The Royal Commission on the Aborigines was a royal commission held in the state of South Australia to inform the government of the day on how best to deal with and look after the welfare of Aboriginal Australians in the colony. It began in 1913, handing down a progress report in October of that year, but continued its investigations in 1914 and only issued its final report in 1916.
The Royal Commission on the Aborigines was appointed by the South Australian Government on 19 December 1912 to inquire into and provide a report on "the control, organisation and management of the institutions in this [South Australia] set aside for the benefit of the aborigines". [1] with other commissioners being James Jelley MLC, John Lewis MLC, George Ritcher MP, and John Verran. [2] William Angus chaired the commission, [3]
The commission heard evidence from 19 witnesses, including six Aboriginal people. It covered a range of topics, including employment and wages; health; education; "half-castes" (children of mixed descent); housing; freehold and leasehold land formerly held by Aborigines, various arrangements between the government and associations which worked for the benefit of Aboriginal people; and Aboriginal reserves. [3] Opinions were heard n about the appropriate age at which children of mixed descent should be removed from their parents, with the secretary of the state Children's Council suggesting that they should be taken away as soon as they are born. [4]
During 1913, the commissioners went to interview mission staff, board members, and Aboriginal residents at Point McLeay, Point Pearce, and Moonta missions and also took evidence from and pastoralists. The commission's progress report was handed down in October 1913 and included 26 recommendations, including that Point Pearce and Point McLeay missions be taken over by the government. [1] During the following year, they also spoke to witnesses at Killapaninna and Koonibba Missions. [1]
A final report was produced in October 1916. Among other recommendations, it suggested the government purchase of Koonibba and Killalpaninna missions. [3] With regard to children being removed from their parents into the care of the state, the final report favoured what later became known as assimilation for people of mixed descent, rather than segregation. [4]
As a result of the commission's recommendations, the government took over Point Pearce and Point McLeay missions. [4] It also recommended that all Aboriginal children be taken under government guardianship at age 10, to be placed "where they deem best". [1]
The commission was widely reported on by the newspapers of the day in South Australia. [5]
The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals of those referred to as "half-caste" children were conducted in the period between approximately 1905 and 1967, although in some places mixed-race children were still being taken into the 1970s.
David Ngunaitponi, known as David Unaipon, was an Aboriginal Australian preacher, inventor, and author. A Ngarrindjeri man, his contribution to Australian society helped to break many stereotypes of Aboriginal people, and he is featured on the Australian $50 note in commemoration of his work. He was the son of preacher and writer James Unaipon.
Auber Octavius Neville was a British-Australian public servant who served as the Chief Protector of Aborigines and Commissioner of Native Affairs in Western Australia.
The Australian colonies and in the nineteenth century created offices involved in dealing with indigenous people in the jurisdictions.
Yalata is an Aboriginal community located 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Ceduna and 140 km (87 mi) south of Ooldea on the edge of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. It lies on the traditional lands of the Wirangu people, but the settlement began as Yalata Mission in the early 1950s when Pila Nguru people were moved from Ooldea Mission when that closed, after previously being moved from their land in the Great Victoria Desert owing to nuclear testing by the British Government.
The Moseley Royal Commission, officially titled the Royal Commission Appointed to Investigate, Report and Advise Upon Matters in Relation to the Condition and Treatment of Aborigines was a Royal Commission established by the Government of Western Australia in 1934 to hear evidence regarding the treatment of Aboriginal people.
The history of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Western Australia has been dated as existing for 50-70 thousand years before European contact. This article only deals with documented history from non indigenous sources since European settlement in Perth.
The Aborigines' Friends' Association (AFA) was established out of concern for "the moral, spiritual and physical well-being" of Australian Aboriginal people from the Northern Territory and particularly South Australia. This organisation operated for over 100 years, and had their final meeting in the year 2001.
Point Pearce, also spelt Point Pierce in the past, is a town in the Australian state of South Australia. The town is located in the Yorke Peninsula Council local government area, 194 kilometres (121 mi) north-west of the state capital, Adelaide.
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, for various reasons perceived by the government of the day. The Aboriginal reserve laws gave governments much power over all aspects of Aboriginal people’s lives.
Raukkan is an Australian Aboriginal community situated on the south-eastern shore of Lake Alexandrina in the locality of Narrung, 80 kilometres (50 mi) southeast of the centre of South Australia's capital, Adelaide. Raukkan is "regarded as the home and heartland of Ngarrindjeri country."
Poonindie is a small township near Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. The land upon which it sits was originally the land of the Barngarla people.
Koonibba is a locality and an associated Aboriginal community in South Australia located about 586 kilometres (364 mi) northwest of the state capital of Adelaide and about 38 km (24 mi) northwest of the municipal seat in Ceduna and 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the Eyre Highway.
The Aboriginal South Australians are the Indigenous people who lived in South Australia prior to the British colonisation of South Australia, and their descendants and their ancestors. There are difficulties in identifying the names, territorial boundaries, and language groups of the Aboriginal peoples of South Australia, including poor record-keeping and deliberate obfuscation, so only a rough approximation can be given here.
The United Aborigines Mission (UAM) was one of the largest missions in Australia, having dozens of missionaries and stations, and covering Western Australia, New South Wales and South Australia in the 1900s. It was first established in New South Wales in 1895.
Killalpaninna Mission, also known as just Killalpaninna, or alternatively Bethesda Mission, was a Lutheran mission for Aboriginal people in northeast South Australia, whose site is now located in the locality of Etadunna. It existed from 1866 to 1915.
Maloga Aboriginal Mission Station also known as Maloga Mission or Mologa Mission was established about 15 miles (24 km) from the township of Moama, on the banks of the Murray River in New South Wales, Australia. It was on the edge of an extensive forest reserve. Maloga Mission was a private venture established by Daniel Matthews, a Christian missionary and school teacher, and his brother William. The mission station operated intermittently in 1874, becoming permanent in 1876. The Mission closed in 1888, after dissatisfied residents moved about 5 miles (8 km) upriver to Cummeragunja Reserve, with all of the buildings being re-built there.
William Garnet South was a police officer in Alice Springs and Chief Protector of Aborigines. He was also, for a short period, proprietor of the Stuart Arms Hotel in Alice Springs.
The Royal Commission on the Aborigines was a royal commission held in the colony of Victoria in 1877 to inform the government of the day on how best to deal with and look after the welfare of Aboriginal Australians in the colony.