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Clip description
Historian Professor Marcia Langton of the Yiman-Bidjara Nation describes the Protection Board as the real enemy of Aboriginal people, particularly in relation to the Half-Caste Act developed by the Protection Board and Brother Fredrich Hagenaeur. Professor Janet McCalman and Dr Wayne Atkinson of the Yorta Yorta Nation describe the ramifications of the Act and what Atkinson attests are ‘genocidal intentions’.
Curator’s notes
It is almost unimaginable, the sort of destruction caused by the Victorian government on Aboriginal people and their families at this time in history. How can you tell someone who has only known one way of life that they can no longer be that person, can no longer live as an Aboriginal person? It is quite clear from the archival record that the purpose was to accelerate the decimation of the Aboriginal population. One officer states that the new legislation ‘will leave only a few pure blacks’.
Despite the truth of the accusations made in the episode and in this clip, using phrases such as ‘final solution’ and ‘unholy alliance’ is overtly emotional and evokes Nazi-like sentiments. And even though I agree that what happened is not far from genocide, the language used is too loaded and the documentary no longer seems to be presenting facts to be weighed up, but only presenting one way of seeing events.
