rent a property.

In 1957, Namatjira became the first Aboriginal person to become an Australian citizen. His art and his life made governments aware of how Aboriginal people were being treated in Australia during that period.

Albert Namatjira fact file

Emily Kame Kngwarreye

Emily Kame Kngwarreye is one of Australia's most significant contemporary Aboriginal artists. Emily was born at the beginning of the 20th century and grew up in a remote desert area known as Utopia, 230 kilometres north-east of Alice Springs, distant from the art world that sought her work.

Although Emily began to paint late in her life she was a prolific artist who often worked at a pace that belied her advanced age. It is estimated that she produced more than 3,000 paintings in the course of her 8-year painting career-an average of one painting per day.

For virtually two-thirds of her life she had only sporadic contact with the outside world. It was not until she was about 80 that she became, almost overnight, an artist of national and international standing. She received the Australian Artist's Creative Fellowship award in 1992.

Her remarkable work was inspired by her cultural life as an Anmatyerre elder, and her lifelong custodianship of the women's Dreaming sites in her clan country, Alhalkere.

Emily Kame Kngwarreye fact file

Benn Harradine

Ben Harradine is the Australian and Commonwealth discus champion, and the first Australian male to reach the Olympics final in this discipline.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Harradine became the first Aboriginal athlete to represent Australia in a field event, and in 2010 the first Aboriginal Australian to win a gold field medal. [9] Benn is coached by his father Ken and Melbourne's stalwart throws coach Gus Puopolo.

Benn studied Exercise Physiology at University of Newcastle and Deakin University in Melbourne. He can speak German and a bit of Swedish (he lives part-time in Sweden). Benn only found out his Aboriginal heritage in 2005 when he was 22 after his father wrote letters trying to discover who his relatives were. [9]

He is a speaker and role model for young Australians of all backgrounds. He was a mentor for Athletics Australia's Jump Start to London 2012 program.

Benn Harradine fact file

Evonne Goolagong Cawley

Evonne Goolagong Cawley AO MBE is an Australian former World No. 1 female tennis player. She was one of the world's leading players in the 1970s and early 1980s, when she won 14 Grand Slam titles: 7 in singles (four Australian Open, two Wimbledon and one French Open), 6 in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley ranked in the top 10 for nine years and climbed to the top of the rankings for one week in 1976. She was the first Aboriginal Australian to win a Wimbledon Tennis Championship in 1971. She won Wimbledon again as a mother in 1980, only the second woman to do so. Nicknamed "Gong", she finished her career in the mid-1980s.

Renowned for her grace, ethereal touch and fluid speed around the court, Goolagong Cawley started playing as a young girl by hitting a ball against a wall with a board from an apple crate.

Fact In 1993, the State Transit Authority named a RiverCat ferry in Sydney after Goolagong.

Evonne Goolagong Cawley fact file

Lowitja O'Donoghue

Lowitja O'Donoghue CBE AO (also known as Lois Smart) is an Aboriginal Australian retired public administrator. At the age of two she was taken away from her mother, who she was not to see for 33 years. She never met her Irish father from whom she inherits her last name.

In 1967 Lowitja joined the Commonwealth Public Service as a junior administrative officer in the Adelaide office of the newly formed Department of Aboriginal Affairs. After 8 years she became the Director of the Department's office in South Australia, a senior officer position, responsible for the local implementation of national Aboriginal welfare policy. This work was recognised in 1976 when Lowitja became the first Aboriginal woman to be inducted into the new Order of Australia.

In 1990, she was appointed inaugural chairperson of the now dissolved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC),[10] a position she held until 1996.

In December 1992, O'Donoghue became the first Aboriginal Australian to address the United Nations General Assembly during the launch of the United Nations International Year of Indigenous People.

Following her retirement, she formally added the name Lowitja to her existing legal name, Lois O'Donoghue Smart, to emphasise her Luritjan heritage.

In February 2015 she launched the Lowitja Institute - Australia's National Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research.

She continues to be a speaker, writer, mover and shaker on behalf of her people.

Lowitja O'Donoghue fact file

Anita Heiss

Anita is one of Australia's most well-known Aboriginal writers. Her books range from historical novels to children's books and poetry collections. In 2007 she released her first 'chick lit' title (or as she says, tongue-in-cheek, "choc lit" [11]) that sought to find common ground between mainstream and Aboriginal Australia.

She is constantly working to enhance her readers' understanding of Aboriginality for which she has been labelled "destroyer of stereotypes". [11]

She is also working for the publication of the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Literature, a snapshot of 200 years of Aboriginal literature.

Anita is a strong advocate for Aboriginal education and works to ensure that Aboriginal literature is written and produced by Aboriginal writers and companies.

Lots of my first dates turn into cultural awareness training workshops.-Anita Heiss [11]

Anita Heiss fact file

Aboriginal Australians of the Year

Each year on Australia Day (January 26th) Australia honours the Australian of the Year, persons who "inspire us through their achievements and challenge us to make our own contribution to creating a better Australia" [3].

Here is a list of the Aboriginal Australians of the Year.

2014 Adam Goodes (AFL player)

2009 Mick Dodson (Professor of law)

1998 Cathy Freeman (athlete)

1992 Mandawuy Yunupingu (Yothu Yindi band leader)

1984 Lowitja O'Donoghue (nurse and ATSIC chairperson)

1979 Neville Bonner (first Aboriginal parliamentarian)

1978 Galarrwuy Yunupingu (Yolngu leader, brother of Mandawuy)

1971 Evonne Goolagong Cawley (tennis player)

1968 Lionel Rose (boxer)

Fact In 2014, there were 14 Aboriginal finalists for the Australian of the Year Awards. By 2015, one in 7 Australian of the Year recipients were Aboriginal.

It's this increasingly casual reaction to Indigenous achievement and success that is a marker of how far we've come. It's becoming unexceptional to have successful Indigenous filmmakers, artists, doctors, academics, lawyers, nurses and politicians. This is the other side, the often - and unfortunately - untold side, of the story we hear about Indigenous Australia.-Mick Dodson, Australian of the Year 2009 [4]

Check out the collection of famous Aboriginal sports people.

Aboriginal role models

Who do you look up to? Who's inspiring you? A role model. We all need them to motivate us go through tough times and gather our self-discipline.

But there are only few notable Aboriginal Australian role models to inspire Aboriginal children. Politicians, actors, musicians, comedians-most of these in Australia are non-Indigenous.

Part of this problem is the high rate of Aboriginal unemployment, but also the appalling low rate of airplay for Aboriginal music and the few occasions where Australians can celebrate their Indigenous actors in Aboriginal films.

Sport, particularly football and rugby league, is the only area where Aboriginal players are so successful that, at times, they outshine their non-Indigenous team mates.

Video: Role Models and Leaders Australia

Role Models and Leaders Australia (RMLA) is a not-for-profit charitable organisation which aims to develop and empower Aboriginal youth through leadership, sport and education. It runs Girls' Academy programs in high schools with Aboriginal girls in Years 7 through to 12 who experience poverty, sickness, misfortune or disconnectedness from their community. RMLA operates several Aboriginal Girls Academies across WA, the NT and NSW, catering to more than 850 Aboriginal girls.

Case study: Samantha Harris

Samantha came into modelling when she was 10 or 11 years old. Since then her modelling career has brought her success and fame. She is now considered a role model for Aboriginal children [5].

The daughter of a father of English-German descent and an Aboriginal mother, Samantha grew up in Tweed Heads, northern NSW. From an early age her mother entered her in child beauty pageants.

While in high school she won a Dolly Magazine model workshop, and about 2 years later became a finalist in Girlfriend magazine's Model Search.

Harris became aware of her Aboriginality, and that her mother is a member of the Stolen Generations.

Being called a role model for Aboriginal children now sits comfortably with Samantha, although it initially confused her-being relatively young herself.

Harris is an ambassador for the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence in Sydney, and One Laptop per Child Australia. Once a year she travels to Uluru to mentor young and aspiring models.

The Sydney Morning Herald listed her among the "most influential people in Australian fashion" in 2016.

Samantha Harris fact file

[Being a role model] I think it's great that indigenous girls can look up to me and they can set goals for themselves because I have pursued what I have whanted to do.-Samantha Harris [2]

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Famous Aboriginal people, activists & role models

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People Not many Australians know a famous Aboriginal person although most have one in their wallet. Aboriginal role models and activists influence the next generation of Australian youth. Close this Get key foundational knowledge about Aboriginal culture in a fun and engaging way.

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Banjo Paterson- a biography of Australia's most loved bush poet.

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Biography - Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson - Australian Dictionary of Biography

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Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson (1864-1941), poet, solicitor, journalist, war correspondent and soldier, was born on 17 February 1864 at Narrambla near Orange, New South Wales, eldest of seven children of Andrew Bogle Paterson (d.1889), grazier, and his native-born wife Rose Isabella, daughter of Robert Barton of Boree Nyrang station, near Orange.

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Andrew Barton " Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 1864 - 5 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the district around Binalong, New South Wales, where he spent much of his childhood.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

National Sorry Day

Also called

Sorry Day

Observed by

Australia

Type

Cultural

Significance

Commemoration of the Stolen Generations

Date
26 May

Next time

26 May 2024

Frequency

Annually

First time

26 May 1998

National Sorry Day or the National Day of Healing is an event held annually in Australia on 26 May commemorating the Stolen Generations. It is part of the ongoing efforts towards reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The first National Sorry Day was held on the first anniversary of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report. It examined the government practices and policies which led to the Stolen Generations and recommended support and reparations to the Indigenous population. In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued a formal apology for the mistreatment of Indigenous Australians on behalf of the federal government. National Sorry Day has also inspired many public acts of solidarity and support for reconciliation.

Protests have also been held on Sorry Day, with protestors arguing that Indigenous children have continued to be forcibly relocated under the child protection system and government systems have failed to adequately support them. Although there have been efforts implemented by state governments, a national reparation scheme has not been established.

National Sorry Day is an annual event in Australia on 26 May. It commemorates the " Stolen Generations" - the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly separated from their families in an attempt to assimilate them into white Australian culture during the 20th century.

"Bringing Them Home" and history of government reparations

The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998 by a coalition of Australian community groups. It marked one year after the 1997 Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Australian parliament. The report was the result of an inquiry into the government policies and practices which caused the Stolen Generations. Among its fifty-four recommendations were that funding be allocated for Indigenous healing services and that reparations should be made in the form of formal apologies.

Prime Minister John Howard refused to issue an apology, stating that he "did not subscribe to the black armband view of history". In 1999, he passed a Motion of Reconciliation expressing "deep and sincere regret that indigenous Australians suffered injustices under the practices of past generations", but his administration argued that "it was not responsible for the actions of past governments and that admissions of wrongdoing could open the door to compensation suits." His successor Kevin Rudd issued a formal apology in February 2008 on behalf of the federal government, becoming the first Prime Minister to do so in an official capacity.

However, many of the report's recommendations have not or only been partially implemented. Sorry Day protestors also argue that routine removal of children from Indigenous families continues under the auspices of child welfare, as Indigenous children are overrepresented in the child protection system and out-of-home care. The number of Indigenous children in out-of-home care rose from 9,070 in 2008 to about 18,900 in 2022. A national reparation scheme has not been established, although there has been monetary compensation in various states and territories. Writing for The Conversation, professor Bronwyn Carlson noted that many members of the Stolen Generations have died before being able to be compensated, and compensation is unable to be forwarded to their families. reported in 2023 that Indigenous Australians have faced abuse from the non-Indigenous community around the time of Sorry Day, questioning why they should apologise.

In 2005, the National Sorry Day Committee renamed the day the National Day of Healing, with the motion tabled in Parliament by Senator Aden Ridgeway. In his words: "the day will focus on the healing needed throughout Australian society if we are to achieve reconciliation".

Public reconciliation acts

The Bringing Them Home report has inspired many public acts of reconciliation. On 28 May 2000, more than 250,000 people, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, participated in a walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge organised by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation to protest the lack of a government apology to Indigenous people, show solidarity and to raise public awareness. Members of the public also had a plane write "sorry" above the bridge the same day.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was released on Sorry Day in 2017.

Other countries

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia National Sorry Day Also called Sorry Day Observed by Australia Type Cultural Significance Commemoration of the Stolen Generations Date 26 May Next time 26 May 2024 Frequency Annually First time 26 May 1998 National Sorry Day or the National Day of Healing is an event held annually in Australia on 26 May commemorating the Stolen Generations.

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Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies

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On 26 May 1997 the former Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC) National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal Children from their Families Bringing them home report was tabled in National Parliament.

The report contained 54 recommendations to redress the wrongs done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families, homes and communities. A key recommendation of the Bringing them home report was the need for official acknowledgement of, and apology for, the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. All the state and territory governments issued apologies for the laws, policies and practices which had governed forcible removal.

The forced removal of Aboriginal children was designed to assimilate Aboriginal people, broke important cultural, spiritual and family ties and has left a lasting and intergenerational impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

These children are known as The Stolen Generations.
Why a National Apology
In 1998 thousands of Australians participated in Sorry Book campaign, which culminated in the first National Sorry Day on 26 May 1998. This campaign, a grassroots movement was described as 'the people's apology'. Between 1997 and 1999 all State and Territory Parliaments officially apologised to the Stolen Generations, their families and communities.

In 1999, the Australian Government offered a Motion of Reconciliation in the National Parliament, which expressed "deep and sincere regret" and for the next ten years making a National Apology was continually rejected by the Australian Government.

In May 2000, in support of reconciliation and a protest of the Australian Government's inability to officially apologise, nearly 250,000 Australians walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and thousands more walked across bridges around the country. As the people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, above them in the sky a plane scribed 'SORRY' an iconic image of the times.

In 2007, the then Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Kevin Rudd, MP began consulting with Indigenous Australians about the form of a National apology.

On Tuesday 12 February 2008, the Australian Government publicly issued a National Apology to the Stolen Generation. It was an important step in the healing process for the many hundreds of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Stolen Generations.

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On 26 May 1997 the former Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's (HREOC) National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal Children from their Families Bringing them home report was tabled in National Parliament. The report contained 54 recommendations to redress the wrongs done to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families, homes and communities.

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Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements, and recognising Indigenous Australians' contributions to our country.

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PM&C acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, water and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the elders past, present and emerging.

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Many Vietnam Veterans were traumatised by their experiences in the Vietnam War and found it difficult to heal from those wounds because their experience was not widely honoured until years later. For some of these men these wounds played out in the form of addiction, alcoholism, violence, suicide, or simply an inability to truly connect with others. Some of their children then, were raised in a traumatic environment - deeply affected by their father's or mother's wounds. Those children, then, developed their own wounds which also get played out in addiction, suicide, etc, and so it gets passed down the generations.

One of the big differences between Vietnam Veterans and those from previous wars was that, on their return, their nation as a whole did not acknowledge what they had been through. Because of this, individuals, families and governments have had to explore how to ensure that these wounds are healed, so that the inter-generational impacts of that war of 40 years ago are minimised.

History records that even where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples shared traumatic experiences with other Australians, they often didn't have the same support extended to them. For example Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans from the first and second world wars were not provided the same entitlements as their fellow diggers such as war pensions and cheap housing loans.

And, like Vietnam Veterans, the fact that the wider community did not know or acknowledge what they had been through has made the healing process very difficult. In many families, inter-generational trauma has been the result.

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Our shared history | Sections | Share Our Pride

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Many Vietnam Veterans were traumatised by their experiences in the Vietnam War and found it difficult to heal from those wounds because their experience was not widely honoured until years later. For some of these men these wounds played out in the form of addiction, alcoholism, violence, suicide, or simply an inability to truly connect with others.

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History

Australian Aboriginal history is the only history that grows both ways-forward into the present and backwards into the past as new scientific methods indicate that archaeological sites are much older than originally thought.

Close this

Wishing you knew more about Aboriginal culture? Search no more.

Get key foundational knowledge about Aboriginal culture in a fun and engaging way.

This is no ordinary resource: It includes a fictional story, quizzes, crosswords and even a treasure hunt.
Stop feeling bad about not knowing. Make it fun to know better.
Sold! Show me how No, thank you

Just as we have learned about your history, please learn about ours.-From the Ngambri petition claiming the area of Canberra, January 2007 [1]

Ancient history

1. 120,000

Analysis of pollen and charcoal giving a date of 120,000 BP suggests that people were using fire to clear land in the Lake George basin in the Southern Tablelands of NSW, about 30 kms north-east of Canberra. [6] Experts also found signs of human disturbance in rainforest pollen patterns in a drill core from the edge of the continental shelf, 80 kilometres east of Cairns.

2. 65,000

Age of an axe-grinding stone found at Aboriginal campsite Madjedbebe, within the Jabiluka uranium mining lease in Kakadu National Park, NT. [9] The stone is considered to be the oldest confirmed evidence of the occupation of Australia - for now.

3. 45,000

Rock engravings made in South Australia - the earliest dated petroglyphs.

4. 43,000

Age of 'Mungo Man' (also known as Lake Mungo 3 human remains, or LM3), a hunter gatherer who lived in western NSW. His skeleton is the oldest known remains in Australia. Named after Lake Mungo National Park, NSW, 987 km west of Sydney, where his remains were found. Footprints discovered at Lake Mungo are believed to be 23,000 years old.

The oldest dated art in Europe is 40,800 years old and was found in the El Castillo cave in Spain. It contains many red hand stencils, similar to stencils found in Australia.

Lake Mungo, New South Wales. Ancient camp sites have been found in this area.

5. 35,000

Age of a oldest known camping site found in the Pilbara region, Western Australia, near the Jugaling Rock Shelter. The site belongs to a mining lease jointly owned by Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting. Both companies refuse to permanently exclude the site from mining [2].

6. 30,000

Oldest evidence of bread making in the world at Cuddy Springs (ancient lake located between Marra Creek and Macquarie River, near Carinda, western NSW).

A man from the Lake Mungo area (south-west NSW) is buried in a shallow grave. His forearm bones are stained pink from ochre. This is one of the earliest known burials of a distinctly modern people.

Aboriginal people were living around the now extinct lakes of the Willandra Lakes system. Evidence shows signs of spiritual and creative life and technology linked to much later Aboriginal culture.

Devils' Lair in southernmost Western Australia is home to Aboriginal people who leave bone tool artefacts, including unique bone-beads of split-pointed macropod shin bones. The cave is occupied from this time to 6,000 BP.

7. 28,000

Age of a charcoal drawing found at Narwala Gabarnmung, in the Northern Territory, assumed to be Australia's oldest known rock art specimen and one of the earliest examples of human art on the planet [3].

8. 22,000

Age of a rock-shelter on the Kings Tableland near Wentworth Falls, NSW.

Aboriginal people living at Malangangarr in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, use ground-edge grooved axes. Australian technology leads the world.

In deep caves under the Nullarbor Plains at Koonalda (at the western edge of South Australia, about 50 kms from the ocean), Aboriginal people mine flint and leave grooved designs on the cave walls. This is early evidence of the close relationship of art and work in Aboriginal life.

Wentworth Falls, New South Wales. An occupation site has been found in this area dated 22,000 years old.

9. 5,000

Occupation site, Penrith Lakes (about 50 kms west of Sydney), NSW.

Coastline of Australia takes its present form. Rottnest Island (off Perth, WA), previously connected to mainland Australia, becomes an island.

Settlement of Pacific Islands.

Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Aboriginal people saw the island when it was still connected to the mainland. Photo: Zsuzsanna Kilian, sxc.hu

More Aboriginal timelines:

Just as we have learned about your history, please learn about ours.-From the Ngambri petition claiming the area of Canberra, January 2007 [1]

Ancient history

1. 120,000

Analysis of pollen and charcoal giving a date of 120,000 BP suggests that people were using fire to clear land in the Lake George basin in the Southern Tablelands of NSW, about 30 kms north-east of Canberra. [6] Experts also found signs of human disturbance in rainforest pollen patterns in a drill core from the edge of the continental shelf, 80 kilometres east of Cairns.

2. 65,000

Age of an axe-grinding stone found at Aboriginal campsite Madjedbebe, within the Jabiluka uranium mining lease in Kakadu National Park, NT. [9] The stone is considered to be the oldest confirmed evidence of the occupation of Australia - for now.

3. 45,000

Rock engravings made in South Australia - the earliest dated petroglyphs.

4. 43,000

Age of 'Mungo Man' (also known as Lake Mungo 3 human remains, or LM3), a hunter gatherer who lived in western NSW. His skeleton is the oldest known remains in Australia. Named after Lake Mungo National Park, NSW, 987 km west of Sydney, where his remains were found. Footprints discovered at Lake Mungo are believed to be 23,000 years old.

The oldest dated art in Europe is 40,800 years old and was found in the El Castillo cave in Spain. It contains many red hand stencils, similar to stencils found in Australia.

Lake Mungo, New South Wales. Ancient camp sites have been found in this area.

5. 35,000

Age of a oldest known camping site found in the Pilbara region, Western Australia, near the Jugaling Rock Shelter. The site belongs to a mining lease jointly owned by Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting. Both companies refuse to permanently exclude the site from mining [2].

6. 30,000

Oldest evidence of bread making in the world at Cuddy Springs (ancient lake located between Marra Creek and Macquarie River, near Carinda, western NSW).

A man from the Lake Mungo area (south-west NSW) is buried in a shallow grave. His forearm bones are stained pink from ochre. This is one of the earliest known burials of a distinctly modern people.

Aboriginal people were living around the now extinct lakes of the Willandra Lakes system. Evidence shows signs of spiritual and creative life and technology linked to much later Aboriginal culture.

Devils' Lair in southernmost Western Australia is home to Aboriginal people who leave bone tool artefacts, including unique bone-beads of split-pointed macropod shin bones. The cave is occupied from this time to 6,000 BP.

7. 28,000

Age of a charcoal drawing found at Narwala Gabarnmung, in the Northern Territory, assumed to be Australia's oldest known rock art specimen and one of the earliest examples of human art on the planet [3].

8. 22,000

Age of a rock-shelter on the Kings Tableland near Wentworth Falls, NSW.

Aboriginal people living at Malangangarr in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, use ground-edge grooved axes. Australian technology leads the world.

In deep caves under the Nullarbor Plains at Koonalda (at the western edge of South Australia, about 50 kms from the ocean), Aboriginal people mine flint and leave grooved designs on the cave walls. This is early evidence of the close relationship of art and work in Aboriginal life.

Wentworth Falls, New South Wales. An occupation site has been found in this area dated 22,000 years old.

9. 5,000

Occupation site, Penrith Lakes (about 50 kms west of Sydney), NSW.

Coastline of Australia takes its present form. Rottnest Island (off Perth, WA), previously connected to mainland Australia, becomes an island.

Settlement of Pacific Islands.

Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Aboriginal people saw the island when it was still connected to the mainland. Photo: Zsuzsanna Kilian, sxc.hu

More Aboriginal timelines:

How old is Aboriginal culture?

The age of Aboriginal culture changes with new research. Some researchers claim 400,000 years.

Infographic: Aboriginal history 1900 - 1969

Trouble to teach or learn about Aboriginal history from 1900 to 1969, one of the most significant time periods?Use this comprehensive...

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History Australian Aboriginal history is the only history that grows both ways-forward into the present and backwards into the past as new scientific methods indicate that archaeological sites are much older than originally thought. Close this Get key foundational knowledge about Aboriginal culture in a fun and engaging way.

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Introduction to Indigenous Australia - Australian Museum

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Australia has always had a mix of cultures and people although not in the same way as it does today.

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The history of Indigenous Australians began at least 65,000 years ago when humans first populated the Australian continental landmasses. This article covers the history of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, two broadly defined groups which each include other sub-groups defined by language and culture.

The origin of the first humans to populate the southern continent and the pieces of land which became islands as ice receded and sea levels rose remains a matter of conjecture and debate. Some anthropologists believe they could have arrived as a result of the earliest human migrations out of Africa. Although they likely migrated to the territory later named Australia through Southeast Asia, Aboriginal Australians are not demonstrably related to any known Asian or Melanesian population, although Torres Strait Islander people do have a genetic link to some Melanesian populations. There is evidence of genetic and linguistic interchange between Australians in the far north and the Austronesian peoples of modern-day New Guinea and the islands, but this may be the result of recent trade and intermarriage.

Estimates of the number of people living in Australia at the time that colonisation began in 1788, who belonged to a range of diverse groups, vary from 300,000 to a million, and upper estimates place the total population as high as 1.25 million. A cumulative population of 1.6 billion people has been estimated to have lived in Australia over 65,000 years prior to British colonisation. The regions of heaviest Aboriginal population were the same temperate coastal regions that are currently the most heavily populated, the Murray River valley in particular. In the early 1900s it was commonly believed that the Aboriginal population of Australia was heading toward extinction. The population shrank from those present when colonisation began in New South Wales in 1788, to 50,000 in 1930. This drastic reduction in numbers has been attributed to outbreaks of smallpox and other diseases, but other sources have described the extent of frontier clashes and in some cases, deliberate killings of Aboriginal peoples.

Post-colonisation, the coastal Indigenous populations were soon absorbed, exterminated, depleted or forced from their lands; the traditional aspects of Aboriginal life which remained persisted most strongly in areas such as the Great Sandy Desert where European settlement has been sparse. Although the Aboriginal Tasmanians were almost driven to extinction (and once thought to be so), other Aboriginal Australian peoples maintained successful communities throughout Australia.

It is believed that early human migration to Australia was achieved when it formed part of the Sahul continent, connected to the island of New Guinea via a land bridge. This would have nevertheless required crossing the sea at the so-called Wallace Line. It is also possible that people came by island-hopping via an island chain between Sulawesi and New Guinea, reaching North Western Australia via Timor.

A 2021 study which mapped likely migration routes suggests that the populating of the Sahul took 5,000-6,000 years to reach Tasmania (then part of the continent), with a rate of one kilometre per year, after making landfall in the Kimberley region of Western Australia around 60,000 years ago. The total human population could have been as high as 6.4 million, with 3 million in the area of modern Australia. The modelling suggests that the path of population movement may have followed two main routes down from contemporary New Guinea, with the so-called "southern route" going into Kimberley, Pilbara and Arnhem Land, and then to the Great Sandy Desert before moving towards the centre in Lake Eyre and further on to the southeast of the continent. It also leads through another path to the southwestern parts, such as Margaret River and the Nullarbor Plain. The "northern route" meanwhile crosses over the current location of the Torres Strait and then divides into one path connecting to Arnhem Land and another leading down the East Coast. The routes are similar to current highways and stock routes in Australia.

Madjedbebe is the oldest known site showing the presence of humans in Australia, with evidence suggesting that it was first occupied by humans possibly by 65,000 ± 6,000 years ago and at least by 50,000 years ago. The rock shelters at Madjedbebe (about 50 kilometres (31 mi) inland from the present coast) and at Nauwalabila I (70 kilometres (43 mi) further south) show evidence of used pieces of ochre used by artists 60,000 years ago. Near Penrith, stone tools have been found in Cranebrook Terraces gravel sediments having dates of 45,000 to 50,000 years BP. In 1999 Charles Dortch dated chert and calcrete flake stone tools found on Rottnest Island, Western Australia, at 70,000 years BP. A 2018 study using archaeobotany dated evidence of human habitation at Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen) in the Carnarvon Range in the Little Sandy Desert in WA at around 50,000 years, which was 20,000 earlier than previously believed. There is also evidence of a change in fire régimes in Australia, drawn from reef deposits in Queensland, between 70 and 100,000 years ago, and the integration of human genomic evidence from various parts of the world also supports a date of before 60,000 years for the arrival of Australian Aboriginal people in the continent.

Humans reached Tasmania approximately 40,000 years ago by migrating across a land bridge from the mainland that existed during the last glacial maximum. After the seas rose about 12,000 years ago and covered the land bridge, the inhabitants there were isolated from the mainland until the arrival of European settlers.

Short-statured Aboriginal tribes inhabited the rainforests of North Queensland, of which the best known group is probably the Tjapukai of the Cairns area. These rainforest people, collectively referred to as Barrineans, were once considered to be a relic of an earlier wave of Negrito migration to the Australian continent, but this " Aboriginal pygmy" theory has been discredited.

Mungo Man, found near Lake Mungo in New South Wales, is the oldest human yet found in Australia. Although the exact age of Mungo Man is in dispute, the best consensus is that he is at least 40,000 years old. Stone tools also found at Lake Mungo have been estimated, based on stratigraphic association, to be about 50,000 years old. Since Lake Mungo is in south-eastern Australia, many archaeologists have concluded that humans must have arrived in north-west Australia at least several thousand years earlier.

Changes around 4,000 years ago

The dingo reached Australia about 4,000 years ago - thought to have been brought here by Asian seafarers - and is believed to have led to the extinction of the thylacine in mainland Australia. Around the same time there were changes in language, with the Pama-Nyungan language family spreading over most of the mainland, and stone tool technology, with the use of smaller tools. Human contact has thus been inferred, and genetic data of two kinds have been proposed to support a gene flow from India to Australia: first, signs of South Asian components in Aboriginal Australian genomes, reported on the basis of genome-wide SNP data; and secondly, the existence of a Y chromosome (male) lineage, designated haplogroup C∗, with the most recent common ancestor around 5,000 years ago.

A 2013 study by researchers at the Max Planck Institute led by Irina Pugach, the result of large-scale genotyping, indicated that Aboriginal Australians, the indigenous peoples of New Guinea and the Mamanwa, an indigenous people of the southern Philippines are closely related, having diverged from a common origin approximately 36,000 years ago. The same study shows that Aboriginal genomes consist of up to 11% Indian DNA which is uniformly spread through Northern Australia, indicating a substantial gene flow between Indian populations and Northern Australia occurred around 4,230 years ago. Changes in tool technology and food processing appear in the archaeological record around this time, suggesting there may have been migration from India.

However, a 2016 study in Current Biology by Anders Bergström et al. excluded the Y chromosome as providing evidence for recent gene flow from India into Australia. The study authors sequenced 13 Aboriginal Australian Y chromosomes using recent advances in gene sequencing technology, investigating their divergence times from Y chromosomes in other continents, including comparing the haplogroup C chromosomes. The authors concluded that, although this does not disprove the presence of any Holocene gene flow or non-genetic influences from South Asia at that time, and the appearance of the dingo does provide strong evidence for external contacts, the evidence overall is consistent with a complete lack of gene flow, and points to indigenous origins for the technological and linguistic changes. Gene flow across the island-dotted 150-kilometre (93 mi)-wide Torres Strait, is both geographically plausible and demonstrated by the data, although at this point it could not be determined from this study when within the last 10,000 years it may have occurred - newer analytical techniques have the potential to address such questions.

When the north-west of Australia, which is closest to Asia, was first occupied, the region consisted of open tropical forests and woodlands. After around 10,000 years of stable climatic conditions, by which time the Aboriginal people had settled the entire continent, temperatures began cooling and winds became stronger, leading to the beginning of an ice age. By the glacial maximum, 25,000 to 15,000 years ago, the sea level had dropped to around 140 metres below its present level. Australia was connected to New Guinea and the Kimberley region of Western Australia was separated from Southeast Asia () by a strait only approximately 90 km wide. Rainfall was 40% to 50% lower than modern levels, depending on region, while the lower levels (half pre-industrial levels) meant that vegetation required twice as much water for photosynthesis.

The Kimberley, including the adjacent exposed continental Sahul Shelf, was covered by vast grasslands dominated by flowering plants of the family Poaceae, with woodlands and semi-arid scrub covering the shelf joining New Guinea to Australia. Southeast of the Kimberley, from the Gulf of Carpentaria to northern Tasmania the land, including the western and southern margins of the now exposed continental shelves, was covered largely by extreme deserts and sand dunes. It is believed that during this period no more than 15% of Australia supported trees of any kind. While some tree cover remained in the southeast of Australia, the vegetation of the wetter coastal areas in this region was semi-arid savanna, while some tropical rainforests survived in isolated coastal areas of Queensland.

Tasmania was covered primarily by cold steppe and alpine grasslands, with snow pines at lower altitudes. There is evidence that there may have been a significant reduction in Australian Aboriginal populations during this time, and there would seem to have been scattered " refugia" in which the modern vegetation types and Aboriginal populations were able to survive. Corridors between these refugia seem to be routes by which people kept in contact. With the end of the ice age, strong rains returned, until around 5,500 years ago, when the wet season cycle in the north ended, bringing with it a megadrought that lasted 1,500 years. The return of reliable rains around 4,000 years BP gave Australia its current climate.

Following the Ice Age, Aboriginal people around the coast, from Arnhem Land, the Kimberley and the southwest of Western Australia, all tell stories of former territories that were drowned beneath the sea with the rising coastlines after the Ice Age. It was this event that isolated the Tasmanian Aboriginal people on their island, and probably led to the extinction of Aboriginal cultures on the Bass Strait Islands and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. In the interior, the end of the Ice Age may have led to the recolonisation of the desert and semi-desert areas by Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory. This in part may have been responsible for the spread of languages of the Pama-Nyungan language family and secondarily responsible for the spread of male initiation rites involving circumcision. There has been a long history of contact between Papuan peoples of the Western Province, Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal people in Cape York.

The Aboriginal Australians lived through great climatic changes and adapted successfully to their changing physical environment. There is much ongoing debate about the degree to which they modified the environment. One controversy revolves around the role of indigenous people in the extinction of the marsupial megafauna (also see Australian megafauna). Some argue that natural climate change killed the megafauna. Others claim that, because the megafauna were large and slow, they were easy prey for human hunters. A third possibility is that human modification of the environment, particularly through the use of fire, indirectly led to their extinction.[citation needed ]

Oral history demonstrates "the continuity of culture of Indigenous Australians" for at least 10,000 years. This is shown by correlation of oral history stories with verifiable incidents including known changes in sea levels and their associated large changes in location of ocean shorelines; oral records of megafauna; and comets.

The introduction of the dingo, possibly as early as 3500 BCE, showed that contact with South East Asian peoples continued, as the closest genetic connection to the dingo seems to be the wild dogs of Thailand. This contact was not just one-way, as the presence of kangaroo ticks on these dogs demonstrates. Dingoes began and evolved in Asia. The earliest known dingo-like fossils are from Ban Chiang in north-east Thailand (dated at 5500 years BP) and from north Vietnam (5000 years BP). According to skull morphology, these fossils occupy a place between Asian wolves (prime candidates were the pale footed (or Indian) wolf Canis lupus pallipes and the Arabian wolf Canis lupus arabs) and modern dingoes in Australia and Thailand.

Most scientists presently believe that it was the arrival of the Australian Aboriginal people on the continent and their introduction of fire-stick farming that was responsible for these extinctions. Fossil research published in 2017 indicates that Aboriginal people and megafauna coexisted for "at least 17,000 years". Aboriginal Australians used fire for a variety of purposes: to encourage the growth of edible plants and fodder for prey; to reduce the risk of catastrophic bushfires; to make travel easier; to eliminate pests; for ceremonial purposes; for warfare and just to "clean up country." There is disagreement, however, about the extent to which this burning led to large-scale changes in vegetation patterns.

Aboriginal Australians were limited to the range of foods occurring naturally in their area, but they knew exactly when, where and how to find everything edible. Anthropologists and nutrition experts who have studied the tribal diet in Arnhem Land found it to be well-balanced, with most of the nutrients modern dietitians recommend. But food was not obtained without effort. In some areas both men and women had to spend from half to two-thirds of each day hunting or foraging for food. Each day, the women of the group went into successive parts of one countryside with wooden digging sticks and plaited dilly bags or wooden coolamons. Larger animals and birds, such as kangaroos and emus, were speared or disabled with a thrown club, boomerang, or stone. Many Indigenous hunting devices were used to get within striking distance of prey. The men were excellent trackers and stalkers, approaching their prey running where there was cover, or "freezing" and crawling when in the open. They were careful to stay downwind and sometimes covered themselves with mud to disguise their smell.

Fish were sometimes taken by hand by stirring up the muddy bottom of a pool until they rose to the surface, or by placing the crushed leaves of poisonous plants in the water to stupefy them. Fish spears, nets, wicker or stone traps were also used in different areas. Lines with hooks made from bone, shell, wood or spines were used along the north and east coasts. Dugong, turtle and large fish were harpooned, the harpooner launching himself bodily from the canoe to give added weight to the thrust. Both Torres Strait Island populations and mainland Aboriginal peoples were predominantly hunter & gatherers, who relied on wild foods. However, banana cultivation is now thought to have been practiced amongst Torres Strait Islanders. Aboriginal Australians along the coast and rivers were also expert fishermen. Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people relied on the dingo as a companion animal, using it to assist with hunting and for warmth on cold nights.

In present-day Victoria, there were two separate communities who farmed eels in complex and extensive irrigated pond systems; one on the Murray River in the state's north, the other in the south-west near Hamilton in the territory of the Djab Wurrung, which traded with other groups from as far away as the Melbourne area (see Gunditjmara).[citation needed ] A primary tool used in hunting is the spear, launched by a woomera or spear-thrower in some locales. Boomerangs were also used by some mainland Indigenous Australians. The non-returnable boomerang (known more correctly as a Throwing Stick), more powerful than the returning kind, could be used to injure or even kill a kangaroo.

In mainland Australia no animal other than the dingo was domesticated, however domestic pigs and cassowaries were utilised by Torres Strait Islanders. The typical Aboriginal diet included a wide variety of foods, including introduced pigs, kangaroo, emu, wombats, goanna, snakes, birds, and many insects such as honey ants, Bogong moths and witchetty grubs. Many varieties of plant foods such as taro, coconuts, nuts, fruits and berries were also eaten.

Permanent villages were the norm for most Torres Strait Island communities. In some areas mainland Aboriginal Australians also lived in semi-permanent villages, most usually in less arid areas where fishing could provide for a settled existence, with places like Budj Bim in particular growing to comparatvely large settlements. Most Indigenous communities were semi-nomadic, moving in a regular cycle over a defined territory, following seasonal food sources and returning to the same places at the same time each year. From the examination of middens, archaeologists have shown that some localities were visited annually by Indigenous communities for thousands of years. In the more arid areas Aboriginal Australians were nomadic, ranging over wide areas in search of scarce food resources. There is evidence of substantial change in indigenous culture over time. Rock painting at several locations in northern Australia has been shown to consist of a sequence of different styles linked to different historical periods. There is also prominent rock paintings found in the Sydney basin area which date to around 5,000 years.

Harry Lourandos has been the leading proponent of the theory that a period of agricultural intensification occurred between 3000 and 1000 BCE. Intensification involved an increase in human manipulation of the environment (for example, the construction of eel traps in Victoria), population growth, an increase in trade between groups, a more elaborate social structure, and other cultural changes. A shift in stone tool technology, involving the development of smaller and more intricate points and scrapers, occurred around this time. This was probably also associated with the introduction to the mainland of the Australian dingo.

Many Indigenous communities also have a very complex kinship structure and in some places strict rules about marriage. In traditional societies, men are required to marry women of a specific moiety. The system is still alive in many Central Australian communities. To enable men and women to find suitable partners, many groups would come together for annual gatherings (commonly known as corroborees) at which goods were traded, news exchanged, and marriages arranged amid appropriate ceremonies. This practice both reinforced clan relationships and prevented inbreeding in a society based on small semi-nomadic groups.

1770-1850s: impact of British colonisation

The first contact between British explorers and Indigenous Australians came in 1770, when Lieutenant James Cook interacted with the Guugu Yimithirr people around contemporary Cooktown. Cook wrote that he had claimed the east coast of Australia for what was then the Kingdom of Great Britain and named it New South Wales, while on Possession Island off the west coast of Cape York Peninsula. However, it seems that no such claim was made when Cook was in Australia. Cook's orders were to look for "a Continent or Land of great extent" and "with the Consent of the Natives to take possession of Convenient situations in the Country in the name of the King". The British government did not view Aboriginal Australians as the owners of the land as they did not practise farming. British colonisation of Australia began at Port Jackson in 1788 with the arrival of Governor Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet. The Governor was instructed to "by every possible means to open an intercourse with the natives, and to conciliate their affections, enjoining all our subjects to live in amity and kindness with them" and to punish those aiming to "wantonly destroy them".

The immediate reaction of the Eora, who were first to witness it, to colonisation was at first surprise and then aggression. Following this the Eora generally avoided the British for the next two years. They were offended by the British entering their lands and taking advantage of their resources without asking permission, as was customary in Aboriginal society. Some contacts did however occur, with both the Eora and the Tharawal at Botany Bay, including exchanges of gifts. Out of the 17 encounters during the first month, only two involved the Eora entering British settlements. After a year, Phillip decided to capture Indigenous people to teach them English and make them intermediaries, resulting in the kidnappings of Arabanoo and Bennelong, with Phillip getting speared by the latter's companion. Bennelong would eventually travel to England with Phillip and Yemmerrawanne in 1793. A Kuringgai man Bungaree also made voyages with Europeans. Following the lethal spearing of a huntsman, possibly by Pemulwuy, Phillip ordered 10 men (but not women or children) in Botany Bay to be captured and beheaded. None were however found.

The first apparent consequence of British settlement appeared in April 1789 when a disease, which was probably smallpox, struck the Aboriginal peoples about Port Jackson. Before the epidemic, the First Fleet had equalled the population of the Eora; after it the settler population was equal to all Indigenous people on the Cumberland Plain; and by 1820, their population of 30,000 was as much of the entire Indigenous populace of New South Wales. A generation after colonization, the Eora, Dharug and Kuringgai had been greatly reduced and were mainly living in the outskirts of European society, though some Indigenous people did continue to live in the coastal regions around Sydney further on, as well as around Georges River and Botany Bay. Further inland, Indigenous peoples were warned of the British invasion after the Cumberland Plain had been taken by 1815, and this information preceded them by hundreds of kilometres. However, by the second generation of contact, many groups in south-eastern Australia were gone. The greatest cause of death was disease, followed by settler and inter-Indigenous killings. This population loss was further exacerbated by an extremely low birth rate. An estimated decline of 80 percent in the population meant that traditional kinship systems and ceremonial obligations became hard to maintain and family and social relations were torn. The survivors came to live on the fringes of European society, living in tents and shacks around towns and riverbanks in poor health.

Aboriginal Tasmanians first came to contact with Europeans when the Baudin expedition to Australia arrived at Adventure Bay in 1802. The French explorers were more friendly to the Indigenous than the British further north. Already earlier, in 1800, European whalers had been to the Bass Strait islands, were they had used kidnapped aboriginal women. The local Indigenous also sold women to the sailors. Later the descendants of these women would be the last survivors of Tasmanian Indigenous people.

The assimilation policy was first started by Governor Macquarie, who established in 1814 the Native Institution in Blacktown "to effect the Civilization of the Aborigines of New South Wales, and to render their Habits more domesticated and industrious" by enrolling children in a residential school. By 1817, 17 were enrolled, one of whom, a girl called Maria, won the first prize in a school exam ahead of European children in 1819. The institution was however closed soon after following Macquarie's replacement for spending. Macquerie also had attempted to settle 16 Kuringgai at George's Head with land, pre-fabricated huts and other supplies, but the families had soon sold the farms and left.

Christian missions were also started at Lake Macquarie in 1827, at Wellington Valley in 1832, and in Port Phillip and Moreton Bay around 1840. These involved learning Indigenous languages, with the Gospel of Luke translated into Awabakal in 1831 by a missionary and Biraban, as well as offering food and sanctuary on the frontier. However, when supplies ran out, the Indigenous would often leave for pastoral stations in search of work. Some missionaries would take children without consent to be taught in dormitories.

The government had started blanket distribution in the 1830s, but ended this in 1844 as a cost-saving measure. It also created Indigenous paramilitary units, called the Australian native police, with these being establish in Port Phillip in 1842, New South Wales in 1848, and in Queensland 1859. Exceptional among these, the Port Phillip force had police powers over white people as well. The forces killed hundreds of (or in the case of Queensland, up to a thousand) Indigenous people.

In 1833, A committee of the British House of Commons, led by Fowell Buxton demanded better treatment of the Indigenous, referring to them as 'original owners', leading the British government in 1838 to create the office of the Protector of Aborigines. However, this effort ended by 1857. Nevertheless, the humanitarian effort did produce the Waste Land Act of 1848, which gave indigenous people certain rights and reserves on the land.

There was also some assimilation of Europeans into Indigenous cultures. Living with Indigenous people was William Buckley, an escaped convict, who was with the Wautharong people near Melbourne for thirty-two years, before being found in 1835. James Morrill was an English sailor aboard the vessel Peruvian which became shipwrecked off the coast of north-eastern Australia in 1846, was taken in by a local clan of Aboriginal Australians. He adopted their language and customs and lived as a member of their society for 17 years. Indigenous peoples also adopted the European dog widely.

On the mainland, prolonged conflict followed the frontier of European settlement. An estimated minimum of 40,000 Indigenous Australians and between 2,000 and 2,500 settlers died in the wars. However, recent scholarship on the frontier wars in what is now the state of Queensland indicates that Indigenous fatalities may have been significantly higher. Indeed, while battles and massacres occurred in a number of locations across Australia, they were particularly bloody in Queensland, owing to its comparatively larger pre-contact Indigenous population. It is estimated that up to 3,000 white people were killed by Aboriginal Australians in the frontier violence. Some Indigenous people also allied with the colonists against other Indigenous people. Colonization accelerated fighting between Indigenous groups by causing them to leave their traditional lands as well as by causing deaths by disease which were attributed to enemy sorcery. Indigenous gun ownership was banned in New South Wales in 1840, but this was overturned by the British government as inequality before the law.

In 1790, an Aboriginal leader Pemulwuy in Sydney resisted the Europeans, waging a guerrilla-style warfare on the settlers in a series of wars known as the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars, which spanned 26 years, from 1790 to 1816. After his death in 1802, his son Tedbury continued the campaign until 1810. The campaign led to the banning of Aboriginal groups of more than six and forbid them from carrying weapons closer to two kilometers from settlements. Beyond the Cumberland Plain, violence erupted first at Bathurst against the Wiradjuri, with martial law declared in 1822 and the 40th Regiment responding. This became known as the Bathurst War.

In Van Diemen's Land, conflict arrived in 1824 after major expansion of settler and sheep numbers, with Indigenous warriors responding by killing 24 Europeans by 1826. In 1828, martial law was declared and bounty parties of settlers took vengeance. On the Indigenous side, Musquito led the Oyster Bay tribe against the settlers. Tarenorerer was another leader. The Black War, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 to 900 Aboriginal people and more than 200 European colonists, nearly annihilating the island's indigenous population. The near-destruction of the Aboriginal Tasmanians, and the frequent incidence of mass killings, has sparked debate among historians over whether the Black War should be defined as an act of genocide.

In Swan River Colony, conflict occurred near Perth, with the government offering the use of the armoury for the settlers. A punitive party was led against the Pindjarup in 1834.

Deadly infectious diseases like smallpox, influenza and tuberculosis were always major causes of Aboriginal deaths. Smallpox alone killed more than 50% of the Aboriginal population. Other diseases included dysentery, scarlet fever, typhus, measles, whooping cough and influenza. Sexually transmitted infections were also introduced by colonialism. Health decline was also caused by increasing use of flour and sugar instead of more diverse traditional diets, resulting in malnutrition. Alcohol was also first introduced by colonialism, leading to alcoholism.

In April 1789, a major outbreak of smallpox killed large numbers of Indigenous Australians between Hawkesbury River, Broken Bay, and Port Hacking. Based on information recorded in the journals of some members of the First Fleet, it has been surmised that the Aboriginal peoples of the Sydney region had never encountered the disease before and lacked immunity to it. Unable to understand or counter the sickness, they often fled, leaving the sick with some food and water to fend for themselves. As the clans fled, the epidemic spread further along the coast and into the hinterland. This had a disastrous effect on Aboriginal society; with many of the productive hunters and gatherers dead, those who survived the initial outbreak began to starve.[citation needed ]

Some have suggested that Makasar fishermen accidentally brought smallpox to Australia's north and the virus travelled south. However, given that the spread of the disease depends on high population densities, and the fact that those who succumbed were soon incapable of walking, such an outbreak was unlikely to have spread across the desert trade routes. A more likely source of the disease was the "variolas matter" Surgeon John White brought with him on the First Fleet, although it is unknown how this may have been spread. It has also been speculated that the vials were either accidentally or intentionally released as a " biological weapon". In 2014, writing in Journal of Australian Studies, Christopher Warren concluded that British marines were most likely to have spread smallpox, possibly without informing Governor Phillip, but conceded in his conclusion that "today's evidence only provides for a balancing of probabilities and this is all that can be attempted."

In 1822, the British government reduced duties on Australian wool, leading to an expansion of sheep numbers, followed by increased immigration. The sheep flourished in the arid western plains. The settlers created an ecological revolution, as their cattle ate away local grasses and trampled waterholes, with precious food staples like murnong diminished, and with new weeds spreading. Meat sources like kangaroo and the Australian brushturkey were replaced by cattle. In response, Indigenous peoples would appropriate settler resources, such as taking sheep and raising their own flocks. New economic products also disrupted traditional lifestyles, as for example in the case of the steel axe, which replaced the traditional stone one, resulting in a loss of authority to the older men who traditionally had access to them. The new axes would be given to younger people by settlers and missionaries in exchange for work, also diminishing old trading networks.

Following the loss of lands, Indigenous people 'came in' to pastoral station, missions and towns, often forced by lack of food. Tobacco, tea and sugar were also important in attracting Indigenous people to settlers. After some handouts, work was demanded by the settlers in return for rations, leading to Indigenous employment in cutting timber, herding and shearing sheep, and in stock work. They were also working as fishermen, water carriers, domestic servants, boatmen and whalers. However, European work ethic was not part of their culture, as working beyond the amount necessary for future benefits was seen as not important. Their pay was also unequal to that of settlers, being mostly rations or less than half the wage. Women had previously been the main providers in Indigenous families, but their roles were diminished as men became the main recipients of wages and rations, while women could at most find European-style domestic work or prostitution, leading some to live with European men who had access to resources.

1850s-1940s: Northern Expansion

By 1850, southern Australia had been settled by the new immigrants and their descendants, except for the Great Victoria Desert, Nullarbor Plain, Simpson Desert, and Channel Country. European explorers had started to venture into these areas, as well as the Top End and Cape York Peninsula. By 1862 they had crossed the continent and entered Kimberley and Pilbara, while consolidating colonial claims in the process. Indigenous reaction to them ranged from assistance to hostility. Any new lands were claimed, mapped and opened to pastoralists, with North Queensland settled in the 1860s, Central Australia and the Northern Territory in the 1870s, Kimberley in the 1880s, and the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges after 1900. This again led to violent confrontation with the Indigenous peoples. However, because of the dryness and remoteness of the new frontier, settlement and economic development were slower. The European population therefore remained small and consequently more fearful, with few police protecting the Indigenous population. It is estimated that in North Queensland 15 percent of the first wave of pastoralists were killed in Indigenous attacks, while 10 times more of the other side met the same fate. In the Gulf Country, over 400 violent Indigenous deaths were recorded 1872 to 1903.

In the earlier settled southern parts of Australia, an estimated 20,000 Indigenous individuals (10 percent of the total at the beginning of colonization), remained by the 1920s, with half being of mixed ancestry. There about 7000 in New South Wales, 5000 in southern Queensland, 2500 in south-west Western Australia, 1000 in southern South Australia, 500 in Victoria, and under 200 in Tasmania (mostly on Cape Barren Island). One fifth lived in reserves, while most of the rest were in camps around country towns, with small numbers owning farms or living in towns or capital cities. In the country as a whole, there were about 60,000 Indigenous people in 1930.

The Defence Act of 1903 only allowed those of "European origin or descent" to enlist in military service. However, in 1914 around 800 Aboriginal people answered the call to arms to fight in World War I. As the war continued, these restrictions were relaxed as more recruits were needed.[citation needed ] Many enlisted by claiming they were Māori or Indian. During World War II, after the threat of Japanese invasion of Australia, Indigenous enlistment was accepted. Up to 3000 individuals of mixed descent served in the military, including Reg Saunders, the first indigenous officer. The Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion, Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit, and the Snake Bay Patrol were also established. Another 3000 civilians worked in labour corps.

Employment, wagelessness and resistance

Nevertheless, Indigenous workers in the north were able to find jobs better than in south since there was no cheap convict labour available, though they were not paid in wages and were abused. There was a widely held belief that white people could not work in Northern Australia. Pearl hunting employed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers, though many were coerced into it. By the 1880s, the introduction of diving suits had reduced Indigenous workers to deckhands. Otherwise Indigenous people congregated at settlements such as Broome (servicing luggers) or Darwin (where 20 percent of the Northern Territory's Indigenous workers were employed). However, in Darwin the Indigenous workers were kept locked up at night. Most of the Indigenous workers in North Queensland, the Northern Territory, and the Kimberley were employed by the cattle industry. Wage payment varied by state. In Queensland, wages were paid from 1901 onwards, being set at a third of white wages in 1911, two-thirds in 1918, and equal in 1930. However, some of the wages were deposited on trust accounts, from which they could be stolen. In the Northern Territory, there was no requirement to pay a wage. Overall, up to the Second World War about half of the Indigenous stockmen received wages, and if so, they were well below the white level. There was also physical abuse of the workers, sometimes including by the police.

On 4 February 1939, Jack Patten led a strike at Cummeragunja Station in New South Wales. The people of Cummeragunja were protesting their harsh treatment under what was a draconian system. A once successful farming enterprise was taken from their control, and residents were forced to subsist on meagre rations. Approximately 200 people left their homes, taking part in the Cummeragunja walk-off, and the majority crossed the border into Victoria, never to return home. Following the rising threat from Empire of Japan, the Australian Army came to the north in the early 1940s, bringing new people and ideas while employing Indigenous workers in defence projects. They were paid a wage and mixed with the regular troops. This led the Northern Territory administration to investigate and recommend paying wages, though it was never enforced. Following meetings held by the white communist Don McLeod in 1942, Indigenous groups in Pilbara decided to go on strike, which they did after the end of the war in the 1946 Pilbara strike. In 1949, they finally won a wage double the size of their original demand, and were encouraged to start their own co-operative based on the mining they had been doing while on strike. Along the war, this event also helped reduce the abuse of Indigenous workers.

As scientific racism developed from Darwinism (with Charles Darwin himself having claimed after visiting New South Wales that the death of "the Aboriginal" was a consequence of natural selection), the popular view of Indigenous Australians started to see them as inferior. Indigenous Australians were considered in the global scientific community as the world's most primitive humans, leading to trade of human remains and relics. This was especially true of Indigenous Tasmanians, with 120 books and articles written by scholars around the world by the late 19th century. Some Indigenous people were also toured and exhibited around the world as spectacles. However, in the 1930s, physical anthropology was taken over by cultural anthropology, which focused cultural difference over inferiority. Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, the father of modern social anthropology, published his Social Organization of Australian Tribes in 1931.

By 1900 most white Australians held racist views of the Indigenous peoples, and the Constitution of Australia of that year did not count them alongside other Australians in the census. Racist treatment was also encoded in special Acts governing Indigenous peoples separately from the rest of society. Racism also manifested itself in everyday discrimination, which was termed the "colour bar or the caste barrier". This affected life in most settled parts of Australia, though not that much in the capital cities. For example, from the 1890s to 1949, the New South Wales government removed Indigenous children from state schools if non-Indigenous parents objected to their presence, placing them instead to reserve schools with worse education. The same policy was in place in Western Australia, as well, where only one percent of Indigenous children attended state schools. Indigenous residents of New South Wales were also not permitted to buy or drink alcohol. These kinds of restrictions did not apply in Victoria, with a smaller Indigenous population and an assimilationist policy. Furthermore, Indigenous people were often excluded from organisations, businesses, and sports or recreational facilities, such as pools. Employment and housing was difficult to find for them.

Women's groups, such as the Australian Federation of Women Voters and the National Council of Women of Australia, became advocates for Indigenous issues in the 1920s. The first Indigenous political organisation was the Australian Aborigines Progressive Association, established in 1924, with 11 branches and more than 500 Indigenous members in a year. It had been partly inspired by Marcus Garvey. In 1926, the Native Union in Western Australia was founded. White advocate groups emerged in the 1930s. Other Indigenous organisations included the Euralian Association set up in 1934, the Australian Aborigines' League in 1934, and the Aborigines Progressive Association in 1937. The latter marked Invasion Day on the 150th anniversary of the First Fleet's landing.

The only known treaty between Indigenous and European Australians was Batman's Treaty, signed by Billibellary. His son, Simon Wonga, and other Kulin nation leaders requested land in 1859 for cultivation, and were granted 1820 hectares in the Acheron River by the Victorian government. In 1860, the same government established Aboriginal reserves in Coranderrk, Framlingham, Lake Condah, Ebenezer, Ramahyuck, as well as Lake Tyers. Corranderrk was notably successful, becoming practically self-sufficient and winning the first prize for their hops at the Melbourne International Exhibition. Nevertheless, the inhabitants were refused to be given individual land titles or be paid wages. In South Australia, Raukkan and Poonindie were also set up as communities for Indigenous peoples. In New South Wales, such communities included Maloga, Brungle, Warangesda, and Cummeragunja.

However, the reserve system also gave authorities power over Indigenous people, with the Aboriginal Protection Board exercising control over work and wages, adult movement, and child removal in Victoria from 1869 onwards. With the Half-Caste Act of 1886, the Victorian government started removing those with partial European ancestry from the reserves, with the claimed aim to "merge the half-caste population into the general community", which was also followed in New South Wales with the Aborigines Protection Act 1909. This had deleterious consequences for the viability of the communities, leading to their decline. The Queensland Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act of 1897 became a model for Indigenous legislation in Western Australia (1905), South Australia (1911), and the Northern Territory (1911), which gave the authorities power over anyone deemed "Aboriginal" in regards to placing them or their children in reserves, denying voting rights or the ability to buy alcohol, as well as prohibiting interracial sexual relations (requiring a ministerial permission for interracial marriage).

The reserves were subsequently mostly reduced, closed and sold off by the 1920s. Meanwhile, the Protection Boards became more powerful in 1915 in New South Wales after new legislation gave them the power to remove children of mixed ancestry without parental or court approval. Later research shows that the authorities aimed to reunite white families without doing so for Indigenous ones. Overall Indigenous communities in south-eastern Australia became increasingly under government control, with a dependence on weekly rations instead of agricultural work. The 1897 Queensland Act and its subsequent amendments gave reserve superintendents the right to search people and their dwellings or belongings, to confiscate their property and read their mail, as well as to expel them to other reserves, among other powers. The inhabitants had to work 32 hours a week without pay, and were subject to verbal abuse, while their traditions were prohibited.

1940s-present: political activism and equality

World War II led to improvements and new opportunities in Indigenous lives through employment in the services and war time industries. After the war, full employment continued, with 96 percent of New South Wales' Indigenous population being employed in 1948. The Commonwealth Child Endowment, as well as the Invalid and Old Age Pensions, were expanded to Indigenous people outside of reserves during the war, though full inclusiveness only followed by 1966. The 1940s also saw individuals given the ability to apply for freedom from Aboriginal Acts, though onerous conditions kept the numbers relatively low. The Nationality and Citizenship Act of 1948 also gave citizenship to any Indigenous people born in Australia. In 1949, the right to vote in federal elections was extended to Indigenous Australians who had served in the armed forces, or were enrolled to vote in state elections.

The postwar era also saw the increased removal of children under assimilationist policies, with between 10 and 33 percent of Aboriginal children being removed from their families between 1910 and 1970. The number may have been more than 70,000 across 70 years. By 1961, the Aboriginal population had risen to 106,000. This went hand-in-hand with urbanization, with the population in capital cities increasing by the 1960s with 12,000 in Sydney, 5000 in Brisbane and 2000 in Melbourne.

In 1962, the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders started advocating for wage equality, successfully pressuring the Australian Council of Trade Unions to join the cause. As a result, in 1965 the Australian Industrial Relations Commission declared that there should be no discrimination in Australian industrial relations law. However, after this pastoralists began to mechanize their operations with fencing and helicopters, as well as stating to employ white Australians. By 1971, Indigenous labour had reduced by 30 percent in some places. Unemployment rose massively during the rest of the decade, with Indigenous people being pushed off pastoral properties and gathering in northern towns such as Katherine, Tennant Creek, Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing, Broome and Derby.

Indigenous people generally had very poor economic opportunities, with 81 percent of workers being unskilled, 18 percent semi-skilled, and just 1 percent skilled in New South Wales in the mid-'60s. Health differences to the general population were massive, with many times worse infant mortality rates and child health, especially in the Northern Territory. Issues of malnutrition, poverty and poor sanitation led to health effects on children potentially affecting school success. The lack of skills in New South Wales was accompanied with only 4 percent having finished secondary or apprentice training. Heavy drinking was also widespread.

Notable Indigenous individuals during the post-war era included activist Douglas Nicholls, artist Albert Namatjira, opera singer Harold Blair, and actor Robert Tudawali. Many Indigenous people were also successful in sports, with 30 national and 5 commonwealth boxing champions by 1980. Lionel Rose had become the world bantamweight champion in 1968. In tennis, Evonne Goolagong Cawley won 11 Grand Slams in the 1970s. Notable players in rugby and Australian rules football included Polly Farmer, Arthur Beetson, Mark Ella, Glen Ella, Gary Ella.

In 1984, a group of Pintupi people who were living a traditional hunter-gatherer desert-dwelling life were tracked down in the Gibson Desert in Western Australia and brought into a settlement. They are believed to have been the last uncontacted tribe in Australia.

In the 1950s, new political activism for Indigenous rights emerged with 'advancement leagues', which were biracial coalitions. These included the Aboriginal-Australian Fellowship in Sydney and the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League. Similar leagues existed in Perth and Brisbane. A national federation for them was established in 1958 in the form of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Conflict over white and Indigenous power within the organisations led to their decline by the 1970s.

Following the Sharpeville massacre, racial issues became a bigger part of student politics, with an educational assistance program called ABSCHOL established by the National Union of Students. In 1965, Charles Perkins organised the Freedom Ride with University of Sydney students, inspired by the American Freedom Riders. The reaction by locals was often violent.

In 1961, at the Native Welfare Conference, a meeting of federal and state ministers responsible for Aboriginal welfare, agreed on a policy of assimilation. The measures included the removal of discriminatory legislation and restrictive practices, welfare measures, education and training to assist the involvement of Aboriginal people in the economy, and the education of non-Indigenous Australians about Aboriginal culture and history.

All Indigenous Australians were given the right to vote in Commonwealth elections in Australia by the Menzies government in 1962. The first federal election in which all Aboriginal Australians could vote was held in November 1963. The right to vote in state elections was granted in Western Australia in 1962 and Queensland was the last state to do so in 1965.

The 1967 referendum, passed with a 90% majority, allowed Indigenous Australians to be included in the Commonwealth parliament's power to make special laws for specific races, and to be included in counts to determine electoral representation. This has been the largest affirmative vote in the history of Australia's referendums.

The Office of Aboriginal Affairs was established by the Holt Government in 1967 following the constitutional referendum. In 1972, the OAA was transformed into a separate government department by the Whitlam Government, replacing the preceding Department of the Environment, Aborigines and the Arts created by the McMahon Government.

The modern land rights movement started with the 1963 Yolngu Bark Petition, when Yolngu people from the remote settlement of Yirrkala, in north-east Arnhem Land, petitioned the federal government to have their land and rights given back. The 1966 Wave Hill Walk-Off, or Gurundji Strike, started with a protest about working conditions, but grew into a lands right issue, with the people claiming rights to the land which was then a cattle station owned by a large British company, Vesteys. The strike lasted for eight years.

The Aboriginal Lands Trust Act 1966 (SA) established the South Australian Aboriginal Lands Trust (ALT). This was the first major recognition of Aboriginal land rights by any Australian government. It allowed for parcels of Aboriginal land previously held by the SA Government, to be handed to the Aboriginal Lands Trust of SA under the Act. The Trust was governed by a Board composed solely of Aboriginal people.

In 1971, Justice Richard Blackburn of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory ruled against the Yolngu in Milirrpum v Nabalco Pty Ltd (the "Gove land rights case") under the principle of terra nullius, when they sought native title rights over the Gove Peninsula. However, Justice Blackburn did acknowledge the claimants' ritual and economic use of the land and that they had an established system of law "a subtle and highly elaborate" system of laws (). In this way, this was the first significant legal case for Aboriginal land rights in Australia.

In the wake of Milirrpum, the Aboriginal Land Rights Commission (also known as the "Woodward Royal Commission") was established in the Northern Territory in 1973. This Royal Commission, chaired by Justice Woodward, made a number of recommendations in favour of recognising Aboriginal Land Rights. Taking up many of these recommendations, the Whitlam government introduced an Aboriginal Land Rights Bill to Parliament; however, this lapsed upon the dismissal of the government in 1975. The succeeding conservative government, led by Malcolm Fraser, reintroduced a Bill, though not of the same content, and it was signed by the Governor-General of Australia on 16 December 1976.

The Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 established the basis upon which Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory could claim rights to land based on traditional occupation. The statute, the first of the Aboriginal land rights acts, was significant in that it allowed a claim of title if claimants could provide evidence of their traditional association with land. Four Land Councils were established in the Northern Territory under this law. Following this, some states introduced their own land rights legislation; however, there were significant limitations on the returned lands, or that available for claim.

The Australian Aboriginal Flag was designed in 1971 by Harold Thomas, an Aboriginal artist who is descended from the Luritja people of Central Australia. In 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the steps of Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital, to demand sovereignty for the Aboriginal Australian peoples. Demands of the Tent Embassy have included land rights and mineral rights to Aboriginal lands, legal and political control of the Northern Territory, and compensation for land stolen.

The National Aboriginal Consultative Committee (NACC) was the first elected body representing Indigenous Australians on the national level, having been established by the Whitlam Government in 1972. It was composed of 36 representatives elected by Aboriginal people in 36 regions of Australia. In 1983, the elections reached a turnout of approximately 78 percent. Following a review in 1976, the NACC was abolished by the new Fraser Government in 1977. To replace it, the National Aboriginal Conference (NAC) was founded.

Following the election of the Hawke Government in 1983, two reports were commissioned into a replacement of the NAC. The O'Donoghue report argued that the NAC did not effectively represent its constituents or advocate specific policies. The Coombs report made the case for an organisation with representation of regions and existing indigenous organisations. To respond to these recommendations, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission was founded in 1989.

The Outstation movement emerged in the 1970s and continued through the 1980s which saw the creation of very small, remote settlements of Aboriginal people who relocated themselves from the towns and settlements where they had been settled by the government's policy of assimilation. It was "a move towards reclaiming autonomy and self-sufficiency". Outstations were created by Aboriginal people who sought autonomy and could be seen as a sign of remote Aboriginal Australians' attempt at self-determination.

In 1992, the Australian High Court handed down its decision in the Mabo Case, declaring the previous legal concept of terra nullius to be invalid and recognising the pre-colonial land interests of First Nations people within Australia's common law. The Prime Minister Paul Keating praised the decision, saying it "establishes a fundamental truth, and lays the basis for justice". Native title doctrine was eventually codified in statute by the Keating Government in the Native Title Act 1993. This recognition enabled further litigation for Indigenous land rights in Australia.

In 1998, as the result of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report on the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families, a National Sorry Day was instituted, to acknowledge the wrong that had been done to Indigenous families. Many politicians, from both sides of the house, participated, with the notable exception of the Prime Minister, John Howard, stating that he "did not subscribe to the black armband view of history". In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology for the Stolen Generations.

In 1999 a referendum was held to change the Australian Constitution to include a preamble that, amongst other topics, recognised the occupation of Australia by Indigenous Australians prior to British Settlement. This referendum was defeated, though the recognition of Indigenous Australians in the preamble was not a major issue in the referendum discussion, and the preamble question attracted minor attention compared to the question of becoming a republic.

In 2004, the Australian Government abolished The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), which had been Australia's top Indigenous organisation. The Commonwealth cited corruption and, in particular, made allegations concerning the misuse of public funds by ATSIC's chairman, Geoff Clark, as the principal reason. Indigenous specific programmes have been mainstreamed, that is, reintegrated and transferred to departments and agencies serving the general population. The Office of Indigenous Policy Coordination was established within the then Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs, and now with the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to co-ordinate a "whole of government" effort. Funding was withdrawn from remote homelands (outstations).

1. ^ Clarkson, Chris; Jacobs, Zenobia; Marwick, Ben; et al. (2017). "Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago" (PDF). Nature. 547 (7663): 306-310. Bibcode:2017Natur.547..306C. doi:10.1038/nature22968. hdl:2440/107043. ISSN lalalalalalalalalalaal0836 0028- lalalalalalalalalalaal0836. PMID 28726833. S2CID 205257212.

2. ^ Gordon Briscoe; Len Smith, eds. (2002), "2. How many people had lived in Australia before it was annexed by the English in 1788?", The Aboriginal Population Revisited: 70,000 years to the present, Canberra, Aboriginal Studies Press

3. D. Hopkins, ^ Princes and Peasants, Chicago, 1983, p. 207; Judy Campbell, Invisible Invaders: Smallpox and Other Diseases in Aboriginal Australia 1780-1880, Melbourne, 2002, pp. 10, 39-50

4. ^ Calla Wahlquist (2018). "Evidence of 250 massacres of Indigenous Australians mapped". TheGuardian.com.

5. Lourandos, Harry. ^ Continent of Hunter-Gatherers: New Perspectives in Australian Prehistory (Cambridge University Press, 1997) p.81

6. ^ Crabtree, Stefani A.; White, Devin A.; Bradshaw, Corey J. A.; Saltré, Frédérik; Williams, Alan N.; Beaman, Robin J.; Bird, Michael I.; Ulm, Sean (29 April 2021). "Landscape rules predict optimal superhighways for the first peopling of Sahul". Nature Human Behaviour. 5 (10): 1303-1313. doi:10.1038/s41562-021-01106-8. ISSN 2397-3374. PMID 33927367. S2CID 233458467.

7. ^ Clarkson, Chris; Smith, Mike; Marwick, Ben; Fullagar, Richard; Wallis, Lynley A.; Faulkner, Patrick; Manne, Tiina; Hayes, Elspeth; Roberts, Richard G.; Jacobs, Zenobia; Carah, Xavier; Lowe, Kelsey M.; Matthews, Jacqueline; Florin, S. Anna (June 2015). "The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): A site in northern Australia with early occupation". Journal of Human Evolution. 83: 46-64. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.014. PMID 25957653. S2CID 19824757. "The stone artefacts and stratigraphic details support previous claims for human occupation 50-60 ka and show that human occupation during this time differed from later periods"

8. ^ Roberts, Richard G.; Jones, Rhys; Smith, M. A. (May 1990). "Thermoluminescence dating of a 50,000-year-old human occupation site in northern Australia". Nature. 345 (6271): 153-156. Bibcode:1990Natur.345..153R. doi:10.1038/345153a0. ISSN 0028-0836. S2CID 4282148.

9. ^ Attenbrow, Val (2010). Sydney's Aboriginal Past: Investigating the Archaeological and Historical Records. Sydney: UNSW Press. pp. 152-153. ISBN 978-1-74223-116-7.

10. ^ Stockton, Eugene D.; Nanson, Gerald C. (April 2004). "Cranebrook Terrace Revisited". Archaeology in Oceania. 39 (1): 59-60. doi:10.1002/j.1834-4453.2004.tb00560.x. JSTOR 40387277.

11. ^ "Australia colonized earlier than previously thought?". Stone Pages. Archaeo News. 24 July 2003. The West Australian (19 July 2003)

12. ^ Hesp, Patrick A., Murray-Wallace, Colin V. and C. E. Dortch, (1999), "Aboriginal occupation on Rottnest Island, Western Australia, provisionally dated by Aspartic Acid Racemisation assay of land snails to greater than 50 ka" (Australian Archaeology, No. 49 (1999).

13. ^ McDonald, Josephine; Reynen, Wendy; Petchey, Fiona; Ditchfield, Kane; Byrne, Chae; Vannieuwenhuyse, Dorcas; Leopold, Matthias; Veth, Peter (September 2018). "Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen): A new chronology for the oldest site in Australia's Western Desert". . 13 (9): e0202511. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1302511M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0202511. PMC . PMID 30231025 - via ResearchGate. The re-excavation of Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen) has provided evidence for the human occupation of the Australian Western Desert to before 47,830 cal. BP (modelled median age). This new sequence is 20,000 years older than the previous known age for occupation at this site

14. ^ McDonald, Jo; Veth, Peter (2008). "Rock- art: Pigment dates provide new perspectives on the role of art in the Australian arid zone". Australian Aboriginal Studies (2008/1): 4-21 - via ResearchGate.

15. ^ McDonald, Jo (2 July 2020). "Serpents Glen (Karnatukul): New Histories for Deep time Attachment to Country in Australia's Western Desert". Bulletin of the History of Archaeology. 30 (1). doi:10.5334/bha-624. ISSN 2047-6930. S2CID 225577563.

16. ^ Oppenheimer, Stephen, (2004),"Out of Eden: The Peopling of the World"(Constable and Robinson; New Ed)

17. Oppenheimer, Stephen "The Real Eve: Modern Man's Journey Out of Africa"(Carroll & Graf Publishers)(^ ISBN 0-7867-1334-8)

18. Mulvaney, J. and Kamminga, J., (1999), ^ Prehistory of Australia. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.

19. ^ Tindale's Catalogue of Australian Aboriginal Tribes: Tjapukai (QLD) Archived 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine

20. ^ Keith Windschuttle and Tim Gillin (June 2002). "The extinction of the Australian pygmies". Quadrant, Sydney Line. Archived from the original on 8 December 2002.

21. ^ "Colin Groves: 'Australia for the Australians'". Archived from the original on 15 January 2009.

22. Bergström, Anders; Nagle, Nano; Chen, Yuan; McCarthy, Shane; Pollard, Martin O.; Ayub, Qasim; Wilcox, Stephen; Wilcox, Leah; Oorschot, Roland A.H. van; McAllister, Peter; Williams, Lesley; Xue, Yali; Mitchell, R. John; Tyler-Smith, Chris (21 March 2016). "Deep Roots for Aboriginal Australian Y Chromosomes". Current Biology. 26 (6): 809-813. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.028. PMC . PMID 26923783. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

23. ^ Pugach, Irina; Frederick Delfin; Ellen Gunnarsdóttir; Manfred Kayser; Mark Stoneking (14 January 2013). "Genome-wide data substantiate Holocene gene flow from India to Australia". PNAS. 110 (5): 1803-1808. Bibcode:2013PNAS..110.1803P. doi:10.1073/pnas.1211927110. PMC . PMID 23319617.

24. ^ Aboriginal genes suggest Indian migration Archived 20 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine Australian Geographic 15 January 2013

25. ^ Coukell, Allan (May 2001). "Could mysterious figures lurking in Australian rock art be the world's oldest shamans?". New Scientist. p. 34.

26. McGowan, Hamish; Marx, Samuel; Moss, Patrick; Hammond, Andrew (28 November 2012). "Evidence of ENSO mega-drought triggered collapse of prehistory Aboriginal society in northwest Australia: ENSO MEGA-DROUGHT". Geophysical Research Letters. 39 (22). doi:10.1029/2012GL053916.

27. ^ Dodson, J.R. (September 2001). "Holocene vegetation change in the mediterranean-type climate regions of Australia". The Holocene. 11 (6): 673-680. Bibcode:2001Holoc..11..673D. doi:10.1191/09596830195690. S2CID 128689357.

28. Jonathan Adams ^ Australasia during The Last 150,000 Years Archived 26 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

29. Flood, Josephine (1994), "Archaeology of the Dreamtime" (Angus & Robertson; 2Rev Ed)(ISBN 0-207-18448-8)

30. ^ Corbett, Laurie (1995), "The Dingo: in Australia and Asia"

31. Flannery, Tim "The Future Eaters: An Ecological History of the Australian Lands and People" (Grove Press)(^ ISBN 0-8021-3943-4)

32. Gammage, Bill (October 2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia. Allen & Unwin, pp.281-304. ISBN 978-1-74237-748-3.

33. ^ "The War for the land: A Short History of Aboriginal-European relations in Cairns". Archived from the original on 5 February 2008.

34. ^ Kohen, J. L. (2005). "Pemulwuy (1750-1802)". Pemulwuy (c. 1750 - 1802). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University.

35. ^ Mear, Craig (June 2008). "The origin of the smallpox outbreak in Sydney in 1789". Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011.

36. ^ Warren, Christopher (March 2014). "Smallpox at Sydney Cover - who, when and why?" (PDF). Journal of Australian Studies. 38 (1). doi:10.1080/14443058.2013.849750. S2CID 143644513.

37. ^ Pandora's Box - the Council for Aboriginal Affairs, 1967 - 1976, Crikey, 1 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

38. ^ Hobbs, Harry; Williams, George (1 March 2018). "The Noongar Settlement: Australia's First Treaty". Sydney Law Review. 40 (1) - via Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII).

39. ^ Aboriginal Land Rights Act Archived 10 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Central Land Council. Retrieved on 29 January 2012.

40. ^ Fogarty, John; Dwyer, Jacinta (2012). "The First Aboriginal Land Rights Case". In Sykes, Helen (ed.). More or less: democracy & new media (PDF). Future Leaders. ISBN 9780980332070.

41. ^ Fogarty, John; Dwyer, Jacinta (2012). "The First Aboriginal Land Rights Case". In Sykes, Helen (ed.). More or less: democracy & new media (PDF). Future Leaders. ISBN 9780980332070.

42. ^ Myers, Fred; Peterson, Nicolas (January 2016). "1. The origins and history of outstations as Aboriginal life projects". In Peterson, Nicolas; Myers, Fred (eds.). Experiments in self-determination: Histories of the outstation movement in Australia. ANU Press. Monographs in Anthropology. ANU Press. p. 2. ISBN 9781925022902.

43. ^ McKenna, Dr Mark (10 November 1997). "Different Perspectives on Black Armband History". Parliament of Australia Parliamentary Library.

This article incorporates text by Anders Bergström et al. available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Australian Institute of Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander Studies. The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, society and culture Ed. David Horton. (2 Vol. Aboriginal Studies Press, 1994).

Craven, Rhonda. Teaching Aboriginal Studies: A practical resource for primary and secondary teaching (Allen & Unwin, 2011).

Flood, Josephine. The original Australians: Story of the Aboriginal people (Allen & Unwin, 2006).

Gammage, Bill. The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia (2011).

Gerritsen, Rupert. Australia and the Origins of Agriculture (2008).

Hannah, Mark; Macfarlane, Ingereth, eds. (December 2007). Transgressions: Critical Australian Indigenous histories. ANU Press. Aboriginal History Monographs 16. ANU Press. doi:10.22459/T.12.2007. ISBN 9781921313431.

Isaacs, Jennifer. Australian dreaming: 40,000 years of Aboriginal history (New Holland Publishing Australia Pty Ltd, 2006).

Lourandos, H. Continent of Hunter-Gatherers: New Perspectives in Australian Prehistory (1997)

Reynolds, Henry. The other side of the frontier: Aboriginal resistance to the European invasion of Australia (UNSW Press, 2006).

Stone, Sharman N., ed. Aborigines in white Australia: a documentary history of the attitudes affecting official policy and the Australian Aborigine, 1697-1973 (Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1974).

Williams, E. Complex Hunter-Gatherers: A Late Holocene Example from Temperate Australia (1988).

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History of Indigenous Australians - Wikipedia

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The history of Indigenous Australians began at least 65,000 years ago when humans first populated the Australian continental landmasses. This article covers the history of Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples, two broadly defined groups which each include other sub-groups defined by language and culture.

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"The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid prejudice."
Mark Twain

Since the European invasion of Australia in 1788, the Aboriginal people have been oppressed into a world unnatural to their existence for thousands of years. First came the influx of the strangers who carried with them diseases, which decimated the immediate population of the Sydney tribes. It is estimated that over 750,000 Aboriginal people inhabited the island continent in 1788. The colonists were led to believe that the land was terra nullius ('no one's land'), which Lt James Cook declared Australia to be in 1770 during his voyage around the coast of Australia.

"... they were so ignorant they thought there was only one race on the earth and that was the white race. So when Captain Cook first came, when Lieutenant James Cook first set foot on Wangal land over at Kundul which is now called Kurnell, he said oh lets put a flag up somewhere, because these people are illiterate, they've got no fences. They didn't understand that we didn't need fences ... that we stayed here for six to eight weeks, then moved somewhere else where there was plenty of tucker and bush medicine and we kept moving and then come back in twelve months' time when the food was all refreshed ..."1
the late Aunty Beryl Timbery Beller

It would not be an exaggeration to claim that the Island continent was owned by over 400 different nations at the time of this claim by Cook. When the first fleet arrived in Sydney Cove it is said that Captain Philip was astounded with the theory of Cook's terra nullius, saying "Sailing up into Sydney cove we could see natives lining the shore shaking spears and yelling."

The Occupants of the Land

For thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans, northern Sydney was occupied by different Aboriginal clans. Living primarily along the foreshores of the harbour, they fished and hunted in the waters and hinterlands of the area, and harvested food from the surrounding bush. Self-sufficient and harmonious, they had no need to travel far from their lands, since the resources about them were so abundant, and trade with other tribal groups was well established. Moving throughout their country in accordance with the seasons, people only needed to spend about 4-5 hours per day working to ensure their survival. With such a large amount of leisure time available, they developed a rich and complex ritual life - language, customs, spirituality and the law - the heart of which was connection to the land.

European Discovery and Arrival

The arrival of Lt James Cook in 1770 marked the beginning of the end for this ancient way of life. Cook's voyage of exploration had sailed under instructions to take possession of the Southern Continent if it was uninhabited, or with the consent of the natives if it was occupied. Either way, it was to be taken. Upon his arrival, Lt Cook declared the land he called New South Wales to be the property of Britain's King George III, and ignored the inconvenient fact that the land was already well populated. His failure to even attempt to gain the consent of the natives began the legal fiction that Australia was waste and unoccupied ( terra nullius: learn more).

Cook was followed soon enough by the arrival of the First Fleet, in January of 1788, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, whose mission was to establish a penal colony and take control of Terra Australia for settlement.

We found the natives tolerably numerous as we advanced up the river, and even at the harbour's mouth we had reason to conclude the country more populous than Mr Cook thought it. For on the Supply's arrival in the [Botany] bay on the 18th of the month they assembled on the beach of the south shore to the number of not less than forty persons, shouting and making many uncouth signs and gestures. This appearance whetted curiosity to its utmost, but as prudence forbade a few people to venture wantonly among so great a number, and a party of only six men was observed on the north shore, the governor immediately proceeded to land on that side in order to take possession of this new territory and bring about an intercourse between its new and old masters.
Watkin Tench, January 1788

The first act of land ownership by Europeans came within four days of arrival when a group of men from the HMS Sirius went ashore to clear land to gain access to fresh water. By 26 January, the First Fleet had found its way to Sydney Cove and landed there on the harbour.

Aboriginal Life Through European Eyes

The early Europeans took a dim view of the Aboriginal way of life when first they encountered it.

This excerpt is taken from the diary of Watkin Tench, an officer in the First Fleet:

It does not appear that these poor creatures have any fixed Habitation; sometimes sleeping in a Cavern of Rock, which they make as warm as a Oven by lighting a Fire in the middle of it, they will take up their abode here, for one Night perhaps, then in another the next Night. At other times (and we believe mostly in Summer) they take up their lodgings for a Day or two in a Miserable Wigwam, which they made from Bark of a Tree. There are dispersed about the woods near the water, 2, 3, 4 together; some Oyster, Cockle and Muscle (sic) Shells lie about the Entrance of them, but not in any Quantity to indicate they make these huts their constant Habitation. We met with some that seemed entirely deserted indeed it seems pretty evident that their Habitation, whether Caverns or Wigwams, are common to all, and Alternatively inhabited by different Tribes.

Kinship with the Land

For Aboriginal people and, in this instance, the clans living on the northern shores of Sydney, nothing could have been further from the truth. What the early colonists never understood, and perhaps what many Australians are only now beginning to grasp, was that the Aboriginal lifestyle was based on total kinship with the natural environment. Wisdom and skills obtained over the millennia enabled them to use their environment to the maximum. For the Aboriginal people, acts such as killing animals for food or building a shelter were steeped in ritual and spirituality, and carried out in perfect balance with their surroundings.

... from time immemorial, we believe as Aboriginal people, Australia has been here from the first sunrise, our people have been here along with the continent, with the first sunrise. We know our land was given to us by Baiami, we have a sacred duty to protect that land, we have a sacred duty to protect all the animals that we have an affiliation with through our totem system ...1
Jenny Munro, Wiradjuri nation

Food was abundant, as was fresh water and shelter. Everything needed for a fruitful, healthy life was readily available. It was not to remain so. The British arrival brought armed conflict and a lack of understanding, which heralded the demise of the northern Sydney clans, along with the other peoples of the Sydney basin - the Dharawal to the south and the Dharug to the west. Food shortages soon became a problem. The large white population depleted the fish by netting huge catches, reduced the kangaroo population with unsustainable hunting, cleared the land, and polluted the water. As a result, the Aboriginal people throughout the Sydney Basin were soon close to starvation.

Disease and Devastation

Disease struck a fatal and extensive blow to the Aboriginal people, who until that point had been isolated for thousands of years from the diseases that had raged through Europe and Asia. They had no resistance to the deadly viruses carried by the sailors and convicts such as smallpox, syphilis and influenza. In less than a year, over half the indigenous population living in the Sydney Basin had died from smallpox. The region, once alive with a vibrant mix of Aboriginal clans, now fell silent.

Every boat that went down the harbour found them lying dead on the beaches and in the caverns of the rocks... They were generally found with the remains of a small fire on each side of them and some water left within their reach.
Lieutenant Fowell, 1789

It is difficult to comprehend how devastating this event was to the Aboriginal clans of the Sydney area. Bennelong told Judge Advocat David Collins that his friend Colebee's tribe had been reduced to only three people. Those witnessing could not remain unmoved.

At that time a native was living with us; and on our taking him down to the harbour to look for his former companions, those who witnessed his expression and agony can never forget either. He looked anxiously around him in the different coves we visited; not a vestige on the sand was to be found of human foot; the excavations in the rocks were filled with the putrid bodies of those who had fallen victims to the disorder; not a living person was any where to be met with. It seemed as if, flying from the contagion, they had left the dead to bury the dead. He lifted up his hands and eyes in silent agony for some time; at last he exclaimed, 'All dead! all dead!' and then hung his head in mournful silence, which he preserved during the remainder of our excursion. Some days after he learned that the few of his companions who survived had fled up the harbour to avoid the pestilence that so dreadfully raged. His fate has been already mentioned. He fell a victim to his own humanity when Boo-roong, Nan-bar-ray, and others were brought into the town covered with the eruptions of the disorder. On visiting Broken Bay, we found that it had not confined its effects to Port Jackson, for in many places our path was covered with skeletons, and the same spectacles were to be met with in the hollows of most of the rocks of that harbour.
Judge Advocate David Collins, 1798

The colonists had destroyed within months a way of life that had outlasted British history by tens of thousands of years, and the people soon realised that the trespassers were committed to nothing less than total occupation of the land.

To most settlers, the Aboriginal people were considered akin to kangaroos, dingoes and emus, strange fauna to be eradicated to make way for the development of farming and grazing.

I have myself heard a man, educated, and a large proprietor of sheep and cattle, maintain that there was no more harm in shooting a native, than in shooting a wild dog. I have heard it maintained by others that it is the course of Providence, that blacks should disappear before the white, and the sooner the process was carried out the better, for all parties. I fear such opinions prevail to a great extent. Very recently in the presence of two clergymen, a man of education narrated, as a good thing, that he had been one of a party who had pursued the blacks, in consequence of cattle being rushed by them, and that he was sure that they shot upwards of a hundred. When expostulated with, he maintained that there was nothing wrong in it, that it was preposterous to suppose they had souls. In this opinion he was joined by another educated person present.
Bishop Polding, 1845

And though a guerrilla war had been mounted against the British during the early years of the colony ( learn more), the eradication, for the most part, had been easy. Smallpox had destroyed more than half the population and those not ravaged by disease were displaced when land was cleared for settlements and farms. Dispossessed of the land that had nourished them for so long, the Aboriginal people became dependent on white food and clothing. Alcohol, used as a means of trade by the British, served to further shatter traditional social and family structures.

European civilisation devastated, in what amounts to the blink of an eye, an incomparable and ancient people. Because the vast majority of clans living in the Sydney Basin were killed as a result of the 1788 invasion, the stories of the land have been lost forever. Much of what we do know about the northern Sydney clans must be gleaned from their archaeological remains. Middens, shelters, engravings and art remnants of indigenous life are prolific throughout the region, but no one remains to reveal their particular meanings or ancient significance. No one remains to bring the archaeology truly alive.

Rediscovering History

Aboriginal history has been handed down in ways of stories, dances, myths and legends. The dreaming is history. A history of how the world, which was featureless, was transformed into mountains, hills, valleys and waterways. The dreaming tells about how the stars were formed and how the sun came to be.

In the metropolitan area of Sydney there are thousands of Aboriginal sites, over 1000 just in the AHO partner Council areas. These sites are under threat every day from development, vandalism and natural erosion. The sites cannot be replaced and once they are destroyed, they are gone forever. The sites that are located in Lane Cove, North Sydney, Willoughby, Ku-ring-gai, Strathfield and Northern Beaches Council areas are still in reasonable condition and hold an important part in our history. The Aboriginal people, who once occupied this area, left important evidence of their past and way of life before colonisation. All Aboriginal sites are significant to Aboriginal people because they are evidence of the past Aboriginal occupation of Australia and are valued as a link with their traditional culture. An emphasis is placed on the scientific investigation into stone technology for a great deal of insight is obtained by studying the manufacture techniques and animals associated with them that tells us about daily traditional life. Clues to what these sites were used for can also be surmised by talking with Elders from other parts of Australia where traditional knowledge has not been lost to the same degree.

1. quotation from interview in 2007, printed in Currie J (2008) Bo-ra-ne Ya-goo-na Par-ry-boo-go Yesterday Today Tomorrow: An Aboriginal History of Willoughby Willoughby City Council.

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"The very ink with which all history is written is merely fluid prejudice." Mark Twain Since the European invasion of Australia in 1788, the Aboriginal people have been oppressed into a world unnatural to their existence for thousands of years.

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Australian Involvement In The First World War

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When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, most Australians greeted the news with great enthusiasm. Volunteers rushed to enlist for an exciting war which was expected to be over by Christmas. For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most costly conflict in terms of deaths and casualties.

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Military history of Australia during World War I - Wikipedia

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In Australia, the outbreak of World War I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support alongside other states of the British Empire and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to participate in the conflict.

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First World War 1914-18 | The Australian War Memorial

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Australia's involvement in the First World War began when Britain and Germany went to war on 4 August 1914, and both Prime Minister Joseph Cook and Opposition Leader Andrew Fisher, who were in the midst of an election campaign, pledged full support for Britain.

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Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a small bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour. In present-day Australia, the government Australia Day Council organises events that seeks to recognise the contributions of Australians to the nation, while also encouraging reflection on past wrongs including towards Indigenous Australians and also giving respect and celebrating the diversity and achievements of Australian society past and present. The presentation of community awards and citizenship ceremonies are also commonly held on the day. The holiday is marked by the presentation of the Australian of the Year Awards on Australia Day Eve, announcement of the Australia Day Honours list and addresses from the governor-general and prime minister. It is an official public holiday in every state and territory. With community festivals, concerts and citizenship ceremonies, the day is celebrated in large and small communities and cities around the nation. Australia Day has become the biggest annual civic event in Australia.

The meaning and significance of Australia Day has evolved since the first records of celebration in 1808, with contested views on the day existing since at least 1888. Previously, the states celebrated different days that acknowledged their founding, such as Regatta Day in Tasmania, Queensland Day in Queensland or Foundation Day in Western Australia, and the celebration of the first Anniversary Day or Foundation Day (as the day was called) by New South Wales in 1818 was seen in a similar light. Following Federation in 1901, moves for a national holiday gained pace (prompted by lobbying by the Australian Natives' Association which celebrated ANA Day), with the name Australia Day and the date of 26 January finally selected in 1935, with a public holiday at or around that date in all states in 1940. The first prominent protest also occurred around this time in 1938, with the first Day of Mourning held by the Australian Aborigines' League. In 1994 the date was fixed in all jurisdictions on 26 January when the practice by some states of holding the holiday on a Friday in late January for a long weekend was dropped.

Since at least 1938, the date of Australia Day has also been a day of protest and of mourning the start of the British colonisation of Australia, characterised as an invasion in which Indigenous Australians had the land that they had occupied for millennia forcibly taken. These groups observe 26 January as Invasion Day, Survival Day or as a Day of Mourning, as a counter-observance to the national day. Both some members of these groups and those outside of them have called for the date of Australia Day to be changed or the holiday to be abolished entirely. Support for changing the date has been a minority position; however, polls from 2021 have indicated that Australians under the age of 30 are much more supportive of the change than older generations.

Arrival of the First Fleet: 1788

On 13 May 1787 a fleet of 11 ships, which came to be known as the First Fleet, was sent by the British Admiralty from England to New Holland. Under the command of Naval Captain Arthur Phillip, the fleet sought to establish a penal colony at Botany Bay on the coast of New South Wales, which had been explored and claimed by Lieutenant James Cook in 1770. The settlement was seen as necessary because of the loss of the Thirteen Colonies in North America. The Fleet arrived between 18 and 20 January 1788, but it was immediately apparent that Botany Bay was unsuitable.

On 21 January, Phillip and a few officers travelled to Port Jackson, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the north, to see if it would be a better location for a settlement. They stayed there until 23 January; Phillip named the site of their landing Sydney Cove, after the Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney. They also made contact with the local Aboriginal people.

They returned to Botany Bay on the evening of 23 January, when Phillip gave orders to move the fleet to Sydney Cove the next morning, 24 January. That day, there was a huge gale blowing, making it impossible to leave Botany Bay, so they decided to wait till the next day, 25 January. However, during 24 January, they spotted the ships and , flying the French flag, at the entrance to Botany Bay; they were having as much trouble getting into the bay as the First Fleet was having getting out.[citation needed ]

On 25 January the gale was still blowing; the fleet tried to leave Botany Bay, but only HMS Supply made it out, carrying Arthur Phillip, Philip Gidley King, some marines and about 40 convicts; they anchored in Sydney Cove in the afternoon. Meanwhile, back at Botany Bay, Captain John Hunter of HMS Sirius made contact with the French ships, and he and the commander, Captain de Clonard, exchanged greetings. Clonard informed Hunter that the fleet commander was Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse. Sirius successfully cleared Botany Bay, but the other ships were in great difficulty. Charlotte was blown dangerously close to rocks, Friendship and Prince of Wales became entangled, both ships losing booms or sails, Charlotte and Friendship collided, and Lady Penrhyn nearly ran aground. Despite these difficulties, all the remaining ships finally managed to clear Botany Bay and sail to Sydney Cove on 26 January. The last ship anchored there at about 3 pm.

Captain Arthur Phillip raising the British flag at Sydney Cove, 26 January 1788. Oil sketch by Algernon Talmage, 1937.

So it was on 26 January that a landing was made at Sydney Cove and clearing of the ground for an encampment immediately began. Then, according to Phillip's account:

In the evening of the 26th the colours were displayed on shore, and the Governor, with several of his principal officers and others, assembled round the flag-staff, drank the king's health, and success to the settlement, with all that display of form which on such occasions is esteemed propitious, because it enlivens the spirits, and fills the imagination with pleasing presages.

-  The Voyage of Governor Phillip to Botany Bay

The formal establishment of the Colony of New South Wales did not however occur on 26 January as is commonly assumed. It did not occur until 7 February 1788, when the formal proclamation of the colony and of Arthur Phillip's governorship were read out. The vesting of all land in the reigning monarch King George III also dates from 7 February 1788.

Although there was no official recognition of the colony's anniversary, with the New South Wales Almanacks of 1806 and 1808 placing no special significance on 26 January, by 1808 the date was being used by the colony's immigrants, especially the emancipated convicts, to "celebrate their love of the land they lived in" with "drinking and merriment". The 1808 celebrations followed this pattern, beginning at sunset on 25 January and lasting into the night, the chief toast of the occasion being Major George Johnston. Johnston had the honour of being the first officer ashore from the First Fleet, having been carried from the landing boat on the back of convict James Ruse. Despite suffering the ill-effects of a fall from his gig on the way home to Annandale, Johnston led the officers of the New South Wales Corps in arresting Governor William Bligh on the following day, 26 January 1808, in what became known as the " Rum Rebellion".

Almanacs started mentioning "First Landing Day" or "Foundation Day" and successful immigrants started holding anniversary dinners. In 1817 The Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser reported on one of these unofficial gatherings at the home of Isaac Nichols:

On Monday the 27th ult. a dinner party met at the house of Mr. Isaac Nichols, for the purpose of celebrating the Anniversary of the Institution of this Colony under Governor Philip, which took place on 26 Jan. 1788, but this year happening upon a Sunday, the commemoration dinner was reserved for the day following. The party assembled were select, and about 40 in number. At 5 in the afternoon dinner was on the table, and a more agreeable entertainment could not have been anticipated. After dinner a number of loyal toasts were drank, and a number of festive songs given; and about 10 the company parted, well gratified with the pleasures that the meeting had afforded.

In 1818, the 30th anniversary of the founding of the colony, Governor Lachlan Macquarie chose to acknowledge the day with the first official celebration. The governor declared that the day would be a holiday for all government workers, granting each an extra allowance of "one pound [450 grams] of fresh meat", and ordered a 30-gun salute at Dawes Point - one for each year that the colony had existed. This began a tradition that was retained by the Governors that were to follow.

Foundation Day, as it was known at the time, continued to be officially celebrated in New South Wales, and in doing so became connected with sporting events. One of these became a tradition that is still continued today: in 1837 the first running of what would become the Australia Day regatta was held on Sydney Harbour. Five races were held for different classes of boats, from first class sailing vessels to watermen's skiffs, and people viewed the festivities from both onshore and from the decks of boats on the harbour, including the steamboat Australian and the Francis Freeling-the latter running aground during the festivities and having to be refloated the next day. Happy with the success of the regatta, the organisers resolved to make it an annual event. However, some of the celebrations had gained an air of elitism, with the "United Australians" dinner being limited to those born in Australia. In describing the dinner, the Sydney Herald justified the decision, saying:

The parties who associated themselves under the title of "United Australians" have been censured for adopting a principle of exclusiveness. It is not fair so to censure them. If they invited emigrants to join them they would give offence to another class of persons - while if they invited all they would be subject to the presence of persons with whom they might not wish to associate. That was a good reason. The "Australians" had a perfect right to dine together if they wished it, and no one has a right to complain.

The following year, 1838, was the 50th anniversary of the founding of the colony, and as part of the celebrations Australia's first public holiday was declared. The regatta was held for a second time, and people crowded the foreshores to view the events, or joined the five steamers ( Maitland, Experiment, Australia, Rapid, and the miniature steamer Firefly) to view the proceedings from the water. At midday 50 guns were fired from Dawes' Battery as the Royal Standard was raised, and in the evening rockets and other fireworks lit the sky. The dinner was a smaller affair than the previous year, with only 40 in attendance compared to the 160 from 1837, and the anniversary as a whole was described as a "day for everyone".

Prior to 1888, 26 January was very much a New South Wales affair, as each of the colonies had its own commemoration for its founding. In Tasmania, Regatta Day occurred initially in December to mark the anniversary of the landing of Abel Tasman. South Australia celebrated Proclamation Day on 28 December. Western Australia had its own Foundation Day (now Western Australia Day) on 1 June.

The decision to mark the occasion of the First Fleet's arrival in 1788 at Sydney Cove and Captain Arthur Phillip's proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern continent on 26 January was first made outside NSW by the Australian Natives' Association (ANA), a group of white "native-born" middle-class men formed in Victoria in 1871. They dubbed the day "ANA Day".

In 1888, all colonial capitals except Adelaide celebrated "Anniversary Day". In 1910, South Australia adopted 26 January as "Foundation Day", to replace another holiday known as Accession Day, which had been held on 22 January to mark the accession to the throne of King Edward VII, who died in May 1910.

The first Australia Day was established in response to Australia's involvement in World War I. In 1915, Ellen "Ellie" Wharton Kirke MBE, née Clements, mother of four servicemen, thought up the idea of a national day, with the specific aim of raising funds for wounded soldiers, and the term was coined to stir up patriotic feelings. In 1915 a committee to celebrate Australia Day was formed, and the date chosen was 30 July, on which many fund-raising efforts were run to support the war effort. It was also held in July in subsequent years of World War I: on 28 July 1916, 27 July 1917, and 26 July 1918.

The idea of a national day to be celebrated on 26 January was slow to catch on, partly because of competition with Anzac Day. Victoria adopted 26 January as Australia Day in 1931, and by 1935, all states of Australia were celebrating 26 January as Australia Day (although it was still known as Anniversary Day in New South Wales). The name "Foundation Day" persisted in local usage.

1936-1960s

The 150th anniversary of British settlement in Australia in 1938 was widely celebrated. Preparations began in 1936 with the formation of a Celebrations Council. In that year, New South Wales was the only state to abandon the traditional long weekend, and the annual Anniversary Day public holiday was held on the anniversary day - Wednesday 26 January. However, it was also a declared a Day of Mourning by the Aborigines Progressive Association and the Australian Aborigines League as a protest against the "Whiteman's seizure of our country".

The Commonwealth and state governments agreed to unify the celebrations on 26 January as "Australia Day" in 1946, although the public holiday was instead taken on the Monday closest to the anniversary.

The Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect on 26 January 1949, creating Australian citizenship for the first time. Previously, Australian nationals were simply British subjects alongside all other members of Commonwealth of Nations; now they were both British subjects and Australian citizens.

Historian Ken Inglis wrote in 1967 that Australia Day was not celebrated publicly in Canberra at that time.

1988: Bicentenary

In 1988, the celebration of 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet was organised on a large scale as the Australian Bicentenary, with many significant events taking place in all major cities. Over 2.5 million people attended the event in Sydney. These included street parties, concerts, including performances on the steps and forecourt of the Sydney Opera House and at many other public venues, art and literary competitions, historic re-enactments, and the opening of the Powerhouse Museum at its new location. A re-enactment of the arrival of the First Fleet took place in Sydney Harbour, with ships that had sailed from Portsmouth a year earlier taking part.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard at the 2013 National Flag Raising and Citizenship Ceremony in Canberra

For many years the City of Perth Skyworks were the largest Australia Day fireworks display in the country.

Australia Day barbecue at Berridge Park, Denmark, Western Australia

The various celebrations and civic ceremonies such as citizenship ceremonies, the Australian of the Year awards and the Australia Day Honours (introduced in 1975) only started to be performed on Australia Day from around the 1950s onwards.

After 1988, participation in Australia Day increased, and in 1994 all states and territories began to celebrate a unified public holiday on 26 January - regardless of the day of the week - for the first time. Previously, some states had celebrated the public holiday on a Monday or Friday to provide a long weekend. Research conducted in 2007 reported that 28% of Australians polled attended an organised Australia Day event and a further 26% celebrated with family and friends. This reflected the results of an earlier research project where 66% of respondents anticipated that they would actively celebrate Australia Day 2005.

Outdoor concerts, community barbecues, sports competitions, festivals and fireworks are some of the many events held in communities across Australia. These official events are presented by the National Australia Day Council, an official council or committee in each state and territory, and local committees.

In Sydney, the harbour is a focus and boat races are held, such as a ferry race and the tall ships race. In Adelaide, the key celebrations are "Australia Day in the City" which is a parade, concert and fireworks display held in Elder Park, with a new outdoor art installation in 2019 designed to acknowledge, remember and recognise Aboriginal people who have contributed to the community. Featuring the People's March and the Voyages Concert, Melbourne's events focus strongly on the celebration of multiculturalism. In Perth, for many years until 2022, the Skyworks were the largest single event presented each Australia Day.

Since 2012, with the exceptions of 2015 and 2020-22, a Big Blue match between Melbourne Victory FC and Sydney FC has been played annually on Australia Day.

Citizenship ceremonies are also commonly held, with Australia Day now the largest occasion for the acquisition of Australian citizenship. On 26 January 2011, more than 300 citizenship ceremonies took place and around 13,000 people from 143 countries took Australian citizenship. In recent years many citizenship ceremonies have included an affirmation by existing citizens. Research conducted in 2007 reported that 78.6% of respondents thought that citizenship ceremonies were an important feature of the day. In September 2019, the Morrison government amended the Australian Citizenship Ceremonies Code to require local councils to hold a citizenship ceremony on Australia Day.

The official Australia Day Ambassador Program supports celebrations in communities across the nation by facilitating the participation of high-achieving Australians in local community celebrations. In 2011, 385 ambassadors participated in 384 local community celebrations. The Order of Australia awards are also a feature of the day. The Australia Day Achievement Medallion is awarded to citizens by local governments based on excellence in both government and non-government organisations. The governor-general and prime minister both address the nation. On the eve of Australia Day each year, the Prime Minister announces the winner of the Australian of the Year award, presented to an Australian citizen who has shown a "significant contribution to the Australian community and nation" and is an "inspirational role model for the Australian community". Subcategories of the award include Young Australian of the Year and Senior Australian of the Year, and an award for Australia's Local Hero.

Research in 2009 indicated that Australians reflect on history and future fairly equally on Australia Day. Of those polled, 43% agreed that history is the most important thing to think about on Australia Day and 41% said they look towards "our future", while 13% thought it was important to "think about the present at this time" and 3% were unsure. Despite the date reflecting the arrival of the First Fleet, contemporary celebrations are not particularly historical in their theme. There are no large-scale re-enactments and the national leader's participation is focused largely on events such as the Australian of the Year Awards announcement and Citizenship Ceremonies.

Possibly reflecting a shift in Australians' understanding of the place of Indigenous Australians in their national identity, Newspoll research in November 2009 reported that ninety percent of Australians polled believed "it was important to recognise Australia's indigenous people and culture" as part of Australia Day celebrations. A similar proportion (89%) agreed that "it is important to recognise the cultural diversity of the nation". Despite the strong attendance at Australia Day events and a positive disposition towards the recognition of Indigenous Australians, the date of the celebrations remains a source of challenge and national discussion.

An Invasion Day rally in Brisbane, 2007

Some Australians regard Australia Day as a symbol of the adverse impacts of British settlement on Australia's Indigenous peoples. In 1888, prior to the first centennial anniversary of the First Fleet landing on 26 January 1788, New South Wales premier Henry Parkes was asked about inclusion of Aboriginal people in the celebrations. He replied: "And remind them that we have robbed them?"

The 150th anniversary celebrations in 1938 were accompanied by an Aboriginal Day of Mourning, declared by the Aborigines Progressive Association and the Australian Aborigines League as a protest against the "Whiteman's seizure of our country". At the bicentennial celebrations in 1988, large gathering of Aboriginal people in Sydney led an "Invasion Day" commemoration marking the loss of Indigenous culture. Some Indigenous figures and others continue to label Australia Day as "Invasion Day", and protests occur almost every year, sometimes at Australia Day events. Thousands of people participate in protest marches in capital cities on Australia Day; estimates for the 2018 protest in Melbourne ranged into tens of thousands.

The anniversary is also termed by some as "Survival Day" and marked by events such as the Survival Day concert, first held in Sydney in 1992, celebrating the fact that the Indigenous people and culture have survived despite colonisation and discrimination. In 2016, National Indigenous Television chose the name "Survival Day" as its preferred choice on the basis that it acknowledges the mixed nature of the day, saying that the term "recognises the invasion", but does not allow that to frame the entire story of the Aboriginal people.

In response, official celebrations have tried to include Indigenous people, holding ceremonies such as the Woggan-ma-gule ceremony, held in Sydney, which honours the past and celebrates the present. Several major employers, both public and private, including the Australian Public Service, permit employees to work on Australia Day and take another day off.

Polling by Essential Media since 2015 suggested that the number of people celebrating Australia Day was declining, indicating a shift in attitudes. In 2019, 40% celebrated the day; in 2020, 34%. In 2021 it was down to 29%, and in that year, 53% said that they were treating the day as just a public holiday.

Polls by a team at Deakin University found in November 2021 that 60% of all respondents strongly disagreed or disagreed with changing the date, whereas in June 2023 this figure had dropped to 56%. Asked whether they approved of celebrating Australia Day on 26 January, respondents under the age of 35 disapproved respectively by 53% and 57%, while those aged 35 to 54 disapproved respectively by 35% and 42%. The authors observe: "while younger Australians might be leading the push for change, there is a shift towards change in all age groups".

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5. ^ Brennan, Bridget; Wellauer, Kirstie (18 June 2021). "We're changing our minds on Australia Day and it's happening rapidly, Australia Talks reveals". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Australia Talks National Survey 2021 has revealed a majority of people now believe Australia Day should not be celebrated on January 26, given the historical significance of the date for Indigenous nations.

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Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet and raising of the Union Flag of Great Britain by Arthur Phillip at Sydney Cove, a small bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour.

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National Australia Day website. Australia Day is for all Australians, no matter where our personal stories began. Reflect on being Australian, celebrate contemporary Australia and recognise our history.