From Little Things
Big Things Grow
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.
This page was created in August 2021 by Mark Cameron-Smith and Year 9 students at Brighton Secondary School in South Australia.
Throughout the semester we learned to play and sing the songs, and we analysed and discussed the content of the lyrics.
We welcome any suggestions or corrections.
Throughout the semester we learned to play and sing the songs, and we analysed and discussed the content of the lyrics.
We welcome any suggestions or corrections.
Analysis and Discussion - 1991 and 2021
The purpose of this page is to help share the stories, knowledge and truth behind Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly's 'From Little Things Big Things Grow', and Ziggy Ramo's version, 'Little Things'. We present our findings to you as part of our efforts to reconcile the atrocities in Australia. The content below has been gathered from a wide variety of sources and we have done our best to explain what we have discovered.
The first half of this page discusses the musical elements of From Little Things Big Things Grow. The second half of this page discusses the lyrics of Ziggy Ramo's 2021 version, titled 'Little Things'.
Jump to the analysis of Ziggy Ramo's 'Little Things'
The first half of this page discusses the musical elements of From Little Things Big Things Grow. The second half of this page discusses the lyrics of Ziggy Ramo's 2021 version, titled 'Little Things'.
Jump to the analysis of Ziggy Ramo's 'Little Things'
The Song's Origins
From Little Things Big Things Grow was written by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly in December 1990. It tells the story of a Gurindji man who worked as a stockman on the Wave Hill Cattle Station. Vincent Lingiari lead his people as they endured an 8-year long strike from 1966, in response to the terrible wages and working conditions they faced while working for Lord (Samuel) Vestey. It soon became a land rights claim.
Kev Carmody (a Murri man from northern Queensland) was taken from his parents' cattle station under the policy of the Australian Governments' (Federal and State) and religious missions' assimilation policy. After school he later returned to rural work and it was during his meetings with stockmen from the Northern Territory that he learned of the Wave Hill walk-off first hand.
Kev Carmody (a Murri man from northern Queensland) was taken from his parents' cattle station under the policy of the Australian Governments' (Federal and State) and religious missions' assimilation policy. After school he later returned to rural work and it was during his meetings with stockmen from the Northern Territory that he learned of the Wave Hill walk-off first hand.
Paul Kelly grew up in Kaurna Country (South Australia) where he started learning the piano at age 10. His older siblings (especially his brother, Martin) played music and played records in the house which introduced him to a variety of popular music. He switched to trumpet in high school looking up to jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong; he began guitar at aged 18. Soon after finishing high school he moved through a number of other states in Australia while building a career as one of the most successful and respected songwriters/musicians in Australia.
Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly became friends through the music industry and got together one Christmas at a campsite at Lake Wivenhoe. Carmody had the chord progression in his mind for a while. The continuous sequence of four chords made a strong platform for storytelling. Carmody relayed what he knew of the Gurindji story to Kelly and within 2 hours they were "polishing" the song. The song was first released on Paul Kelly's 1991 album, Comedy, and later released on Kev Carmody's 1993 album, Bloodlines. Carmody had held off recording the song in respect for the mourning period after Lingiari’s death.
Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly became friends through the music industry and got together one Christmas at a campsite at Lake Wivenhoe. Carmody had the chord progression in his mind for a while. The continuous sequence of four chords made a strong platform for storytelling. Carmody relayed what he knew of the Gurindji story to Kelly and within 2 hours they were "polishing" the song. The song was first released on Paul Kelly's 1991 album, Comedy, and later released on Kev Carmody's 1993 album, Bloodlines. Carmody had held off recording the song in respect for the mourning period after Lingiari’s death.
Elements of Music Analysis
RHYTHM
Time signature - simple triple, or 3/4 time
Tempo - Vivace, or crotchet equals 169 beats per minute
Division of pulse - quavers (eighth notes) are even (i.e. not swung)
The sung melody has very little in the way of syncopation. In some sections of the melody the vocals tend to float across the pulse. This usually occurs when the vocal line is takes on more 'spoken-word' characteristics.
Tempo - Vivace, or crotchet equals 169 beats per minute
Division of pulse - quavers (eighth notes) are even (i.e. not swung)
The sung melody has very little in the way of syncopation. In some sections of the melody the vocals tend to float across the pulse. This usually occurs when the vocal line is takes on more 'spoken-word' characteristics.
MELODY
The melody is quite repetitive (with slight variations) and is based on the E major pentatonic scale.
The first four bars of the verses are generally a two short melodic phrases using steps between the 3rd (mi), 2nd (re) and 1st (do) degrees of the scale, followed by a skip to the 3rd (mi) and then returning to the 1st (do). The second phrase starts with a leap from the 1st (do) to the 5th (so) and then finished on the 3rd (mi).
In the following four bars the opening melodic phrase is the same as above. The second phrase has a slightly flatter contour starting with a skip from the 1st (do) to the 3rd (mi), moves step-wise to the 1st (do) and then a skip to finish on the 3rd (mi).
The melody generally follows a similar shape throughout with some variation whilst still using the E major pentatonic scale exclusively.
In the following four bars the opening melodic phrase is the same as above. The second phrase has a slightly flatter contour starting with a skip from the 1st (do) to the 3rd (mi), moves step-wise to the 1st (do) and then a skip to finish on the 3rd (mi).
The melody generally follows a similar shape throughout with some variation whilst still using the E major pentatonic scale exclusively.
The lyrics of the melody generally rhyme on the last word of the 2nd and 4th lines of each verse, e.g., "down" and "town". In the 'swags' verse, rhyme is also present and the end of the 1st and 3rd lines, e.g., "walking" and "talking".
They picked up their swags and started off walking
At Wattie Creek they sat themselves down
Now it don't sound like much but it sure got tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in town
The melody in the chorus features a descending and ascending minor 3rd interval between the 1st (do) and 6th (la) scale degrees. It is played twice, ending the first time on the upper 5th (so) scale degree, and an octave lower the second time.
HARMONY
The chord progression is diatonic to E major, using Emaj (chord I), C#min (chord vi), G#min (chord iii), and Bmaj (chord V). It is usually performed by on the guitar by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly using a capo on the 4th fret. This enables the use of simpler 'open position' chord voicings: Cmaj, Amin, Emin, and Gmaj respectively.
The same chord progression is used throughout the song for both verses and choruses.
DYNAMICS AND EXPRESSION
Most of the song is performed at a mezzo-piano (mp) or moderately quiet level with little fluctuation in the overall dynamics until the outro which is more like forte (f) or loud.
The graphic below shows the overall volume changes throughout the song. It is clear that the last 32 bars following the extended choruses is performed at the loudest dynamic.
The graphic below shows the overall volume changes throughout the song. It is clear that the last 32 bars following the extended choruses is performed at the loudest dynamic.
FORM AND STRUCTURE
The form is built around two main sections: verse and chorus.
The intro is 16 bars with the ensemble playing the chord progression and notes based on the chorus melody and harmonica playing a melody over that.
Verses are commonly made up of 4 lines of text across 16 bars with a four-bar interlude between each pair of verses. There are a couple of exceptions to this:
The choruses follow a pair of verses. Each chorus is 8 bars and is followed by an 8-bar harmonica solo. There are a few exceptions to this:
After a 2-bar break of silence the entire band plays the outro with the a much thicker texture.
The words in brackets at the verses were used by Paul Kelly when he began to perform the song live as a prompt for the lyrics.
The intro is 16 bars with the ensemble playing the chord progression and notes based on the chorus melody and harmonica playing a melody over that.
Verses are commonly made up of 4 lines of text across 16 bars with a four-bar interlude between each pair of verses. There are a couple of exceptions to this:
- verses 5 and 6 do not have an interlude between them
- verse 6 is 3 lines of text
- verses 7 and 8 do not have an interlude between them
The choruses follow a pair of verses. Each chorus is 8 bars and is followed by an 8-bar harmonica solo. There are a few exceptions to this:
- the harmonica solo preceding the final verse is 16 bars
- the chorus is played 12 times after the final verse with the addition of backing (B.G.) vocals
- the lead vocals drop out in the final 8 bar chorus section leaving only backing vocals.
After a 2-bar break of silence the entire band plays the outro with the a much thicker texture.
The words in brackets at the verses were used by Paul Kelly when he began to perform the song live as a prompt for the lyrics.
"I wrote myself a cheat sheet in big block letters on a couple of pages of paper - MUSCLE, RATIONS, SWAGS, WAGES, SNOW, AIRPLANE, POLITICIANS, STARS, STRANGER - laying them on the stage at my feet, and managed to get through all the lyrics without stumbling."
Kelly, P 2010. How To Make Gravy, Hamish Hamilton an imprint of Penguin Books, Victoria, Australia.
TIMBRE
Personnel and instrumentation:
The addition of backing vocals towards the end of the song creates a rich choral blend in the absence of Kelly's lead vocal. After a two bar break distorted electric guitar, keyboards, bass, drums/percussion, and didgeridoo join the ensemble to create a heavier rock-waltz over the next 32 bars.
The piece finishes with a solo didgeridoo.
- Paul Kelly — acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
- Steve Connolly — electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
- Peter Bull — accordion, keyboards
- Jon Schofield — bass guitar, backing vocals
- Michael Barclay — percussion, drums, backing vocals
- Ian Simpson — banjo
- Ray Pereira — cardboard box (old container for tape)
- Deirdre, Mairéad and Shelagh Hannan — backing vocals
- Ernie Dingo — didgeridoo (a cardboard tube from a roll of fabric was used in this recording session. It was cut to length to suit the key of 'E'.
The addition of backing vocals towards the end of the song creates a rich choral blend in the absence of Kelly's lead vocal. After a two bar break distorted electric guitar, keyboards, bass, drums/percussion, and didgeridoo join the ensemble to create a heavier rock-waltz over the next 32 bars.
The piece finishes with a solo didgeridoo.
TEXTURE
The texture of this recording is homophonic - multiple voices where one stands out prominently while the others harmonise. In this case the vocals of Paul Kelly is the prominent voice while the ensemble provides the accompaniment and harmony.
UNDERLYING ETHOS
The song tells the story of a Gurindji man who worked as a stockman on the Wave Hill Cattle Station. Vincent Lingiari lead his people as they endured an 8-year long strike from 1966, in response to the terrible wages and working conditions they faced while working for Lord (Samuel) Vestey. It soon became a land rights claim.
The 'little thing’ was Lingiari walking off, demanding better conditions for his people, which resulted eight years later in Prime Minister Whitlam symbolically giving land back to the Indigenous people, furthering the 'big thing’ of land rights and equality (Gifford).
The Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, travelled to Gurindji country on 16 August 1975 to officiate at the handover ceremony and said:
The 'little thing’ was Lingiari walking off, demanding better conditions for his people, which resulted eight years later in Prime Minister Whitlam symbolically giving land back to the Indigenous people, furthering the 'big thing’ of land rights and equality (Gifford).
The Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, travelled to Gurindji country on 16 August 1975 to officiate at the handover ceremony and said:
"Vincent Lingiari and men and women of the Gurindji people.
On this great day, I, Prime Minister of Australia, speak to you on behalf of the Australian people all those who honour and love this land we live in.
For them I want to say to you:
First, that we congratulate you and those who shared your struggle, on the victory you have achieved 9 years after you walked off Wave Hill Station in protest.
I want to acknowledge that we Australians have still much to do to redress the injustice and oppression that has for so long been the loss of Black Australians.
I want to promise you that this act of restitution which we perform today will not stand alone your fight was not for yourselves alone and we are determined that Aboriginal Australians everywhere will be helped by it.
I want to promise that, through their Government, the people of Australia will help you in your plans to use this land fruitfully for the Gurindji.
And I want to give back to you formally in Aboriginal and Australian Law ownership of this land of your fathers.
Vincent Lingiari I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands part of the earth itself as a sign that this land will be the possession of you and your children forever."
Lyrics - Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly (1991)
From Little Things Big Things Grow
by Kevin Carmody and Paul Kelly
Gather round people, I'll tell you a story
An eight-year long story of power and pride
British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari
Were opposite men on opposite sides
Vestey was fat with money and muscle
Beef was his business, broad was his door
Vincent was lean and spoke very little
He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Gurindji were working for nothing but rations
Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land
Daily the pressure got tighter and tighter
Gurindji decided they must make a stand
They picked up their swags and started off walking
At Wattie Creek they sat themselves down
Now it don't sound like much but it sure got tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in the town
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Vestey man said 'I'll double your wages
Seven quid a week you'll have in your hand'
Vincent said 'Uh-uh we're not talking about wages
We're sitting right here 'til we get our land'
Vestey man roared and Vestey man thundered
'You don't stand the chance of a cinder in snow!'
Vince said 'If we fall others are rising'
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiari boarded an airplane
Landed in Sydney, big city of lights
And daily he went round softly speaking his story
To all kinds of men from all walks of life
And Vincent sat down with big politicians
'This affair,' they told him, 'it's a matter of state
Let us sort it out, while your people are hungry'
Vincent said 'No thanks, we know how to wait'
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiari returned in an airplane
Back to his country once more to sit down
And he told his people 'Let the stars keep on turning
We have friends in the south, in the cities and towns'
Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting
'Til one day a tall stranger appeared in the land
And he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremony
And through Vincent's fingers he poured a handful of sand
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
That was the story of Vincent Lingiari
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege can not move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(w/ backing vocals)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(backing vocals only)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
by Kevin Carmody and Paul Kelly
Gather round people, I'll tell you a story
An eight-year long story of power and pride
British Lord Vestey and Vincent Lingiari
Were opposite men on opposite sides
Vestey was fat with money and muscle
Beef was his business, broad was his door
Vincent was lean and spoke very little
He had no bank balance, hard dirt was his floor
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Gurindji were working for nothing but rations
Where once they had gathered the wealth of the land
Daily the pressure got tighter and tighter
Gurindji decided they must make a stand
They picked up their swags and started off walking
At Wattie Creek they sat themselves down
Now it don't sound like much but it sure got tongues talking
Back at the homestead and then in the town
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Vestey man said 'I'll double your wages
Seven quid a week you'll have in your hand'
Vincent said 'Uh-uh we're not talking about wages
We're sitting right here 'til we get our land'
Vestey man roared and Vestey man thundered
'You don't stand the chance of a cinder in snow!'
Vince said 'If we fall others are rising'
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiari boarded an airplane
Landed in Sydney, big city of lights
And daily he went round softly speaking his story
To all kinds of men from all walks of life
And Vincent sat down with big politicians
'This affair,' they told him, 'it's a matter of state
Let us sort it out, while your people are hungry'
Vincent said 'No thanks, we know how to wait'
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Then Vincent Lingiari returned in an airplane
Back to his country once more to sit down
And he told his people 'Let the stars keep on turning
We have friends in the south, in the cities and towns'
Eight years went by, eight long years of waiting
'Til one day a tall stranger appeared in the land
And he came with lawyers and he came with great ceremony
And through Vincent's fingers he poured a handful of sand
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
That was the story of Vincent Lingiari
But this is the story of something much more
How power and privilege can not move a people
Who know where they stand and stand in the law
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(w/ backing vocals)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(backing vocals only)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Lyrics - Ziggy Ramo (2021)
Little Things (featuring Paul Kelly)
by Ziggy Ramo
Gather 'round, people, and I'll tell you a story
Two hundred years of history that's falsified
British invaders that we remember as heroes
Are you ready to tell the other side?
We start our story in 1493
With a piece of paper called the Doctrine of Discovery
Invoked by Pope Alexander VI
Without this good Christian, our story don't exist
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Captain James Cook, he boarded a fleet
And he was armed with the Doctrine of Discovery
The same tactics were used by Columbus
It's how today Australia claims terra nullius
Cause on that paper, the Pope did write
That you're only human if you've been saved by Christ
And if there are no Christians in sight
The land you stumble on becomes your God-given right
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Is that your law? Cause that's invasion
That's the destruction of five hundred nations
The genocide of entire populations
Which planted the seeds for the stolen generation
And grew into my people's mass incarceration
Now we pass trauma through many generations
But the lord can't discover what already existed
For two hundred years, my people have resisted
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
The wars continued since Captain James Cook
And this side of history, you don't write in your books
You don't want the truth and you don't want to listen
But how can you stomach Australia's contradiction
'Cause we went to war in 1945
We were allies against a terrible genocide
And I know it's uncomfortable but the irony I see
Is that you fought for them, but you don't fight for me
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
We should move on. Move on to what?
I still remember, have you forgot?
That Vincent Lingiari knew others were rising
Gurindji inspired us to keep on fighting
So call it Australia, go on call it what you like
I just call it how I see it and I see genocide
Now that you hear me, can you understand?
There will never be justice on our stolen land
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
This is the story of so called Australia
But this is the story of so much more
How power and privilege can not move my people
We know where we stand, we stand in our law
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(w/ backing vocals)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(backing vocals only)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Since 1991, four hundred and forty-one
Indigenous Australians have died in custody
The casualties of a war that never ended
But we are not yet defeated
Always was, always will be
Sovereignty was never ceded
by Ziggy Ramo
Gather 'round, people, and I'll tell you a story
Two hundred years of history that's falsified
British invaders that we remember as heroes
Are you ready to tell the other side?
We start our story in 1493
With a piece of paper called the Doctrine of Discovery
Invoked by Pope Alexander VI
Without this good Christian, our story don't exist
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Captain James Cook, he boarded a fleet
And he was armed with the Doctrine of Discovery
The same tactics were used by Columbus
It's how today Australia claims terra nullius
Cause on that paper, the Pope did write
That you're only human if you've been saved by Christ
And if there are no Christians in sight
The land you stumble on becomes your God-given right
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Is that your law? Cause that's invasion
That's the destruction of five hundred nations
The genocide of entire populations
Which planted the seeds for the stolen generation
And grew into my people's mass incarceration
Now we pass trauma through many generations
But the lord can't discover what already existed
For two hundred years, my people have resisted
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
The wars continued since Captain James Cook
And this side of history, you don't write in your books
You don't want the truth and you don't want to listen
But how can you stomach Australia's contradiction
'Cause we went to war in 1945
We were allies against a terrible genocide
And I know it's uncomfortable but the irony I see
Is that you fought for them, but you don't fight for me
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
We should move on. Move on to what?
I still remember, have you forgot?
That Vincent Lingiari knew others were rising
Gurindji inspired us to keep on fighting
So call it Australia, go on call it what you like
I just call it how I see it and I see genocide
Now that you hear me, can you understand?
There will never be justice on our stolen land
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
This is the story of so called Australia
But this is the story of so much more
How power and privilege can not move my people
We know where we stand, we stand in our law
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(w/ backing vocals)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
(backing vocals only)
From little things big things grow
From little things big things grow
Since 1991, four hundred and forty-one
Indigenous Australians have died in custody
The casualties of a war that never ended
But we are not yet defeated
Always was, always will be
Sovereignty was never ceded
Analysis of Lyrics
The lyrics of Ziggy Ramo are powerful to say the least. They're uncomfortable. They're supposed to be. The deliberate killing of tens of thousands of people from a collection of nations with the aim of destroying them, should cause a lot more than discomfort. I hope in the following words the students and I can support Ramo's voice and play a part in the truth telling.
After listening to Ramo's version the students wrote and researched questions relating to the lyrics. These questions formed the basis of our investigation and some of our answers are below.
After listening to Ramo's version the students wrote and researched questions relating to the lyrics. These questions formed the basis of our investigation and some of our answers are below.
Questions that students devised and answered throughout their research
- What is meant by 200 years of history?
- Give 3 examples of British invaders we remember as heroes?
- What happened in 1493? Who did this benefit?
- What is the Doctrine of Discovery?
- Who was Pope Alexander VI?
- Who was Captain James Cook and how did he use the Doctrine?
- Who was Columbus, what did he do similar to Cook?
- What is meant by terra nullius?
- What is meant by 500 nations?
- What is genocide? Give examples of genocide in history.
- Who are the stolen generation and what happened/why did it happen?
- What is mass incarceration?
- Which wars is Ziggy referring to?
- What is the contradiction referred to?
- How many indigenous people fought in 1945? Which battle is he referring to?
- What is irony and what is the irony of the situation in this context?
- What are allies?
- What is meant by "We should move on. Move on to what?"
- What is the current count of deaths in custody? How has this changed throughout history?
- Why do deaths in custody occur and what is being done to end this problem?
- What is meant by "Always was, always will be"?
- What is meant by "sovereignty was never ceded"?
"Two hundred years of history that's falsified"
In January 1788 (approximately two hundred years ago) a land where 500 nations had lived for over 65,000 years, was invaded by fleets of Christians from Europe. The history books that we grew up with never told the story from the other side.
What does 200 years look like in context of 65,000 years? Each flag in the graphic below represents 200 years of time.
In January 1788 (approximately two hundred years ago) a land where 500 nations had lived for over 65,000 years, was invaded by fleets of Christians from Europe. The history books that we grew up with never told the story from the other side.
What does 200 years look like in context of 65,000 years? Each flag in the graphic below represents 200 years of time.
200 years of European inhabitance ÷ 65,000 years of indigenous inhabitance = just 0.003% of time or 1/325th.
Graphic representation created by Mark Cameron-Smith
"British invaders that we remember as heroes"
On 26 January 1788 eleven ships lead by Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into what is now known as Port Jackson on HMS Supply and raised the British flag to proclaim the colony of New South Wales.
History books talk of the leaders of the First Fleet as heroes. It's true that during the 250 days of sailing from Portsmouth, England to Botany Bay, that they would have encountered many obstacles where they were called on to demonstrate heroic attributes. However their actions after that moment of invasion don't seem to be those of heroes.
A hero is defined as a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. It's difficult to imagine that people who invade nations demonstrated qualities such as honesty and generosity.
We recognise these 'heroes', using their names in towns and land masses (Ben Boyd National Park, Port Philip, Philip Island, Cook Island), education institutions (Flinders University, Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, James Cook University), waterways (Cooks River, Darling River), etc.
Captain James Cook
Captain Arthur Phillip
Christopher Columbus
Ben Boyd
In 2001 the Australian electoral division created the Division of Lingiari (named after Vincent Lingiari), which includes the city of Darwin.
On 26 January 1788 eleven ships lead by Captain Arthur Phillip sailed into what is now known as Port Jackson on HMS Supply and raised the British flag to proclaim the colony of New South Wales.
History books talk of the leaders of the First Fleet as heroes. It's true that during the 250 days of sailing from Portsmouth, England to Botany Bay, that they would have encountered many obstacles where they were called on to demonstrate heroic attributes. However their actions after that moment of invasion don't seem to be those of heroes.
A hero is defined as a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. It's difficult to imagine that people who invade nations demonstrated qualities such as honesty and generosity.
We recognise these 'heroes', using their names in towns and land masses (Ben Boyd National Park, Port Philip, Philip Island, Cook Island), education institutions (Flinders University, Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, James Cook University), waterways (Cooks River, Darling River), etc.
Captain James Cook
- James Cook was a British naval captain, navigator and explorer who is known to have mapped out the east coast of Australia, paving the way for the spread of the British settlement. His mission in 1770 was to travel the Tahiti to observe Venus moving across the face of the Sun. Once he arrived, he received orders to take possession of the new land in the name of the King of Great Britain. Cook raised the British flag on August 22nd 1770, beginning the British colonisation.
Captain Arthur Phillip
- Captain Arthur Phillip was the commander of the First Fleet who was a British hero known to lead the first permanent European colony on the Australian continent. Phillip hoped to learn the local language, gain information about food and water sources and understand their culture by kidnapping some Aboriginal men.
Christopher Columbus
- Christopher Columbus was not British but was an Italian explorer and navigator known to open the way for the widespread European exploration. He is seen as a hero and so called 'discoverer' of the 'New World'. Columbus lead the European invasion of the Americas. The impact of his voyages to the Americas included the death of many indigenous people due to murder and disease. This also lead to the displacement and enslavement of many Aboriginal people.
Ben Boyd
- Boyd is considered Australia's first 'blackbirder', the name given to operators who shipped South Sea Islanders to the colonies and paid minimal wages to evade anti-slavery laws. The name of the park has long sparked controversy, particularly among the local Indigenous community, who have called for it to be changed due to Boyd's links to 'blackbirding.' Source ABC News
In 2001 the Australian electoral division created the Division of Lingiari (named after Vincent Lingiari), which includes the city of Darwin.
"Are you ready to tell the other side?"
The story of the European invasion of Australia is generally told from the European point of view. The truth is that indigenous nations were invaded, resulting in mass genocide and slavery while the Christian Europeans assimilated the original inhabitants of the land. While in recent years there has been some shift in the awareness and recognition of pre-colonisation history, we still have a long way to go.
The story of the European invasion of Australia is generally told from the European point of view. The truth is that indigenous nations were invaded, resulting in mass genocide and slavery while the Christian Europeans assimilated the original inhabitants of the land. While in recent years there has been some shift in the awareness and recognition of pre-colonisation history, we still have a long way to go.
Sadly, so-called history books are still well behind where they should be in terms of even a basic recognition of Indigenous Australian culture before British colonisation. For example, the Jacaranda History Alive Australian Curriculum series of books (published in 2017) are used widely to teach History throughout Australian schools. The content of the series of books designed for years 7 through 10, is detailed in the section below. The only mention of Australia in the content of four volumes of a best-selling brand of books, begins from the time of British colonisation in the Year 9 topics and continued in Year 10.
Furthermore, this is no mention of the killing and abuse that took place since the British invasion. If change is going to happen, History books, especially school books, need to tell the other side.
Furthermore, this is no mention of the killing and abuse that took place since the British invasion. If change is going to happen, History books, especially school books, need to tell the other side.
Year 7 topics: Historians, archaeologists and the ancient past, Investigating an ancient mystery: the Olmec, The ancient past before farming, The ancient past since farming, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Ancient China, Ancient India
Year 8 topics: A world in change (c. 650–1400), A world of expanding contacts (c.1400–1750), The Vikings (c. 790–1066), Medieval Europe (c. 590–1500), The Ottoman Empire (c. 1299–1683), Renaissance Italy (c. 1400–1600), Angkor and the Khmer Empire (c. 802–1413), Japan under the shoguns (c. 794–1867), Polynesian expansion across the Pacific (c. 700–1756), Mongol expansion (c. 1206–1368), The Black Death – a 14th century plague, The Spanish conquest of the Americas (c. 1492–1572)
Year 9 topics: The modern world and Australia (1750-1918), The Industrial Revolution (1750-1914): (I) Technology and progress, The Industrial Revolution (1750–1914): (II) The impact on people, Movement of peoples (1750-1901), Making a nation — Australia (1750–1918): (I) Colonisation and conflict, Making a nation: (II) From colonies to nationhood, Asia and the world: China (1750–1918), World War I (1914-1918)
Year 10 topics: The modern world and Australia (1918-1939), World War II (1939-1945), The modern world and Australia since World War II, Rights and freedoms (1945-present), Popular culture (1945-present), The environment movement (1960s-present), Migration experiences (1945-present)
"We start our story in 1493 with a piece of paper called the Doctrine of Discovery"
The 1493 Papal decree aimed to promote Christian domination and superiority in the world, by justifying Christian European explorers' claims on land and waterways they allegedly discovered.
The 'Doctrine of Discovery' essentially ignored any other nation's cultural traditions or beliefs and gave the Christian explorers a passport to conquer and enslave the original inhabitants of the land.
The 1493 Papal decree aimed to promote Christian domination and superiority in the world, by justifying Christian European explorers' claims on land and waterways they allegedly discovered.
The 'Doctrine of Discovery' essentially ignored any other nation's cultural traditions or beliefs and gave the Christian explorers a passport to conquer and enslave the original inhabitants of the land.
Doctrine of Discovery (translated text)
Pope Alexander VI.
Demarcation Bull Granting Spain Possession of Lands Discovered by Columbus
Rome, May 4, 1493.
Broadside, 1 sheet.
Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the illustrious sovereigns, our very dear son in Christ, Ferdinand, king, and our very dear daughter in Christ, Isabella, queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, and Granada, health and apostolic benediction. Among other works well pleasing to the Divine Majesty and cherished of our heart, this assuredly ranks highest, that in our times especially the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself. Wherefore inas- much as by the favor of divine clemency, we, though of insufficient merits, have been called to this Holy See of Peter, recognizing that as true Catholic kings and princes, such as we have known you always to be, and as your illustrious deeds already known to almost the whole world declare, you not only eagerly desire but with every effort, zeal, and diligence, without regard to hardships, expenses, dangers, with the shedding even of your blood, are laboring to that end; recognizing also that you have long since dedicated to this purpose your whole soul and all your endeavors--as witnessed in these times with so much glory to the Divine Name in your recovery of the kingdom of Granada from the yoke of the Saracens--we therefore are rightly led, and hold it as our duty, to grant you even of our own accord and in your favor those things whereby with effort each day more hearty you may be enabled for the honor of God himself and the spread of the Christian rule to carry forward your holy and praiseworthy purpose so pleasing to immortal God. We have indeed learned that you, who for a long time had intended to seek out and discover certain islands and mainlands remote and unknown and not hitherto discovered by others, to the end that you might bring to the worship of our Redeemer and the profession of the Catholic faith their residents and inhabitants, having been up to the present time greatly engaged in the siege and recovery of the kingdom itself of Granada were unable to accomplish this holy and praiseworthy purpose; but the said kingdom having at length been regained, as was pleasing to the Lord, you, with the wish to fulfill your desire, chose our beloved son, Christopher Columbus, a man assuredly worthy and of the highest recommendations and fitted for so great an undertaking, whom you furnished with ships and men equipped for like designs, not without the greatest hardships, dangers, and expenses, to make diligent quest for these remote and unknown mainlands and islands through the sea, where hitherto no one had sailed; and they at length, with divine aid and with the utmost diligence sailing in the ocean sea, discovered certain very remote islands and even mainlands that hitherto had not been discovered by others; wherein dwell very many peoples living in peace, and, as reported, going unclothed, and not eating flesh. Moreover, as your aforesaid envoys are of opinion, these very peoples living in the said islands and countries believe in one God, the Creator in heaven, and seem sufficiently disposed to embrace the Catholic faith and be trained in good morals. And it is hoped that, were they instructed, the name of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, would easily be introduced into the said countries and islands. Also, on one of the chief of these aforesaid islands the said Christopher has already caused to be put together and built a fortress fairly equipped, wherein he has stationed as garrison certain Christians, companions of his, who are to make search for other remote and unknown islands and mainlands. In the islands and countries already discovered are found gold, spices, and very many other precious things of divers kinds and qualities. Wherefore, as becomes Catholic kings and princes, after earnest consideration of all matters, especially of the rise and spread of the Catholic faith, as was the fashion of your ancestors, kings of renowned memory, you have purposed with the favor of divine clemency to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands with their residents and inhabitants and to bring them to the Catholic faith. Hence, heartily commending in the Lord this your holy and praiseworthy purpose, and desirous that it be duly accomplished, and that the name of our Savior be carried into those regions, we exhort you very earnestly in the Lord and by your reception of holy baptism, whereby you are bound to our apostolic commands, and by the bowels of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, enjoy strictly, that inasmuch as with eager zeal for the true faith you design to equip and despatch this expedition, you purpose also, as is your duty, to lead the peoples dwelling in those islands and countries to embrace the Christian religion; nor at any time let dangers or hardships deter you therefrom, with the stout hope and trust in your hearts that Almighty God will further your undertakings. And, in order that you may enter upon so great an undertaking with greater readiness and heartiness endowed with benefit of our apostolic favor, we, of our own accord, not at your instance nor the request of anyone else in your regard, but out of our own sole largess and certain knowledge and out of the fullness of our apostolic power, by the authority of Almighty God conferred upon us in blessed Peter and of the vicarship of Jesus Christ, which we hold on earth, do by tenor of these presents, should any of said islands have been found by your envoys and captains, give, grant, and assign to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and Leon, forever, together with all their dominions, cities, camps, places, and villages, and all rights, jurisdictions, and appurtenances, all islands and mainlands found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole, namely the north, to the Antarctic pole, namely the south, no matter whether the said mainlands and islands are found and to be found in the direction of India or towards any other quarter, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde. With this proviso however that none of the islands and mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, beyond that said line towards the west and south, be in the actual possession of any Christian king or prince up to the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ just past from which the present year one thousand four hundred ninety-three begins. And we make, appoint, and depute you and your said heirs and successors lords of them with full and free power, authority, and jurisdiction of every kind; with this proviso however, that by this our gift, grant, and assignment no right acquired by any Christian prince, who may be in actual possesssion of said islands and mainlands prior to the said birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, is hereby to be understood to be withdrawn or taking away. Moreover we command you in virtue of holy obedience that, employing all due diligence in the premises, as you also promise--nor do we doubt your compliance therein in accordance with your loyalty and royal greatness of spirit--you should appoint to the aforesaid mainlands and islands worthy, Godfearing, learned, skilled, and expeienced men, in order to instruct the aforesaid inhabitants and residents in the Catholic faith and train them in good morals. Furthermore, under penalty of excommunication “late sententie” to be incurred “ipso facto,” should anyone thus contravene, we strictly forbid all persons of whatsoever rank, even imperial and royal, or of whatsoever estate, degree, order, or condition, to dare without your special permit or that of your aforesaid heirs and successors, to go for the purpose of trade or any other reason to the islands or mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole to the Antarctic pole, no matter whether the mainlands and islands, found and to be found, lie in the direction of India or toward any other quarter whatsoever, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south, as is aforesaid, from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde; apostolic constitutions and ordinances and other decrees whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding. We trust in Him from whom empires and governments and all good things proceed, that, should you, with the Lord’s guidance, pursue this holy and praiseworthy undertaking, in a short while your hardships and endeavors will attain the most felicitious result, to the happiness and glory of all Christendom. But inasmuch as it would be difficult to have these present letters sent to all places where desirable, we wish, and with similar accord and knowledge do decree, that to? copies of them, signed by the hand of a public notary commissioned therefor, and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical officer or ecclesiastical court, the same respect is to be shown in court and outside as well as anywhere else as would be given to these presents should they thus be exhibited or shown. Let no one, therefore, infringe, or with rash boldness contravene, this our recommendation, exhortation, requisition, gift, grant, assignment, constitution, deputation, decree, mandate, prohibition, and will. Should anyone presume to attempt this, be it known to him that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord one thousand four hundred and ninety-three, the fourth of May, and the first year of our pontificate.
Demarcation Bull Granting Spain Possession of Lands Discovered by Columbus
Rome, May 4, 1493.
Broadside, 1 sheet.
Alexander, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the illustrious sovereigns, our very dear son in Christ, Ferdinand, king, and our very dear daughter in Christ, Isabella, queen of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, and Granada, health and apostolic benediction. Among other works well pleasing to the Divine Majesty and cherished of our heart, this assuredly ranks highest, that in our times especially the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself. Wherefore inas- much as by the favor of divine clemency, we, though of insufficient merits, have been called to this Holy See of Peter, recognizing that as true Catholic kings and princes, such as we have known you always to be, and as your illustrious deeds already known to almost the whole world declare, you not only eagerly desire but with every effort, zeal, and diligence, without regard to hardships, expenses, dangers, with the shedding even of your blood, are laboring to that end; recognizing also that you have long since dedicated to this purpose your whole soul and all your endeavors--as witnessed in these times with so much glory to the Divine Name in your recovery of the kingdom of Granada from the yoke of the Saracens--we therefore are rightly led, and hold it as our duty, to grant you even of our own accord and in your favor those things whereby with effort each day more hearty you may be enabled for the honor of God himself and the spread of the Christian rule to carry forward your holy and praiseworthy purpose so pleasing to immortal God. We have indeed learned that you, who for a long time had intended to seek out and discover certain islands and mainlands remote and unknown and not hitherto discovered by others, to the end that you might bring to the worship of our Redeemer and the profession of the Catholic faith their residents and inhabitants, having been up to the present time greatly engaged in the siege and recovery of the kingdom itself of Granada were unable to accomplish this holy and praiseworthy purpose; but the said kingdom having at length been regained, as was pleasing to the Lord, you, with the wish to fulfill your desire, chose our beloved son, Christopher Columbus, a man assuredly worthy and of the highest recommendations and fitted for so great an undertaking, whom you furnished with ships and men equipped for like designs, not without the greatest hardships, dangers, and expenses, to make diligent quest for these remote and unknown mainlands and islands through the sea, where hitherto no one had sailed; and they at length, with divine aid and with the utmost diligence sailing in the ocean sea, discovered certain very remote islands and even mainlands that hitherto had not been discovered by others; wherein dwell very many peoples living in peace, and, as reported, going unclothed, and not eating flesh. Moreover, as your aforesaid envoys are of opinion, these very peoples living in the said islands and countries believe in one God, the Creator in heaven, and seem sufficiently disposed to embrace the Catholic faith and be trained in good morals. And it is hoped that, were they instructed, the name of the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, would easily be introduced into the said countries and islands. Also, on one of the chief of these aforesaid islands the said Christopher has already caused to be put together and built a fortress fairly equipped, wherein he has stationed as garrison certain Christians, companions of his, who are to make search for other remote and unknown islands and mainlands. In the islands and countries already discovered are found gold, spices, and very many other precious things of divers kinds and qualities. Wherefore, as becomes Catholic kings and princes, after earnest consideration of all matters, especially of the rise and spread of the Catholic faith, as was the fashion of your ancestors, kings of renowned memory, you have purposed with the favor of divine clemency to bring under your sway the said mainlands and islands with their residents and inhabitants and to bring them to the Catholic faith. Hence, heartily commending in the Lord this your holy and praiseworthy purpose, and desirous that it be duly accomplished, and that the name of our Savior be carried into those regions, we exhort you very earnestly in the Lord and by your reception of holy baptism, whereby you are bound to our apostolic commands, and by the bowels of the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, enjoy strictly, that inasmuch as with eager zeal for the true faith you design to equip and despatch this expedition, you purpose also, as is your duty, to lead the peoples dwelling in those islands and countries to embrace the Christian religion; nor at any time let dangers or hardships deter you therefrom, with the stout hope and trust in your hearts that Almighty God will further your undertakings. And, in order that you may enter upon so great an undertaking with greater readiness and heartiness endowed with benefit of our apostolic favor, we, of our own accord, not at your instance nor the request of anyone else in your regard, but out of our own sole largess and certain knowledge and out of the fullness of our apostolic power, by the authority of Almighty God conferred upon us in blessed Peter and of the vicarship of Jesus Christ, which we hold on earth, do by tenor of these presents, should any of said islands have been found by your envoys and captains, give, grant, and assign to you and your heirs and successors, kings of Castile and Leon, forever, together with all their dominions, cities, camps, places, and villages, and all rights, jurisdictions, and appurtenances, all islands and mainlands found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole, namely the north, to the Antarctic pole, namely the south, no matter whether the said mainlands and islands are found and to be found in the direction of India or towards any other quarter, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde. With this proviso however that none of the islands and mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, beyond that said line towards the west and south, be in the actual possession of any Christian king or prince up to the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ just past from which the present year one thousand four hundred ninety-three begins. And we make, appoint, and depute you and your said heirs and successors lords of them with full and free power, authority, and jurisdiction of every kind; with this proviso however, that by this our gift, grant, and assignment no right acquired by any Christian prince, who may be in actual possesssion of said islands and mainlands prior to the said birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ, is hereby to be understood to be withdrawn or taking away. Moreover we command you in virtue of holy obedience that, employing all due diligence in the premises, as you also promise--nor do we doubt your compliance therein in accordance with your loyalty and royal greatness of spirit--you should appoint to the aforesaid mainlands and islands worthy, Godfearing, learned, skilled, and expeienced men, in order to instruct the aforesaid inhabitants and residents in the Catholic faith and train them in good morals. Furthermore, under penalty of excommunication “late sententie” to be incurred “ipso facto,” should anyone thus contravene, we strictly forbid all persons of whatsoever rank, even imperial and royal, or of whatsoever estate, degree, order, or condition, to dare without your special permit or that of your aforesaid heirs and successors, to go for the purpose of trade or any other reason to the islands or mainlands, found and to be found, discovered and to be discovered, towards the west and south, by drawing and establishing a line from the Arctic pole to the Antarctic pole, no matter whether the mainlands and islands, found and to be found, lie in the direction of India or toward any other quarter whatsoever, the said line to be distant one hundred leagues towards the west and south, as is aforesaid, from any of the islands commonly known as the Azores and Cape Verde; apostolic constitutions and ordinances and other decrees whatsoever to the contrary notwithstanding. We trust in Him from whom empires and governments and all good things proceed, that, should you, with the Lord’s guidance, pursue this holy and praiseworthy undertaking, in a short while your hardships and endeavors will attain the most felicitious result, to the happiness and glory of all Christendom. But inasmuch as it would be difficult to have these present letters sent to all places where desirable, we wish, and with similar accord and knowledge do decree, that to? copies of them, signed by the hand of a public notary commissioned therefor, and sealed with the seal of any ecclesiastical officer or ecclesiastical court, the same respect is to be shown in court and outside as well as anywhere else as would be given to these presents should they thus be exhibited or shown. Let no one, therefore, infringe, or with rash boldness contravene, this our recommendation, exhortation, requisition, gift, grant, assignment, constitution, deputation, decree, mandate, prohibition, and will. Should anyone presume to attempt this, be it known to him that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul. Given at Rome, at St. Peter’s, in the year of the incarnation of our Lord one thousand four hundred and ninety-three, the fourth of May, and the first year of our pontificate.
"The same tactics were used by Columbus"
Christopher Columbus (an Italian explorer) arrived in Americas in 1492. Historians believe that the Americas were occupied by 100 million indigenous peoples at the time - approximately one fifth of the human race on the planet at that time. However as they were not Christians, hence the land of the Americas was ruled terra nullius.
Christopher Columbus (an Italian explorer) arrived in Americas in 1492. Historians believe that the Americas were occupied by 100 million indigenous peoples at the time - approximately one fifth of the human race on the planet at that time. However as they were not Christians, hence the land of the Americas was ruled terra nullius.
"It's how today Australia claims terra nullius"
Terra nullius is a Latin term meaning “land belonging to no one”. The term was used to justify the British settlement without any payment or agreement with the first nations.
Justice Blackburn ruled in the Gove land rights case of 1971 that Australia was terra nullius prior to the invasion. After many failed attempts to challenge this case, the Indigenous Meriam people (including Eddie Koiki Mabo) were finally successful when in 1992 the High Court of Australia ruled that they were "entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of (most of) the lands of the Murray Islands".
The ruling meant that Australia was not settled by the British - it was taken by force - terra nullius was void.
Terra nullius is a Latin term meaning “land belonging to no one”. The term was used to justify the British settlement without any payment or agreement with the first nations.
Justice Blackburn ruled in the Gove land rights case of 1971 that Australia was terra nullius prior to the invasion. After many failed attempts to challenge this case, the Indigenous Meriam people (including Eddie Koiki Mabo) were finally successful when in 1992 the High Court of Australia ruled that they were "entitled as against the whole world to possession, occupation, use and enjoyment of (most of) the lands of the Murray Islands".
The ruling meant that Australia was not settled by the British - it was taken by force - terra nullius was void.
"That you're only human if you've been saved by Christ
And if there are no Christians in sight
The land you stumble on becomes your God-given right"
The Doctrine of Discovery (explained above) didn't recognise non-Christians as land owners and effectively treated the indigenous peoples as animals. If the land was not occupied by Christians, it was available to conquer - apparently this was the will of God.
And if there are no Christians in sight
The land you stumble on becomes your God-given right"
The Doctrine of Discovery (explained above) didn't recognise non-Christians as land owners and effectively treated the indigenous peoples as animals. If the land was not occupied by Christians, it was available to conquer - apparently this was the will of God.
"Is that your law? Cause that's invasion
The genocide of entire populations"
Genocide is when someone intentionally kills masses of people from the same ethnicity. This is done with the intent to obliterate that group of people. One of the most well-known acts of genocide in history was in World War II when Adolph Hitler, as the leader of the Nazi party, tried to kill all of the Jewish peoples. In Australia, genocide occurred from the 18th century when European settlers in Australia tried to eliminate the first nations peoples.
The genocide of entire populations"
Genocide is when someone intentionally kills masses of people from the same ethnicity. This is done with the intent to obliterate that group of people. One of the most well-known acts of genocide in history was in World War II when Adolph Hitler, as the leader of the Nazi party, tried to kill all of the Jewish peoples. In Australia, genocide occurred from the 18th century when European settlers in Australia tried to eliminate the first nations peoples.
"Which planted the seeds for the stolen generation"
The stolen generation is a period in Australia’s history when Aboriginal children were taken from their families and their homes. They were taken to non-aboriginal foster families and treated abysmally, being abused physically and verbally. The aim of the stolen generation was to take the Aboriginal children away from their families so they could be educated by ‘white’ culture and the Aboriginal culture would disappear.
Further reading: https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/stolen-generations
The stolen generation is a period in Australia’s history when Aboriginal children were taken from their families and their homes. They were taken to non-aboriginal foster families and treated abysmally, being abused physically and verbally. The aim of the stolen generation was to take the Aboriginal children away from their families so they could be educated by ‘white’ culture and the Aboriginal culture would disappear.
Further reading: https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/stolen-generations
"'Cause we went to war in 1945"
Indigenous soldiers fought alongside white Europeans and Australians in many international conflicts, including World War II (8,000 indigenous soldiers served between 1939-1945). Upon returning from duty they were largely ignored and were not allowed in RSL clubs or supported (financially or mentally) as they dealt with the trauma of war. Their families were never supported by Legacy. On top of that a lot of them found that their families had been broken up as part of the stolen generations policies.
The indigenous soldiers still had a warrior ethic and they were protecting their country - fighting for their Indigenous nations.
Further reading: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-fighting-gunditjmara
Indigenous soldiers fought alongside white Europeans and Australians in many international conflicts, including World War II (8,000 indigenous soldiers served between 1939-1945). Upon returning from duty they were largely ignored and were not allowed in RSL clubs or supported (financially or mentally) as they dealt with the trauma of war. Their families were never supported by Legacy. On top of that a lot of them found that their families had been broken up as part of the stolen generations policies.
The indigenous soldiers still had a warrior ethic and they were protecting their country - fighting for their Indigenous nations.
Further reading: https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-fighting-gunditjmara
Gunditjmara man Reg Saunders surrounded by his mates of the 2/7th Battalion, in 1943.
"I know it’s uncomfortable"
This is true because our current nation hasn’t really been taught the truth. It is uncomfortable to know that non-indigenous ancestors of the country you live in killed thousands of people for their own ‘new’ land.
This is true because our current nation hasn’t really been taught the truth. It is uncomfortable to know that non-indigenous ancestors of the country you live in killed thousands of people for their own ‘new’ land.
"You fought for them but you didn’t fight for me"
This line tells the audience about the cold shoulder that the Aboriginal community got from the whitefellas living in their country after the war. The Aboriginal troops were welcomed into the war for extra forces, and in some cases were treated as equal, but after the war, more complications arose. The Aboriginal community were ignored, mistreated and overlooked over and over again when they continued to raise their collective voice about their rights.
This line tells the audience about the cold shoulder that the Aboriginal community got from the whitefellas living in their country after the war. The Aboriginal troops were welcomed into the war for extra forces, and in some cases were treated as equal, but after the war, more complications arose. The Aboriginal community were ignored, mistreated and overlooked over and over again when they continued to raise their collective voice about their rights.
"We should move on. Move on to what?"
On January 2012 (the 40th anniversary of the 'Aboriginal Tent Embassy') Tony Abbott (then Opposition Leader (Liberal Party of Australia) and former Prime Minister of Australia) was asked for his comment on the relevance of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. His response included the following words:
On January 2012 (the 40th anniversary of the 'Aboriginal Tent Embassy') Tony Abbott (then Opposition Leader (Liberal Party of Australia) and former Prime Minister of Australia) was asked for his comment on the relevance of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. His response included the following words:
"...a lot's changed since then (the Aboriginal Tent Embassy's establishment in 1972), and I think it probably is time to move on from that."
Tony Abbott, 2012
Those comments sparked protests and riots. To 'move on' from something means to put that issue aside and proceed. To use this phrase seems to imply that 'we' should dismiss the issues and legacy the Aboriginal Tent Embassy stood for, and continue as if it never existed; sadly, something that goes to the heart of the matter.
Abbott preceded his comments above by citing Kevin Rudd's "historic apology", and "the proposal...to recognise Indigenous people in The Constitution", as things that Indigenous people can be proud of, and that "every Australian" respect them for those two achievements.
Further reading: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-abbotts-tent-embassy-comments-were-wrong-20120201-1qssk.html
Abbott preceded his comments above by citing Kevin Rudd's "historic apology", and "the proposal...to recognise Indigenous people in The Constitution", as things that Indigenous people can be proud of, and that "every Australian" respect them for those two achievements.
Further reading: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-abbotts-tent-embassy-comments-were-wrong-20120201-1qssk.html
"There will never be justice on our stolen land"
Justice is often symbolised by a balanced set of scales implying that justice is when things are equal. Given all the lives, languages, lore and cultures, and land that has been destroyed or unlawfully taken, it is not conceivable that justice could ever occur.
The rights of native title held by Indigenous Australians people before European invasion were ignored for hundreds of years. In 'recent' times two High Court cases: Mabo (1992) and Wik (1996) recognised common law rights of native title. However Indigenous Australians claiming land rights 'face a miasma of complex legal and political issues, competing demands, a lack of resources, and a great deal of uncertainty' (Bauman 2013). In other words without masses of people getting behind them, Indigenous Australians face an almost insurmountable task to achieve balance.
Justice is often symbolised by a balanced set of scales implying that justice is when things are equal. Given all the lives, languages, lore and cultures, and land that has been destroyed or unlawfully taken, it is not conceivable that justice could ever occur.
The rights of native title held by Indigenous Australians people before European invasion were ignored for hundreds of years. In 'recent' times two High Court cases: Mabo (1992) and Wik (1996) recognised common law rights of native title. However Indigenous Australians claiming land rights 'face a miasma of complex legal and political issues, competing demands, a lack of resources, and a great deal of uncertainty' (Bauman 2013). In other words without masses of people getting behind them, Indigenous Australians face an almost insurmountable task to achieve balance.
"Since 1991, four hundred and forty-one Indigenous Australians have died in custody"
To understand what it means to die in custody, we must understand the significance of it and what it defines itself as. From the moment the British set foot on land, us Australians didn’t even think twice on how we need to respect the elders of this sacred land.
From 1991, there has been over 441 total deaths concerning indigenous Australians, 45+ of which located here in South Australia.
Through generations, the well-being of Indigenous Australian people has been severely abused and unreported. Among other human rights abuses, studies show that most Indigenous Australian deaths in custody are due to inadequate medical care, lack of attention (from the Governments) and self harm. The Guardian News and Media's database states Indigenous Australians are 3 times less likely to receive medical care than others. Therefore, increasing the overall death rate in custody. Even though much is not taken under consideration concerning this problem, many foundations, such as the AIC, work to improve care provided by police and corrective services.
To understand what it means to die in custody, we must understand the significance of it and what it defines itself as. From the moment the British set foot on land, us Australians didn’t even think twice on how we need to respect the elders of this sacred land.
From 1991, there has been over 441 total deaths concerning indigenous Australians, 45+ of which located here in South Australia.
Through generations, the well-being of Indigenous Australian people has been severely abused and unreported. Among other human rights abuses, studies show that most Indigenous Australian deaths in custody are due to inadequate medical care, lack of attention (from the Governments) and self harm. The Guardian News and Media's database states Indigenous Australians are 3 times less likely to receive medical care than others. Therefore, increasing the overall death rate in custody. Even though much is not taken under consideration concerning this problem, many foundations, such as the AIC, work to improve care provided by police and corrective services.
"Always was, always will be"
The phrase originated during the 1980s Barkandji peoples' land rights movement in far-western New South Wales during their fight for legal recognition and rights as sovereign owners of their homelands. Since that time it has become "a belief, a chant, and a fundamental understanding about the truth of Australia" (Mundine, 2020).
In simple terms the phrase recognises that the Australian Indigenous people were the first inhabitants of these lands, and that this will always be the case.
The phrase originated during the 1980s Barkandji peoples' land rights movement in far-western New South Wales during their fight for legal recognition and rights as sovereign owners of their homelands. Since that time it has become "a belief, a chant, and a fundamental understanding about the truth of Australia" (Mundine, 2020).
In simple terms the phrase recognises that the Australian Indigenous people were the first inhabitants of these lands, and that this will always be the case.
"Sovereignty was never ceded"
If someone in a position of authority cedes land or power to someone else, they surrender the land or power, often as a result of military or political pressure.
Indigenous Australia people still have right to this land; it was their land from the beginning. Sovereignty was never ceded means that they never gave up ownership over the land, sea and air. To this day they have the right to have supreme authority over the land and in the future they have the right to always rule over it.
If someone in a position of authority cedes land or power to someone else, they surrender the land or power, often as a result of military or political pressure.
Indigenous Australia people still have right to this land; it was their land from the beginning. Sovereignty was never ceded means that they never gave up ownership over the land, sea and air. To this day they have the right to have supreme authority over the land and in the future they have the right to always rule over it.
Student Work
Throughout the semester the students developed a much better understanding of the issues touched on in these songs. Most students had no understanding or awareness of their history prior to this unit of work.
The content below shows a snapshot of student work. While there are some factual errors and/or misinterpretation in their work below (some of their language shows limited understanding of appropriate terminology), I believe it is important to leave it 'as they submitted it', so we can see where they came from. In the time since they submitted this work, the students have clarified and corrected their understanding.
Thanks to Mannan, Eleina, Sienna, Kai, Tosha, Teya, Isabella, Judah, Ezzy, Julian, Harrison, Izzy, Thomas, Thomas, Aynsleigh, Jack, Jesse, Mayah, Slavi, Alexandria, Sashwat, Niona, Emily, Laura, Isaac, Joshua, Siân, and Natalie.
I'm incredibly proud of the enthusiasm, respect and interest the students showed throughout this semester. We continue to listen and learn, and will support change wherever we can.
Mark Cameron-Smith
The content below shows a snapshot of student work. While there are some factual errors and/or misinterpretation in their work below (some of their language shows limited understanding of appropriate terminology), I believe it is important to leave it 'as they submitted it', so we can see where they came from. In the time since they submitted this work, the students have clarified and corrected their understanding.
Thanks to Mannan, Eleina, Sienna, Kai, Tosha, Teya, Isabella, Judah, Ezzy, Julian, Harrison, Izzy, Thomas, Thomas, Aynsleigh, Jack, Jesse, Mayah, Slavi, Alexandria, Sashwat, Niona, Emily, Laura, Isaac, Joshua, Siân, and Natalie.
I'm incredibly proud of the enthusiasm, respect and interest the students showed throughout this semester. We continue to listen and learn, and will support change wherever we can.
Mark Cameron-Smith
Unedited student work
What is Meant by 200 Years of History?
It was 1787 when Captain Arthur Phillip led over 1500 British men, women and children from Portsmouth in England to Botany Bay in Sydney. After three months on board, the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay on the 24th of January 1788, where lived the Aboriginal People who had lived in isolation over the past 40,000 years. The lyrics in Little Things refers to the time when the Europeans began to spread their settlement. The colonisation of the Europeans changed the Aboriginal People's lifestyles early as colonisers had already begun to fish, cut trees and shoot animal life. Though the relationship had been steady between the Europeans and Aboriginal People, as the number of settlers and land being occupied grew, conflicts over land and culture began to take place. The Aboriginal resistance meant that the Europeans soon began to send out expeditions of soldiers to punish any groups who threatened their farms or settlers. By 1800, rather than resolve conflict, it became the European Government's policy to 'keep the native Australians out'.
It was around 200 years ago when children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent were removed from their families. Of what we know as the Stolen Generation, had a major impact on families and children's lives. Children were taken by Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, through acts of their respective parliaments. The policy was based off of a misguided assumption that the lives of the First Nations people would be improved if they became a part of the white society in which they focused on assimilating children into the white community. Children would be taken forcefully from their families, were taught to reject their heritage, changed their names and were often exposed to abuse and neglect. The impacts of the European Settlement was devastating including the disruption of passing on the First Nations cultures and a loss of their traditional lives.
It has been over the past 200 years that these events have taken place and the Aboriginal People have resisted the genocide of their community.
When Ziggy says ‘200 years of history falsified’ he means that the truth of the last 200 years of Aboriginal people were hidden from the public. In the last 200+ years Aboriginal people have been mistreated, enslaved and have also faced genocide. Until 1965 Aboriginal people had been considered flora and fauna and white settlers had no regard for their lives. Instead of telling the truth it has just been blatantly ignored and when asked people would’ve said that they are animals.
Give 3 Examples of British Invaders we Remember as Heroes
James Cook was a British naval Captain, navigator and explorer who is known to have mapped out the east coast of Australia, paving the way for the spread of the British settlement. His mission in 1770 was to travel the Tahiti to observe Venus moving across the face of the Sun. Once he arrived, he received orders to take possession of the new land in the name of the king of Great Britain. James Cook apparently didn't receive any consent from the Aboriginal People and was known to raise the British flag on August 22nd, 1770 beginning the British colonisation.
Captain Arthur Phillip was the commander of the First Fleet who was a British hero known to lead the first permanent European colony on the Australian continent. In the first interactions between tl1e Aboriginal People and the settlers, Phillip believed that there would be no problems between them and thought he would be able negotiate peace. Though through curiosity, Phillip hoped to learn the local language, gain information about food and water sources and understand their culture by kidnapping some Aboriginal men.
Christopher Columbus was not British but was an Italian explorer and navigator known to open the way for the widespread European exploration. He is seen as a hero and so called 'discoverer' of the New World. Columbus Introduced the Europeans to America, sending many nations exploring for new lands. The impact of his voyages to the Americas included the death of many indigenous people due to murder and disease. This also lead to the displacement and
enslavement of many Aboriginal people.
Captain James Cook was a British explorer and he was the first European to navigate and make detailed maps of Australia or ‘Newfoundland’ (what it was called then). In the process he and his crew killed many Aboriginal people and also did not mention any humans inhabited on the island.
Admiral Arthur Phillip and his fleet of 11 ships arrived in Botany Bay from England on January 26th, 1787 and he raised the United Kingdom flag and claimed Australia as their own. After doing this he and his colony built a European society and disregarded Aboriginal people and the land/animals. Aboriginal people were often killed and imprisoned just because of their culture and race.
John McDouall Stuart did not invade Australia as a whole but he did invade Aboriginals peoples’ land and on his journey from northern Australia to Southend, he killed many Aboriginal groups from all over the nation(s).
What Happened in 1493? Who did this Benefit?
In 1493, the Doctrine of Discovery was issued after Christopher Columbus arrived on the shores of North America. The Doctrine of Discovery was a legal justification for colonisation and seizure of land that was not inhabited by Christians. It was this doctrine that worked as the framework to justify explorers claims on vacant land (terra nullius), of which the Europeans allegedly discovered. This also promoted Christian domination and was applied in Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. The doctrine was Issued by Pope Alexander Vl on May 4th, 1493 and had a large role in the Spanish conquest. This document also ensured Spain had rights to the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus the year before.
This benefited the European Christians as they were allowed to take possession of land that wasn't really theirs. This impact of this doctrine on Aboriginal people meant that when the Europeans arrived in Botany Bay, they had given themselves authority to colonise the land. The doctrine was a built law for the Europeans that was truly an invasion of nations.
In 1493 Pope Alexander VI made the Doctrine of Discovery. This allowed European Christians to explore and conquer land that is not inhabited by Christians. This benefited Christians by allowing them to take land with all of Europe on their aid. This was practiced in Australia and many countries around the world. Aboriginal and native people across the globe are still affected to this day.
Who was Columbus and what did he do similar to cook?
Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator and explore who was responsible for the white colonisation of the Americas, and the genocide of native Americans. Captain James cook was also an explorer and navigator. He was responsible for the colonisation of Australia.
What is meant by terra nullius?
Terra nullius is Latin for nobody’s land. It is a doctrine used by the British government that was used to justify the settlement of Australia.
Terra nullius means nobody’s land. In this song it they’re showing that Australia is now nobody’s land as it was taken from them. The British colonies were not recognising that is was their land and making it their own. Now they had acknowledged that it is not their land, but they didn’t call it the First People’s land, making it nobody’s land.
What is the ‘irony’ in this context?
The definition of irony that would best suit this context would be ‘a state of affair or event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects an sometimes so much so that it creates amusement.’ However, in this case Ziggy is talking about war and there the amusing or humorous attitude towards this topic is very sparse.
In the case of this song, the irony that Ziggy is referring to is how everyone fought for Britain during World War 2, However, nobody seemed to care that aborigines were also facing a lot of unfairness and were being unjustly killed.
What is ‘allies’ in this context?
During the song, Ziggy says ‘We were allies against a terrible genocide’. This was the genocide of the Jewish people. He says that we were allies against this so we were in the right. In this case we were working with the allied powers including Britain. However, he says that it is also contradictory that we spur our own genocides of original people and there is no fighting against that.
What does Ziggy mean by “Move on, move on to what?”
The original phrase move on was first mentioned by Tony Abbott. The context of this event has a longer background and history. The event that this is linked to first started when a bunch of indigenous Australian young adult started a protest for their land by sitting and camping outside of Parliament House.
By doing this, they accidentally found a loophole in Australian law as there was no rule against staying in such a place. Over the course of many years, the camping area and tradition has become popular among indigenous people as well as people that would like the aborigines to receive the land they deserve. When Abbott was asked about the tent embassy his reply was, ‘… The Tent Embassy all those years back ought not to be as intense today and that's why I said it was time to move on,’
This spurred somewhat of an outrage among many people as they believed the tent was a very historical and important thing to them and it seemed as if Abbott disliked it and possibly even wanted it removed.
The phrase ‘move on to what’ represents that the indigenous people don’t really have anywhere to ‘move on’ to without their land and rights.
What is genocide? Give examples of genocide in history.
Genocide is when someone intentionally kills masses of people from the same ethnicity. This is done with the intent to obliterate that group of people. One of the most well-known genocides in history was in WW2 when Hitler as the leader of the Nazi party wanted to kill all of the Jews. This is an example of genocide because Hitler intentionally wanted to kill Jewish people so that they would all be dead. A more local and just as bad genocide occurred in the 18th century when European settlers in Australia didn’t think that the Indigenous Australians were worthy enough to live in Australia and they wanted Australia to be purely white-coloured people. And so began a genocide with the intent of killing the Aborigines in order to wipe out their race.
Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large amount of people with a nation or ethnic differences. Some examples of genocide is the killing of the Jewish people in WWII and the white invasion on Australia in the late 18th Century.
The definition for genocide is ‘the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with aim of destroying that nation or group’. The lyrics ‘I just call it how I see it, and I see genocide’ means that in the past, lots of Aboriginal people were killed and that it still present today and many people remember it.
Who are the stolen generation and what happened/why did it happen?
The stolen generation was a period in Australia’s history when Aboriginal children were taken from their families and their homes. They were taken to non-aboriginal foster families and treated abysmally, being abused physically and verbally. The aim of the stolen generation was to take the Aboriginal children away from their families so they could be educated by ‘white’ culture and the Aboriginal culture would disappear.
What is mass incarceration?
Incarceration is the act of being put in prison. Mass incarceration therefore means that masses of people were incarcerated. This happened and still happens to Indigenous Australians. Multitudes of Aborigines are being incarcerated, some for no or very little reason. Aborigines are also treated very poorly in prison with many of them dying each year. Aborigines take up three percent of our population but take up 29 percent of the population in our prisons. These statistics are alarming and are absolutely horrific. Even though the views of Indigenous Australians have changed since the first European settlers in Australia in the 18th century, we still have a long way to go, and Aborigines are still fighting for their rights.
Mass Incarceration is a way of saying a big part of the population in jail. Aboriginals were subject to mass incarceration as they were not like the British and went against their beliefs. Now Aboriginals make up 3% of our population but 23% of the population in jail.
What is the current count of deaths in custody? How has this changed throughout history?
To understand what it means to die in custody, we must understand the significance of it and what it defines itself as. From the moment the British set foot on land, us Australians didn’t even think twice on how we need to respect the elders of this sacred land.
From 1991, there has been over 441 total deaths concerning indigenous Australians, 45+ of which located here in South Australia. Even this patronising number doesn’t compare to what ‘death in custody’ used to look like. Throughout history, there has been a number of instances concerning the care of Aboriginal people. One example is relating to the slavery towards them. Between the 1860’s and the 1950’s, Aboriginal people of all ages were taken from their homes and enlisted to work on cattle properties, kitchens, homesteads, and sheds all across Australia. Basically, imprisoned to a family, the Aboriginal people commonly experienced abuse and mistreatment, which lead to thousands of Aboriginal deaths.
Why do deaths in custody occur and what is being done to end this problem?
Through generations, the well-being of Aboriginal people and their clans has been severely abused and unmentioned. Among other human rights abuses, studies show that most aboriginal deaths (in custody) are due to inadequate medical care, lack of attention (from the government) and self-harm. To add, “The Guardian” database exclaims how indigenous people are 3x less likely to receive medical care than others. Therefore, increasing the overall death rate in imprisonment for the Aboriginal people. Even though much is not taken under consideration concerning this problem, many foundations, such as the AIC, work (in the future) to improve care by police and corrective services.
What is meant by “Sovereignty was never ceded”?
From human nature, I think it’s safe to say that giving up a key element (in our lives) is terribly difficult. I bet the Indigenous guardians could say the same. Australia is considered their gemstone and their life. They respect every feature of it, so “giving” it up just wouldn’t be an option. When the British set foot on land, they presented the indigenous people with the ‘doctrine of discovery’. With this paper, it meant that that the British could take over any land they desired. Without permission, the British kept taking and taking. Taking without agreement. “Sovereignty was never ceded” means that the Aboriginal people still have right to this land; it was their land from the beginning. It means that they never gave up ownership over the land, sea and air. To this day they have the right to have supreme authority over the land and in the future, they have the right to always rule over it. Despite the mass killings in the 1800’s, this never defined how the indigenous guardians gave up ownership.
Who was Columbus?
It was said that Cristopher Columbus had discovered the New World of the Americas. Although he thought that he was the first one there, there were many indigenous people before him. Just like Captain Cook when he thought he could just take over the land. He used them as slaves and tortured them. It isn’t talked about as much that there were people before him in North America.
That’s the destruction of five hundred nations
This line explains that the five hundred nations of the Aboriginal people were ruined, by the early British settlers that invaded their land. Violence soon broke out across the land, and the invaders, the British, being better equipped with weapons killed 24,000 to 41,000 Aboriginal people. Foreign diseases such as measles, smallpox, influenza, and even sexually transmitted diseases were brought into their land, and the indigenous people had never needed to treat these diseases, because they were unknown to them, which killed around 60% of people.
500 nations is used to show the different colonies of Australia. Australia was filled with many colonies all with different cultures and beliefs. In this song they mention the destruction of 500 nations. They have been here long before the British colonies came. They have been living peacefully until Captain Cook came and tore it all up. This is showing how every single colony has been destroyed and effected by the British Colonies.
Which wars is Ziggy referring to?
The war Ziggy is referring to is the black war. The Black War was the period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Australians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 to 900 Aboriginal people and more than 200 European colonists, nearly annihilating the island's indigenous population.
What is the contradiction referred to?
The contradiction is referring to how the British in 1787 had taken over Australia, and how they got treated. It describes the struggles and horrors the Aboriginal people had to go through as they fought for their country.
How many indigenous people fought in 1945? Which battle is he referring to?
The war that he is referring to is the second world war. More than 3,000 Aboriginals and 850 Torres Strait Islanders fought in this war and over 27,000 Australians were killed and 23,000 wounded in action during World War II. In addition, hundreds more servicemen and women were killed and injured in accidents during the war.
Captain cook boarded a fleet, and was armed by the doctrine of discovery.
The Doctrine of discovery is a Christian rule, which meant that if you were the only Christian on land the land will be yours. The same tactic was used by Columbus for invading most of America. It's how today Australia owns the no man land (Terra Nullius). The pope does write that you are human if you have only been saves by Christ and the land you stumble in if your god given right.
Is that your law, cause that’s your invasion
Indigenous people thought to believe that Captain James Cook and the British people are invaders. “Is that your law” is the indigenous people asking the people if that’s how other nations act.
Doctrine of discovery
The doctrine of discovery stated that when they “discovered” a country they would be able to claim it if none of the inhabitants were Christian. This in turn allows them to claim most places such.
Who was Pope Alexander the 6th?
They invoked (brought into effect) the doctrine of discovery allowing it to then be used on countries such as Australia.
Without this good Christian, our story don’t exist
Pope Alexander the 6th is the person who invoked the doctrine of the discovery they wouldn’t be able to take over lands that weren’t theirs.
Two years of history that’s falsified
What he means by this is that what the government, education system and other influential groups show us is what they want us to see, and it doesn’t always show the whole story. Like how we are taught that captain cook came and started building a society without any objections from the Aborigines.
British invaders that we remember as heroes
When captain cook came to Australia him and his men committed many atrocities, but we just pretended that everything he did was good because it made our society what it is today.
You don't want the truth and you don't want to listen, but how can you stomach Australia's contradiction
The first line of this verse show that even though the first landing of captain cook happened a long time ago, that doesn't mean the effects of this event have stopped. The moment the English landed on the coast of Australia, the genocide started, and captain cook was the captain of the first fleet. There is still not complete equality, and that people are still fighting for the complete equality.
This line explains how people have been taught and told the good side of the invasion, they haven't been told about the genocide or invasion of people’s country.
‘Cause we went to war in 1945
In 1945, World War Two affected the world in such a way that is hasn’t been the same since. Aboriginal forces joined arms with Australian troops and they fought side by side for the years that the war raged on. About 3000 aboriginal people and 850 Torres Straight Islanders fought in World War Two, serving for the Australian side.
I know it’s uncomfortable
This is true because our current nation hasn’t really been taught the truth. It would be uncomfortable to know that the country you live in killed hundreds of peaceful people for their own ‘new’ land.
You fought for them but you didn’t fight for me
This line tells the audience about the cold shoulder that the Aboriginal community got from the whitefella living in their country after the war. The Aboriginal troops were welcomed into the war for extra forces, but after the war, more complications arose. The Aboriginal community were ignored, mistreated, and overlooked over and over again when they raised their voice about their rights.
At least 475 aboriginal people have died in custody since the end of 1991. Indigenous Australians are still dying in police custody. Not as many deaths but still more likely to be put in prison to begin with, compared to non-indigenous prisoners. As of September 2019, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners repressed 28% of the total adult prisoner population, while accounting for 3.3% of the general population.
Is that your law? Cause that’s invasion
This line is talking about how it was justified that the British came to Australia and colonised the indigenous peoples land, with the Doctrine of Discovery, meaning that any people that are in the Christian religion can go into any land and invade as long as it isn’t already claimed by Christian land.
The genocide of entire populations
This line describes that entire populations across the community of the indigenous people were wiped out by the invasion. 110 of the 500 tribes were completely wiped out, or under critical threat of being wiped out.
Which planted the seeds for the stolen generation
This line means that all of the massacres and violence began a movement known as the stolen generation. The Stolen Generations alludes to a period in Australia's history where Native children were evacuated from their families through government approaches. The children were denied all get to to their culture, they were not permitted to talk their dialect and they were rebuffed in the event that they did.
And grew into my people’s mass incarceration
The word incarceration means imprisonment, defining how the indigenous people would have felt being taken from their homes and used for slavery.
Now we pass trauma through many generations
This line tells us, that as much as we say sorry, or try to make up for things, the abuse that the indigenous people had to put up with, and still put up with to this day has had an irreversible impact on them, which is passed down through many generations, through stories.
But the lord can’t discover what already existed
Lord Vestey was in Charge of this movement and claimed that he “found Australia” but “you can’t discover what already existed” means that the British people can’t claimed that they founded Australia, because it was already inhabited.
For two hundred years, my people have resisted
Two hundred years ago, the first fleet arrived in Australia, and ever since then, indigenous people have been fighting for their rights.
Genocide
The definition for genocide is ‘the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with aim of destroying that nation or group’. The lyrics ‘I just call it how I see it, and I see genocide’ means that in the past, lots of Aboriginal people were killed and that it still present today and many people remember it.
The Gurindji are an Australian Aboriginal people of the northern Australia about 460km south-west if Kathrine which is in the Northern Territory’s Victoria River Region. Vincent Lingiari was an Aboriginal Rights activist. He started working at Wave Hill Station where the Aboriginal people were paid with rations, tobacco and clothing. In 1996 Lingiari was elected to become the leader of worker.
First line says that “We should move on” which means that they kind of want to go past that phase in time but it’s really hard to skip that past of the history. I am assuming that when Vincent Lingiari said that others are rising, he means that there are other Gurindji people rising. In the next line Gurindji inspired us to keep on fighting it’s saying that they all worked together as if to motivate each other to bring down British Lord Vesty.
Two hundred years of history that’s falsified
What he means by this is that what the government, education system and other influential groups show us is what they want us to see and it doesn’t always show the whole story. Like how we are taught that captain cook came and started building a society without any objections from the Aborigines.
British invaders that we remember as heroes
When captain cook came to Australia him and his men committed many atrocities, but we just pretended that everything he did was good because it made our society what it is today.
The wars continued since Captain James Cook
The first line of this verse show that even though the first landing of captain cook happened a long time ago, that doesn't mean the effects of this event have stopped. The moment the English landed on the coast of Australia, the genocide started, and captain cook was the captain of the first fleet. There is still not complete equality, and that people are still fighting for the complete equality.
And this side of history, you don't write in your books
This line explains how people have been taught and told the good side of the invasion, they haven't been told about the genocide or invasion of people’s country, and how that has effected generation of Aboriginal people to come.
You don't want the truth and you don't want to listen
I believe line 3 is talking about how people are scared to believe what happened is true, so they write it off as nothing happened, making the situation worse. People should embrace the fact that the genocide did truly happen, and that these people should educate themselves on the real history of the country the live in.
But how can you stomach Australia's contradiction
The way I have interpreted this line is that the way this invasion is known as colonization and how it is said that nothing bad actually happened, totally contradicts what actually happened. The definition of contradiction is "a combination of statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another". How can people live knowing that the real story of Australia's history is not known, and the story that is known is the complete opposite of what happened.
What is the Doctrine of Discovery?
The Doctrine of discovery was used by European and British monarchies, where it provided legal framework for Christian explorers to claim lands and territories that hadn’t yet been inhabited by Christians. It legally allowed the British and European monarchies to conquer and claim lands, by either killing or converting the native and indigenous inhabitants of those lands. The Doctrine asserted that anything and anyone non-Christian were not human and therefore made any land “empty.” Which in other terms, is called terra nullius.
The Doctrine of Discovery impacted indigenous peoples all over the world, where explorers claimed ownership of land in Spain, Canada, Africa, Asia New Zealand, America, Australia and many more. This policy gave authorisation for tragic events in history, like enslavement and genocides.
Who was Pope Alexander VI?
Pope Alexander VI was one of the most infamous Popes in history, who’s birth name was actually Rodrigo Borgia. Pope Alexander was known for being extremely corrupted and it was rumoured for generations that he only succeeded in gaining the role of a Pope, by bribing other Cardinals to vote for him.
Pope Alexander VI used the Doctrine of Discovery. He used this new policy to authorise Spain and Portugal to conquer/colonise the Americas and its native peoples. Pope Alexander VI used this Doctrine of Discovery to justify the killing of the natives and enslavement of Africans.
Who was Captain James Cook and how did he use the Doctrine?
Captain James Cook was a British explorer, who used The Doctrine of Discovery to colonise Australia. When captain Cook arrived in Australia, under King George III, the 750,000 aboriginals who had already been living there for over 65,000 years were seen as “non-humans” (as they were not Christian) and Captain Cook declared the land Terra Nullius (empty) and claimed Australia. After claiming Australian land for Britain, he used the land to expand the British Empire and to alleviate the overcrowding British prisons.
What is genocide? Give examples of genocide in history.
Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large amount of people with a nation or ethnic differences. Some examples of genocide is the killing of the Jewish people in WWII and the white invasion on Australia in the late 18th Century.
Who are the stolen generation and what happened/why did it happen?
The Stolen Generation is a period in history where Aboriginal children were taken away from their families by the British Government. They were taken as they were going to school and placed in institutions or adopted by non-aboriginals and were subject to abuse. They were denied their right to speak their own language and got punished if they did. It happened because the British Government didn’t want natives and wanted to live in a white society.
Comparison of two songs
Similarities
Differences
While both songs both share the same chorus and depict Australian history through an Aboriginal person’s point of view, Ziggy Ramo and Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody tell different stories in their unique versions of ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’.
Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s version tells the story of Vincent Lingari’s journey to earning land rights for himself and his fellow Aboriginal people. Through the lyrics of ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’, we learn about how Lingari was treated unfairly and how he was brave enough to stand for what was right and fight to gain land right.
Ziggy Ramo’s version of the song, however, tells a more modernised version of Aboriginal rights and reminds us of how far we still have to go to make things right. Ziggy talks about how unfair society is towards Aboriginal people and, while singing live with Paul Kelly, got quite emotional so it is obviously very personal and raw for him. He reminds us that no one can forget what happened in the past and we shouldn’t ‘move on’ because that means forgetting the horrible circumstances Aboriginal people had to, and still do, face.
Both songs were really moving to listen to and opened my eyes to another person’s view of Australia.
It was 1787 when Captain Arthur Phillip led over 1500 British men, women and children from Portsmouth in England to Botany Bay in Sydney. After three months on board, the First Fleet arrived at Botany Bay on the 24th of January 1788, where lived the Aboriginal People who had lived in isolation over the past 40,000 years. The lyrics in Little Things refers to the time when the Europeans began to spread their settlement. The colonisation of the Europeans changed the Aboriginal People's lifestyles early as colonisers had already begun to fish, cut trees and shoot animal life. Though the relationship had been steady between the Europeans and Aboriginal People, as the number of settlers and land being occupied grew, conflicts over land and culture began to take place. The Aboriginal resistance meant that the Europeans soon began to send out expeditions of soldiers to punish any groups who threatened their farms or settlers. By 1800, rather than resolve conflict, it became the European Government's policy to 'keep the native Australians out'.
It was around 200 years ago when children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent were removed from their families. Of what we know as the Stolen Generation, had a major impact on families and children's lives. Children were taken by Australian federal and state government agencies and church missions, through acts of their respective parliaments. The policy was based off of a misguided assumption that the lives of the First Nations people would be improved if they became a part of the white society in which they focused on assimilating children into the white community. Children would be taken forcefully from their families, were taught to reject their heritage, changed their names and were often exposed to abuse and neglect. The impacts of the European Settlement was devastating including the disruption of passing on the First Nations cultures and a loss of their traditional lives.
It has been over the past 200 years that these events have taken place and the Aboriginal People have resisted the genocide of their community.
When Ziggy says ‘200 years of history falsified’ he means that the truth of the last 200 years of Aboriginal people were hidden from the public. In the last 200+ years Aboriginal people have been mistreated, enslaved and have also faced genocide. Until 1965 Aboriginal people had been considered flora and fauna and white settlers had no regard for their lives. Instead of telling the truth it has just been blatantly ignored and when asked people would’ve said that they are animals.
Give 3 Examples of British Invaders we Remember as Heroes
James Cook was a British naval Captain, navigator and explorer who is known to have mapped out the east coast of Australia, paving the way for the spread of the British settlement. His mission in 1770 was to travel the Tahiti to observe Venus moving across the face of the Sun. Once he arrived, he received orders to take possession of the new land in the name of the king of Great Britain. James Cook apparently didn't receive any consent from the Aboriginal People and was known to raise the British flag on August 22nd, 1770 beginning the British colonisation.
Captain Arthur Phillip was the commander of the First Fleet who was a British hero known to lead the first permanent European colony on the Australian continent. In the first interactions between tl1e Aboriginal People and the settlers, Phillip believed that there would be no problems between them and thought he would be able negotiate peace. Though through curiosity, Phillip hoped to learn the local language, gain information about food and water sources and understand their culture by kidnapping some Aboriginal men.
Christopher Columbus was not British but was an Italian explorer and navigator known to open the way for the widespread European exploration. He is seen as a hero and so called 'discoverer' of the New World. Columbus Introduced the Europeans to America, sending many nations exploring for new lands. The impact of his voyages to the Americas included the death of many indigenous people due to murder and disease. This also lead to the displacement and
enslavement of many Aboriginal people.
Captain James Cook was a British explorer and he was the first European to navigate and make detailed maps of Australia or ‘Newfoundland’ (what it was called then). In the process he and his crew killed many Aboriginal people and also did not mention any humans inhabited on the island.
Admiral Arthur Phillip and his fleet of 11 ships arrived in Botany Bay from England on January 26th, 1787 and he raised the United Kingdom flag and claimed Australia as their own. After doing this he and his colony built a European society and disregarded Aboriginal people and the land/animals. Aboriginal people were often killed and imprisoned just because of their culture and race.
John McDouall Stuart did not invade Australia as a whole but he did invade Aboriginals peoples’ land and on his journey from northern Australia to Southend, he killed many Aboriginal groups from all over the nation(s).
What Happened in 1493? Who did this Benefit?
In 1493, the Doctrine of Discovery was issued after Christopher Columbus arrived on the shores of North America. The Doctrine of Discovery was a legal justification for colonisation and seizure of land that was not inhabited by Christians. It was this doctrine that worked as the framework to justify explorers claims on vacant land (terra nullius), of which the Europeans allegedly discovered. This also promoted Christian domination and was applied in Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Americas. The doctrine was Issued by Pope Alexander Vl on May 4th, 1493 and had a large role in the Spanish conquest. This document also ensured Spain had rights to the lands discovered by Christopher Columbus the year before.
This benefited the European Christians as they were allowed to take possession of land that wasn't really theirs. This impact of this doctrine on Aboriginal people meant that when the Europeans arrived in Botany Bay, they had given themselves authority to colonise the land. The doctrine was a built law for the Europeans that was truly an invasion of nations.
In 1493 Pope Alexander VI made the Doctrine of Discovery. This allowed European Christians to explore and conquer land that is not inhabited by Christians. This benefited Christians by allowing them to take land with all of Europe on their aid. This was practiced in Australia and many countries around the world. Aboriginal and native people across the globe are still affected to this day.
Who was Columbus and what did he do similar to cook?
Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator and explore who was responsible for the white colonisation of the Americas, and the genocide of native Americans. Captain James cook was also an explorer and navigator. He was responsible for the colonisation of Australia.
What is meant by terra nullius?
Terra nullius is Latin for nobody’s land. It is a doctrine used by the British government that was used to justify the settlement of Australia.
Terra nullius means nobody’s land. In this song it they’re showing that Australia is now nobody’s land as it was taken from them. The British colonies were not recognising that is was their land and making it their own. Now they had acknowledged that it is not their land, but they didn’t call it the First People’s land, making it nobody’s land.
What is the ‘irony’ in this context?
The definition of irony that would best suit this context would be ‘a state of affair or event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects an sometimes so much so that it creates amusement.’ However, in this case Ziggy is talking about war and there the amusing or humorous attitude towards this topic is very sparse.
In the case of this song, the irony that Ziggy is referring to is how everyone fought for Britain during World War 2, However, nobody seemed to care that aborigines were also facing a lot of unfairness and were being unjustly killed.
What is ‘allies’ in this context?
During the song, Ziggy says ‘We were allies against a terrible genocide’. This was the genocide of the Jewish people. He says that we were allies against this so we were in the right. In this case we were working with the allied powers including Britain. However, he says that it is also contradictory that we spur our own genocides of original people and there is no fighting against that.
What does Ziggy mean by “Move on, move on to what?”
The original phrase move on was first mentioned by Tony Abbott. The context of this event has a longer background and history. The event that this is linked to first started when a bunch of indigenous Australian young adult started a protest for their land by sitting and camping outside of Parliament House.
By doing this, they accidentally found a loophole in Australian law as there was no rule against staying in such a place. Over the course of many years, the camping area and tradition has become popular among indigenous people as well as people that would like the aborigines to receive the land they deserve. When Abbott was asked about the tent embassy his reply was, ‘… The Tent Embassy all those years back ought not to be as intense today and that's why I said it was time to move on,’
This spurred somewhat of an outrage among many people as they believed the tent was a very historical and important thing to them and it seemed as if Abbott disliked it and possibly even wanted it removed.
The phrase ‘move on to what’ represents that the indigenous people don’t really have anywhere to ‘move on’ to without their land and rights.
What is genocide? Give examples of genocide in history.
Genocide is when someone intentionally kills masses of people from the same ethnicity. This is done with the intent to obliterate that group of people. One of the most well-known genocides in history was in WW2 when Hitler as the leader of the Nazi party wanted to kill all of the Jews. This is an example of genocide because Hitler intentionally wanted to kill Jewish people so that they would all be dead. A more local and just as bad genocide occurred in the 18th century when European settlers in Australia didn’t think that the Indigenous Australians were worthy enough to live in Australia and they wanted Australia to be purely white-coloured people. And so began a genocide with the intent of killing the Aborigines in order to wipe out their race.
Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large amount of people with a nation or ethnic differences. Some examples of genocide is the killing of the Jewish people in WWII and the white invasion on Australia in the late 18th Century.
The definition for genocide is ‘the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with aim of destroying that nation or group’. The lyrics ‘I just call it how I see it, and I see genocide’ means that in the past, lots of Aboriginal people were killed and that it still present today and many people remember it.
Who are the stolen generation and what happened/why did it happen?
The stolen generation was a period in Australia’s history when Aboriginal children were taken from their families and their homes. They were taken to non-aboriginal foster families and treated abysmally, being abused physically and verbally. The aim of the stolen generation was to take the Aboriginal children away from their families so they could be educated by ‘white’ culture and the Aboriginal culture would disappear.
What is mass incarceration?
Incarceration is the act of being put in prison. Mass incarceration therefore means that masses of people were incarcerated. This happened and still happens to Indigenous Australians. Multitudes of Aborigines are being incarcerated, some for no or very little reason. Aborigines are also treated very poorly in prison with many of them dying each year. Aborigines take up three percent of our population but take up 29 percent of the population in our prisons. These statistics are alarming and are absolutely horrific. Even though the views of Indigenous Australians have changed since the first European settlers in Australia in the 18th century, we still have a long way to go, and Aborigines are still fighting for their rights.
Mass Incarceration is a way of saying a big part of the population in jail. Aboriginals were subject to mass incarceration as they were not like the British and went against their beliefs. Now Aboriginals make up 3% of our population but 23% of the population in jail.
What is the current count of deaths in custody? How has this changed throughout history?
To understand what it means to die in custody, we must understand the significance of it and what it defines itself as. From the moment the British set foot on land, us Australians didn’t even think twice on how we need to respect the elders of this sacred land.
From 1991, there has been over 441 total deaths concerning indigenous Australians, 45+ of which located here in South Australia. Even this patronising number doesn’t compare to what ‘death in custody’ used to look like. Throughout history, there has been a number of instances concerning the care of Aboriginal people. One example is relating to the slavery towards them. Between the 1860’s and the 1950’s, Aboriginal people of all ages were taken from their homes and enlisted to work on cattle properties, kitchens, homesteads, and sheds all across Australia. Basically, imprisoned to a family, the Aboriginal people commonly experienced abuse and mistreatment, which lead to thousands of Aboriginal deaths.
Why do deaths in custody occur and what is being done to end this problem?
Through generations, the well-being of Aboriginal people and their clans has been severely abused and unmentioned. Among other human rights abuses, studies show that most aboriginal deaths (in custody) are due to inadequate medical care, lack of attention (from the government) and self-harm. To add, “The Guardian” database exclaims how indigenous people are 3x less likely to receive medical care than others. Therefore, increasing the overall death rate in imprisonment for the Aboriginal people. Even though much is not taken under consideration concerning this problem, many foundations, such as the AIC, work (in the future) to improve care by police and corrective services.
What is meant by “Sovereignty was never ceded”?
From human nature, I think it’s safe to say that giving up a key element (in our lives) is terribly difficult. I bet the Indigenous guardians could say the same. Australia is considered their gemstone and their life. They respect every feature of it, so “giving” it up just wouldn’t be an option. When the British set foot on land, they presented the indigenous people with the ‘doctrine of discovery’. With this paper, it meant that that the British could take over any land they desired. Without permission, the British kept taking and taking. Taking without agreement. “Sovereignty was never ceded” means that the Aboriginal people still have right to this land; it was their land from the beginning. It means that they never gave up ownership over the land, sea and air. To this day they have the right to have supreme authority over the land and in the future, they have the right to always rule over it. Despite the mass killings in the 1800’s, this never defined how the indigenous guardians gave up ownership.
Who was Columbus?
It was said that Cristopher Columbus had discovered the New World of the Americas. Although he thought that he was the first one there, there were many indigenous people before him. Just like Captain Cook when he thought he could just take over the land. He used them as slaves and tortured them. It isn’t talked about as much that there were people before him in North America.
That’s the destruction of five hundred nations
This line explains that the five hundred nations of the Aboriginal people were ruined, by the early British settlers that invaded their land. Violence soon broke out across the land, and the invaders, the British, being better equipped with weapons killed 24,000 to 41,000 Aboriginal people. Foreign diseases such as measles, smallpox, influenza, and even sexually transmitted diseases were brought into their land, and the indigenous people had never needed to treat these diseases, because they were unknown to them, which killed around 60% of people.
500 nations is used to show the different colonies of Australia. Australia was filled with many colonies all with different cultures and beliefs. In this song they mention the destruction of 500 nations. They have been here long before the British colonies came. They have been living peacefully until Captain Cook came and tore it all up. This is showing how every single colony has been destroyed and effected by the British Colonies.
Which wars is Ziggy referring to?
The war Ziggy is referring to is the black war. The Black War was the period of violent conflict between British colonists and Aboriginal Australians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 to 900 Aboriginal people and more than 200 European colonists, nearly annihilating the island's indigenous population.
What is the contradiction referred to?
The contradiction is referring to how the British in 1787 had taken over Australia, and how they got treated. It describes the struggles and horrors the Aboriginal people had to go through as they fought for their country.
How many indigenous people fought in 1945? Which battle is he referring to?
The war that he is referring to is the second world war. More than 3,000 Aboriginals and 850 Torres Strait Islanders fought in this war and over 27,000 Australians were killed and 23,000 wounded in action during World War II. In addition, hundreds more servicemen and women were killed and injured in accidents during the war.
Captain cook boarded a fleet, and was armed by the doctrine of discovery.
The Doctrine of discovery is a Christian rule, which meant that if you were the only Christian on land the land will be yours. The same tactic was used by Columbus for invading most of America. It's how today Australia owns the no man land (Terra Nullius). The pope does write that you are human if you have only been saves by Christ and the land you stumble in if your god given right.
Is that your law, cause that’s your invasion
Indigenous people thought to believe that Captain James Cook and the British people are invaders. “Is that your law” is the indigenous people asking the people if that’s how other nations act.
Doctrine of discovery
The doctrine of discovery stated that when they “discovered” a country they would be able to claim it if none of the inhabitants were Christian. This in turn allows them to claim most places such.
Who was Pope Alexander the 6th?
They invoked (brought into effect) the doctrine of discovery allowing it to then be used on countries such as Australia.
Without this good Christian, our story don’t exist
Pope Alexander the 6th is the person who invoked the doctrine of the discovery they wouldn’t be able to take over lands that weren’t theirs.
Two years of history that’s falsified
What he means by this is that what the government, education system and other influential groups show us is what they want us to see, and it doesn’t always show the whole story. Like how we are taught that captain cook came and started building a society without any objections from the Aborigines.
British invaders that we remember as heroes
When captain cook came to Australia him and his men committed many atrocities, but we just pretended that everything he did was good because it made our society what it is today.
You don't want the truth and you don't want to listen, but how can you stomach Australia's contradiction
The first line of this verse show that even though the first landing of captain cook happened a long time ago, that doesn't mean the effects of this event have stopped. The moment the English landed on the coast of Australia, the genocide started, and captain cook was the captain of the first fleet. There is still not complete equality, and that people are still fighting for the complete equality.
This line explains how people have been taught and told the good side of the invasion, they haven't been told about the genocide or invasion of people’s country.
‘Cause we went to war in 1945
In 1945, World War Two affected the world in such a way that is hasn’t been the same since. Aboriginal forces joined arms with Australian troops and they fought side by side for the years that the war raged on. About 3000 aboriginal people and 850 Torres Straight Islanders fought in World War Two, serving for the Australian side.
I know it’s uncomfortable
This is true because our current nation hasn’t really been taught the truth. It would be uncomfortable to know that the country you live in killed hundreds of peaceful people for their own ‘new’ land.
You fought for them but you didn’t fight for me
This line tells the audience about the cold shoulder that the Aboriginal community got from the whitefella living in their country after the war. The Aboriginal troops were welcomed into the war for extra forces, but after the war, more complications arose. The Aboriginal community were ignored, mistreated, and overlooked over and over again when they raised their voice about their rights.
At least 475 aboriginal people have died in custody since the end of 1991. Indigenous Australians are still dying in police custody. Not as many deaths but still more likely to be put in prison to begin with, compared to non-indigenous prisoners. As of September 2019, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners repressed 28% of the total adult prisoner population, while accounting for 3.3% of the general population.
Is that your law? Cause that’s invasion
This line is talking about how it was justified that the British came to Australia and colonised the indigenous peoples land, with the Doctrine of Discovery, meaning that any people that are in the Christian religion can go into any land and invade as long as it isn’t already claimed by Christian land.
The genocide of entire populations
This line describes that entire populations across the community of the indigenous people were wiped out by the invasion. 110 of the 500 tribes were completely wiped out, or under critical threat of being wiped out.
Which planted the seeds for the stolen generation
This line means that all of the massacres and violence began a movement known as the stolen generation. The Stolen Generations alludes to a period in Australia's history where Native children were evacuated from their families through government approaches. The children were denied all get to to their culture, they were not permitted to talk their dialect and they were rebuffed in the event that they did.
And grew into my people’s mass incarceration
The word incarceration means imprisonment, defining how the indigenous people would have felt being taken from their homes and used for slavery.
Now we pass trauma through many generations
This line tells us, that as much as we say sorry, or try to make up for things, the abuse that the indigenous people had to put up with, and still put up with to this day has had an irreversible impact on them, which is passed down through many generations, through stories.
But the lord can’t discover what already existed
Lord Vestey was in Charge of this movement and claimed that he “found Australia” but “you can’t discover what already existed” means that the British people can’t claimed that they founded Australia, because it was already inhabited.
For two hundred years, my people have resisted
Two hundred years ago, the first fleet arrived in Australia, and ever since then, indigenous people have been fighting for their rights.
Genocide
The definition for genocide is ‘the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with aim of destroying that nation or group’. The lyrics ‘I just call it how I see it, and I see genocide’ means that in the past, lots of Aboriginal people were killed and that it still present today and many people remember it.
The Gurindji are an Australian Aboriginal people of the northern Australia about 460km south-west if Kathrine which is in the Northern Territory’s Victoria River Region. Vincent Lingiari was an Aboriginal Rights activist. He started working at Wave Hill Station where the Aboriginal people were paid with rations, tobacco and clothing. In 1996 Lingiari was elected to become the leader of worker.
First line says that “We should move on” which means that they kind of want to go past that phase in time but it’s really hard to skip that past of the history. I am assuming that when Vincent Lingiari said that others are rising, he means that there are other Gurindji people rising. In the next line Gurindji inspired us to keep on fighting it’s saying that they all worked together as if to motivate each other to bring down British Lord Vesty.
Two hundred years of history that’s falsified
What he means by this is that what the government, education system and other influential groups show us is what they want us to see and it doesn’t always show the whole story. Like how we are taught that captain cook came and started building a society without any objections from the Aborigines.
British invaders that we remember as heroes
When captain cook came to Australia him and his men committed many atrocities, but we just pretended that everything he did was good because it made our society what it is today.
The wars continued since Captain James Cook
The first line of this verse show that even though the first landing of captain cook happened a long time ago, that doesn't mean the effects of this event have stopped. The moment the English landed on the coast of Australia, the genocide started, and captain cook was the captain of the first fleet. There is still not complete equality, and that people are still fighting for the complete equality.
And this side of history, you don't write in your books
This line explains how people have been taught and told the good side of the invasion, they haven't been told about the genocide or invasion of people’s country, and how that has effected generation of Aboriginal people to come.
You don't want the truth and you don't want to listen
I believe line 3 is talking about how people are scared to believe what happened is true, so they write it off as nothing happened, making the situation worse. People should embrace the fact that the genocide did truly happen, and that these people should educate themselves on the real history of the country the live in.
But how can you stomach Australia's contradiction
The way I have interpreted this line is that the way this invasion is known as colonization and how it is said that nothing bad actually happened, totally contradicts what actually happened. The definition of contradiction is "a combination of statements, ideas, or features which are opposed to one another". How can people live knowing that the real story of Australia's history is not known, and the story that is known is the complete opposite of what happened.
What is the Doctrine of Discovery?
The Doctrine of discovery was used by European and British monarchies, where it provided legal framework for Christian explorers to claim lands and territories that hadn’t yet been inhabited by Christians. It legally allowed the British and European monarchies to conquer and claim lands, by either killing or converting the native and indigenous inhabitants of those lands. The Doctrine asserted that anything and anyone non-Christian were not human and therefore made any land “empty.” Which in other terms, is called terra nullius.
The Doctrine of Discovery impacted indigenous peoples all over the world, where explorers claimed ownership of land in Spain, Canada, Africa, Asia New Zealand, America, Australia and many more. This policy gave authorisation for tragic events in history, like enslavement and genocides.
Who was Pope Alexander VI?
Pope Alexander VI was one of the most infamous Popes in history, who’s birth name was actually Rodrigo Borgia. Pope Alexander was known for being extremely corrupted and it was rumoured for generations that he only succeeded in gaining the role of a Pope, by bribing other Cardinals to vote for him.
Pope Alexander VI used the Doctrine of Discovery. He used this new policy to authorise Spain and Portugal to conquer/colonise the Americas and its native peoples. Pope Alexander VI used this Doctrine of Discovery to justify the killing of the natives and enslavement of Africans.
Who was Captain James Cook and how did he use the Doctrine?
Captain James Cook was a British explorer, who used The Doctrine of Discovery to colonise Australia. When captain Cook arrived in Australia, under King George III, the 750,000 aboriginals who had already been living there for over 65,000 years were seen as “non-humans” (as they were not Christian) and Captain Cook declared the land Terra Nullius (empty) and claimed Australia. After claiming Australian land for Britain, he used the land to expand the British Empire and to alleviate the overcrowding British prisons.
What is genocide? Give examples of genocide in history.
Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large amount of people with a nation or ethnic differences. Some examples of genocide is the killing of the Jewish people in WWII and the white invasion on Australia in the late 18th Century.
Who are the stolen generation and what happened/why did it happen?
The Stolen Generation is a period in history where Aboriginal children were taken away from their families by the British Government. They were taken as they were going to school and placed in institutions or adopted by non-aboriginals and were subject to abuse. They were denied their right to speak their own language and got punished if they did. It happened because the British Government didn’t want natives and wanted to live in a white society.
Comparison of two songs
Similarities
- The chorus message was the same “from little things big things grow”
- Both songs are about aboriginal rights.
Differences
- Paul Kelly’s lyrics are about a specific event - Vincent Lingari’s fight for land rights.
- Ziggy Ramo is reflecting back on the past from an aboriginal perspective of the European invasion of Australia. He highlights it was a genocide and that his people have struggled ever since.
While both songs both share the same chorus and depict Australian history through an Aboriginal person’s point of view, Ziggy Ramo and Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody tell different stories in their unique versions of ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’.
Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody’s version tells the story of Vincent Lingari’s journey to earning land rights for himself and his fellow Aboriginal people. Through the lyrics of ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’, we learn about how Lingari was treated unfairly and how he was brave enough to stand for what was right and fight to gain land right.
Ziggy Ramo’s version of the song, however, tells a more modernised version of Aboriginal rights and reminds us of how far we still have to go to make things right. Ziggy talks about how unfair society is towards Aboriginal people and, while singing live with Paul Kelly, got quite emotional so it is obviously very personal and raw for him. He reminds us that no one can forget what happened in the past and we shouldn’t ‘move on’ because that means forgetting the horrible circumstances Aboriginal people had to, and still do, face.
Both songs were really moving to listen to and opened my eyes to another person’s view of Australia.
