This thesis examines Aboriginal pastoral workers' life stories in the context of the two mass movements in Kimberley history: the move toward pastoral stations in the 'early days' of this century and away from them in the 1960s and 1970s. In the northern ranges region of the Kimberley pastoral settlement began in 1903, with a second phase of intense settlement from 1920. The recency of settlement in this region meant that in the late 1980s people were alive who had experienced both 'first contact' and the arrival of 'Welfare'. This study places Aboriginal life story narratives in a wider historical context, drawn from written archives and a range of oral testimonies about the origins and development of the pastoral system in the north and central Kimberley. The broader economic and political context which affected the process of incorporating northern ranges people into the Australian nation is examined through individual contacts and biographies to develop the patterns of alliances with 'Bosses' and the impact of Welfare on those relationships. In 1971, small reserves on the outskirts of Kimberley towns which catered for 20 to 40 people in the 1950s, held up to 300 residents who were previously living on pastoral stations. The overcrowded and unserviced fringe camps were thought to contain people displaced from station employment by the decision to enforce equal wages for Aborigines in the pastoral industry. It is one of the contentions of this thesis that the social and economic foundations of the old rationing system on most of the stations in the northern Kimberley were crumbling before the award wages decision and its application to the Kimberley in 1969. The 'eviction after award wages' theme underestimates Aboriginal agency in the migration process, fails to take account of their changing social and economic requirements and the pull of Welfare support, glorifies the period of 'settlement' on stations and reinforces the 'myth of the lazy native' which underpinned public debate and Arbitration Commission discussions in the 1960s about the inclusion of Aboriginal workers within the Pastoral Industry Award.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:50:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseAEBP.pdf: 5603637 bytes, checksum: 11029d506d483b34178b522c541a1bd8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-11-05 / Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the agrarian reform in the land settlements in the region of Pontal do Paranapanema and its economic and social impact. The field research was elaborated through the comparison of four towns where there are land settlements reforms and four towns with similar dimensions and characteristics, where there any kind of land settlement. The chosen towns with land settlements were: Mirante do Paranapanema, Euclides da Cunha Paulista, Teodoro Sampaio and Rosana. The towns without land settlements whose data were used for comparison are: Santo Anastácio, Álvares Machado, Pirapozinho and Regente Feijó, all belonging to Presidente Prudente government. As stated hypothesis, there are, firstly, that the formation of agrarian land settlements causes positive economic impact in the towns or regions where they are located, while the internal profits are used inside the domestic trade and consequently, the taxes collection in the borough is enlarged. Secondly, the economic changes inside these land settlements also generate social impact around it, with improvement in the municipal substructure, derived from the new demands over public services as well as from the power originated under the land settlers vindication. The results direct to the settles better life quality concerning to the housing features, access to water and electrical energy, machinery acquisition, agricultural implement and electronics as well the raise of some taxes and the increase on the number of all kinds of trade. However, the low production diversity associated to the low production for the self consumption tend to be a negative factor for the regional land settlers. It s necessary to form a strong social structure between the settlers that can aim its power as a formed group, its technical qualification, (Cocamp) Cooperative empowerment and efficient agri industry operation besides the landed regulation of Pontal do Paranapanema region. / Esta tese tem por objeto analisar os assentamentos de reforma agrária na região do Pontal do Paranapanema e seus impactos econômicos e sociais. A pesquisa de campo foi feita através da comparação de quatro municípios onde existem assentamentos de reforma agrária e quatro municípios, com dimensões e características semelhantes, onde não há assentamentos. As cidades escolhidas com assentamentos foram: Mirante do Paranapanema, Euclides da Cunha Paulista, Teodoro Sampaio e Rosana. As cidades sem assentamentos cujos dados foram usados para comparação são: Santo Anastácio, Álvares Machado, Pirapozinho e Regente Feijó, pertencentes à região de governo de Presidente Prudente. Como hipóteses tem-se, primeiramente, que a formação de assentamentos de reforma agrária ocasiona impactos econômicos positivos nas cidades e/ou regiões onde estão instalados, na medida que a renda obtida internamente é utilizada no comércio local e consequentemente, a arrecadação de impostos do município é ampliada. Em segundo lugar, as mudanças econômicas desses assentamentos também geram impactos sociais em seu entorno, com melhorias na infraestrutura municipal, derivadas tanto das novas demandas por serviços públicos bem como do poder de reivindicações dos assentados. Os resultados apontam para uma melhoria da qualidade de vida dos assentados no tocante as características das moradias, acesso à água e energia elétrica, aquisição de maquinários, implementos agrícolas e eletroeletrônicos bem como aumento na arrecadação de alguns impostos e elevação do número de estabelecimentos comerciais. Contudo, a baixa diversificação da produção associada a baixa produção para o autoconsumo tende a ser um fator negativo para os assentados da região. É necessário que haja formação de um tecido social entre os assentados visando seu fortalecimento enquanto grupo, qualificação técnica destes, fortalecimento da Cooperativa (Cocamp) e funcionamento das agroindústrias além da regularização fundiária na região do Pontal do Paranapanema.