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 historical Australian state-run institutions with the function of regulating 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 Isl ...

. They were also responsible for administering the various half-caste acts where these existed and had a key role in the

Stolen Generations The Stolen Generations (also known as Stolen Children) were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church mis ...

. The boards had nearly ultimate control over Aboriginal people's lives. Protectors of Aborigines were appointed by the Board under the conditions laid down in the various Acts. In theory, protectors of Aborigines were often empowered to undertake legal proceedings on behalf of Aboriginal people, dictate where Aboriginal people could live or work, and keep all wages earned by employed Aboriginals. The exact powers varied over time and by jurisdiction. As the boards had limited funds, protectors received very limited remuneration. A range of people were appointed as local protectors, including resident magistrates, jail wardens, justices of the peace and in some cases ministers of religion, though most were local police inspectors. The minutes of the boards show they mostly dealt with matters of requests from religious bodies for financial relief and reports from resident or police magistrates pertaining to trials and convictions of Aboriginal people under their jurisdiction. Aboriginal protection boards also known and issued permits to allow Aboriginal people the right to leave their respective missions and reserves and enter the mainstream society for a set period of time.

History

Victoria

The ''Central Board Appointed to Watch Over the Interests of the Aborigines'' was established in 1860. This was replaced by the ''Victorian Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines'' in 1869 (via the '' Aboriginal Protection Act 1869),'' making 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 '' metropolitan state' ...

to enact comprehensive regulations on the lives of Aboriginal Victorians. The board exerted an extraordinary level of control over people's lives including regulation of residence, slavery as employment, marriage, social life and other aspects of daily life. The Victorian Half-Caste Act of 1886 gave the Board extensive new powers over the lives of

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, including regulation of residence, employment and marriage. In particular, the 1886 Act started to remove Aboriginal people of mixed descent, known as " half-castes", from Aboriginal stations or reserves to force them to assimilate into European society. These expulsions separated families and communities, causing distress and leading to protest. Nevertheless, the board refused to assist the expelled people. It was assumed that the expulsions would lead to the decline in the population of the reserves and their eventual closure. The '' Aborigines Act 1910'' increased the rights of Aboriginal people in Victoria. The board was abolished in 1957 by the '' Aborigines Act 1957''. The ''

Aboriginal Lands Act 1970 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 ...

'' gave recognition of Aboriginal people's right to land. Under this Act the deeds of land at the

Lake Tyers Mission Lake Tyers Mission, also known as Bung Yarnda, was an Aboriginal mission established in 1863 on the shore of Lake Tyers in Victoria‘s Gippsland, region as a centralised location for Aboriginal people from around Victoria. History The Lake T ...

and Framlingham reserves were transferred to the communities.

New South Wales

The New South Wales Board for the Protection of Aborigines was established in 1883 and was reconstituted under the ''

Aborigines Protection Act 1909 The ''Aborigines Protection Act 1909'' was a New South Wales statute that repealed the ''Supply of Liquors to Aborigines Prevention Act 1867'' with the aim of providing for the protection and care of Aboriginal people in New South Wales, Australi ...

'' with wide ranging control over the lives of Aboriginal people, including the power to remove children from families because their parents were Aboriginals, as was written on many of the files, and the power to dictate where Aboriginal people lived to ensure protection from violent colonialists and provide education in the face of European opposition (McCallum, 2008). It also controlled their freedom of movement and personal finances. In particular, Aboriginal children could be removed from their homes and families and taken into care to be raised like white children, thus starting the

. The 1911 amendment to the ''Aboriginal Protection Act'' established

Kinchela Kinchela is a village in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, on land traditionally owned by the Dungutti people. It is best known as the location of the infamous Kinchela Boys Home. The village is named after Kinchela Creek, ...

Boys Home and

Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls The Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls, commonly known as "Bimbadeen" and Cootamundra Girls' Home, located at Cootamundra, New South Wales operated by the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board from 1911 to 1968 to provi ...

. Aboriginal children were removed from their homes for various welfare reasons and transported to Kinchela and Cootamundra, where they were often abused and neglected while being taught farm labouring and domestic work, many of them ending up as servants in the homes of wealthy Sydney residents. In 1915, the ''

Aborigines Protection Amending Act 1915 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 ...

'' gave the Board authority to remove Aboriginal children "without having to establish in court that they were neglected." The Board was renamed the Aborigines Welfare Board (which was frequently referred to as the Aboriginal Welfare Board in later sources) in 1940 by the ''

Aborigines Protection (Amendment) Act 1940 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 ...

'', which stipulated that Aboriginal people should be assimilated into mainstream white society. It intended that

Aboriginal culture Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are emphasised. Over 300 languages and other groupings ...

would evaporate, and Aboriginal people would eventually become indistinguishable from Europeans. The Board consisted of 11 members, including two Aboriginal people, one "full-blood" and one having "a mixture of Aboriginal blood". It was abolished under the ''

Aborigines Act 1969 The ''Aborigines Act 1969'' was an Act of the Parliament of New South Wales that repealed the '' Aborigines Protection Act 1909'', and alongside other regulations relating to Aboriginals in New South Wales. In 1983, the Act was repealed by the ...

'' (NSW). After its abolition, the NSW Aboriginal Advisory Council was formed, which advised the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs directly.

Western Australia

The

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n Aborigines Protection Board operated between 1 January 1886 and 1 April 1898 as a statutory authority. It was created by the ''Aborigines Protection Act, 1886'' (WA), also known as the '' Half-Caste Act'', described as ''An Act to provide for the better protection and management of the Aboriginal Natives of Western Australia, and to amend the Law relating to certain Contracts with such Aboriginal Natives'' (statute 25/1886), and ''The Aborigines Act, 1889'' (statute 24/1889).For records relating to the WA Aboriginal Protection Board see the ''WA States Records Office'' accessed 20 March 2008
The 1886 act was enacted following the furore over the Fairburn Report (which revealed

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

conditions among Aboriginal farm workers) and the work of the Rev. John Gribble. The Act introduced employment contracts between employers and Aboriginal workers over the age of 14. There was no provision in the 1886 Act for contracts to include wages, but employees were to be provided with "substantial, good and sufficient rations", clothing and blankets. The 1886 act provided a resident magistrate with the power to indenture 'half-caste' and Aboriginal children, from a suitable age, until they turned 21. An Aboriginal Protection Board was also established to prevent the abuses reported earlier, but rather than protect Aborigines, it mainly succeeded in putting them under tighter government control. It was intended to enforce contracts, employment of prisoners and apprenticeships, but there was not sufficient power to enforce clauses in the north, and they were openly flouted. The Act defined as "Aboriginal" as "every Aboriginal native of Australia, every Aboriginal half-caste, or child of a half-caste". Governor Broome insisted that the act contain within it a clause permitting traditional owners to continue hunting on their tribal lands. The effect of the act was to give increasing power to the board over Aboriginal people, rather than setting up a system to punish whites for wrongdoing in relation to Aboriginal people. An Aboriginal Department was set up, under the office of the

Chief Protector of Aborigines The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836. The role became established in other parts of Australia pursuant to a recommendation contained in the ''Report of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Abori ...

. Nearly half of the Legislative Council voted to amend the act for contract labour as low as age 10 but it was defeated. McKenzie Grant, the member for The North, claimed that child labour of age six or seven was a necessary commonplace, as "in this way they gradually become domesticated". The attorney general Septimus Burt, in debate on the 2nd reading speech, claimed that contracts were being issued, not for current work, but to hold Aboriginal people as slaves on stations for potential future work, and so prevent them from being free to leave. In 1898, the board was replaced by the Aborigines Department.

Queensland

The

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

Aboriginal Protection Board was established by the ''

Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 The ''Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897'', long name ''A Bill to make Provision for the better Protection and Care of the Aboriginal and Half-caste Inhabitants of the Colony, and to make more effectual Provision ...

''.

South Australia

The '' Aborigines Act Amendment Act 1939'' created the

Aborigines 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 ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, which was "charged with the duty of controlling and promoting the welfare" of Aboriginal people (which included anyone descended from an Aboriginal person). Charles Duguid was a founding board member; other board members included

J. B. Cleland Sir John Burton Cleland Order of the British Empire, CBE (22 June 1878 – 11 August 1971) was a renowned Australian natural history, naturalist, microbiologist, mycologist and ornithologist. He was Professor of Pathology at the University of ...

and Constance Cooke.

Decline

By the late 1960s, all states and territories had repealed the legislation allowing for the removal of Aboriginal children under the policy of 'protection'.

References

South Australia

Victoria

*{{cite web , title=Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 (Vic), publisher=Museum of Australian Democracy , website=Documenting Democracy , url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-22.html Organisations serving Indigenous Australians Stolen Generations Indigenous Australian politics History of Australia (1851–1900)

History

Victoria

New South Wales

Western Australia

Queensland

South Australia

Decline

See also

References

Further reading

NSW

South Australia

Victoria