Impact of 'protection' and assimilation laws 1883-1969
Dispossession and displacement of Aboriginal people separated them from their Country and culture. This had a significant impact on Aboriginal languages.
A Legislative Assembly report in 1883 () recommended a Board be set up to ‘protect’ Aboriginal people. The Board, known as the Aborigines Protection Board (APB), was established to manage reserves and control the lives of Aboriginal people in NSW ().
In 1909 the Aborigines Protection Act 1909 (NSW) () empowered the APB to apprentice out certain Aboriginal children from their parents. Their lives were placed under the control of government officials on stations and reserves.
The law changed several times in the 20th century and the powers of the APB grew. For example, the Aborigines Protection Amending Act 1915 (NSW) () made it simpler for the APB to remove Aboriginal children from their parents and put them under the control of the Board. Aboriginal children removed under these laws were taught that their culture was without value and were forbidden from using their language ().
Children were also forbidden from speaking their language. This was known to and accepted by Parliament at the time. For example, in the second reading speech for the Aborigines Protection (Amendment) Bill 1940 (NSW) Mr. Henry John Bate noted ‘we do not allow them to speak their own language' ().
By the mid-20th century, the APB became the Aborigines Welfare Board, which granted Aboriginal people ‘exemption certificates’ if they could prove that they had assimilated with the general population. Consequently, knowledge of Aboriginal languages declined in communities as Aboriginal people sought to be free from government control and obtain full citizenship (). Aboriginal children were forcibly removed and separated from their parents by the Aborigines Welfare Board under the power Aborigines Protection Act until the Board was dismantled in 1969. Forced removals continued into the next decades and up to the present day (see SUB0227).
The impact of these laws and policies on Aboriginal languages throughout the 20th century was profound. The Bringing them Home Report found that ‘[t]he overwhelming majority of the children forcibly removed under assimilationist legislation and policies were separated from their Indigenous family, community and culture. They were not permitted to use their languages’ ().
Discussion and analysis documents and case studies in this subject further demonstrate this impact on Aboriginal languages in NSW.