The Orfelin Ecole, or ‘orphan school’ in Broome was established some time during or after 1895 by the parish priest, Trappist Father Nicholas Maria Emo, known as ‘Father Nicholas’. It ran for three years with a total of thirty seven students who most likely lived at the school. Father Nicholas gave testimony (in French) to…
The Swan Native and Half-Caste Mission was run by the Anglican Church in Guildford (Middle Swan) from 1888 to 1920. It continued Bishop Hale’s Institution for Native and Half-Caste Children. Aboriginal boys and girls were accommodated at the mission, in separate ‘branches’. The boys’ branch included non-Aboriginal boys by 1899, possibly earlier. The mission closed…
St Joseph’s Native School and Orphanage, New Norcia, dates from 1861 when it established by the Benedictine Fathers. From 1904 until it closed in 1974, it was run by the Benedictine Missionary Sisters. Aboriginal girls and young women lived and went to school there. Tilbrook (1983) reports that sisters ‘Elizabeth and Helen (or Ellen) Tainan…
The Royal Commission to Investigate, Report and Advise upon Matters in Relation to the Condition and Treatment of Aborigines undertaken by Magistrate H.D. Moseley: ‘considered, among other matters, the administration of Indigenous affairs, native settlements, town camps, employment, disease and the trial procedures for Indigenous people…Like Roth, [Moseley] believed that a protection policy was in…
The Royal Commission to Enquire into and Report Upon [inter alia] the Administration of the Aborigines Department and the Condition of the Natives took place in Western Australia from 1904 to 1905. One of the issues investigated in this Inquiry was the type of labour undertaken by young Aboriginal people in institutions. Questions were asked…
This Inquiry set out to look at the treatment of Indigenous prisoners and the cost of putting them in prison. It also had to advise on missions and how to look after sick, aged or young Aboriginal people in Western Australia. The report of the Inquiry gave a view of Aboriginal people as unable to…
The Survey of Native Affairs was undertaken from 1947 to 1948 by Magistrate F.E.A. Bateman. WA historian Neville Green has written that the Survey was undertaken because it was thought that Aboriginal protection policy in Western Australia was ‘out of step with international agreements for Indigenous people’. Bateman’s report was presented in June 1948. WA…
The Commissioner of Native Welfare was an official role created by the Native Welfare Act 1954 (WA), replacing the Commissioner for Native Affairs. The Commissioner was the head of the Department of Native Welfare, and the legal guardian of every Aboriginal child in Western Australia to the age of 21 years, except those children made…
The Commissioner for Native Affairs was an official role created by the Native Administration Act 1936 (WA), replacing the Chief Protector of Aborigines. The 1936 Act also created the Department of the Native Affairs, of which the Commissioner was head, and extended the powers of that role. The Commissioner was the legal guardian of every…
The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia (Inc.), better known as ALSWA, has been operating in WA for over thirty years. The ALS ‘provides legal representation and support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Western Australia, including advocating in policy and law reform in submissions, at conferences and in the media.’
Dec 18, 2024
Nov 15, 2024
