Shadow Minister's comments on civilisation are correct. Aboriginals never had the trappings of civilization; and that is not a put down. They were Stone Age people when British settlers arrived. This talk of nations and civilisation in a unnamed land is pure nonsense. The ancients were the first to be civilised, or to create civilisation. The totally unknown peoples of an unknown and undiscovered land remained in the Stone Age until civilized people came along, no matter how long they had been here. That is a simple fact.

'afternoon to you THOMAS O'REILLY...

Things have changed somewhat since I was a relieving sergeant, whereas it appears Bourke is now the most troublesome town in Western NSW, it was Wilcannia where I spent about five weeks relieving, and they certainly had a lot of drama thereat, with most store windows boarded up in the main street.

Your comments have far more insight and gravitas than mine, I can only describe what it was that I found when dealing with young blacks in the bush as a copper. Suicide was always very high when I worked out there, especially with young blokes, with many of them had come from dysfunctional families, with Dad in boob, mum nowhere to be found, with one of the Aunties looking after the younger kids. Again I cannot overemphasis the deleterious effect booze had on many of these families, and those with a bit of spare cash, drugs as well.

Both substances had the capacity to effectively, be the complete ruination of an entire family unit, whether it was alcohol, drugs or both ! That is unless someone intervened quickly enough, before they were all completely off their heads, and you'd need to lockup the entire family for various offences, and the following morning they'd probably have little or no memory of what they'd done ?

An absolute disgrace and a national shame on this country, and those maggots who unlawfully peddled these substances to these people, knowing the destructive effect it can have on them ! Give 'em ten years first offence for 'supply' a 'proscribed substance' (alcohol in a scheduled 'dry' area & drugs) to an 'indigenous individual'.

Hi ttbn,

Yes, often even in the Bible, the word is used to mean extended families. After all, it originally meant 'those related by birth': 'natus'.

Yes, depending how far down one wants to go, there could have been ten thousand or more extended families across Australia, and still might be. Amongst the Ngarrindjeri of the lower Murray and Lakes, there were around 140 such groups, across a large area and in good country, so each group controlled a relatively small area, from ten square miles, say, up to fifty or a hundred square miles.

But it was hardly static. Some groups faded out if they had few kids. Big groups invaded the country of small groups. Larger groups split and took over new territory. Groups moved in from the dry country east to force their way to the River. Groups amalgamated. Groups migrated around the general area if there was unused space. So, constant change.

So the use of the word 'group', [or worse, 'tribe'] can mean an entire language group, one of the dialect groups within it, or extended families within one of those dialect groups. But even at the highest level, there could have been four or five hundred separate language groups.

If anybody wants to call them 'nations', okay, go for it. Let's assume people are silly enough to go down this pointless path: anticipate bitter brawls between neighbouring groups over borders, and even over who 'belongs' to which group. And for what ? There's another twenty or thirty years pissed away fighting over an empty box, a new magic bullet that delivers nothing. I'll be long gone by then.

And I think, so will be any united Indigenous entity. After all, how does such manufactured differentiation promote unity of any sort ? And every year, the percentage of Indigenous people who are urban goes up one or two %, and is currently around 75 %. i.e. people born, bred and spending their lives and careers in towns and cities, as is their right. Whatever policies are devised must suit their needs too.

Cheers,

Joe

Civilisation. Aboriginals often fed starving British Christian gun men who stole the continent to teach convicts not to steal.

Bunya festival: " As the fruit ripened, locals, who were bound by custodial obligations and rights, sent out messengers to invite people from hundreds of kilometres to meet at specific sites. The meetings involved ceremonies, dispute settlements and fights, marriage arrangements and the trading of goods. The Aborigines’ fierce protection of the trees and recognition of the value of the timber, led to colonial authorities prohibiting settlers from cutting the trees in the 1842. The resource was too valuable, and the aboriginals were driven out of the forests along with the ability to run the festivals. The forests were felled for timber and cleared to make way for cultivation.( er..civilisation).

In what was probably Australia's largest indigenous event, diverse tribes – up to thousands of people – once travelled great distances (from as far as Charleville, Dubbo, Bundaberg and Grafton) to the gatherings. They stayed for months, to celebrate and feast on the bunya nut. The bunya gatherings were an armistice accompanied by much trade exchange, and discussions and negotiations over marriage and regional issues. "

Hmmm...Mabo brand washing powder - great for the coloureds...devastating on the whites !

Thankfully the noble British benefactors were able to save the miserable natives from La Perouse and the French tyrants. The helpless tribes nearly suffered this fate:
The government's contingency plans laid down that the King would go to Chelmsford if the French landed in Essex, or to Dartford if they landed in Kent, along with the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary. Lord Cornwallis would be in command of the reserve army. The Royal Arsenal artillery and stores and the Ordnance Board's powder magazines in Purfleet, would be put on the Grand Junction canal to the new ordnance depot at Weedon, Northamptonshire. Soldiers would be paid in gold instead of paper money. The Bank of England books would be sent to the Tower of London and its treasure would be entrusted to Sir Brook Watson, the Commissary General, who would transport it in thirty wagons (guarded by a relay of twelve Volunteer escorts) across the Midlands to join the King at Worcester Cathedral. The Stock Exchange would close and the Privy Council would take charge in London. The press would be forbidden from printing troop movements and official government communiqués would be distributed. If London fell to the French, the King and his ministers would retreat to the Midlands and "use the final mainstays of sovereignty – treasure and arms – to keep up the final struggle".
God saved the king.