Rewriting some of Australia's history

A rather heated conversation pervades the Australian scene on whether we need to recast our history to recognise that 26 January 1788 was to many of our indigenous Aboriginal peoples an invasion by Britain.

The eastern coast of what is now Australia was discovered by Captain Cooke circa 1770 but the truth was that the land he discovered had already been inhabited by the Aboriginal peoples for thousands of years.  On this basis many now want the statue of Cooke to reflect this so that we will no longer think of him as the discoverer of the east coast.

Cooke's information was followed up to bring about the settlement on 26 January 1788 by British convicts and British soldiers under Governor Arthur Phillip.  From this day forward the Aboriginal peoples were gradually dispossessed of their tribal lands.  Their culture(s) were desecrated and the attempt was made to convert them to Christianity.

2017 still finds severe disadvantage amongst many Aboriginal people.  This week the arguments for some rewriting of the history to bring out the real truth of what occurred so long ago was eloquently propounded by the respected Aboriginal journalist Stan Grant.  Well done Stan you are very much on the mark and should not be put off by those who oppose what you have suggested.

I always thought that history was a dynamic text that needed updating in terms of new evidence or recognition of extant evidence that now needed to be taken into consideration.

We will be a more mature nation if we can follow Stan's lead.

May the Force for tolerance and recognition be with us!


GD

The disaster that is Roebourne

The town of Roebourne in Western Australia is under the spotlight with recent stark revelations of child abuse amongst its largely indigenous population.  The implementation of the welfare card system is very much seen as a circuit breaker to allow more lasting reform to take over.

Maybe this circuit breaker is needed but unless the indigenous peoples themselves work hard for the longer term solutions then only more suffering is likely to occur.  The great indigenous leaders, and there are many, both men and women, could step up and get the job done.  I visualise a great leader like Patrick Dodson (and others) walking through the Roebourne community like a colossus, like a Philosopher King at whose feet the residents will sit and listen.

No child, indigenous or non indigenous, should have to daily live in fear of abuse from adults in the grip of substances that take away all powers of human concern and reasoning.  They should be free of this fear tonight, tomorrow and every day for the rest of their lives.  Action must occur tonight, tomorrow and the next day until this flawed culture of abuse is replaced by a humane way of acting that shows concern for the inalienable rights of each human being on this earth.


May the Force be with us!



GD