Aboriginal Protection Act 1869
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The ''Aboriginal Protection Act 1869'' was an Act of the
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
of
Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...
that established the Victorian
Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...
, to replace the Central Board Appointed to Watch Over the Interests of the Aborigines. The Act made Victoria the first
colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
to enact comprehensive regulations on the lives of
Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
. The Act and subsequent regulations gave the Board extensive powers over the lives of
Aboriginal Victorians Aboriginal Victorians, the Aboriginal Australians of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, occupied the land for tens of thousands of years prior to European settlement of Australia, European settlement. Aboriginal people have lived a semi ...
, including regulation of residence, employment, marriage, social life, custody of children and other aspects of daily life.


History

In 1860 the Victorian government established a Central Board for the Aborigines and six
Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...
s under the control of managers appointed by the board. By 1869 a quarter of Aboriginal Victorians lived on reserves. Victoria enacted the ''Aboriginal Protection Act 1869'' providing addition powers to compel Aboriginal Victorians to live on reserves. In 1871 the Board developed further controls over where Aboriginal people could live and work, what they could do, who they could meet or marry. However, by 1877 fewer than half of Aboriginal Victorians lived on reserves. In 1886, Victoria's parliament passed what became known as the Half-Caste Act, giving the board power to expel Aboriginal Victorians of mixed heritage ("half-castes") aged from eight to 34 from reserves. According to Broome: "In one move, the Board's costs would be reduced and the Aboriginal race would vanish as the 'full bloods' aged and died, and the 'half castes' were blended to whiteness." The policy was implemented on the eve of the 1890s depression leading to hardship for many of those expelled from reserves. The policy was reversed by Victoria's ''
Aborigines Act 1910 Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: * Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
,'' although extensive controls over the lives of Aboriginal Victorians continued.


See also

*
Aboriginal Protection Board Aboriginal Protection Board, also known as Aborigines Protection Board, Board for the Protection of Aborigines, Aborigines Welfare Board (and in later sources, incorrectly as Aboriginal Welfare Board), and similar names, refers to a number of hi ...
* Half-Caste Act *
Indian Act The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...
- (
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
)


References


Further reading

* {{Indigenous Australians History of Indigenous Australians History of Victoria (Australia) Victoria (Australia) legislation 1869 in Australia Public policy in Australia Legislation concerning indigenous peoples 1869 in law 1869 in British law 1860s in Victoria (Australia)