Prior to the arrival of European explorers approximately five thousand people inhabited the island of Tasmania. These people were technologically primitive relative to the traditional peoples of mainland Australia. Aboriginal Tasmanians had not developed bone tools or sewing. They could not make their own fire. They did not make barbed spears or perhaps the most iconic of Aboriginal Australian weapons the boomerang.
Initially only small parties of European’s, which hunted the native seal populations, lived sometimes periodically and sometimes permanently in Tasmania. Whilst there were instances of conflict there were also instances of trading between the European’s and the traditional owners.
From the early 1800’s onward however Tasmania was colonised by British settlers the first of which landed in 1804 and went on to found Hobart. This lead to an increase in conflict between the British colonists and the traditional owners.
In 1828 the Tasmanian Governor decreed that all Aboriginal Tasmanian’s must leave the part of the island settled by the British. To enforce this order, the Governor authorised the creation of teams of convicts lead by policemen which had the authority to immediately kill any Tasmanian Aborigines they encountered in the settled areas.
Soon after a bounty of five pounds was set on dead Aboriginal Tasmanian’s heads or two pounds for their children caught alive. This lead to a new pursuit known as ‘catching blacks’. Predictably this resulted in the rapid decline of the Aboriginal Tasmanian population.
In a further escalation a commission was established to recommend an official policy on the issue. It considered such options as poisoning the Aboriginal Tasmanian’s, selling them into slavery, trapping them or hunting them with dogs. Eventually the commission elected to continue with the existing policy of extermination via roving mounted groups who were rewarded with a bounty.
By 1830 the numbers of Aboriginal Tasmanian’s had dwindled to a couple of hundred. These were eventually rounded up by George Augustus Robinson who was a Christian missionary. Robinson transferred the remaining Aboriginal Tasmanian’s to Flinders island where he attempted to ‘civilize’ them.
History is undecided about Robinson’s motives. Some suggest he was genuinely benevolent, some suggest otherwise. Regardless of Robinson’s intent the Aboriginal Tasmanian’s continued to die although by now it was mostly a result of malnourishment and exposure to the elements. The last Aboriginal Tasmanian, Truganini, died in 1876.
The Tasmanian Genocide is one of our nation’s great disasters. It was very nearly repeated on mainland Australia. In 2006 the Aboriginal Australian population was just 2.5% of Australia’s total population (1). I write this because January 26 was Australia Day. Most Australians celebrate this day as the founding of the country. Many of the traditional owners do not.
I can understand some of the rage of the traditional owners. I can never fully comprehend it however as it hasn’t been done to my ancestors. I can never fully appreciate their pain. I can only try to. Some refer to January 26 as invasion day. Others survival day. It’s also important to recognise that some non- Aboriginal Australians also choose not to celebrate Australia Day.
There have been calls from some people to change the date of Australia day to one which is less offensive to Aboriginal Australians. Such calls are typical of the myriad of meaningless gestures which permeate the debate around our nations obligations to the traditional owners. A mere change of date will not and cannot erase the loss of an entire people or the loss of their land.
A change of date will not return their land to them or make the taking of it from them any less painful. Whilst some Aboriginal Australians will march and chant “always was, always will be Aboriginal land’ the reality is that such statements are absurd. The 98% of the Australian population, who are not Aboriginal Australians, do not view Australia as Aboriginal land.
The uncomfortable reality is that the remaining Aboriginal Australians living in Australia represent a small minority of the Australian population. There are more Australians with Italian heritage. There are more Australians with German heritage. There are more Australians with Chinese heritage. These facts are hurtful to Aboriginal Australians, that does not make them any less accurate.
Whilst the date should remain what can and should change is how Australia day is commemorated. It should embrace the good and bad elements of the past. We should still award the Australian of the year. We should still celebrate our successes. Every celebration should also be balanced however by an apology. Whether that is an apology to Aboriginal Tasmanian’s for the wrongs we did them, the various stolen generations, the victims of our soldier’s poor conduct during war or the many others we have wronged.
By acknowledging those we have wronged in the past opportunities for recondition are created. It’s an approach which promotes inclusive celebrations as opposed to the jingoism which accompanies some of our existing celebrations. Being proud to be Australian doesn’t have to be only about Australia, it can also be about our place in the world.
In the same way that adolescents can sometimes struggle to accept their flaws our relatively young nation struggles to accept ours. Changing the focus of what we do on Australia Day can show the international community that we are no longer a ‘pimply teen’. We can truly evolve into an adult nation and deliver to all of our peoples an Australian solution. This solution will not be and cannot be perfect. It should simply strive to be a little more perfect every year.
(1) http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/946D4BC28DB92E1BCA25762A001CBF38?opendocument