-- from above --

* 2): To be honest, the invention of maths/formal reasoning and record keeping is in a feedback loop with the progression of civilization- one helps the the other develop. So because the across most of the land mass of Australia (except on the coastal fringe and down south) they were hunter/gathers who never took the fist initial steps of permanent settlement there never needed much in the way of maths or records. Mathematicians and scribes are the ones that are most necessary for the advancement of civilization and the aboriginals didn't have any.

Lets take a brief look at the ways our Indigenous
Australians are making an enormous contribution to
life in Australia.

Firstly, in the field of language. There are hundreds
of words from our Indigenous origins. Names for our
flora and fauna (kangaroo, koala, billabong). Place
names (Bondi, Canberra, Parramatta). We can then move onto
sport where names like Evonne Goolagong, Lionel Rose,
Adam Goodes, Cathy Freeman, Ash Barty stand out. And
in the field of music we have - Yothu Yindi, Jimmy Little,
Archie Roach, Christine Anu, to name just a few.

In the fields of Art, Literature, theatre - (Bangarra
Dance Theatre), many names
spring to mind as they do with the tourism industry -
where Uluru, Kakadu, Arnhem Land, The Pinnacle Desert,
Flinders Ranges, Blue Mountains, and the list goes on.

We have contributions made in the fields of politics
(Neville Bonner, Ken Wyatt, Linda Burney, Nova Peris,
Pat Dodson, et al) and in television and film (Stan Grant,
Deborah Mailman, Ernie Dingo, and many more).

Indigenous Australian culture still influences Australian
society today and will continue to do so well into the
future of this country.

cont'd ...

I left out many names due to the posting word limit - but
these should have been included :

David Gulpilil, Jessica Mauboy, Miranda Tapsell,
Shareena Clanton to name a few more.

Thanks again Foxy, and there have been tens of thousands of aboriginal people who have contributed to Australia since white settlement in ordinary ways without recognition.

Dear Paul,

What's even worse is that despite discrimination and
exclusion thousands of our Indigenous people have
served in the Australian Defence Forces since 1860s
and possibly earlier. More than 1000 in the first World War
and more than 4,000 in the 2nd.

There is an Aboriginal War Memorial plaque in Canberra set up
NOT by the Australian government but by private citizens.

It is not in the spotlight and is not easy to find.

You can find the Aboriginal War Memorial Plaque in the
vicinity of the Australian War Memorial. A ten minute
walk away.

The Australian War Memorial is now committed to producing a
list which will be displayed in the new galleries.

Nothing more needs to be said.

Foxy: Why should the government commission a separate plaque for the aboriginals? The war memorial is about the Australian Defense Forces and its members who served in battle- it is for all members who served. In shouldn't be in the business about highlighting one group of soldiers over another just because of their genetic inheritance. If you start going down this route then surely you would have to have plaques for those who a left-handed, then another for those with freckles, and one for those with index fingers longer than ring fingers, etc.
Our soldiers/sailors/air personnel are remembered for their own actions and sacrifice not because of the their genetics.