Tamara Draper S00153696

Highlighted sections: 2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians

HIST106 Australian Indigenous Peoples: Past and Present

Assignment 4: Site Visit and Analysis

PART A:
What were the most important messages about Australian Indigenous
history presented at the site you visited and how did the material you
studied in HIST106 this semester help you understand these key ideas?
For this assignment, I visited the Koorie Heritage Trust on the 27th of May, 2013, in
order to gain more knowledge and perspective of Australian Indigenous history.
There were many signs present that showed information about the Aboriginal
culture, and I was surprised by how much of it I recognised and was already aware
of due to the Australian Indigenous Peoples: Past and Present unit I attended this
semester. Although there was a lot of information I already knew, I was able to
reconsolidate this information in my mind, and also learn new things. In this essay I
will be discussing the most important messages about Australian Indigenous history
that was presented at the Koorie Heritage Trust and the messages connection to the
unit HIST106.

Tamara Draper S00153696

In week one, the reasons why the British wished to colonise Australia were
discussed, one being a solution to over-crowding prisons, and another being that the
British Empire was expanding, and thus, Australia was a strategic position to
establish a colony (HIST106 Week 1: Narrative and Counter-narrative). Due to these
reasons, and the European settlers believing that the land was Terra Nullius
belonging to no one the Aboriginal population soon had their land taken over.
Therefore the Koorie Heritage Trust exhibition was established in 1985 as a
celebration of Aboriginal peoples survival, and to protect, preserve and promote the
living culture of the Indigenous people of south-eastern Australia. The site is a
society where Aboriginal culture and history is a respected and valued part of
Australian life, and is a great place to learn about Aboriginal culture from the
beginning up until now.
Creation stories are a major factor in Aboriginal culture, and information was
presented about these stories at the site, along with the story of Bunjil. In week two,
(HIST106 Week 2: 60,000+ Years), we discussed Bunjil as the ancestral spirit who
created life, and who took the form of both human, and eagle. At the site, there was
a video that was available for everyone to watch about the history of Bunjil, and how
it is believed that he made the Earth, trees, animals, and created the first people by
breathing life into them. These creation stories were passed from generation to
generation to explain the connection of a particular community to their country,
linking people with their ancestors and with the creation of the land, and that is why
I believe that the message of creation stories is very important in regards to the
Aboriginal culture I learnt about at the site. The history of creation stories, or
dreamtime stories, are believed to be not myth and legend, but both past and

Tamara Draper S00153696

present, while they teach rules for living in the physical and spiritual worlds
(HIST106 Week 2: 60,000+ Years). I was able to learn about these stories and
Bunjil during the HIST106 unit, which was very helpful in further learning and
consolidating information about creation stories at the site. These stories have
remained an important part of Aboriginal culture for thousands of years, and are still
a very important aspect of Aboriginal culture today.
One of the most debated topics in relation to Australian Indigenous history is the
legality of the British dispossessing the Aboriginal population from their land. John
Batman, in 1835, created a treaty that involved the trading of material items for
acres of land. The material items that the European settlers were offering to the
Aboriginal people in exchange for land were far from what the land was worth, not
to mention the treaty was not authorised by any government. At the Koorie Heritage
Trust, there was an informational section dedicated to this debated topic with the
heading Was it legal? that argues the injustice of the invasion. It debates questions
such as Did the British Crown have the right to dispossess Aboriginal people of their
land that supported their existence for thousands of years? and If Aboriginal people
had become British subjects, why didnt the law, so concerned with property, protect

their property rights? (Koorie Heritage Trust). In week 4, (HIST106 Week 4: Myth of
Peaceful Settlement), questioning factors of Batmans treaty were discussed, such as
Batman having no authority to make such an agreement, the uneven terms involved,
and of course, the Aboriginal people not understanding what they were agreeing to.
The understanding of this agreement was a large factor, as the Aboriginal people
and the Europeans had no common language, thus suffering the annoyance of
language barriers and miscommunication. The fact that this debate still continues

Tamara Draper S00153696

today proves the importance of this topic, and we will never really know if what the
European settlers did in taking the Aboriginals land was legal or not.
The European settlers did everything they could to control the Aboriginal population,
and this meant placing them on missions and reserves from the 1850s, and forcing
them to assimilate with the Australian way of life. As discussed in week 5, (HIST106
Week 5: Missions and Reserves), the Aboriginal people were placed on these
missions and reserves to shield them from consequences of the invasion. These
consequences were murder, starvation, begging, and death from disease and
alcohol, and information on this was displayed in the Koorie Heritage Trust
exhibition. Instead of facing this hardship, the government and Christian churches
ran these missions and reserves to help with the delivery of food, medicine and
blankets for the Indigenous Australians, but they also had their own intentions in
mind. The Price of Protection, as discussed at the site, refers to the Aboriginal
Australians having to give up families, traditions and beliefs, and of course, being
forbidden to use their native languages (Koorie Heritage Trust). Assimilation meant
that they lost many aspects of their culture, referred to as cultural assimilation, and
on top of this, they faced the issue of biological assimilation. This biological
assimilation, as discussed in week 6 (HIST106 Week 6: Assimilation), relates to the
European settlers controlling who the Aboriginal population could marry, and thus
who they could breed with in an attempt to make them look less conventionally
Aboriginal. I found these messages about missions and reserves, and The Price of
Protection very important as they accounted for a major part of Aboriginal history,
and shaped them to be the people that they are today.

Tamara Draper S00153696

The fight to maintain land, culture and identity has been going on since the British
invasion, and still continues today. There have been many iconic moments showing
the Aboriginal populations struggle, such as the Referendum, the Aboriginal Tent
Embassy, and the Mabo Decision, but there have been many other instances of fight
from the Aboriginal people. It was discussed at the site (Koorie Heritage Trust), that
when the Aboriginals would attack the Europeans shepherds and stock, the
Europeans would fight back in a much more aggressive manner, threatening them,
and even abducting their women and children. Between 1975 and 1982, the first
protest about the closure of Coranderrk commenced, as Elder William Barak led the
campaign to avoid the closure of this reserve. Although their claim was supported by
two parliamentary commissioners, the protests only managed to prolong the life of
the Coranderrk reserve, as it was later closed down. The 1938, National Day of
Mourning organised by William Cooper was discussed in week 8, (HIST106 Week 8:
Civil Rights 1), and this day was held on the same day as white Australians were
celebrating 150 years of European occupation on this land. The Aboriginals held this
day as a request for rights, including Commonwealth control of Aboriginal affairs,
political representation, full citizenship and civil equality, freedom to choose
marriage partners, access to housing, and access to land settlement schemes.
Indigenous Australians fight for rights is a largely important aspect that is needed to
be learnt, as before I attended the HIST106: Australian Indigenous Peoples: Past
and Present unit, I was not aware that the Aboriginal population fought so hard for
equality of life.
1967, in my opinion, is one of the most important years in regards to Aboriginal
history, and the achievement in obtaining their rights for equality. The 1967

Tamara Draper S00153696

Referendum was the greatest YES-vote ever recorded, with 90.77% voting yes that
allowed Aborigines to be accepted as Australian citizens with full legal and political
rights (Koorie Heritage Trust). Before this referendum was put in place, Aboriginals
were accorded separate legal, political and social status. This campaign for rights, as
discussed by Broome (2010), began in 1957, and was conducted with anyone who
would listen, such as community organisations, sporting clubs, unions, political
parties and through churches. Although it took ten years since the beginning of the
campaign for any rights to become official, the Aboriginal population was overjoyed
that they were finally going to be accepted as citizens of Australia.
To conclude, the Koorie Heritage Trust presented many important messages in
regards to Aboriginal culture from the beginning up until now. Much of this
information was presented in HIST106: Australian Indigenous Peoples: Past and
Present, which helped me to gain an initial knowledge of the culture. Important
factors such as creation stories, Batmans treaty, missions and reserves, assimilation,
protests, and the 1967 Referendum were displayed in the site and were a
consolidating and learning factor, after I had previously gained knowledge on these
topics in this unit. The main aspect that interested me was to learn that the
Aboriginal culture has been around since the very beginning and still remains today
as a mixture of old traditions and new contemporary influences.

Tamara Draper S00153696

REFERENCES
Broome, R. (2010). Aboriginal Australians: A History since 1788. (4th ed.). Crows
Nest, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin

HIST106 Week 1: Narrative and Counter-narrative

HIST106 Week 2: 60,000+ Years

HIST106 Week 4: Myth of Peaceful Settlement

HIST106 Week 5: Missions and Reserves

HIST106 Week 6: Assimilation

HIST106 Week 8: Civil Rights 1

Koorie Heritage Trust, King Street, 27th May 2013

Koorieheritagetrust.com (n.d.). About Us | eZ publish. [online] Retrieved from:

http://www.koorieheritagetrust.com/about_us [Accessed: 1 Jun 2013].