History

A search for ancestors leads to the most infamous leader of Aboriginal Massacres

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PS: The McMillan electorate was renamed in 2016

Angus McMillan, a Scottish Highlander was credited with founding Gippsland in Victoria by leading hunting parties to track down and massacre groups of First Nations people. He became a hero in Vic and NSW, and is still seen as a heroic explorer. Here is a sample of plaques, monuments and statues made in his honour.

First Royal Commission on atrocities against Aboriginal prisoners - WA 1905

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Frontier history North West Australia 2005

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Notice the tin mug placed in strategic places on the tin wall behind the prisoners - if one wanted a drink or go to the toilet the whole gang would have to go with them. In some cases, people were chained next to a member of a tribal group that is culturally inappropriate to even to speak to, never-loan the different customs and language barriers. It's no wonder they had difficulty fitting into their own family group when they were 'lucky' enough to return to their home.

Canada: Ditching the Papal Bull(shit) and sovereignty

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On May 1, 2016, First nations people from Canada organised a Long March to Rome and met with Pope Francis and requested him to rescind the Papal “Bulls of Discovery”. he Papal Bulls of Discovery are an important piece of a larger idea in international law, called the Discovery Doctrine, which holds that when European nations “discovered” non-European lands, they gained special rights over that land, such as sovereignty and title, regardless of what other peoples live on that land.

Aboriginal Smoke Signalling and Signalling Hills in Resistance Warfare

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Aboriginal Signalling

Signalling hills and lookouts were of immense importance for Aboriginal groups. They were often pivotal landmarks in the Songlines landscape, major means of communication and education, and tools for co-ordinated hunting or fishing. Their importance is reflected in some Aboriginal place names, for instance Nildottie in South Australia, which actually meant "smoke signal hill."

Aboriginal signalling lookouts are of interest for the role they seem to have played in co-ordinating resistance activities.

First Nations men executed in colonial conflict honoured in major memorial in Melbourne

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Ballarat indigenous artist Aunty Marlene's depiction of the 1842 hanging. Photo: City of Melbourne
Ballarat indigenous artist Aunty Marlene's depiction of the 1842 hanging. Photo: City of Melbourne

Clare Rawlinson ABC 27 November 2015

A swing set reminiscent of the gallows where two Indigenous men were hanged in 1842 will be erected as a memorial to colonial conflict in Melbourne.

Noongar's letters pleading for return of stolen children or request for old age pension after a lifetime's work

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Historical Letters

Letters by Noongar people pleading for the return of their stolen children or requesting access to the old age pension after a lifetime's work will come together in a new project aimed at uncovering a hidden side of Indigenous history.

Curtin University researchers are set to collate letters from state archives and correspondence held by families across Western Australia, dating from the 1860s to the 1960s.

Documentary film explores significance of Aboriginal entrepreneurship in Victoria during colonial times

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Aborigional entrepreneurial opportunity

Two film makers are exploring the vital role Aboriginal transport played in the Victorian economy. Seeing the Land from an Aboriginal Canoe is a documentary film which explores the significant contribution of the stringybark canoe. The filmmakers were inspired by historian, Dr David 'Fred' Cahir, who specialises in forgotten Indigenous history. They were particularly drawn to his research into the stringybark canoe and its role in Victoria's waterways. In the film, Dr Cahir said most Aboriginal history was about violence and massacres, and not the Aboriginal contribution.

Scientists: Kimberley First Nations paintings could be the oldest in the world

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Ancient Kimberley images

Archaeologists and Aboriginal elders are hoping the most comprehensive study of rock art in the Kimberley region will confirm the images are among the oldest made by humans anywhere in the world. More than a dozen scientists took part in two field trips to study remote faces on Dambimangari and Balanggarra country. They used pioneering techniques to collect and analyse hundreds of samples to narrow down the timeframes in which the striking images of people, animals and shells were made. Professor Peter Veth, from the University of Western Australia, said they were expecting to have the first results through by the end of the year.