Enshrined by cricket history, the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England has become popularly established as a uniquely benign public transaction in the history of contact between Aborigines, pastoralist settlers and British colonialism. Embraced by two Australian Prime Ministers and celebrated by a commemorative Aboriginal tour, film documentaries, museum displays, poetry, creative fiction, sporting histories, special edition prints and a national advertising campaign for the centenary of Australian federation, the zeal for commemoration has overwhelmed critical enquiry. Incorporating some critical interpretations of the tour which are current in Aboriginal discourse, this re-examination subjects the tour to approaches commonly applied to other aspects of Aboriginal history and relations between colonialism and indigenous peoples. Although it is misleadingly understood simply as a cricket tour, the primitivist displays of Aboriginal weaponry during the 1868 Aboriginal tour of Britain were more appealing to spectators than their cricketing displays. Viewed solely within the prism of sport or against policies leading to extermination, dispersal and segregation of Aborigines, there is little basis for comparative analysis of the tour. But when it is considered in the context of displays of race and commodified exhibitions of primitive peoples and cultures, particularly those taken from peripheries to the centre of empire, it is no longer unique or inexplicable either as a form of cultural display, a set of inter-racial relations, or a complex of indigenous problems and opportunities. This study re-examines the tour as a part of European racial ideology and established practices of bringing exotic races to Britain for sporting, scientific and popular forms of display. It considers the options and actions of the Aboriginal performers in the light of power relations between colonial settlers and dispossessed indigenous peoples. Their lives are examined as a specific form of indentured labour subjected to time discipline, racial expectations of white audiences and managerial control by enterpreneuurs seeking to profit from the novelty of Aborigines in Britain. Comparative studies of Maori and Native American performers taken to Britain in the mid¬Victorian era flesh out sparse documentation of the Aboriginal experience in an alien environment. Elements of James Scott's methodology of hidden and public transcripts are utilised to identify the sources of concealed tensions and discontents. A detailed study of the two best known 1868 tourists, Dick-a-Dick and Johnny Mullagh, considers two strategies by which Aborigines confronted by a situation of acute disadvantage used their developed performance skills and knowledge of European racial preconceptions in partially successful attempts to satisfy their emotional and material needs and further Aboriginal goals. Finally, the disjunctions between commemoration and critical history are resolved by suggesting that the 1868 tour and its performers deserve to be commemorated as pioneers in the practice of recontextualisng and popularising Aboriginal culture in the western metropolis.

As an Indigenous research study into the cultural quality of Indigenous education this thesis focuses on the proposition that mainstream education marginalises Indigenous learners because of its entrenchment in the Western worldview. The thesis opens with an analysis of the cultural dynamics of Indigenous values, the politics of Indigenous identity, and the hegemonic constraints of West-centric knowledge. This analysis is then drawn upon to critically examine the cultural predisposition of mainstream education. The arguments proffered through this critical examination support the case that Indigenous learners would prosper culturally and educationally by having access to educational programmes centred within an Indigenous cultural framework, thereby addressing the dilemma of lower Indigenous retentions rates. This research study was conducted using a qualitative Indigenous methodology specifically designed by the researcher to reflect the values and cultural priorities of Indigenous Australians. Collective partnership was sought from Indigenous Australians, whom the researcher respected as Indigenous stakeholders in the research. Collegial participation was also sought from non-Indigenous educators with significant experience in teaching Indigenous learners. The research process involved both individual and group sessions of dialogic exchange. With regard to the Indigenous sessions of dialogic exchange, these resulted in the formation of a composite narrative wherein Indigenous testimony was united to create a collective Indigenous voice. Through this research study it was revealed that there is indeed a stark and deep-seated contrast between the value systems of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia. This contrast, it was found, is mirrored in the cultural dynamics of education and the polemics of knowledge legitimacy. The research also revealed that Australia’s mainstream education system is intractably an agent for the promulgation of Western cultural values, and as such is culturally disenfranchising to Indigenous peoples. This thesis then concludes with an alternative and culturally apposite education paradigm for Indigenous education premised on Indigenous values informing curriculum and pedagogical praxis. This paradigm specifically supports independent Indigenous education initiatives.

xviii, 259 leaves : / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (M.D. 1971) from the Dept. of Child Health, University of Adelaide

"September 2002." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 336-366) / vii, 366 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Argues that the Australian nation is the primary obstacle to the granting of self-determination to indigenous people because it is imagined and constituted as a monocultural entity, one that resists any divisions within the national space on the basis of culture or 'race'. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Politics, 2002

The Tiwi are the indigenous people of the Tiwi Islands, located off the Northern Territory mainland. In 1919, as a unique and distinct people they appeared to be in a position to maintain their identity, to resist absorption into western culture and to avoid some of the serious social problems that came to affect some other Indigenous communities. While aspects of the Tiwi culture and lifestyle were gradually modified or abandoned through contact with outside societies between 1919 and 2000, other traits remained strong or were strengthened. These included their relationship with the land, the local language, dancing and singing, and adoption customs. Forms of visual art, some introduced, brought fame to the Tiwi. Government policies on Indigenous matters changed dramatically over the twentieth century. The earlier ones, including assimilation programmes were discriminatory and restrictive. Later approaches to Aboriginal and Islander welfare, including land rights, had significant consequences for the Islanders, some beneficial, others detrimental in nature. From the 1970s, the departure of resident missionaries and government officers from the islands led to an influx of private European employees. The exposure to these people added to that which the Tiwi experienced as they travelled far beyond their islands. After 1972, the policies of self-determination and, then, self-management placed enormous strains on the Tiwi as they strove to meet the requirements of government, private enterprise and the wider society. New forms of land and local government controls replaced the law of the elders. A younger, western-educated generation now spoke on behalf of the people. Ultimately, under the influence of outside pressures, degrees of socio-cultural absorption occurred in the islands even though the official policy of assimilation had been abandoned. Fortunately, the strong identity of the Tiwi ensured a level of social cohesion capable of combating full assimilation into a wholly western lifestyle. / Doctor of Philosophy

This thesis seeks to understand the historical factors that contributed to Aboriginal workers being included in pastoral industry unions as comrades, or treated as competitors with white unionists for jobs and income. It explores the changing characteristics and nature of Australian Workers union (AWU) and North Australian Workers Union (NAWU) relations with Aboriginal workers, and internal union and external factors affecting these relations. It challenges long held views that unions excluded Aboriginal workers simply because of the racism of white members and automatically included them when there was a union leadership commitment to class solidarity regardless of race. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2007.

This thesis draws on the documentary historical record to examine the interactions between the indigenous Larrakia people and the white settlers in the colonial township of Darwin between the years 1869 and 1911. The colonial recognition of the Larrakia as the traditional owners of lands in the Darwin region and the historical question of their land rights is discussed in some detail. Rather than seeing interactions between the Larrakia and the colonisers as polarised into either accommodation or resistance, this thesis looks at various interactions to highlight the complexities of the encounter. One of the more complex of their interactions was the negotiation of what is best described as an abstruse alliance which benefited both the Larrakia and the colonisers in various ways. The colonisation of the Darwin region had a considerable impact on the Larrakia people's ability to live on their country as they had done prior to the invasion. This thesis seeks to understand the negotiations, compromises and decisions the Larrakia made to survive in their changing landscape. Another complexity that is highlighted in this thesis is the tension within the white settler population about how to deal with what was presented as the 'Aboriginal problem'. This thesis shows that the ideology of compensating Aboriginal people for having invaded their land and undermining their means of subsistence was understood and condoned by the colonisers. The distribution of government rations, the allocation of reserves and the ongoing recognition of the Larrakia's right to be within the township were all ways that some colonisers attempted to compensate Aborigines for invading their land. This thesis shows that while the Larrakia people were recognised as the prior occupants of Darwin and, as such, accorded a distinct status within the township in the whole period under study, the colonisers ultimately failed to give tangible expression to the Larrakia's land rights.

Enshrined by cricket history, the 1868 Aboriginal cricket tour of England has become popularly established as a uniquely benign public transaction in the history of contact between Aborigines, pastoralist settlers and British colonialism. Embraced by two Australian Prime Ministers and celebrated by a commemorative Aboriginal tour, film documentaries, museum displays, poetry, creative fiction, sporting histories, special edition prints and a national advertising campaign for the centenary of Australian federation, the zeal for commemoration has overwhelmed critical enquiry. Incorporating some critical interpretations of the tour which are current in Aboriginal discourse, this re-examination subjects the tour to approaches commonly applied to other aspects of Aboriginal history and relations between colonialism and indigenous peoples. Although it is misleadingly understood simply as a cricket tour, the primitivist displays of Aboriginal weaponry during the 1868 Aboriginal tour of Britain were more appealing to spectators than their cricketing displays. Viewed solely within the prism of sport or against policies leading to extermination, dispersal and segregation of Aborigines, there is little basis for comparative analysis of the tour. But when it is considered in the context of displays of race and commodified exhibitions of primitive peoples and cultures, particularly those taken from peripheries to the centre of empire, it is no longer unique or inexplicable either as a form of cultural display, a set of inter-racial relations, or a complex of indigenous problems and opportunities. This study re-examines the tour as a part of European racial ideology and established practices of bringing exotic races to Britain for sporting, scientific and popular forms of display. It considers the options and actions of the Aboriginal performers in the light of power relations between colonial settlers and dispossessed indigenous peoples. Their lives are examined as a specific form of indentured labour subjected to time discipline, racial expectations of white audiences and managerial control by enterpreneuurs seeking to profit from the novelty of Aborigines in Britain. Comparative studies of Maori and Native American performers taken to Britain in the mid¬Victorian era flesh out sparse documentation of the Aboriginal experience in an alien environment. Elements of James Scott's methodology of hidden and public transcripts are utilised to identify the sources of concealed tensions and discontents. A detailed study of the two best known 1868 tourists, Dick-a-Dick and Johnny Mullagh, considers two strategies by which Aborigines confronted by a situation of acute disadvantage used their developed performance skills and knowledge of European racial preconceptions in partially successful attempts to satisfy their emotional and material needs and further Aboriginal goals. Finally, the disjunctions between commemoration and critical history are resolved by suggesting that the 1868 tour and its performers deserve to be commemorated as pioneers in the practice of recontextualisng and popularising Aboriginal culture in the western metropolis.

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