Craig Minns, "The Water Diviner". A great movie worth a look indeed

Runner what is your point? Why don't you fill us with the religious clap trap point of view on Aboriginal people. After all it might have been Great Granddad Runner who brought "Christianity" to the savages. The hypocritical Christians done as much as anyone to destroy the way of life of indigenous people the world over, with their religious rubbish, and they are still doing it today.

Paul,

"....It is interesting how the 'Usual Suspects' on the forum try and evoke their worm and fuzzy feelings when it comes to Australia Day, whilst at the same time totally ignoring the plight of Aboriginal people, ...."

It is interesting that others ignore the fact that no Aboriginals today want to go back to the days of 1788 and it's interesting that the Mainlanders are so forgiving of the Torres Strait people who used to hunt and eat them.
They also don't want to go back to the days of selective cannibalism and endemic wife beating among their own mobs..

Hi there PAUL1405...

It is us the Europeans who've done the greatest disservice to our indigenous people ? By continually throwing money at them and their needs, time after time after time ? It's not a case of giving them more money, rather we should provided them with worthwhile jobs, with adequate on-the-job training, housing, ('BUT' built by their own hand) and arable land in which to pursue their own style of living ? Raising sheep, cattle, and crops if they wish.

All these activities should be contingent on ensuring all reserves remaining completely 'dry', and 'drug' free, and kept that way, with the heaviest penalties for those who attempt to break these conditions. For some reason our indigenous people cannot handle alcohol, nor any narcotic or stimulating (illicit) drugs ?

Furthermore, they'd probably have no reason to pursue alcohol and drugs, if they had worthwhile activities in which to occupy their time, without any need for either ? Merely handing out more money, by successive governments, achieves little. Other then for them to continue to lose self-respect and dignity. More proactive programmes are needed, and with it will garner sufficient enthusiasm for meeting the greater challenge ?

Dear Craig,

Thanks for suggesting - "The Water Diviner," its on my list
to see next. I love Russell Crowe. And the story line
sounds wonderful.

Now back to the topic...

The following is an Editorial from The Australian,
January 26, 2009:

"Just as critics argue that Australia Day celebrates a
state and society that has done Aborigines many wrongs,
others argue there is nothing uniquely Australian to
celebrate on this or another day. Certainly, there is
no checklist of chants and speeches that are part of
all our Australia Day celebrations. There are no rituals
that everybody undertakes."

"People will celebrate the day in parks all over the
country, eating as many dishes as there are countries from
which we come. Some will watch cricket, others will wonder
why people care about the game. Most will surf in their
Speedos... Very few of them first and 5th generations alike,
will be able to articulate anything about why we should
celebrate Australia, other than it is home..."

"And that is the point. Australia is a nation united by
the idea that all are welcome who want to call the country
home. Inevitably, this assumption is abused by people
intent on imposing their version of how the country should
be, some whose families have been here for many generations
and others but one..."

"But Australia has welcomed nearly seven million migrants
since 1945, demonstrating that the vast majority of us
have an expansive idea of who can be included among "all"
Australians ."

Yay! for Australia Day!
Yay! for A Fair Go For All and Mateship!

Foxy,
That's what Australia day means to me, a celebration of multiculturalism which only gained widespread acceptance under the Howard administration.
Whatever else it represents, to me it's a display of insincere patriotism for a society which doesn't exist and since I'm a Nationalist and not a patriot I want nothing to do with Australia day.

Paul 1405,
You can repeat whatever magical interpretations of history you choose but the fact remains that the people inhabiting Sydney cove on January 25 1788 were walking about naked with rotting fish guts smeared in their hair to keep the flies out of their trachoma ruined eyes and with snot pouring down their faces.
European people are the source of all innovation in human history, where they've found valuable ideas,technology and artifacts from other cultures they've been appropriated and improved to allow us to dominate their creators.
Tell me, what have we taken and adapted from the "amazing","rich" and "deep" low stone age world of pre 1788 Australia?
The Aborigines almost immediately abandoned their old way of life when they saw the benefits of leeching off Whites, sheep are easier to spear than wallabies, a fowling piece brings down birds quicker than a throwing stick, damper is easier to prepare than wattle seed and a Royal Marines surgeon could give them more effective medical care than a witch doctor.
The problem with Lefties is they see Aboriginals as inferior to Whites, they don't credit those people who came into contact with the settlers as having the brains to see that what the English had was better than the stuff they had, White Nationalists on the other hand merely see the two races as unequal because nature doesn't do equality.

Is Mise,
"It is interesting that others ignore the fact that no Aboriginals today want to go back to the days of 1788"
If you'd asked the Aboriginals a century ago, I suspect the answer would have been very different - after all, many had lost their land and many more had been murdered, and the survivors tended to be denied most of the benefits the white population had.

It's not political correctness to say that Australia's historical treatment of its Aboriginal population was absolutely terrible. It's merely a statement of fact.

"and it's interesting that the Mainlanders are so forgiving of the Torres Strait people who used to hunt and eat them."
I suspect it has more to do with skepticism about very dubious claims than it does about forgiveness. But even if those claims are true, what their ancestors did to each other centuries ago has no bearing on the status of the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people now.