The document summarizes the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families in Australia between 1909 and 1969, known as the Stolen Generations. It provides background information on why the children were taken, where they were sent (institutions and white foster families), and the long-lasting impacts on their lives and culture. Images from the time show the poor conditions children were subjected to. The film Rabbit Proof Fence tells the true story of three girls who walked 1500 miles to return to their families after being placed in a settlement. In 2008, the Prime Minister offered a formal apology to the Stolen Generations for the profound suffering and loss they experienced.

1. Warning
Please be aware that this
resource may contain
references to and images of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people who may
have passed away.

2. If someone you didn’t know
came to your house and
took you, or one of your
brothers or sisters away......
Imagine ....

3. How would you feel if this
happened to your family?
None of you had done
anything wrong, you didn’t
know why this was
happening...
Imagine...

4.  From 1909 to 1969 Governments, churches and
welfare bodies were able to take Aboriginal
children away from their families without
consent. This practice continued into the 1970s.
 These children were then brought up in
institutions or fostered out to white families.
 These children are known as...
THE STOLEN GENERATION

5. ‘The Bungalow’ N.T. 1928
One of many places children from the Stolen Generation
were forced to live, in very poor conditions.

6. ‘The Bungalow', an institution
operated by the Australian
Government utilising the
corrugated iron sheds seen behind
the group, where approximately 50
Indigenous children and ten adults
were forced to live. The people
seen in the image slept on the floor
of the sheds or out in the open.
They were allocated one blanket
each per year.
Most of the 45-50 children at the Bungalow in
1928, ranging in age from infancy to 16 years,
had been forcibly removed from their families.

7. FACTS
 Aboriginal children were taken from
their families all over Australia.
 The first 'native institution' at
Parramatta, N.S.W. in 1814 was set up
to 'civilise' Aboriginal children.
 The lack of understanding and respect
for Aboriginal people also meant that
many people who supported the child
removals believed that they were
doing the ‘right thing’.

8. FACTS cont.
 In the early 20th century white Australians
thought Aboriginal people would die out. In
three generations, they thought, Aboriginal
genes would have been 'bred out' when
Aboriginal people had children with white
people.
 It is not known precisely how many Aboriginal
children were taken away between 1909 and
1969, when the Aborigines Welfare Board
(formerly the Aborigines Protection Board) was
abolished. Poor record keeping, the loss of
records and changes to departmental structures
have made it almost impossible to trace many
connections.

9. Reasons why Aboriginal girls were taken away (in %).
This statistic considers why Aboriginal girls were
removed from their families. "Other" reasons include
"being female on an Aboriginal reserve" and simply
because of being "Aboriginal“.

10. Rabbit Proof Fence
Rabbit-Proof Fence is a 2002 Australian drama
film based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof
Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It is based
on a true story concerning the author's mother, as
well as two other mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who
ran away from the Moore River Native
Settlement, north of Perth, to return to their
Aboriginal families, after having been placed
there in 1931. The film follows the girls as they
trek/walk for nine weeks along 1,500 miles
(2,400 km) of the Australian rabbit-proof fence to
return to their community at Jigalong, while being
tracked by a white authority figure and an

11. Watch images from the movie ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ tell the
story of 3 young children taken away from their family and
how they tried to get home.

12. •They are more likely to come to the attention of
the police as they grow into adolescence
•They are more likely to suffer low self-esteem,
depression and mental illness
•They are more vulnerable to physical,
emotional and sexual abuse
•They had been almost always taught to reject
their Aboriginality and Aboriginal culture
•They are unable to retain links with their land
•They cannot take a role in the cultural and
spiritual life of their former communities
•They are unlikely to be able to establish their
right to native title.
The effects of removal on The Stolen
Generation today

13. The National Sorry Day is held on the 26th
May each year since 1988, in
commemoration of the Bringing Them Home
report being handed to the federal
government on 26 May 1997.
Sorry Day 2007. Someone had planted an Aboriginal flag on the
ground expressing his sorrow for what had happened to Indigenous
people

14. On the 13th February, 2008 The Prime
Minister, Kevin Rudd offered a broad
apology to all Aborigines and the
Stolen Generations for their "profound
grief, suffering and loss“.
The Australian Government says SORRY

15. Reflections
 Think about how you might feel if you had been
one of the Stolen Generation children. In groups,
write down how you think families would have
been affected, at the time of separation, as they
were growing up and once they were adults.
 Imagine you knew what you know now but could
go back in time. Write a letter to the authorities
and give them some reasons why they should
stop separating Aboriginal children from their
families. You can look on the internet or at the
library for more information on the Stolen
Generation to help you. Include your references
at the end of your letter.

16. References
 http://www.racismnoway.com.au/classroom/fac
tsheets/52.html
 http://learningplace.eq.edu.au/cx/resources
 http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/
politics/stolen-generations.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-
Proof_Fence_%28film%29
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Sorry_Day
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF5y5nP8Pps