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Pre-Contact 1788
History
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discipline lay with all adults as a group, with
some members having more significant roles
than others. For example, there were specific
teachers with skills in hunting, gathering,
motherhood and manhood. The survival and
strength of Aboriginal society lay in group
dynamics rather than the dynamics of
individualism as found in most western cultures.
There were no kings, queens, presidents, prime
ministers or chieftains in Aboriginal society.
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Aboriginal creation or
Dreamtime
concepts
signify that
nature and
culture were formed at
the same time by totemic
spirits or ancestors who, in the Dreaming, came
from the sky, underground and sea and formed
the earth, rivers, valleys, hills, rocks and inlets,
and established their existence. These areas are
classified by Aboriginal people as secret and
sacred sites which are simultaneously linked to
totems. The totemic spirits or ancestors were
believed to have had animal and plant as well as
human qualities and are prototypes of the
various natural species.
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Traditionally religion, culture, law, society,
economy and the land are inextricably linked
and Aboriginal people today see issues
holistically. Land is often said to be the essence
of Aboriginal spirituality.
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Within these parameters each member of the
family had responsibilities and roles to others
and themselves. Lines of communication and
social activity were determined by an intricate
set of kinship laws based on gender and age.
Responsibility for education, child rearing and
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During the 1940’s Norman B Tindale (an
American ethnographer), produced a historical
map showing over 600 Aboriginal land and
language owning groups before colonisation.
The basic social unit within Aboriginal society
was close knit, productive extended families,
whose day to day living was defined by a set of
complex social laws, customs and beliefs all of
which differed from one group to another
according to their creation ethic or Dreaming.
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The Aboriginal population prior to 1788 is
estimated by academics to have been between
500,000 and a million people although recent
estimates range from 300,000 to 3,000,000
(Commonwealth of Australia 1989). What is
certain is that the impact of colonisation took a
heavy toll.
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Non-Aboriginal academics, namely
anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians
calculate that Aboriginal society has inhabited
mainland Australia for over 40,000 years.
However, Aboriginal concepts of their history
regarding habitation of Australia are
immeasurable and are linked to a variety of
national Dreamtime creation lores. The most
familiar of these concepts is the Rainbow
Serpent.
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1.1
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Aboriginal history
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1
Pr o t o c o l s f o r Co n s u l t a t i o n a n d Ne g o t i a t i o n w i t h Ab o r i g i n a l Pe o p l e
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