Aboriginal Children

Following the establishment of the Board for the Protection of Aborigines (BPA) in 1860 the colonial government of Victoria, through the consolidation of reserves and missions throughout Victoria, began to exert greater control over Aboriginal people in general, but with a particular interest in children.

As at other reserves, the lives of children at Coranderrk were dramatically affected by government policy and the administrative controls imposed on reserves. By 1875 the BPA reported to the government that all Aboriginal children in Victoria were being removed from traditional lands and their communities. It stated, 'the children are being removed one by one and sent to the stations, where they are cared for and taught in schools'.

Extracts

The listed extracts from Victorian Parlimentary debates indicate the motivation of the Victorian Government's attempts to provide protection for Aboriginal children. By placing them at reserves such as Coranderrk, the government believed that through education, religious instruction, and promoting work habits, these children would be assimilated into a European lifestyle. It also attempted to ensure that Aboriginal children be separated from older Aboriginal people, so as to rid them of their 'primitive' habits.