Γ"w'√TW∙‰ +
89
I
dependent. Moreover, through dispossession of their traditional
I
I
lands, they were prevented from pursuing a life-style that grew
t
out of their Law which touched on every aspect of their life and
provided a framework for their cultural identity.
<
Aborigines driven off their land were not wanted in the towns.
They were relegated to reserves where, with a ’limited charity’,
rations were dispensed (Rowley, 1971:11). Because of the inability
of the reserves in South Australia to support the Aboriginal
population (Jenkin, 1979; Wundersitz, 1979), employment gradually
became either meaningless ’busy-work’ on the reserve, or seasonal
employment, such as shearing or grape-picking, that took people
away from their families. IVhere the people had been nomadsɪ
and possessed a tradition of 'going walkabout' to seek food,
traditionally the whole family moved. In the new imposed mode
of living (and e∏φloyment) which separated families, structures
of family life were damaged.
The scene was set by such legislation for a typification of
the Aborigine unable to stick at a job, of the male lacking
⅞
authority in the home, of the people dependent, expecting handouts,
of people with a disorganized life-style.
This indirect effect of land legislation was compounded by
■*
social legislation aimed at countering the evils which appeared
once the people had been dispossessed and their tribal social
structures destroyed.
8.32 Social Legislation
*■
The Aborigines Act of 1911 legitimated the practice of the
missions which had segregated Aborigines from mainstream society.
In 1914 the South Australian Government assumed control of Point
McLeay and Point Pearce as Government reserves. The Government
The Ngarrindjeri (Pt.
to migrate to Adelaide,
McLeay) people, one of the main groups
had not been nomads (Jenkin, 1979).
