Stolen generation

The first 200 words of this essay...

Legal Process Assignment

History of Aboriginal/white relations in Australia

In 1788, when Australia was laid claim to by the British, Aboriginal peoples who were the first inhabitants, were forced to accept English law due to the fact the British used the doctrine to settle a land that was practically unoccupied. In effect, they claimed that the 'land belonged to no-one' or in other words was terra nullius. The Aboriginal peoples believe they 'belonged' to the land - meaning that the land supported their needs of food, shelter and clothing. This was ignored by the British as that did not fit well with Australia being unoccupied.1

Since Australia was occupied by the British, the Aboriginal Peoples have been treated extremely badly. Their land was taken from them and half-caste children were stolen to assimilate in white communities. The 'plan' was to remove the Aboriginal Peoples from their land and on to Government controlled reserves. The white settlers believed that the Aboriginal Peoples would eventually die off and then their land could be sold off as farm land. When this wasn't occurring, as there were children who were growing up, the Aboriginal Protection Board pressured the State Government for