Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Since the 1970’s, there has been a growing impetus in Australian education to include Aboriginal issues across the full range of educational settings, from pre-school to tertiary levels. In practice, the provision of an Aboriginal perspective has often lead to socio-cultural constructions of Aboriginal people that tend to reflect, rather than contest, hegemonic understandings of Aboriginal people and culture. In doing this some fundamental misconceptions are continuing to have currency within mainstream Australia, becoming more entrenched due to the ascribed legitimacy of the educational institutions. The discipline of sociology has recently self-identified an absence in its scholarship related to provision of comment on Aboriginal issues. The challenge for the future is to find meaningful alternatives that allow for the diversity of Aboriginal cultures and histories to be interpreted through a multiplicity of cultural subjectivities. Given the diversity of both Aboriginal cultures and the student cohorts examining them, an essentialising curriculum based on the inclusion of Aboriginal content is ultimately unhelpful. Rather, the development of critical pedagogies actively seeking a localised praxis is of far greater utility. This thesis considers the author’s pedagogical approach to teaching Aboriginal perspectives within the mainstream discipline of sociology at a regional university in New South Wales, Australia. Methodologically, the thesis is framed on a syncretic model between the Western mode of auto-ethnography and the Indigenous narrative tribalography. It includes a deeply reflexive component that aims to illustrate the way the Aboriginal lived experience can inform teaching, as well as a more standard textual engagement with academic literature and debate. Specific focus will be applied to consideration of The Dreaming as a foundational Aboriginal philosophy.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis is an inquiry into the possibility of Aboriginal autonomy under the regime of a state policy which commands self determination. Debate about policy has been dominated by Western scientific, political and professional knowledge, which is challenged by indigenous paradigms grounded in the Dreaming. A recognition of the role of paradox leads me to an attempt at reconciliation between the old and the new Australian intellectual traditions. The thesis advances the theory of internal colonialism by identifying self-determination as its current phase. During more than 200 years of colonial history the relationship between Aborigines and the state has been increasingly contradictory. The current policy of self-determination is a political paradox. Aboriginal people must either conform to the policy by disobeying it, or reject the policy in obedience to it. Through the policy of self-determination the state constructs a relationship of dependent autonomy with Aboriginal people. In a two-year (1994-95) action research project Kitya Aboriginal Health Action Group was set up to empower a local community to establish an Aboriginal health service despite opposition from the Government Health Service. In collaboration with local general practitioners and volunteers the action group opened a health centre. After the end of formal field work government funding and support for the health service was granted. The project illustrated the paradox of dependent autonomy. What appeared as successful community development was not development, and what appeared as destructive factionalism was empowering. Strategies for change made use of contradictions and paradoxes within the state. As an innovation in the practice of social change, the thesis begins the construction of a model for indigenous community action for self-determination in health.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis is an inquiry into the possibility of Aboriginal autonomy under the regime of a state policy which commands self determination. Debate about policy has been dominated by Western scientific, political and professional knowledge, which is challenged by indigenous paradigms grounded in the Dreaming. A recognition of the role of paradox leads me to an attempt at reconciliation between the old and the new Australian intellectual traditions. The thesis advances the theory of internal colonialism by identifying self-determination as its current phase. During more than 200 years of colonial history the relationship between Aborigines and the state has been increasingly contradictory. The current policy of self-determination is a political paradox. Aboriginal people must either conform to the policy by disobeying it, or reject the policy in obedience to it. Through the policy of self-determination the state constructs a relationship of dependent autonomy with Aboriginal people. In a two-year (1994-95) action research project Kitya Aboriginal Health Action Group was set up to empower a local community to establish an Aboriginal health service despite opposition from the Government Health Service. In collaboration with local general practitioners and volunteers the action group opened a health centre. After the end of formal field work government funding and support for the health service was granted. The project illustrated the paradox of dependent autonomy. What appeared as successful community development was not development, and what appeared as destructive factionalism was empowering. Strategies for change made use of contradictions and paradoxes within the state. As an innovation in the practice of social change, the thesis begins the construction of a model for indigenous community action for self-determination in health.

As part of an investigation into traditional Australian Aboriginal bush medicine a range of Acacia species have been examined. Several species have been reported to be utilised for the preparation of antimicrobial washes and lotions by Aboriginal tribes. Initial bioactivity screening focussed on antimicrobial activity of the polar/and or non-polar extracts of air dried plant material, and a range of interesting activity has been found. Specifically, of the 94 extracts of Acacia species screened, five showed activity against the fungus C.albicans, 47 showed activity showed activity against the gram positive bacteria S.aureus and five showed activity against the gram negative bacteria E.coli. A retrosynthetic analysis and total synthesis of the novel anisidine alkaloid isolated from Acacia trineura was attempted. A variety of methodologies to generate the lithiate of anisidine and subsequently trap with an appropriate electrophile were attempted. While the results only indicated which methods were appropriate, they did give strong leads for future work in this direction / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

When Captain James Cook sailed into Botany Bay in Australia for the first time in 1770, his botanist Joseph Banks described the behaviour of the Aboriginals to be 'totally unmovd' and 'totally engagd'.During this same few days Cook named the place Stingray Bay. Within eight days the name was changed by Cook to Botany Bay. Banks' phrases generate oscillating perceptions and Cook's name change poses questions. The perceptions documented in Banks' journal, refer to an invisibility of the Aboriginals themselves. The name 'Stingray' and its change to 'Botany' raises political questions about the necessity for the change. The change also sheds light on a viewpoint at odds with its subject. The events that occurred during the eight days Cook was anchored in Botany Bay will be discussed firstly in the framework of an analysis of the implications of the terms 'totally unmovd' and 'totally engagd' in Banks' journal, and secondly in a discussion about the various historical notions concerning the name change. Did these curly histories and viewpoints render the indigenous culture invisible? Can these inscriptions made by Cook and Banks and the subsequent mythologies surrounding them, including those about the actual place, be a metaphor for 'further understanding'? / Master of Arts (Hons) (Visual Arts)

In this dissertation I argue that Australia's administration of Aboriginal Affairs since 1897 has operated from a premise of non-recognition under policies of assimilation. It is argued and demonstrated that government initiatives have merely undergone technical adjustments designed to retain assimilationist practices, rather than advance the recognition of Aboriginal people in Australia as Aboriginal people. In terms of agenda and policy, non-Aboriginal values, perspectives and assumptions dominate and control the power of definition. This domination has characterised Aboriginal relations with the state through the colonial experience, federation and contemporary practices. However, the most significant 'change' in this relationship is the co-optation of Aboriginal people into non-Aboriginal administrative structures on the assumption that such mechanisms can adequately accommodate Aboriginal rights and interests.

One of the most important questions in Australian comparative linguistics over the last 40 years is the validity of a Pama-Nyungan node in the Australian family tree. Much of the comparative research done on Australian languages has supported the notion of a Pama-Nyungan family, and its validity is now well-established. However. much work remains to be done, both in establishing the relationships among the Pama-Nyungan languages and in reconstructing proto-Pama-Nyungan and determining the details of its development in the various branches of the family tree. This dissertation is a contribution towards the latter effort. The primary purpose of the present study is to determine the development of the three initial velars, *k. *ng and *w. in 25 Pama-Nyungan languages through 1561 cognate sets. The cognate sets are also an important resource for the study of other aspects of phonological change in Pama-Nyungan languages. The data provide evidence for the weakening of medial consonants, the assimilation of initial velar glides and nasals to the following vowel, prenasalization of medial stops, the development of triconsonantal clusters, and the presence of both a laminal lateral and a retroflex series of consonants in proto-Pama-Nyungan. In addition, statistical evidence is presented which supports the hypothesis that assimilation of the second to the first vowel is an important process in the history of many Pama-Nyungan languages. This dissertation also discusses important issues regarding the Neogrammarian hypothesis and the comparative method. In particular, the data presented here support the idea that not all sound changes apply in a lexically abrupt, regular manner. Many of the sound changes seen in the data appear to affect only a portion of the eligible forms, and thus provide evidence for the theory of lexical diffusion. Furthermore, most of the changes are found not just in individual languages, but in a number of the languages under study. The data therefore support the notion of pandemic irregularity. / Graduate

Esta dissertação consiste em uma leitura da Trilogia Wildcat, de Mudrooroo. O foco da leitura recai sobre as Relações de Poder e seu impacto sobre os jovens aborígines urbanos australianos. O corpus de pesquisa é formado pelos romances Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) e Doin Wildcat (1988). O objetivo é analisar os efeitos das estratégias de poder em indivíduos pós-coloniais que são sujeitos a e fazem uso de mecanismos de poder ao estabelecerem relacionamentos tanto com seus pares quanto com pessoas que representam autoridade. A discussão das relações de poder, de seus mecanismos e efeitos se dá no terreno do discurso literário, através da análise das escolhas e estratégias do autor quanto à formatação dos três romances que operam, simultaneamente, como obras de arte, como estratégias políticas de sobrevivência e como estudos reflexivos sobre o processo da escrita literária. Wildcat é o protagonista, bem como autor e narrador nos textos da Trilogia. Ele é também um representante do povo aborígine australiano urbano e jovem na luta pela sobrevivência em uma sociedade na qual eles foram assimilados, mas não realmente aceitos. O texto de Mudrooroo versa sobre história, cultura, luta pela sobrevivência, mas trata principalmente sobre a escrita do texto literário e o papel da literatura aborígine. Para contemplar um construto tão complexo, minha leitura busca a combinação de literatura, cultura e pensamento pós-colonial. O suporte teórico do trabalho está apoiado nas idéias de Michel Foucault sobre poder e discurso, bem como na visão de Mudrooroo sobre a escrita literária aborígine, e também sobre a noção do exótico pós-colonial de Graham Huggan. Minha análise pretende alcançar a compreensão dos mecanismos de poder que povos e indivíduos assujeitados podem colocar em uso quando têm como objetivo serem ouvidos e respeitados pelas pessoas que os vêem como “outros” e que são maioria nas sociedades nas quais vivem. A conclusão indica que relações de poder firmemente estabelecidas são de crucial importância para a sobrevivência dos povos aborígines, e que a literatura é um dos melhores meios para alcançar esta finalidade, não só para garantir sobrevivência, mas também para representá-la. / This thesis consists of a reading of Mudrooroo’s Wildcat Trilogy, focusing on the issue of Power Relations and their impact on Young Urban Australian Aborigines. The corpus of the research comprises the novels Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) and Doin Wildcat (1988). The purpose is to examine the effects of power strategies on postcolonial individuals who are subjected to and make use of mechanisms of power when establishing relationships with both their peers and other people representing authority. This discussion is carried out from within the realm of literary discourse, through the analysis of Mudrooroo’s choices and strategies in the shaping of these three novels that operate, simultaneously, as pieces of art, as political strategies of survival, and as self-reflexive studies about the process of writing. Wildcat is protagonist, author and narrator in the Trilogy. He is also a representative of the young urban Australian Aboriginal people’s struggle to survive within a society into which they have been assimilated, but not actually accepted. Mudrooroo’s text is about history, culture, struggle for survival, but it is mainly about writing and the role of Aboriginal Literature. In order to contemplate such a complex construct, my reading aims at combining postcolonial, cultural and literary concerns. The theoretical support of the work rests upon Michel Foucault’s ideas about Power and Discourse, as well as upon Mudrooroo’s views on Aboriginal Writing, and Graham Huggan’s notion of the Post-Colonial Exotic. My analysis intends to reach the understanding of the mechanisms of power that subjected peoples and individuals may put to use in order to be heard and respected by the people who see them as “Others” and are now majority in the societies they live within. Therefore, the conclusion indicates that firmly established Power Relations are central to Aboriginal people’s survival, and that Literature is one of the best means to achieve – as well as represent – it.

Esta dissertação consiste em uma leitura da Trilogia Wildcat, de Mudrooroo. O foco da leitura recai sobre as Relações de Poder e seu impacto sobre os jovens aborígines urbanos australianos. O corpus de pesquisa é formado pelos romances Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) e Doin Wildcat (1988). O objetivo é analisar os efeitos das estratégias de poder em indivíduos pós-coloniais que são sujeitos a e fazem uso de mecanismos de poder ao estabelecerem relacionamentos tanto com seus pares quanto com pessoas que representam autoridade. A discussão das relações de poder, de seus mecanismos e efeitos se dá no terreno do discurso literário, através da análise das escolhas e estratégias do autor quanto à formatação dos três romances que operam, simultaneamente, como obras de arte, como estratégias políticas de sobrevivência e como estudos reflexivos sobre o processo da escrita literária. Wildcat é o protagonista, bem como autor e narrador nos textos da Trilogia. Ele é também um representante do povo aborígine australiano urbano e jovem na luta pela sobrevivência em uma sociedade na qual eles foram assimilados, mas não realmente aceitos. O texto de Mudrooroo versa sobre história, cultura, luta pela sobrevivência, mas trata principalmente sobre a escrita do texto literário e o papel da literatura aborígine. Para contemplar um construto tão complexo, minha leitura busca a combinação de literatura, cultura e pensamento pós-colonial. O suporte teórico do trabalho está apoiado nas idéias de Michel Foucault sobre poder e discurso, bem como na visão de Mudrooroo sobre a escrita literária aborígine, e também sobre a noção do exótico pós-colonial de Graham Huggan. Minha análise pretende alcançar a compreensão dos mecanismos de poder que povos e indivíduos assujeitados podem colocar em uso quando têm como objetivo serem ouvidos e respeitados pelas pessoas que os vêem como “outros” e que são maioria nas sociedades nas quais vivem. A conclusão indica que relações de poder firmemente estabelecidas são de crucial importância para a sobrevivência dos povos aborígines, e que a literatura é um dos melhores meios para alcançar esta finalidade, não só para garantir sobrevivência, mas também para representá-la. / This thesis consists of a reading of Mudrooroo’s Wildcat Trilogy, focusing on the issue of Power Relations and their impact on Young Urban Australian Aborigines. The corpus of the research comprises the novels Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) and Doin Wildcat (1988). The purpose is to examine the effects of power strategies on postcolonial individuals who are subjected to and make use of mechanisms of power when establishing relationships with both their peers and other people representing authority. This discussion is carried out from within the realm of literary discourse, through the analysis of Mudrooroo’s choices and strategies in the shaping of these three novels that operate, simultaneously, as pieces of art, as political strategies of survival, and as self-reflexive studies about the process of writing. Wildcat is protagonist, author and narrator in the Trilogy. He is also a representative of the young urban Australian Aboriginal people’s struggle to survive within a society into which they have been assimilated, but not actually accepted. Mudrooroo’s text is about history, culture, struggle for survival, but it is mainly about writing and the role of Aboriginal Literature. In order to contemplate such a complex construct, my reading aims at combining postcolonial, cultural and literary concerns. The theoretical support of the work rests upon Michel Foucault’s ideas about Power and Discourse, as well as upon Mudrooroo’s views on Aboriginal Writing, and Graham Huggan’s notion of the Post-Colonial Exotic. My analysis intends to reach the understanding of the mechanisms of power that subjected peoples and individuals may put to use in order to be heard and respected by the people who see them as “Others” and are now majority in the societies they live within. Therefore, the conclusion indicates that firmly established Power Relations are central to Aboriginal people’s survival, and that Literature is one of the best means to achieve – as well as represent – it.

Esta dissertação consiste em uma leitura da Trilogia Wildcat, de Mudrooroo. O foco da leitura recai sobre as Relações de Poder e seu impacto sobre os jovens aborígines urbanos australianos. O corpus de pesquisa é formado pelos romances Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) e Doin Wildcat (1988). O objetivo é analisar os efeitos das estratégias de poder em indivíduos pós-coloniais que são sujeitos a e fazem uso de mecanismos de poder ao estabelecerem relacionamentos tanto com seus pares quanto com pessoas que representam autoridade. A discussão das relações de poder, de seus mecanismos e efeitos se dá no terreno do discurso literário, através da análise das escolhas e estratégias do autor quanto à formatação dos três romances que operam, simultaneamente, como obras de arte, como estratégias políticas de sobrevivência e como estudos reflexivos sobre o processo da escrita literária. Wildcat é o protagonista, bem como autor e narrador nos textos da Trilogia. Ele é também um representante do povo aborígine australiano urbano e jovem na luta pela sobrevivência em uma sociedade na qual eles foram assimilados, mas não realmente aceitos. O texto de Mudrooroo versa sobre história, cultura, luta pela sobrevivência, mas trata principalmente sobre a escrita do texto literário e o papel da literatura aborígine. Para contemplar um construto tão complexo, minha leitura busca a combinação de literatura, cultura e pensamento pós-colonial. O suporte teórico do trabalho está apoiado nas idéias de Michel Foucault sobre poder e discurso, bem como na visão de Mudrooroo sobre a escrita literária aborígine, e também sobre a noção do exótico pós-colonial de Graham Huggan. Minha análise pretende alcançar a compreensão dos mecanismos de poder que povos e indivíduos assujeitados podem colocar em uso quando têm como objetivo serem ouvidos e respeitados pelas pessoas que os vêem como “outros” e que são maioria nas sociedades nas quais vivem. A conclusão indica que relações de poder firmemente estabelecidas são de crucial importância para a sobrevivência dos povos aborígines, e que a literatura é um dos melhores meios para alcançar esta finalidade, não só para garantir sobrevivência, mas também para representá-la. / This thesis consists of a reading of Mudrooroo’s Wildcat Trilogy, focusing on the issue of Power Relations and their impact on Young Urban Australian Aborigines. The corpus of the research comprises the novels Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) and Doin Wildcat (1988). The purpose is to examine the effects of power strategies on postcolonial individuals who are subjected to and make use of mechanisms of power when establishing relationships with both their peers and other people representing authority. This discussion is carried out from within the realm of literary discourse, through the analysis of Mudrooroo’s choices and strategies in the shaping of these three novels that operate, simultaneously, as pieces of art, as political strategies of survival, and as self-reflexive studies about the process of writing. Wildcat is protagonist, author and narrator in the Trilogy. He is also a representative of the young urban Australian Aboriginal people’s struggle to survive within a society into which they have been assimilated, but not actually accepted. Mudrooroo’s text is about history, culture, struggle for survival, but it is mainly about writing and the role of Aboriginal Literature. In order to contemplate such a complex construct, my reading aims at combining postcolonial, cultural and literary concerns. The theoretical support of the work rests upon Michel Foucault’s ideas about Power and Discourse, as well as upon Mudrooroo’s views on Aboriginal Writing, and Graham Huggan’s notion of the Post-Colonial Exotic. My analysis intends to reach the understanding of the mechanisms of power that subjected peoples and individuals may put to use in order to be heard and respected by the people who see them as “Others” and are now majority in the societies they live within. Therefore, the conclusion indicates that firmly established Power Relations are central to Aboriginal people’s survival, and that Literature is one of the best means to achieve – as well as represent – it.