THE ABORIGINES – STOLEN GENERATION

School tasks

Checkpoints page 317.

1.   The Aborigines came from the Asian mainland and the islands north of the Australian continent.

2.   The reason why the Aboriginal population was halved quite soon after the European settlers arrived, was because the settlers brought unknown diseases with them, such as smallpox.

3.   It is estimated that more than 100,000 children were taken away from their parents during these years and not one single Aboriginal family was spared.

Research and discover page 317.

1.   The Maoris are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. The Māori originated with settlers from eastern Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages at some time between 1250 and 1300 CE.

2.   Maoris are believed to have arrived in New Zealand in 1300 AD from Polynesia while aboriginals are much more ancient, dating back to more than 60000 years and coming from Indian subcontinent.

Maori influence on composite culture of NZ is evident to even outsiders while aborigines have remained aloof and maintained their cultural identity. One can see a Maori dance being performed before rugby games in NZ and a Maori monarch in NZ, which is a proof of the acceptance of the indigenous people with the rest of the population. This is perhaps because there was no monolithic aboriginal culture in Australia.

3.   The Maoris weren’t invaded in the way that the Aborigines were. The whole conflict were significantly more peaceful and non-violent. It also occurred in a more present day, when the British didn’t have the same opportunities as they had when they invaded Australia.