1. RedC has aclosed mind and it is a waste of time entering a discussion with him/her.2. I've probably lived more history than he will ever live.(86 years so far).
3. Read todays news for an update on aboriginal history"
I am providing some early history so readerscan appreciate how the lives of aboriginals were impacted by whites, andespecially in the first 50 years when they were dispossessed from their land.
The current issues you are highlighting help toappreciate what are some of the issues that underpin the lives of aboriginals thatbegan long ago but are still relevant.
Now THAT IS history. Up to date history. Indisputable history. Indisputable fact.
The other point is that there are too many goodie, goodie RedCs that indirectly encourage those sorts of behaviour. The past is thepast. Today is the first day of the rest of history. Let it not be a repeat ofall the past.
My posts are not compulsory reading
A Positive Model for Aboriginals
In 1857 Salvado returned to New Norcia from Europe and was in charge for almost another half' century and he had come to a sad but inevitable conclusion that Aborigines needed to be segregated to protect them from corrupt and unscrupulous whites.
New Norcia as an economic unit prospered greatly. It was one of the few missions which truly achieved a self-supporting status for any length of time. At its height, New Norcia controlled one million acres of land.
A network of wells were sunk, carefully walled by skilled stonemasons In the Spanish style, which vastly increased the productivity of the grazing lands.This task was made possible by the water-detecting ability of some of the Aboriginal people.
The monastery is surrounded by cottages built for married natives, of whom there are about twenty resident. These cottages, with the schools for boys and girls, the granary, stables,storehouses and workshops, make up a good-sized village, in the midst of which stands the chapel, a building of considerable size and not wanting in architectural merit.
The Benedictines had recognised that to form the entire man, the family life must be united with that of the citizen.They consequently made all the children spend the night with their parents in their own homes.
After morning Mass they had an hour of recreation, followed by some work suitable for their age; some help the shepherds to lead their flocks to the pastures, some work in their parents' gardens, others in shops of different trades.
The little girls assist their mothers and sisters in cooking, or learning to sew etc. At eleven all work for the children ceased and they troop off to their studies for the hour before dinner. At twelve, this is served to them by the monks and consists of simple but abundant food.
Then again comes recreation, always joyous and noisy, and a visit to their parents, so that they may see and know each other once more. After supper, evening hours were spent with their parents at home, followed by prayers all together in the church, and then to bed.
The major difference between New Norcia and many other missions was the specific decision not to have dormitories. Salvado stressed the importance of keeping the family together despite the disciplined routine of the community.
Another difference was that Saivado allowed for maintenance of traditional skills. All the Aboriginal people went hunting every Thursday and from time to time Salvado sent the men and young people into the bush for a fortnight as among other things, it 'strengthened their constitution'.
