Grade 11 CAPS History – Stolen Generation
Colonisation in Australia only began in 1788 when the first fleet from
Britain arrived in botany bay. For almost 80 years, Australia was used as a
place where male and female convicts were sent to carry out their
sentences. Many stayed and were given land to farm. In this, Australia
became a penal colony. Majority of the settlers regarded the Australian
aborigines as inferior and treated them as such. The aborigines were
indigenous inhabitants of Australia. After much conflict, resistance and
settler attacks, the population of the aboriginal Australians significantly
decreased. During the 20th century, theories of eugenics was used to
sustain white settler domination. Eugenics is the science of the
improvement of the human race by breeding strategically and, through
this, controlling inherited human traits. These racial theories led to the
Stolen Generation.
One of the ways that eugenics affected the aboriginals was through
various policies passed by the government. An example of such a policy
would be the Immigration Act. White Australians were concerned about
their small growing population compared to other rapidly expanding
populations in Asia. Invasion was a fear and therefore, they enforced this
policy to force people wanting to move to Australia to a European Diction
Test. This made the oppression, helplessness and racial discrimination
very real for the aboriginal people.
Some Europeans began reproducing with the aboriginals. Their offspring
became known as half-castes. In 1905, AO Neville became the Chief
protector of aboriginals and oversaw a policy of assimilation. Through this
policy, half-castes were forcefully removed from their parents and placed
in white homes between 1910 and 1970. The idea was that ‘the blackness
could be bred out of them’ by raising them as white to elevate them to the
expected standard and force them to marry a white partner. This mixing of
different racial groups was called miscegenation. This resulted in the half-
castes experiencing extreme segregation.
Assimilation into white culture was also done by making use of mission
stations. For example, through schooling and legal guardianship of the
children. The hope was to use mission stations to convert aboriginals to
Christianity and prepare them for menial jobs. Their languages, cultural
practices and traditions were prohibited. This stripped aboriginal people of
who they were and as a following consequence, messed with their sense
of belonging.
Many of the victims of the stolen generation were unhappy with their
circumstances and never settled into their new families as they were often
abused and neglected. For example, boys were flogged for wetting their
bed and children were made to believe that their mothers did not want
*Please note that this is CONTENT and, in the exam, to achieve a distinction, link every paragraph
with the topic to ensure your essay answers the question in the most logical way. A proper
introduction and conclusion will also contribute to a distinction. Content alone will only earn you a
max of about 70-75%.
Colonisation in Australia only began in 1788 when the first fleet from
Britain arrived in botany bay. For almost 80 years, Australia was used as a
place where male and female convicts were sent to carry out their
sentences. Many stayed and were given land to farm. In this, Australia
became a penal colony. Majority of the settlers regarded the Australian
aborigines as inferior and treated them as such. The aborigines were
indigenous inhabitants of Australia. After much conflict, resistance and
settler attacks, the population of the aboriginal Australians significantly
decreased. During the 20th century, theories of eugenics was used to
sustain white settler domination. Eugenics is the science of the
improvement of the human race by breeding strategically and, through
this, controlling inherited human traits. These racial theories led to the
Stolen Generation.
One of the ways that eugenics affected the aboriginals was through
various policies passed by the government. An example of such a policy
would be the Immigration Act. White Australians were concerned about
their small growing population compared to other rapidly expanding
populations in Asia. Invasion was a fear and therefore, they enforced this
policy to force people wanting to move to Australia to a European Diction
Test. This made the oppression, helplessness and racial discrimination
very real for the aboriginal people.
Some Europeans began reproducing with the aboriginals. Their offspring
became known as half-castes. In 1905, AO Neville became the Chief
protector of aboriginals and oversaw a policy of assimilation. Through this
policy, half-castes were forcefully removed from their parents and placed
in white homes between 1910 and 1970. The idea was that ‘the blackness
could be bred out of them’ by raising them as white to elevate them to the
expected standard and force them to marry a white partner. This mixing of
different racial groups was called miscegenation. This resulted in the half-
castes experiencing extreme segregation.
Assimilation into white culture was also done by making use of mission
stations. For example, through schooling and legal guardianship of the
children. The hope was to use mission stations to convert aboriginals to
Christianity and prepare them for menial jobs. Their languages, cultural
practices and traditions were prohibited. This stripped aboriginal people of
who they were and as a following consequence, messed with their sense
of belonging.
Many of the victims of the stolen generation were unhappy with their
circumstances and never settled into their new families as they were often
abused and neglected. For example, boys were flogged for wetting their
bed and children were made to believe that their mothers did not want
*Please note that this is CONTENT and, in the exam, to achieve a distinction, link every paragraph
with the topic to ensure your essay answers the question in the most logical way. A proper
introduction and conclusion will also contribute to a distinction. Content alone will only earn you a
max of about 70-75%.
