Closure of reserves/stations 1969-1983
The introduction of the Aborigines Act 1969 (NSW) () ended the system of reserves and stations in NSW. The Federal government became responsible for Aboriginal children.
The 6000 Aboriginal people still living on reserves and stations in NSW remained a concern of the NSW government, as these were ‘the places where aboriginal children in the main were denied the opportunities available to their white neighbours’. Some Aboriginal people wanted to remain on the reserves, so the Aborigines Act 1969 (NSW) () allowed the government to lease portions of a reserve to Aboriginal people so they could remain living in the area.
While reserves and stations were legally different, many documents use these terms interchangeably. For the purpose of this subject, reserves are the areas of land on which Aboriginal people lived, which were allocated but not closely controlled by the government; and stations are the areas of land on which Aboriginal people lived which were allocated and controlled by the government (usually through a station manager).
The Crown Lands (Validation of Revocations) Act 1983 (NSW) () provided for the termination of the reserves which were previously held by the Aborigines Protection Board (APB) or the Aborigines Welfare Board (AWB) under the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) (). Shortly after, the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) () was introduced to repeal the Aborigines Act 1969 (NSW) () and allow some former reserve land to be automatically vested with Aboriginal Land Councils.
The discussion and analysis documents illustrate the prevailing attitude of the AWB in the 1960s was to remove Aboriginal people from reserves and into the wider community, with the overarching aim of assimilation.
The explanatory documents in this subject demonstrate a growing recognition by Parliament of the poor living conditions experienced by families and children on stations and reserves and resulting damaging effects on Aboriginal communities.
For more information regarding the experiences of Aboriginal peoples within missions, please see SUB0274. For information regarding the operation of missionaries/reserves/stations, please refer to SUB0057.