Claiming Inheritance
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Claiming Inheritance Aboriginal People, Native Title and Cultural Heritage: a Story from Dubbo, New South Wales Helena Onnudottir A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Department of Anthropology Macquarie University August 2001 ♦ ■HaJk. m MACQUARIE HIGHER DEGREE THESIS AUTHOR’S CONSENT (DOCTORAL) This is to certify that I, ....(D.yvyo.V*.$.£} .V^.Y f............. ............ being a candidate for the degree of Doctor of ..................... am aware of the policy of the University relating to the retention and use of higher degree theses as contained in the University’s Doctoral Rules generally, and in particular Rule 7(10). In the light of this policy and the policy of the above Rules, I agree to allow a copy of my thesis to be deposited in the University Library for consultation, loan and photocopying forthwith. i V y Signature of Witness Signature of Candidate Dated this day of.....t / ? . 200 J This is to certify that I, Helena Onnudottir, have not submitted this work for a higher degree at any other university or institution and that all my sources of information have been acknowledged in the bibliography... n.*... .0.^^.?.¥>'.< ............... Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction p. 1 1) 'Nothing of Interest' p. 1 2) Methodology: Implications, Explanations and Definitions p. 7 Chapter Two: Native Title: A Brief Overview p. 19 1) W hat is Native Title? p. 19 2) The Emerging Picture p. 30 3) On Aboriginal Land Ownership p. 42 Chapter Three: The Most Studied People on Earth? The Anthropology of New South Wales p. 48 Part I 1) Anthropology and the 'Primitive' p. 48 2) A. P. Elkin and the New South Wales Aborigines p. 56 3) Dying Cultures? - New South Wales Ethnographies/Anthropology 1930s - 1960s p. 60 4) New South Wales and Native Title Anthropology p. 67 Part II 5) Anthropological Debates on ‘Authenticity’, ‘Culture’ and ‘Tradition’ p. 73 5) History and the Australian Aborigines p. 83 Chapter Four: 'This is Our Ancestors' Land!' p . 88 1) Colonisation and the Australian Aborigines: A Very Brief Overview p. 90 2) From 'Protection' to 'Welfare' p. 98 3) Inheritance Rights, Justified Rights: Aboriginal Activism in New South Wales p. 107 4) New South Wales Reserve Policy: The Dubbo Perspective p. 118 Chapter Five: Dubbo - The'Hub of the West' p. 125 1) The Arrival of'New Comers' p. 125 2) The 'Red Ochre People' p. 133 3) The Talbragar Reserve p. 142 Chapter Six: The 'Mixing Pot' - Politics and the Aboriginal People of Dubbo p. 158 1) A Recipe for Trouble: Government Legislation and the Aboriginal People p. 158 2) Stirring the Pot: Local Politics, Local Conflicts p. 167 Chapter Seven: “Wirrimbah” - Ancestors and Descendants p. 183 1) The Birth of “Wirrimbah” Direct Descendants Aboriginal Corporation p. 184 2) Alice's Story p. 191 Chapter Eight: Contradictions in Practices - The Law of the State and the Law of Customs p. 208 1) The Misadventures of Mr. Hay p. 208 2) Aboriginal System(s) of ‘Law’ and ‘Customs’ p. 213 3) The‘Law’and‘Customs’of the Aboriginal people of Dubbo p. 221 Chapter Nine: The Question of 'Ownership p. 233 1) Queen Victoria and the Taylors' Land p. 234 2) Lost Links! Lost Heritage? p. 253 Chapter Ten: 'Unfinished Business' - Conclusion p. 266 Bibliography p. 277 Maps Land Exploration, New South Wales p. 127 Dubbo Tribal Areas p. u 6 Talbragar p. 140 Summary In 1992, the Mabo (No. 2) ruling introduced the term 'native title' as one appropriate to the situation of Australian Aborigines' claims to rights over lands they regard as theirs by tradition, and where entitlement to land was in accordance with traditional laws and customs. The term 'native title' became a legally recognised concept, at Australian common law, with the introduction of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (NTA 1993 (Cth)). Since its introduction, the Act has undergone certain crucial amendments, which Aboriginal leaders have described as detrimental to the success of native title claims in many parts of Australia. This thesis explores the historical, legal, political and social context of native title claims in New South Wales, through the experiences of the Aboriginal people of Dubbo. Particular emphasis is placed on the political and legal processes which constructed the current social and historical context of the lives of Aboriginal people in Dubbo. The discussion focuses on the impact of political and ideological changes on Aboriginal affairs in Australian in the last few decades, and specifically upon the social and political organisation of the Aboriginal community of Dubbo. It explores the avenues that are available for Aboriginal people (New South Wales) for claiming native title in today's social, legal and political climate. Furthermore, it focuses on the routes that the Aboriginal people of Dubbo have chosen to take in their attempts to gain rights to, and authority over, local Aboriginal heritage. Acknowledgements At the outset, I wish to acknowledge and express my gratitude to a large number of people for their various contributions to the writing of this thesis. I would like to begin by recognising the people of Dubbo, both past and present, to whom I extend my gratitude for having me as a guest on their land. I want to thank all of the Aboriginal people of Dubbo who, since late 1997, have allowed me to participate in their endeavours to claim recognition of their cultural heritage. I am especially indebted to the people who invested their trust in me, who took the time to disclose the various aspects of their personal lives and experiences. I would like to extend an expression of thanks and love to Sue and Kev Mitchell and their family, to Will Bums, Vicky and family, Coral Peckham, her brother Wayne and her sister Narelle. Also to Dot Bums, Ruby McGuiness and daughters Kathy and Shirley, Pat Doolan, Deborah Ryan, Merle Pearce, and to Diane McNaboe and her sister Lynette Riley-Mundine. 1 would like to express my deep appreciation to my supervisor Professor Annette Hamilton (SCMP, Macquarie University), whose guidance, contribution and unfailing patience enabled me to produce this thesis. I value greatly the time and effort that Annette afforded me during the last intensive months of writing the thesis. I also want to thank my partner Dr. Mary L. Hawkins for her emotional and professional support during the conception and delivery of this work. Special thanks to Gaynor Macdonald who initially suggested that I should research native title, and to Julie Sloggett who arranged that first meeting with my friend Sue Mitchell that was to steer me in the direction of Dubbo. To Frances Happ. Departmental Administrator (Anthropology) - the helpful, optimistic and ever cheerful ‘Fran’ - I owe more recognition than I can place on this page. My thanks also to Dr. Estelle Dryland who, over these last few months of writing, has proved invaluable to the final version through her contribution to its language, detail and expression. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Australian State (DEETA) for the Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship (OPRS) which made my hopes for researching and writing this thesis a reality. I greatly appreciate the Macquarie Postgraduate Research Fund (1999) financial support that enabled me to undertake follow-up visits to Dubbo. I thank also the Department of Anthropology (Macquarie University) for the financial support, which enabled me to attend the Australian Anthropological Society’s Annual conference in 1997. Finally I would like to thank my family and friends in both Australia and Iceland. Thanks in particular to you, Mom, and to Gulli, Petur, Linda, David, Judy, Arlette, Kim and Bev. It is my heartfelt wish to dedicate this thesis to the two most important women in my life, my partner Dr. Mary L. Hawkins and my mother Anna Gudjonsdottir. 1 Chapter One Introduction Australia is the present home and refuge of creatures, often crude and quaint, that elsewhere have passed away and given place to higher forms. This applies equally to the aboriginal as to the platypus and the kangaroo. Just as the platypus, laying its eggs and feebly suckling its young, reveals a mammal in the making, so does the Aboriginal show us, at least in broad outline, what every man must have been like before he learned to read and write, domesticate animals, cultivate crops and use a metal tool. It has been possible to study in Australia human beings that still remain on the cultural level of men of the Stone Age (Spencer (1927) quoted in Attwood 1996: xiii). 1.1. 'Nothing of Interest' Aborigines ... face the unending task of resisting attempts, on one hand to cut them off from their 'heritage', and on the other to bury them within it as 'a thing of the past' (Beckett 1988: 212). I first visited Dubbo,1 New South Wales, in December 1997. The purpose of my visit was to talk to some of the local Aboriginal people, introduce myself and my research plans, and seek the approval of the local Aboriginal people to conduct field-work for my proposed study. I had already spent over twelve months in Sydney, researching the literature and attempting to produce an appropriate research proposal for this thesis. In November 1997,1 came to the conclusion that my main areas of interest were: Aboriginal women and native title. I had come from Iceland to Australia already with the aim of exploring some aspects of the lives of Aboriginal women. The attractive proposition of addressing this interest in the context of native title research was extended to me by another anthropologist, an acquaintance of mine, who had long experience of anthropological research in Aboriginal communities in New South Wales, and who 1 There is a detailed discussion o f the history o f Dubbo and its Aboriginal population in Chapters Five and Six.