Negotiating place in colonial Darwin : interactions between aborigines and whites, 1869-1911

Negotiating place in colonial Darwin : interactions between aborigines and whites, 1869-1911

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2003

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor	Wells, Samantha Jane	en_AU
dc.date.accessioned	2007-03-14T01:52:28Z
dc.date.accessioned	2012-12-15T03:51:45Z
dc.date.available	2007-03-14T01:52:28Z
dc.date.available	2012-12-15T03:51:45Z
dc.date.issued	2003
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/20051
dc.description	University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.	en_AU
dc.description.abstract	This thesis draws on the documentary historical record to examine the interactions between the indigenous Larrakia people and the white settlers in the colonial township of Darwin between the years 1869 and 1911. The colonial recognition of the Larrakia as the traditional owners of lands in the Darwin region and the historical question of their land rights is discussed in some detail. Rather than seeing interactions between the Larrakia and the colonisers as polarised into either accommodation or resistance, this thesis looks at various interactions to highlight the complexities of the encounter. One of the more complex of their interactions was the negotiation of what is best described as an abstruse alliance which benefited both the Larrakia and the colonisers in various ways. The colonisation of the Darwin region had a considerable impact on the Larrakia people's ability to live on their country as they had done prior to the invasion. This thesis seeks to understand the negotiations, compromises and decisions the Larrakia made to survive in their changing landscape. Another complexity that is highlighted in this thesis is the tension within the white settler population about how to deal with what was presented as the 'Aboriginal problem'. This thesis shows that the ideology of compensating Aboriginal people for having invaded their land and undermining their means of subsistence was understood and condoned by the colonisers. The distribution of government rations, the allocation of reserves and the ongoing recognition of the Larrakia's right to be within the township were all ways that some colonisers attempted to compensate Aborigines for invading their land. This thesis shows that while the Larrakia people were recognised as the prior occupants of Darwin and, as such, accorded a distinct status within the township in the whole period under study, the colonisers ultimately failed to give tangible expression to the Larrakia's land rights.	en_AU
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)	en_AU
dc.format.extent	308589 bytes
dc.format.extent	494209 bytes
dc.format.extent	664933 bytes
dc.format.extent	449006 bytes
dc.format.extent	509575 bytes
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf
dc.language	en	en_AU
dc.language.iso	en_AU
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/20051/3364/02Whole.pdf
dc.relation.replaces	http://hdl.handle.net/2100/244
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/ppc
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	Copyright Samantha Wells	en_AU
dc.rights	http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/disclaimer.html	en_AU
dc.subject	History.	en_AU
dc.subject	Northern Territory.	en_AU
dc.subject	Darwin (N.T.).	en_AU
dc.subject	Aboriginal Australians.	en_AU
dc.title	Negotiating place in colonial Darwin : interactions between aborigines and whites, 1869-1911	en_AU
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access

Abstract:

This thesis draws on the documentary historical record to examine the interactions between the indigenous Larrakia people and the white settlers in the colonial township of Darwin between the years 1869 and 1911. The colonial recognition of the Larrakia as the traditional owners of lands in the Darwin region and the historical question of their land rights is discussed in some detail. Rather than seeing interactions between the Larrakia and the colonisers as polarised into either accommodation or resistance, this thesis looks at various interactions to highlight the complexities of the encounter. One of the more complex of their interactions was the negotiation of what is best described as an abstruse alliance which benefited both the Larrakia and the colonisers in various ways. The colonisation of the Darwin region had a considerable impact on the Larrakia people's ability to live on their country as they had done prior to the invasion. This thesis seeks to understand the negotiations, compromises and decisions the Larrakia made to survive in their changing landscape. Another complexity that is highlighted in this thesis is the tension within the white settler population about how to deal with what was presented as the 'Aboriginal problem'. This thesis shows that the ideology of compensating Aboriginal people for having invaded their land and undermining their means of subsistence was understood and condoned by the colonisers. The distribution of government rations, the allocation of reserves and the ongoing recognition of the Larrakia's right to be within the township were all ways that some colonisers attempted to compensate Aborigines for invading their land. This thesis shows that while the Larrakia people were recognised as the prior occupants of Darwin and, as such, accorded a distinct status within the township in the whole period under study, the colonisers ultimately failed to give tangible expression to the Larrakia's land rights.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/20051