Complaints

Track the History Timeline: The Stolen Generations

Education
Face the facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Track the History Timeline: The Stolen Generations
 

The 'Track the History Timeline' documents the history of the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, a history known as 'The Stolen Generations'. It details the history of the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, recognises the individuals and groups that supported the Indigenous rights movement and acknowledges the achievements of Indigenous peoples throughout this history. Information is primarily taken from the findings of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

*This timeline is a support to 'The Stolen Generations' teachers resource for the years 9 and 10 National Curriculum History.

 

 

45 000 years ago
 

Rock engravings in South Australia suggest evidence of land inhabitancy.

 

1770
 

James Cook claims possession of the whole east coast of Australia. Cook raises the British flag at Possession Island, off Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. 

 

1788

 

The First Fleet lands in Port Jackson – British settlement in Australia begins. Clashes between Aboriginal people and the settlers are reported over the next 10 years in the Parramatta and Hawkesbury areas.

 

1830
 

Tasmanian Aboriginal people are resettled on Flinders Island without success. Later, the community is moved to Cape Barren Island.

 

1837

 

British Select Committee examines the treatment of Indigenous people in all British colonies and recommends that 'Protectors of Aborigines' be appointed in Australia.

1869
 

The Aborigines Protection Act (Vic) establishes an Aborigines Protection Board in Victoria to manage the interests of Aborigines. The Governor can order the removal of any child from their family to a reformatory or industrial school.

 

1897
 

The Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act (Qld) allows the Chief Protector to remove local Aboriginal people onto and between reserves and hold children in dormitories. Until 1965 the Director of Native Welfare is the legal guardian of all 'aboriginal' children whether their parents are living or not.

 

1901
 

Australia becomes a Federation. The Constitution states that Aboriginal People will not be counted in the census, and that the Commonwealth has the power to make laws relating to any race of people In Australia with the exception of Aborigines. The federated states therefore retain exclusive power over Aboriginal affairs until the Constitution is amended in 1967.

 

1905
 

The Aborigines Act (WA) is passed. Under this law, the Chief Protector is made the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and 'half-caste' child under 16 years old. In the following years, other states and territories enact similar laws.

 

1909
 

 The Aborigines Protection Act (NSW) gives the Aborigines Protection Board power to assume full control and custody of the child of any Aborigine if a court found the child to be neglected under the Neglected Children and Juvenile Offenders Act 1905 (NSW).
 

1911

The Aborigines Act (SA) makes the Chief Protector the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and `half-caste' child with additional wide-ranging powers to remove Indigenous people to and from reserves.
The Northern Territory Aboriginals Ordinance (Cth) gives the Chief Protector to assume `the care, custody or control of any Aboriginal or half caste if in his opinion it is necessary or desirable in the interests of the Aboriginal or half caste for him to do so'. The Aborigines Ordinance 1918 (Cth) extends the Chief Protector’s control even further.
 

1915
 

 The Aborigines Protection Amending Act (NSW) gives power to the Aboriginal Protection Board to separate Indigenous children from their families without having to establish in court that they were neglected.
 

1935

The introduction of the Infants Welfare Act (Tas) is used to remove Indigenous children on Cape Barren Island from their families. From 1928 until 1980 the head teacher on Cape Barren is appointed as a special constable with the powers and responsibilities of a police constable, including the power to remove a child for neglect under child welfare legislation.
 

1937

 

The first Commonwealth/State conference on 'native welfare' adopts assimilation as the national policy:
                    

 "The destiny of the natives of aboriginal origin, but not of the full blood, lies in ultimate absorption … with a view to their taking their place in the white community on an equal footing with the whites."
 

In 1951, at the third Commonwealth/State Conference on 'native welfare', assimilation is affirmed as the aim of 'native welfare' measures.

 

1938
 

Australian Aborigines Conference held in Sydney. Meeting on January 26, the 150th Anniversary of NSW, Aborigines mark the 'Day of Mourning'.

 

1940
 

The NSW Aborigines Protection Board loses its power to remove Indigenous children. The Board is renamed the Aborigines Welfare Board and is finally abolished in 1969.

 

1948
 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is adopted by the newly-formed United Nations, and supported by Australia.

1949
 

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide is ratified by Australia. It comes into force in 1951.

 

1967
 

A national referendum is held to amend the Constitution. Australians confer power on the Commonwealth to make laws for Aboriginal people. Aborigines are included in the census for the first time.

 

1969
 

By 1969, all states had repealed the legislation allowing for the removal of Aboriginal children under the policy of ‘protection’. In the following years, Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agencies (“AICCAs”) are set up to contest removal applications and provide alternatives to the removal of Indigenous children from their families.

 

1971
 

Neville Bonner is sworn in as Australia’s first Aboriginal Senator.

 

1972
 

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is pitched outside Parliament House in Canberra to demonstrate for Land Rights.
 

1975
 

The Commonwealth Government passes the Racial Discrimination Act 1975
 

1976
 

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act is passed by Commonwealth Parliament in 1976. It provides for recognition of Aboriginal land ownership, granting land rights to 11, 000 Aboriginal people and enabling other Aboriginal people to lodge a claim for recognition of traditional ownership of their lands.

 

1980
 

Link-Up (NSW) Aboriginal Corporation is established. It is followed by Link-Up (Brisbane) in 1984, Link-Up (Darwin) in 1989, Link-Up (Tas) in 1991, Link-Up (Vic) in 1992, Link-Up (SA) in 1999, Link-Up (Alice Springs) in 2000, and Link-Up (WA – seven sites) in 2001. Link-Up provides family tracing, reunion and support for forcibly removed children and their families.

 

1983
 

The Aboriginal Child Placement Principle, developed principally due to the efforts of Aboriginal and Islander Child Care Agencies (“AICCAs”) during the 1970s, is incorporated in NT welfare legislation to ensure that Indigenous children are placed with Indigenous families when adoption or fostering is necessary. This is followed in NSW (1987), Victoria (1989), South Australia (1993), Queensland and the ACT (1999), Tasmania (2000) and Western Australia (2006).

 

1987
 

Northern Territory elections are held and for the first time voting is compulsory for Aboriginal people.
 

1988
 

The Bicentennial of British Settlement in Australia takes place. Thousands of Indigenous people and supporters march through the streets of Sydney to celebrate cultural and physical survival.

 

1991

The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation is set up, funded by the Commonwealth Government. Parliament noted that there had not been a formal process of reconciliation to date, 'and that it was most desirable that there be such a reconciliation’ by 2001.

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody presents its report to the Commonwealth Government. It finds that of the 99 deaths it investigated, 43 were of people who were separated from their families as children.

 

1992
 

The High Court of Australia hands down its landmark decision in Mabo v Queensland. It decides that native title exists over particular kinds of lands – unalienated Crown Lands, national parks and reserves – and that Australia was never terra nullius or empty land.

 

1993
 

International Year of Indigenous People.
The Commonwealth Government passes the Native Title Act 1993. This law allows Indigenous people to make land claims under certain situations. Claims cannot be made on freehold land (privately-owned land).

The position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner is established within the Australian Human Rights Commission. The Commissioner's role is to monitor and report to Commonwealth Parliament on the human rights of Indigenous Australians.

 

1994
 

The Going Home Conference in Darwin brings together over 600 Aboriginal people removed as children to discuss common goals of access to archives, compensation, rights to land and social justice.
 

 

1996
 

The High Court hands down its decision in the Wik case. Wik concerned land, which is, or has been, subject to pastoral leases.

1997
 

The Commission presents Bringing them home, its report on the findings of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families to the Commonwealth Government.

The parliaments and governments of Victoria, Tasmania, ACT, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia all issue statements recognising and publicly apologising to the ‘Stolen Generations’.

 

1998
 

The Commonwealth Government amends the Native Title Act. This restricts the way in which native title can be claimed.

 

1999

 

Federal Parliament passes a motion of ‘deep and sincere regret over the removal of Aboriginal children from their parents’.
Mandatory sentencing in Western Australia and the Northern Territory becomes a national issue. Many call for these laws to be overturned because they have greater impact on Indigenous children than on non-Indigenous children.

  • Statement from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner on mandatory sentencing: http://archive.is/cDBpb 2000

The People's Walk for Reconciliation on 28 May occurs in state/territory capitals throughout Australia.
Australia appears before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Committee criticises the Commonwealth Government's inadequate response to recommendations from Bringing them home:
           

"While noting the efforts by the State party to address the tragedies resulting from the previous policy of removing indigenous children from their families, the Committee remains concerned about the continuing effects of this policy."
 

2001

The Northern Territory Government repeals its mandatory sentencing laws.
The Northern Territory Government presents a parliamentary motion of apology to people who were removed from their families.
 

2002
 

The Social Justice Report 2001 and Native Title Report 2001 are presented to Commonwealth Parliament. Both reports express serious concerns about the nation's progress in achieving the exercise of Indigenous rights.

National Library of Australia Oral History Project, Many Voices: Reflections on Experience of Indigenous Child Separation published.

The first member of the Stolen Generations is awarded compensation in the NSW Victims Compensation Tribunal for the sexual assault and injuries she suffered after authorities removed her from her family.

As part of the Victorian Government's response to the Bringing them home Report, Victoria establishes a Stolen Generations taskforce.
 

2003

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner publicly criticises the failure of governments to provide financial and social reparations for members of the Stolen Generation, a national apology, or the appropriate mechanisms for individuals that were forcibly removed to reconnect with their culture.

 

2004

The Commonwealth Government establishes a memorial to the Stolen Generations at Reconciliation Place in Canberra.
461 ‘Sorry Books’ recording the thoughts of Australians on the unfolding history of the Stolen Generations are inscribed on the Australian Memory of the World Register, part of UNESCO’s programme to protect and promote documentary material with significant historical value.

 

2005

The National Sorry Day Committee announces that in 2005, Sorry Day will be a ‘National Day of Healing for All Australians’ in an attempt to better engage the non-Indigenous Australian community with the plight of the Stolen Generations.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) is dismantled by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Amendment Act 2005 (Cth) and replaced by a Commonwealth Government appointed advisory board.

Volume two of the Western Australian Aboriginal Child Health Survey is released. The report says that 12.3% of the carers of Indigenous children aged 0–17 in Western Australia were forcibly removed from their families. Compared with other Indigenous children, the children of members of the ‘Stolen Generations’ are twice as likely to have emotional and behavioural problems, to be at high risk for hyperactivity, emotional and conduct disorders, and twice as likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.

 

2006

The first Stolen Generations compensation scheme in Australia is set up in Tasmania by the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal Children Act 2006 (Tas).

 

2007

The tenth anniversary of the Bringing them home report is recognised around Australia with a number of different events.

The first Stolen Generations compensation case is successful in the Supreme Court of South Australia. The Trevorrow judgment recognised the existence of the policy of removing Aboriginal children from their families and the detrimental long-term effects of that policy on both the removed children and on the wider Aboriginal community. It found that even though the State of South Australia had guardianship powers over Aboriginal children, those powers were formulated for the 'care and protection' of Aboriginal children, and did not extend to removal of children from their natural parents.

 

2008

The federal government publically apologises to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia for the forced removals of their children throughout history.
Response to Government to the National Apology to the Stolen Generations' by Tom Calma – 13 February 2008.

The Federal Parliament opens for the year with a Welcome to Country, for the first time ever.
 

2009

The Federal Government establishes the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples.

The Australian Government formally endorses the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The Declaration specifically recognises that even though everyone is equally entitled to human rights, Indigenous people have not always enjoyed those rights.

 

2010

The Expert Panel on Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is established. The Panel’s job is to hear from Australians about the best way to recognise indigenous people in our Constitution. 

 

2012

An Act of Recognition Bill is passed through parliament. The Bill demonstrates the Parliament’s commitment to acknowledging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique and special place in our nation’s history. 
 

2013

A 10-year National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan was released.  The plan outlines state and federal government priorities in order to close the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life expectancy gap by 2030.

The Australian Parliament passes the Aboriginal and Torre Strait Islander People’s Recognition Act 2013 with bi-partisan support, which recognises the need to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australia’s constitution.

The Victorian Government appointed Aboriginal man Andrew Jackomos as Victoria’s first Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People. The appointment of an Aboriginal children’s commission was a result of the Protecting Victoria’s Vulnerable Children’s Inquiry recommentations.

 

2014

Adnyamathanha man Adam Goodes, an AFL player and community leader, receives the Australian of the Year Award for his “leadership and advocacy in the fight against racism both on the sporting field and within society”
 

 

2015

Faith Bandler, a political activist and writer, dies at the age of 96. She was well known for her 10 year campaign leading up to the 1967 Referendum.

 

Note:

For the latest up-to-date information about the status of the recommendations of the report go the Social Justice section of the website at: