Treasure Island

Artwork: Daniel Boyd, Kudjla/Gangalu peoples, Far North Queensland born 1982, Treasure Island 2005

We were shown this map at the beginning of this course in order to see just how many different Indigenous communities there are spread across Australia. I've heard that there were some negative connotations towards the simplicity and accuracy of this piece but I feel it's fulfilled a simpler purpose.

I always believed that the 'Aboriginals' in Australia were just one big community, and by looking at this art piece for a split second I could see that all my prior thoughts were incorrect. Though perhaps it may not be highly accurate or lessen the importance of each particular tribe, it still sends that message out that it ISN'T just one big community. It's a start. It gets people to look into it further - and those that are interested in finding out will do so, and will see how complex the situation is. BUT those who are not will still have learnt that there are differences in communities, that there ARE different communities at all. This is why I personally feel this work has already done something to benefit everyone, no matter what flaws it may have.

The Black Line

One of our guest lecturers mentioned the 'Black Line' in his talk to us and it's been on my mind ever since. The information he gave us was that white people formed a line and walked across Tasmania killing ever Aboriginal person along the way. I felt compelled to research this further in order to understand why, when, whom and what the outcome of all this was...

During the 1820s white settlers poured into what was then known as Van Diemen's Land, bringing vast numbers of sheep and rapidly taking up the land. Aboriginal resistance hardened. The colony fell into a a state of panic as attacks and murders became more and more frequent.

Vigilante gangs of soliders and settlers avenged Aboriginal attacks by killng men, women and children. In 1830 A military operation known as the 'Black Line' was launched against the Aboriginal people remaining in the settled districts. Every able-bodied male colonist convict or free, was to form a human chain across the settled districts, moving for three weeks south and east in a pincer movement, until the people were cornered on the Tasman Peninsula.

The Black line captured only an old man and a boy, but succeeded in clearing the remaining Aboriginal people out of the area.

Though the outcome of the Black Line fulfilled its purpose of clearing the Aboriginal people of the area, I was so relieved to hear that it wasn't a mass massacre where hundreds of people died, which is how it had sounded in the lecture. The idea, however, is still appalling and really rather disgusting. These people were herding the Aboriginal people as if they were animals, which back then they surely thought they were. Looking at circumstance like this, there really is no question who the animals were and who was in the wrong.





http://www.indigenousaustralia.info/land/invasion/tasmanian-land-war.html

Discussions: The Need to Know.

A group of my friends and I were talking about Indigenous story telling and how often we aren't given the information or the meaning behind a lot of the stories we see as created art pieces. It led onto a rather sad discussion about how we all truly want to know what these stories mean, but either because of our gender, the colour of our skin or whatever other reason, the information is often withheld from us. The question that was raised at the end was this idea about 'Equality'. We have been asked to look into Indigenous culture in order to appreciate where we are, the countries history and the people that lived here on the land before we came. The problem is, is that though we often try to find answers or ask questions, quite often due to whatever reason, the information is withheld from us.

We couldn't quite figure out how we can all expect equality and such when neither party is willing to share what has happened, or what something means to us. In order to move forward from the past, must we not accept what has happened, however wrong it may be and try and find a way through it together?

A couple of years ago I was aware of the government offering an official apology to the lost generation, and I'm not saying that it means it's forgiven and forgotten, but what more can the people of our generation really do? We are trying to understand and learn from past mistakes and of course apologise, yet still we don't seem to be forward. There is still so much hostility between the two that there doesn't seem to be an end in sight for all the tension.