The Aboriginal Girls Protection 1844 (Act no. 1844 (8 Vict. No.6)) commenced on 1 August 1844. It had the long title of ‘An Act to Prevent the Enticing Away the Girls of the Aboriginal Race from School or from any Service in which they are Employed’. This legislation made it an offence to remove Aboriginal girls from school or ‘service’ without the previous consent of a Protector of Aborigines or the girl’s employer. The Act was repealed by the Aborigines Act 1905 commencing on 23 April 1906.
This was the first piece of legislation in Western Australia to deal with absconding or running away.
The first piece of legislation to deal with running away was ‘Aboriginal girls protection 1844’. It assumed that a girl would not run away from school or a service position unless she was persuaded or ‘enticed’.