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This report is a tribute to the strength and struggles of many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by forcible removal. We acknowledge the hardships they endured and the sacrifices they made. We remember and lament all the children who will never come home.

DVD activity sheet PDF or Word (note that DVD needs to be ordered separately from the Commission’s publications area, Ph: (02) 9284 9600, or online at: www.humanrights.gov.au/publications)

This report is a tribute to the strength and struggles of many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by forcible removal. We acknowledge the hardships they endured and the sacrifices they made. We remember and lament all the children who will never come home.

Note: This overview is based primarily on the Bringing them home report and provides a background to the policies and practices that authorised the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. It is not intended to be used as a comprehensive historical document.

‘This painting is the story of us children coming home’, Chris Mason, 2007 ‘Our totem is the goanna and is culturally significant with the black and white in the centre representing assimilation and how we have learnt to live within the framework of white society. The different shades of colour in the middle show no matter the colour of our skin we are one and do belong. The border represents Link-up who made this story possible and helped bring us home. The red represents our Aboriginal bloodline that links us together.

Us Taken-Away Kids Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Bringing them home report Back to contents Download PDF Media Media Release Photos from the launch Speeches Essentials of Social Justice: Sorry . Speech by Tom Calma. Audio file 28 mins (Mp3, 26 MB ) Launch of "Us Taken Away Kids" . Speech by the Hon. Jenny Macklin (PDF) Audio file 9 mins (Mp3, 9 MB) Reading from Alone on the Soaks by ...

Note: This overview is based primarily on the Bringing them home report and provides a background to the policies and practices that authorised the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. It is not intended to be used as a comprehensive historical document.

Us Taken-Away Kids Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Bringing them home report Back to contents Back to media Download PDF Photos from the launch Click on photos for larger image. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Tom Calma and Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, The Hon. Jenny Macklin MP The Hon. Jenny Macklin ...

The contributors to this publication come from every part of Australia. They are sons and daughters, mothers and grandmothers, fathers and grandfathers. They are orphans, scholars, single parents, teachers, prisoners, healers, jillaroos and football stars. Many continue to suffer the effects of removal, manifesting in drug abuse, incarceration and mental illness. Thank you for sharing your stories with us, and shedding more light on what was up until recently, a taboo topic in Australia’s history. Each of you took a great risk.

‘Finding my Family’, Rooth Wilay Robertson My painting depicts each family member, with all the different skin colours, as puzzle pieces finally all joined up to complete our story.

The Australian Human Rights Commission would like to thank all the people who generously contributed their stories, artwork, poetry and time to make this publication possible; Jo Ritale and Angelo at the State Library of Queensland and the communities of Cherbourg, Mapoon Mission,  Monamona and Mornington Island for giving us permission to reproduce photographs from the State Library of Queensland’s exhibition, ‘Broken Links’, 2007; Murray Wilcox and Joanna Richardson for providing valuable insights into the cases in which they were involved; Siobhan

This timeline focuses on one particular aspect of the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - the forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families. This material identifies some significant laws and practices that made removal lawful and includes writing and artwork from members of the Stolen Generations and their families which illustrate their experiences of these policies. This section uses as its primary resource Bringing them home, the report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.

After the Native Welfare Act 1954 Aboriginal children were removed under the Child Welfare Act 1947 and subsequent child welfare legislation. However the Commissioner for Native Affairs remained the legal guardian of all ‘native’ children, except those made wards under the Child Welfare Act, until 1963.