ABST100 Assessment 3: Reflective Essay

Over the course of the first half of the semester I quickly noticed that the course content for

Introducing Indigenous Australia (ABST100) was significantly different than that of my over

courses. The main point of difference that I found was that unlike my other subjects, which all

seemed to focus on reinforcing and highlighting the ideas that had been researched and outlined

by other academics, there seemed to be a much greater focus on highlighting events and pieces

of information that would cause to reflect upon our own knowledge and perspectives. Looking

back through my reflective journal and notes on the content covered so far, particularly in the

lectures, I noticed how different my initial expectations were to the actual content and also the

impact that it had on my perspective and opinions on the topic that was being discussed. The

topic of the historical timeline of Australia from that of colonization to resistance was a

particularly engaging and interesting topic and for the sake of this essay will be the main topic of

reflection for the essay partially because of my own personal interests in history but primarily

because of the influence that the discussion and lecture of the week had on my own personal

perspectives.

To preface the reflection on how my knowledge and perceptions were shaped over the first half

of the semester, I feel it is prudent to acknowledge a few things. Firstly, I claim no descent from

Indigenous Australians instead coming for a background of an English descent. And, that upon

entering the lecture I had a broad understanding of Australian history due to having attended and

engaged in Primary and Secondary education in Australia. However, I will acknowledge that the

majority of the information that was I taught was almost if not entirely post-colonization history

and told from a predominantly European Australian historical perspective. In addition to that
only a minority of what was taught was about the treatment and actions of Indigenous

communities and individuals.

The content covered over the first half of the semester highlighted a number of events in

Australian History, many of which were injustices made against the Indigenous people of

Australia of which I was unaware of. Entering the first lecture for the course I felt that I knew a

substantial amount about the history of Australia and the way that members of the Indigenous

community had been treated by both the Australian Government throughout the years. But what

became apparent very quickly was what I had learnt in the past was only the very broad events

and that were many events that I had never even heard of before. While I understood that there

had been massacres initiated by British settlers against Indigenous communities I wouldve been

hard pressed or unable to list any by name let alone give details on any of them. The lack of

substantial acknowledgement and education about such events echoes what Stanner (1968)

referred to as the Great Australian Silence, which revolved around how mentions of massacres,

invasion and stealing of land where absent from the majority of discussions and recounts of

Australian History. Despite being highlighted decades ago this issue has persisted into the 21st

Century, although it has improved over the years. The increasing acceptance with which these

topics are being discussed by academics and the public is poignant as each year the discussion

surrounding the date and celebration of Australia day, and whether that Australia should be

referred to as being discovered or invaded by European settlers, increase each year. While the

exclusion of mentioning of these tragic events that same may consider to be unsavory is

something that I can understand to an extent, although not something I condone in the slightest,

as acknowledging something as horrible as near genocide and the suppression of an entire culture

is something that a Government and certain people might not want to be general knowledge
(Broome 2006). However, while the lack of acknowledgement or general education wasnt

entirely surprising, the time it took for historians and academics to acknowledge that such events

had taken place was much more surprising. With it not being until the 1960s and 70s that

mentions of massacres began to be rediscovered by Australian Historians (Reynolds 2006).

However these changes in history were challenged by more conservative historians who

described these revisions as being a part of a Black Armband view of history (Gunstone 2004).

On the other hand, while I can understand to an extent, why some individuals might not want to

acknowledge some of the more barbaric events in Australian history, the lack of discussion and

education about events much more recent is something that I personally found baffling. Prior to

starting the course, I had limited knowledge on the Mabo Case and the referendum to have

Indigenous Australians included in the census. In more recent years there have been attempts to

change legislation that affects the rights of Indigenous individuals and while some of these

measures have been acknowledge in education and the media however there are still a number of

similar cases that received significantly less coverage. While the Mabo case was something that I

was broadly aware of before the course things such as the Yirrkala Bark Petition in 1963 and the

Barunga Statement in 1988 were events that I had never heard of. Both of these events are

examples of when the Government of Australia has ignored or in the case of the Barunga

Statement acknowledge but never acted upon. And while the fact that I was not alive during

these events may partially explain why I had never heard of these events the same does not apply

for the Intervention in the Northern Territory something I knew next to nothing about prior to

starting the course. The lack of coverage on such a morally grey and controversial ongoing event

highlights the role that the media has played in influencing what events are widely acknowledged

and as time goes on remembered (Banerjee & Osuri 2000). The most substantial and immediate
impact that arose from engaging in ABST100 was that it highlighted a number of historical and

modern events that I previously had no idea about.

Along with providing knowledge about a number of events the discussions throughout the first

half of the semester have also had an impact on influencing my own personal perspectives and

opinions. My knowledge and understanding of events throughout post-colonization Australian

history predominantly involving Indigenous individuals and communities has developed over the

course of the semester. has had a direct impact on my own perspectives on Australian history

especially the way that the treatment of Indigenous Australians has, or in some cases has not,

changed as time has gone on. This increased knowledge on such events has in some cases simply

reinforced my pre-existing perspectives on the world. Examples of these perspectives include

that the current model for Primary and Secondary education for teaching individuals about

Australian history. particularly the history of Indigenous Communities both pre- and post-

colonization, is severely lacking, that a large percentage of non-Indigenous Australians lack

sufficient knowledge about their own history and voices of members of Indigenous communities

has influenced my perspective on the representation that Indigenous individuals and

communities have had not only throughout history but also currently in regard to media and

political representation. Reflecting, I realized that the level of representation that I believed

Indigenous communities and individuals had was significantly higher than the reality, although

even back then I didnt believe that the representation was adequate. The discussion about

numerous historical event involving Indigenous communities and individuals throughout the first

half of the semester has highlighted numerous events that have both reinforced and challenged

my perspectives on several different issues and events.

Reflecting back over the first half of the semester I have noticed that while I thought I knew

quite a substantial amount about how Indigenous communities and individuals have been treated

in both recent times and throughout history since the colonization of Australia. However as the

course continued I realized that while I did know of someone of the events that were addressed

over the course. There were several events that I had never heard of and learning about these

events had a considerable influence on shaping my pre-existing perspective on a number of

issues that were addressed particularly in regard to the treatment of Aboriginal communities

throughout history.

References

Banerjee, S., & Osuri, G. (2000). Silences of the media: whiting out Aboriginality in making

news and making history. Media, Culture & Society, 22(3), 263-284.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016344300022003002

Broome, R. (2006). Aboriginal Victorians (1st ed.). Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin.

Gunstone, A. (2004). Reconciliation, Nationalism and the History Wars.

Reynolds, H. (2006). The Other Side of the Frontier (1st ed.). Sydney: UNSW Press.

Stanner, W. (1968). The Boyer Lectures 1968 - After the Dreaming.. Lecture, Sydney, NSW:

Australian Broadcasting Commission.