The name is absent

287

Grandmothers were found to provide a focal point in giving a
sense of identity to their descendants. In particular, through
the grandmothers, contact was maintained with the reserve where they
had been born. People went back to the reserve for funerals.
Children were inducted into this identification process by being
sent to the reserves for holidays.

However, while the kin groups are closely knit, this does not
make it possible to speak of an Aboriginal community in Adelaide.

f

...despite the fact that all regional groups are
represented in the study, the amount of interaction
between distinctive groups even in this relatively
small and compact area [the Pt. Adelaide district']
appears' to be quite limited. During the interviewing
process, it became clear that related persons knew a great
deal about each other but very little concerning Aboriginal
families with whom they had no kin ties (Gale and Wundersitz,
1982:110).

Braddock and Wanganeen found that the majority of Adelaide
Aborigines who had purchased their own homes were

...people who have married whites and/or are in good
professional or semi-professional jobs. The scattered
location of homes chosen for purchase suggests that
these people as a group are less dependent on the close
proximity and support of the rest of the Aboriginal
community (quoted in Gale and Wundersitz, 1982:69).

Gale and Wundersitz found evidence of the same phenomenon:

Those who perceive the reserve bonds to be restrictive
and wish to break from them try to find houses away
from kinsfolk. Some Aborigines who live in scattered
locations are virtually out of contact with other city-
dwelling Aborigines. Using terminology of earlier days,
they are ’assimilated’ (Gale and Wundersitz, 1982:100).

Furthermore, observation reveals division along class lines,
recognised by Aboriginal people themselves.

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