37°41′02″S 145°31′19″E / 37.684007°S 145.521938°E / -37.684007; 145.521938
54-510: Coranderrk was an Aboriginal reserve run by the Victorian government between 1863 and 1924, located around 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-east of Melbourne . The residents were mainly of the Woiwurrung , Bunurong and Taungurung peoples, and the first inhabitants chose the site of the reserve. It ran successfully for many years as an Aboriginal enterprise, selling wheat, hops and crafts on
108-412: A contested situation at Coranderrk , the stations were progressively shrunk and closed. Only Lake Tyers and Framlingham were left by the early 1920s. At this time, Framlingham became an unsupervised reserve where many Aboriginal people lived. In 1958 and 1960, two new Aboriginal settlements were built by the government in northern Victoria to provide transitional housing for people living in camps. Within
162-695: A dying race, the colonial governments passed legislation designed to "protect" them. The idea was that by legislating to create certain territory for Aboriginal people, the clashes over land would stop. Officials that the Aboriginal people could farm in their reserves and become less reliant on government rations. Aboriginal Protection Boards were created in most colonies/states: The Aboriginal laws gave governments much power over all aspects of Aboriginal people’s lives. They lost what would later be considered basic human rights like freedom of movement, custody of children and control over property. In some states and
216-684: A few years, the residents had chosen to transition to mainstream Housing Commission housing, and the settlements closed. In 1971, Lake Tyers and Framlingham were given to Aboriginal trusts to own and manage. Established before Protectorate Established during Protectorate Established between Protectorate and Board of Protection Established under Board of Protection Established by Aborigines Welfare Board Established by Aboriginal Land Fund Commission Established by Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Aboriginal Protection Board Aboriginal Protection Board , also known as Aborigines Protection Board , Board for
270-401: 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
324-639: A leading medical researcher, leased 78 acres (320,000 m) from the Aboriginal Protection Board to begin his work in comparative anatomy with Australian fauna. This was the catalyst for the creation of the Healesville Sanctuary , a popular zoo for Australian native animals, which today occupies part of the original Coranderrk reserve. Many Aboriginal families continue to live in the Upper Yarra and Healesville area. In March 1998, part of
378-492: A parliamentary inquiry in 1881 on the Aboriginal "problem", led to the Aborigines Protection Act 1886 , which required " half-castes under the age of 35" to leave the reserve. Louisa Briggs was widowed in 1878 and was forced off the reserve, returning again in 1882 but again being forced to leave in 1886 because her children were " half-castes " under 35, and from Tasmania . Activist William Barak and others sent
432-650: A petition on behalf of the Aboriginal people of Coranderrk to the Victorian Government in 1886, saying: "Could we get our freedom to go away Shearing and Harvesting and to come home when we wish and also to go for the good of our Health when we need it ... We should be free like the White Population there is only few Blacks now rem[a]ining in Victoria, we are all dying away now and we Blacks of Aboriginal Blood, wish to have now freedom for all our life time ... Why does
486-553: A school for the local children. In 1861, John Green accepted the position of General Inspector of the new Central Board Appointed to Watch Over the Interests of the Aborigines . After a fruitless attempt to establish a settlement for the Woiwurrung and Taungurong clans at Acheron, Green applied to the Board for permission to return to Woiwurrung country in order to establish a new reserve on
540-772: A special institution so that they could go out and work. Most of what is now the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY lands) was formerly the North-West Aboriginal Reserve. Before the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 , various religious organisations had established a number of mission stations, and the Colony of Queensland government had gazetted small areas as reserves for Aboriginal people to use. Once
594-531: 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
SECTION 10
#1732848266914648-714: 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). The 1886 act was enacted following the furore over the Fairburn Report (which revealed slavery conditions among Aboriginal farm workers) and
702-682: The Acheron River at the foot of Mount Cathedral. Initial representations to the Victorian Government were positive, however the intervention of the most powerful squatter in Victoria, Hugh Glass , resulted in their removal to a colder site, Mohican Station, which had been abandoned as unsuitable for agriculture. In 1860, the Kulin representatives met two young allies: a Scottish Presbyterian lay preacher called John Green (1830–1903), and his wife Mary Smith Benton Green (1835–1919), who established
756-724: The Chief Protector of Aborigines . 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,
810-578: The Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls . Aboriginal children were removed from their families 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 gave
864-548: The Stolen Generations . 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
918-577: The Yarra . In March 1863, after 3 years of upheaval, the surviving leaders, among them Simon Wonga and William Barak , led 40 Woi Wurrung, Taungurong and Bun warrung people over the Black Spur , with Green and his family. Finding their original site now occupied by squatters, they set up camp on a traditional camping site near the confluence of the Yarra and Badger Creek near Healesville , and requested ownership of
972-622: The 1881 inquiry. Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve , also called simply reserve , was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians , created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th century to the 1960s to keep Aboriginal people separate from the white Australian population. The governments passed laws related to such reserves that gave them much power over all aspects of Aboriginal people’s lives. Protectors of Aborigines and (later) Aboriginal Protection Boards were appointed to look after
1026-403: 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
1080-587: The 1913 Royal Commission on the Aborigines in its final report in 1916. Included in the recommendations was that the government become the legal guardian of all Aboriginal children upon reaching their 10th birthday, and place them "where they deem best". Seven years after the Final Report of the Commission, the Aborigines (Training of Children) Act 1923 , in order to allow Indigenous children to be "trained" in
1134-661: The APB from 1883 onwards, and were managed by officials appointed by that Board. Education (in the form of preparation for the workforce), rations and housing tended to be provided on these reserves, and station managers tightly controlled who could, and could not, live there. Many people were forcibly moved onto and off stations. Managed stations included Purfleet, Karuah and Murrin Bridge near Lake Cargellico. Many other Aboriginal people did not live on Aboriginal missions, reserves or stations, but in towns, or in fringe camps on private property or on
SECTION 20
#17328482669141188-500: The Act was passed, all Aboriginal reserves became subject to the Act. For several of these reserves, Superintendents were appointed to carry out the provisions of the Act, and missionaries who had been running Aboriginal settlements also became Superintendents. However, the majority of reserves in Queensland were never "managed" reserves; they had no Superintendent and were usually controlled by
1242-865: 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 Aborigin al Welfare Board in later sources ) in 1940 by the Aborigines Protection (Amendment) Act 1940 , which stipulated that Aboriginal people should be assimilated into mainstream white society. It intended that Aboriginal culture 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
1296-508: The Board seek in these latter days more stronger authority over us Aborigines than it has yet been?" The Coranderrk Petition has survived and is on display at the Melbourne Museum in Carlton . The history of these events was brought to life in a verbatim theatre performance, called Coranderrk: We will show the country , written by Giordano Nanni and Andrea James , in which actors read
1350-740: The Coranderrk Aboriginal Station was returned to the Wurundjeri Tribe Land Compensation and Cultural Heritage Council when the Indigenous Land Corporation purchased 0.81 km. Coranderrk was added to the Australian National Heritage List on 7 June 2011. Giordano Nanni co-wrote the verbatim theatre play called Coranderrk with Yorta Yorta / Kurnai playwright Andrea James . Based on historical events related to Coranderrk, it
1404-685: The Local Protector of Aborigines. Victoria had a number of Aboriginal stations and Native Police reserves (run by the colonial government), and missions (run by religious organisations). In 1860, the missions were taken over by the state, becoming stations, though were still often administered by the same religious groups. The stations were run by Superintendents (earlier Assistant Protectors ). The government also operated depots , (run by Guardians ) which provided food, clothing and blankets, but not somewhere to live. A number of closed stations were subsequently used as depots. From 1886, after
1458-620: The Northern Territory, the Chief Protector had legal guardianship over all Aboriginal children, ahead of the parents. These policies were at their worst in the 1930s. "In the name of protection", suggest the authors of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report, "Indigenous people were subject to near-total control". The forcible removal of children from their families led to what became known as the Stolen Generations . Broadly speaking, there were three types of spaces formally set aside by
1512-453: 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 . They were also responsible for administering the various half-caste acts where these existed and had a key role in
1566-732: The board was replaced by the Aborigines Department . The Queensland Aboriginal Protection Board was established by the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 . The Aborigines Act Amendment Act 1939 created the Aborigines Protection Board in South Australia , 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
1620-609: 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 issued permits to allow Aboriginal people
1674-463: The burgeoning Melbourne market, but in the 1870s and 1880s further controls were put on Aboriginal Victorians ' lives, culminating in the passing of the Aborigines Protection Act 1886 , which required " half-castes under the age of 35" to leave the reserve, among other requirements and restrictions. A group of Coranderrk residents sent a petition to the Victorian colonial government in 1886 to protest
Coranderrk - Misplaced Pages Continue
1728-544: The burgeoning Melbourne market. Produce from the farm won first prize at the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1881; and other awards in previous years, such as 1872. By 1874, the Aboriginal Protection Board (APB) was looking for ways to undermine Coranderrk by moving people away due to their successful farming practices. Neighbouring farmers also wanted the mission closed as the land
1782-490: The communities. The New South Wales Board for the Protection of Aborigines was established in 1883 and was reconstituted under the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 with wide-ranging control over the lives of Aboriginal people. That included the power to remove children from families because, as stated in many of the files, their parents were Aboriginals, and the power to dictate where Aboriginal people lived, to ensure protection from violent colonialists and provide education in
1836-467: The controls that were applied to their lives by the government, that became known as the Coranderrk Petition . The reserve was formally closed in 1924, with most residents removed to Lake Tyers Mission . The reserve was created by the Victorian government in 1863, approximately located 50 kilometres (31 mi) north-east of Melbourne . In accordance with government policy, land was provided by
1890-544: The face of European opposition (McCallum, 2008). The Board 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, becoming the Stolen Generations . The 1911 amendment to the Aboriginal Protection Act established the Kinchela Aboriginal Boys' Training Home and
1944-511: The government for Aboriginal people dispossessed of their traditional lands by the arrival of European settlers to the colony of Victoria since the 1830s. In February 1859, a group of Taungurung men, led by Wurundjeri elders, Simon Wonga (aged 35) and brother Tommy Munnering (aged 24), acting as interpreters, petitioned the Protector of Aborigines , William Thomas , to secure land for the Kulin on
1998-735: The government specifically for Aboriginal people to live on: Aboriginal reserves: Aboriginal reserves were parcels of land set aside for Aboriginal people to live on; these were not managed by the government or its officials. From 1883 onwards, the Aboriginal people who were living on unmanaged reserves received rations and blankets from the Aborigines Protection Board (APB), but remained responsible for their own housing. Such reserves included Forster and Burnt Bridge. Aboriginal missions: Aboriginal missions were created by churches or religious individuals to house Aboriginal people and train them in Christian ideals and to also prepare them for work. Most of
2052-623: The hitherto successful hop gardens. Almost half the land was reclaimed by government in 1893, and by 1924 orders came for its closure as an Aboriginal Station, despite protests from Wurundjeri returned servicemen who had fought in World War I. The reserve was formally closed in 1924, with most residents moved to Lake Tyers Mission in Gippsland in eastern Victoria. Five older people refused to move and continued living at Coranderrk until they died. The last known Aboriginal woman to live at Coranderrk
2106-481: The interests of the Aboriginal people. Aboriginal reserves were used from the nineteenth century to keep Aboriginal people separate from the white Australian population, often ostensibly for their protection. Protectors of Aborigines had been appointed from as early as 1836 in South Australia (with Matthew Moorhouse as the first permanent appointment as Chief Protector in 1839). The Governor proclaimed that Aboriginal people were "to be considered as much under
2160-416: 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 , including regulation of residence, employment and marriage. In particular,
2214-463: The missions were developed on land granted by the government for this purpose. Around ten missions were established in NSW between 1824 and 1923, although missionaries also visited some managed stations. Many Aboriginal people have adopted the term ‘mission’ or ‘mish’ to refer to reserve settlements and fringe camps generally. Aboriginal stations: Aboriginal stations or ‘managed reserves’ were established by
Coranderrk - Misplaced Pages Continue
2268-558: The outskirts of towns, on beaches and riverbanks. There are many such places across the state that remain important to Aboriginal people. Since 1983, Local Aboriginal Land Councils have managed land and housing in similar and other settings. See also List of Aboriginal Reserves in New South Wales and List of Aboriginal missions in New South Wales . Several Aboriginal missions , including Point McLeay (1916) and Point Pearce (1915) became Aboriginal reserves, as recommended by
2322-476: The parts of the participants in the 1881 Inquiry. The book of the play, with a long introduction outlining the historical events, was published in 2013. As a result of the Aborigines Protection Act of 1886, around 60 residents were ejected from Coranderrk on the eve of the 1890s depression . Their forced departure crippled Coranderrk as an enterprise, with only around 15 able-bodied men left to work
2376-526: 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 gave recognition of Aboriginal people's right to land. Under this Act the deeds of land at the Lake Tyers Mission and Framlingham reserves were transferred to
2430-567: The right to leave their respective missions and reserves and enter the mainstream society for a set period of time. 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 to enact comprehensive regulations on
2484-737: The safeguard of the law as the Colonists themselves, and equally entitled to the Privileges of British Subjects". Under the Aboriginal Orphans Ordinance 1844 , the Protector was made legal guardian of "every half-caste and other unprotected Aboriginal child whose parents are dead or unknown". Schools and reserves were set up. Despite these attempts at protection, Moorhouse presided over the Rufus River massacre in 1841. The office of Protector
2538-654: The site. They were anxious to have the land officially approved so that they could move down and establish themselves. An area of 9.6 km (3.7 sq mi) was gazetted on 30 June 1863 and called "Coranderrk", at the Aboriginal people's suggestion. This was the name they used for the Christmas Bush ( Prostanthera lasianthos ), a white flowering summer plant which is indigenous to the area. In mid-1864, there were around 70 Aboriginal people living at Coranderrk. Coranderrk Station ran successfully for many years as an Aboriginal enterprise, selling wheat, hops and crafts on
2592-477: 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
2646-567: Was Elizabeth (Lizzie) Davis, who died in 1956, aged 104. She was denied permission to be buried at Coranderrk alongside her husband and siblings. The last Indigenous child to be born at Coranderrk Station was James Wandin in 1933, in the home of his grandmother, Jemima Wandin. After the death of the last remaining Indigenous residents in 1950s, the land was handed over to the Soldier Settlement Scheme . In 1920, Sir Colin MacKenzie ,
2700-490: Was abolished in 1856; within four years, governments had leased 35 of the 42 Aboriginal reserves in South Australia to settlers. In 1839 George Augustus Robinson was appointed the first Chief Protector in what is now Victoria . In the second half of the 19th century, in an attempt to reduce the violence on the frontiers , devastation by disease, and to provide a "humane" environment for Aboriginal people, perceived as
2754-528: Was abolished under the Aborigines Act 1969 (NSW). After its abolition, the NSW Aboriginal Advisory Council was formed, which advised the NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs directly. The Western Australian 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
SECTION 50
#17328482669142808-433: Was appointed matron of the dormitory , on a salary, and acted as a leader and spokesperson for the residents, including giving evidence at an inquiry into the management of the reserve in 1876. The Royal Commission on the Aborigines in 1877, headed by William Foster Stawell and looking at the six reserves in Victoria (the others being Lake Condah , Lake Tyers , Framlingham , Ramahyuck , and Ebenezer ), followed by
2862-492: Was now deemed "too valuable" for Aboriginal people to occupy. Photographer Fred Kruger was commissioned to document the site and its inhabitants. In the 1870s and 1880s, Coranderrk residents sent deputations to the Victorian colonial government protesting their lack of rights and the threatened closure of the reserve. Louisa Briggs (1836–1925), a Bunurong woman, lived with her family, including nine children, on Corranderrk first in 1871 and then again from 1874. In 1876 she
2916-613: Was produced by Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative and La Mama Theatre , in collaboration with the University of Melbourne . It was performed at the Playhouse at Sydney Opera House in June/July 2012. An academic work of the same title was published by the authors in 2013. In 2017, Ilbijerri and the Belvoir Theatre co-produced Coranderrk , a recreation of
#913086