truthtelling

Aboriginal breastplates (also called king plates or aboriginal gorgets) were a form of regalia used in pre-Federation Australia by white colonial authorities to recognise those they perceived to be local Aboriginal leaders. The breastplates were usually metallic crescent-shaped plaques worn around the neck by wearer. Aboriginal people did not traditionally have kings or chiefs. They lived in small clan groups with several elders—certain older men and women—who consulted with each other on decisions for the group. By appointing kings of tribes, and granting them king plates, the white colonial powers went against the more collegiate grain of traditional Aboriginal culture. In the 19th century, king plates were given by numerous communities in various Australian States to esteemed Aboriginal men and women, who were usually elders of their particular tribal or kinship group. The plates were presented to perceived 'chiefs', courageous men and to faithful servants.[1] There have been suggestions that the presentation of breastplates also had a great deal to do with whether or not the recipient was seen as useful or respected by the white Australian community of the area in question. While some Aboriginal people wore their breastplates with pride, others saw them as yet another insult to their culture from the white European settlers.[2] Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_breastplate

Under various Acts of Parliament, Aboriginal women were sent to privately owned properties to be utilised as ‘domestic servants’ through a system of forced indentured labour, which continued until the 1970’s. This social history research reveals that the practice of removing Aboriginal women from their families at the age of 12 or 13 and to white families was more common practice than not. These women were often: not paid, worked up to 15 hour days, were not allowed leave, and were subjected to many forms of abuse. This hidden Aboriginal Australian women’s history needs to be revealed to better understand the experiences and depth of misappropriation of Aboriginal women as domestic workers. In doing so, it also reveals a more accurate reflection of women’s work in Australia. Source: Indigenous Australian women and work : an historical context Best, Odette & Fredericks, Bronwyn (2013) Indigenous Australian women and work : an historical context. In The Oxford Women's Leadership Symposium eprints.qut.edu.au/71360/

The Indigenous Peoples of the Darling Downs For several thousand years, the Darling Downs was home to various clans of the Wakka Wakka language speakers: the Keinjan around Warwick, the Giabal around Toowoomba, the Barunggam to the west of Dalby, and the Jarowair around the Bunya mountains. To the south and west were the Bigambal and Kambuwal of the Kamilaroi speakers; to the east were the Jagara of the Turubul speakers. The Downs Indigenous peoples were also knows as the Gomaingguru, ‘men of the Condamine’, or Gooneburra, ‘fire blacks’ (from their habit of frequently firing the grasslands). They numbered perhaps 1500–2000. Source; www.visualarts.qld.gov.au/content/martens_standard.asp?na...