The struggle for recognition: part-Aborigines in Bass Strait in the nineteenth century

Abstract

The dispossession of the Aboriginal people in south eastern Australia was followed not by the disappearance of Aboriginal groups but by the development of separate part-Aboriginal communities, for the spirit of survival and adaptation in Aboriginal society is as strong as in any other. These communities have fought for recognition despite attempts to legislate them out of existence. They have either been isolated from 'white' society because they have been considered too Aboriginal, or they have been denied Aboriginal legal status because they have been considered too European. Above all they have been considered incapable of self-determination. This article explores the emergence and development of one part-Aboriginal community in south eastern Australia in the nineteenth century, the Cape Barren Islanders. It focuses upon their relations with the 'authorities' and 'outsiders' who made periodic attempts to change their identity and economy. The Islanders' resistance to these efforts is examined and their techniques for survival investigated.