Examining the Impact of the Aboriginal Act 1905

Aboriginal Act 1905 is an act to make provision for the better protection and care of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Western Australia ( ). Though the act was designed to improve conditions for the Aboriginals, it strictly segregating them from the rest of the community ( ). Premier John Forrest has claimed that the denial of basic rights as citizens of this country for Aboriginals is for their own good ( ). According to the Act, the police could enter their houses without permission and steal their children ( ). My heart ached for the kids who went through the trauma and their family when I saw the true story Rabbit Proof Fence (Noyce 2002). Many children were sent to missions and in some cases they never saw them again (). The chief protector

shall be the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and half-caste child until they reach the age of sixteen years ( ).
Nyungars were forced to camp often in a spot of land near rubbish dump affected by the smell and flies as they made many babies ill ( ). A town could be declared as a prohibited area in which they could not enter including Perth until 1927 ( ). They were not allowed to enter hospitals and church, and when they tried to send their children to local schools, there was an outcry ( ). Parents and teachers demanded that Aboriginal children be expelled, and sadly the education department supported them, stating that Aboriginal department holds the responsibility to educate them ( ).
Thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Trait Islanders died at the hands of Colonisers ( ). Some of the elders who live today have witnessed killings and poisoning during their childhood days, and this has affected them deeply ( ). They have not forgotten the painful experiences about families and thousands of stories told about those days to them ( ). They still bear the past scars inflicted upon them in their education, employment, family life and relationship. They try to heal these wounds while they still take effort to find a place for themselves in this community ( ). Aboriginals believe that their children are their future, and so their education determines their future, which in turn would affect their family and the whole school community (Craven, 1999, p.86). Some Aboriginal students have achieved greater things through the encouragement and support from the family, as a child pointed out that his father always tell him that he has to study well to get a good job ( ).