The term often has negative connotations, as assimilation-style policies were considered by many people to be coercive and destructive, being centred around the notion that Aborigines and migrants were required to forego their traditional customs and beliefs in order to be ‘good’ Australian citizens. In Australia the word ‘assimilation’ is predominantly associated with federal and state government policies introduced in the 1950s and 1960s which were aimed at socially re-engineering Aborigines and migrants to reflect the Anglo-Australian majority. This study explores the complexities of Aboriginal welfare at these estates and Aboriginal responses to assimilationist initiatives.

This new attitude towards Aboriginal affairs was evident in the provision of Aboriginal welfare at two housing estates, Rumbalara and Manatunga, in Victoria in the 1950s and 1960s. Although elements of paternalism were sometimes evident in the new régime, ideas of citizenship and equality often dominated welfare programs. To make this transition easier for Aborigines, many Anglo-Australians became involved in assimilationist welfare activities. However, years of exclusion from Anglo-Australian society meant that many Aboriginal people were unprepared for life in mainstream communities. In theory, assimilation placed Aborigines on equal terms with Anglo-Australians. In the 1930s, changing ideas of race resulted in the re-evaluation of Aboriginal welfare policies and protectionism was replaced with assimilationism. Consequently, many Australian states and territories passed protectionist legislation to isolate and socially control Aborigines. These programs were often based on racial theories, such as ‘Social Darwinism’, which deemed Aboriginal people to be inferior beings in need of State supervision and care. Since 1788, many secular and religious Aboriginal welfare programs were based on paternalistic ideals which reinforced the need for Australian society to be hierarchical. The provision of welfare for Aboriginal Australians has always been a complex and contentious issue.

Jackson's Track by Daryl Tonkin