- Title
- "From protection to welfare: orchestrated disadvantage in New South Wales 1937-43"
- Creator
- Francisco, Ashlen Jean
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- In 1940, the New South Wales Aborigines Welfare Board came into existence and actively exercised decisive power over Aboriginal people of the state. The establishment of the Welfare Board meant the abrupt end of the Aborigines Protection Board, which had been in existence since 1883. This thesis analyses the Aborigines Protection Board’s reconstitution into the Aborigines Welfare Board in New South Wales in 1940 and its impact on and for Aboriginal people throughout this period. The reconstitution of the Board is a critical moment in NSW Aboriginal history as it galvanised legislation which granted the power of surveillance and control over Aboriginal people and their autonomy. With this administrative power continuing to grow throughout the twentieth century, the importance of this thesis comes from an analysis of the frameworks which the Board utilised to systematically limit Aboriginal people from civil participation in NSW. It adds context to the micro-histories of family and place, by illuminating the process the Board used in its attempts to control ‘Aboriginality’. Critical events such as the Select Committee on the administration of the APB in 1937, the Public Service Board inquiry in 1938 that led to the Board’s reconstitution in 1940 and the resulting amendments to the Aborigines Protection Act (1909–1940) will be analysed in detail. Aboriginal activism, discussed in this instance through the prism of the Day of Mourning protests, the Cumeroogunga Walk-Off and the amplification of the Aboriginal voice in the political sphere through the Australian Abo Call newspaper, will be further analysed in relation to the Board’s reconstitution in 1940. Understanding how the Board actioned its power and the mechanisms it harnessed to do so is critical to contemplate the legacy of these actions on contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander affairs. As a Wiradjuri PhD candidate, I use this thesis also as an exploration and contemplation of what implications and nuances are apparent in researching and analysing the Board’s history as an Aboriginal person. Both the history of the Board and the implications for Aboriginal people researching this history, in a contemporary setting, are in effect an exploration of the legacy of the Aborigines Welfare Board. The influence this has had on the methodology and presentation of the final thesis will be reflexively discussed throughout to underline the urgency for Aboriginal-led historical research to overcome this legacy.
- Subject
- NSW; Aboriginal; history; Indigenous; protection; welfare; Protection Board; interwar
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1504714
- Identifier
- uon:55565
- Rights
- Copyright 2021 Ashlen Jean Francisco
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 274 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |