Aboriginal people are considered to be the native people dwelling in Australia for many centuries prior to advent of Europeans. Lt James Cook in 1770 found Australia and declared it a property of Britain’s King George II (Broome, 2010).. In 1788 there was a massive invasion and take over of the land by the European invaders. Aboriginal people had been beleaguered after the invasion (Broome, 2010). With new invaders came a whole host of new diseases this had lead to the decimation of the population. There were numerous events that had entailed during this time period. The time period that has been considered the from1952 to 1965 AD.

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Missionary, Protection or Assimilation Periods of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islan
der Policy
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Date
University
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Introduction
Aboriginal people are considered to be the native people dwelling in Australia for many
centuries prior to advent of Europeans. Lt James Cook in 1770 found Australia and
declared it a property of Britain’s King George II (Broome, 2010).. In 1788 there was a
massive invasion and take over of the land by the European invaders. Aboriginal people
had been beleaguered after the invasion (Broome, 2010). With new invaders came a
whole host of new diseases this had lead to the decimation of the population. There were
numerous events that had entailed during this time period. The time period that has been
considered the from1952 to 1965 AD.
1952 to 1965 played an important role in Australian Legislation owing to some events.
Maralinga Atomic tests were conducted in this time period (Broome, 2010). Maralinga
was a remote territory in South Australia. Aborigines Welfare Ordinance 1954 was
signed by Queen Victoria that made it a law for the Aborigines to relocate from the area.
This law was considered to be a form of ethnic cleansing. It forced the Aboriginal people
to relocate from their native land. There was significant loss of traditional cultures and
practices owing to this act. The place was named as Section 400 in 1956 where atomic
tests were conducted (Broome, 2010). There were subsequent atomic tests conducted in
the area during that particular time period. This nuclear testing contaminated the land and
its traditional usage. Atomic testing was actually conducted in the year 1957. Owing to
this nuclear testing the Aboriginal people in the Anaugu County were forced to relocate
from their homes. This resulted in the formation of the Black mist. It caused the
Aboriginal people a number of diseases due to being exposed to radiation. On 10th
June
1957, around Palm island people protested against unfair wages and policies of

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Apartheid. Police were dispatched and people were returned to their mission lands at
gunpoint (Broome, 2010).. Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and
Torres Strait Islanders was set up in 1958 for protection of the Aboriginal people rights.
This committee played an important role for overturning of the 1967 referendum policy.
Up until 1960 Aboriginal Children were forced to attend missions. This practice was
stopped in 1960. In 1961 Native Welfare Conference primarily mandated rights to the
Aboriginal people (Berndt & Berndt 1988). There was removal of discriminatory
practices and inclusion was considered in this time period. In 1962 Commonwealth
Electoral Act was amended for Aboriginal people to vote in the country (Berndt &
Berndt 1988). This policy was followed in Western Australia, Queensland and the
Northern Territory.
In 1963 Yolngu people of Yirrkala asked the government not to set up mining areas in
their area of dwelling. Nevertheless this law was enacted and people were forced to live
in settlements. The mines had a large deposit of Bauxite and were a considerable source
of income for the government. In 1964 Northern Territory Social Welfare Ordinance
Gave Aboriginal people the same rights as Australian people (Berndt & Berndt 1988).
However large group of Christian Aboriginal people were not included. In 1965 the
famous freedom ride was lead by Charles Perkins. It wanted the discriminatory policies
against the Aboriginal people to end. In 1965 the government enacted Integration policy.
In 1967 there were attempts to clear the contaminated area (Berndt & Berndt 1988).
There were numerous efforts made by the subsequent government to restore the land and
return the land to the Aboriginal people. The missionary, protection and Assimilation
policies enacted by the people are described below.

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Missionary period
Motive of the missionary period is to ensure that the Aboriginal population was
protected. Early roots of the missionary period is said to have started around 1824 when
mission was set up Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney after the ending of the Bathurst
Martial law. In 1874 Malonga Missionary was set up in New South Wales.
The Missionaries were established primarily by the government and by the churches.
When the Aboriginal people were displaced from their homes they were made to stay in
missionaries. Many Churches and governments fundamentally ran these missionaries.
Each of these missionaries had their own unique rules along with some standard rules.
Unique rules of the missionaries were that they had to operate also with some standard
protocols. Education and livelihood training was also provided to the people living in the
missionaries. There was a lot of importance given to Children in the missionaries.
Children above the age of 14 had to leave the missionaries to mingle with the general
society. A number of missionaries were established 1850 to 1900. From 1952 to 1967
there were a number of missionaries that were set up for each dedicated services and
missions (Broome, 2010). There was a constructive change in the ideologies of the
missions during this period. In this Assimilation policy, was altered in the mission.
Children were no longer forced to leave their families in these missions. They had to find
their own livelihood. This was an effort undertaken by the government to inculcate
Westernized practices.
Protection period
There were high mortality rates in the number of aboriginal people. This led to growing
concerns if the original inhabitants will decimate completely (McNally, 1974). Hence in

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1837 protection policies started to grow in the country. Polices were maneuvered in a
way that there were some civil liberties given to the people. There were a number of
subsequent legislations that was passed prior to this act. Church and the Government
played an important role in setting up of the protectionist area. In this laws consumption
of alcohol, Aboriginal employment and certain cultural activities were not allowed.
Aboriginal Children were made to mingle with the European society and made them
more westernized in the population. Welfare Ordinance 1953 was passed to ensure
protectionist policies. It reversed some of the previous categories mentioned in the
legislation (McNally, 1974). In this act Aboriginal people with special needs and
subsequent requirements were only considered in this act. Definition of ‘wards’ was
established in this legislation. It basically allowed the census to be conducted. Generally
in this time there were wide criticism for removing aboriginal children from their native
habitats. Hence from enactment of this law only destitute and neglected children were
given homes. This principle of wards and subsequent legislations were overturned in
1964 by Social Welfare Ordinance 1964 (Broome, 2010). Social welfare ordinance
basically cited that the people were not allowed to indulge in drinking alcohol, get into
fights, use firearms or cause disruptions to the society.
Assimilation period
Assimilation period was considered to be mainly at its peak 1910 to 1970 (Berndt &
Berndt 1988). This was considered to be the time of the stolen generation. In this it was
assumed that the original pagan culture followed by the Aborigines were not in lieu of
high standards of western society. Specific intention of the Assimilation policy was that
European way of life was of higher standards. They genuinely wanted to help the native

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reach and live this high standard of living. This law allowed the Aboriginal people to be
considered to be equal to their European descendants. One of the main actions enacted in
this Assimilation policy is the policy between these years where Aboriginal children were
made to grow in white Australian society. This process will destroy the original
Aboriginal culture.
It is said that the ultimate ideology behind the assimilation period was destruction of the
original aboriginal culture, making people more civilized and bringing in Christianity into
the region.
Actual events that took place in the society due to assimilation policies were that the
people were displaced from their homes. They were made to shift residences because of
the rich reserves in the area (Berndt & Berndt 1988).. The people were self-sufficient in
the areas. Due to policies enacted by the government they had to find new employment.
This had led to a people living in poverty and losing their culture in the process. Even in
the current modern times the assimilation policies of the government enacted is still seem
to impact the local communities.
Owing to these policies and subsequent changes, modern Australian Legislation is
towards empowering of the Aboriginal people to lead independent life of their choosing.
Government helps Aboriginal people with special needs for this purpose of living life that
they deem to be important. Displacing of the aboriginal people has become an obsolete
concept in modern Australia.
Conclusion
To conclude, Europeans invaded Australia and displaced the Aboriginal settlements. This
had lead to loss of livelihood and traditional cultural establishments in Australia. People

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were subdued during these times. The time period that was considered in this analysis is
between the times of 1952 to 1965. Specific focus was given to the Atomic testing that
had taken place in the society. It had caused ramifications to the Aboriginal people often
cited as the black dust. Protectionism policy was enacted in order to ensure that there was
not loss in lives of the Aboriginal people. Fundamental intention behind this ideology
was to ensure that the people were protected during these times. Missions were set up to
provide people with alternative dwellings. Assimilation period primary ideology was to
enhance the living conditions of the Aboriginal people.

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Reference:
Broome, R.,2010. Aboriginal Australians. A History Since 1788.
Berndt, R.M. and Berndt, C.H., 1988. The world of the first Australians: Aboriginal
traditional life: Past and present. Aboriginal Studies Press.
McNally, W., 1974. The Angry Australians. Scope Publishing.