| The
missions forced the Aboriginal people to speak and dress like
the Europeans. They were intent on destroying the Aboriginal
society and ultimately they wanted the Aborigines to forget
their traditional culture. The popular mentality was that the
Aboriginal blood would die out or would be diluted as much as
possible. Later Aboriginal babies were taken away from their
families to live with 'white Australians' in the hope that they
would forget their past and integrate into the 'white world'.
The 'white' Australians were given power to control possessions
of the Aborigines such as land. |
At
first they were not allowed into cafes, boarding houses, hotels,
certain shops, hospitals, theatres, churches dances and social functions.
This wasn't a matter of money but rather the idea that Aborigines
were 'uncivilized'. In some places there was also a curfew where
they were not allowed to remain in town after a certain hour. There
were many restrictions on their education, health aids, land ownership
and employment opportunities and many times they were treated unequally
before the law. |
