Thefirstaussies

The first fleet, loaded with convicts, arrived on the Shores of Australia, on the 26th January 1788. The Industrial Revolution in Britian left a lot of people without jobs and the laws of the land were extremely hash, consequently the jails were full and overflowing. One convict, a 13 year old Irish girl was transported to Australia for stealing a cow. Not all the convicts were degenerates, some were sent here for their political views and others for petty crimes. The Australian Natives were defenseless against the newcomers who changed the face of Australia forever.

The word 'Aboriginal' means 'the first' or 'earliest known.' The Australian Aborigines lived here for 56,000 years before white settlement. They loved the land and were expert enviromentalists, living a carefree and nomadic life.

Kath Walker, a Queensland Aborigine, who lived from 1920-1993 wrote the following poems which speak for themselves. Kathleen Walker was the first Aboriginal in this country to have a book of poems published. The first one appeared in 1964, and sold like hot cakes. She was a crusader for her people aimed at modifying the laws concerning them. She was loved and respected by all.

Then and Now

In my dreams I hear my tribe,
Laughing as they hunt and swim,
But dreams are shattered by rushing car,
By grinding tram and hissing train,
And I see no more my tribe of old
As I walk alone in the teeming town.

I have seen corroboree
Where that factory belches smoke;
Here where they have memorial park
One time lubras dug for yams;
One time our dark children played
There where the railway yards are now,
And where I remember the didgeridoo
Calling to us to dance and play,
Offices now, neon lights now,
Bank and shop and advertisement now,
Traffic and trade of the busy town.

No more woomera, no more boomerang,
No more playabout, no more the old ways.
Children of nature we were then,
No clocks hurrying crowds to toil.
Now I am civilized and work in the white way,
Now I have dress, now I have shoes:
'Isn't she lucky to have a good job!'
Better when I had only a dilly bag.
Better when I had nothing but happiness.

Away with bitterness, my own dark people
Come stand with me, look forward, not back,
For a new time had come to us.
Now we must change, my people. For so long
Time for us stood still; now we progress,
Life is learning things, life is onward.
White men had to learn civilized ways,
Now it is our turn.
Away with bitterness and the bitter past;
Let us try to understand the white man's ways
And accept them as they accept us;
Let us judge white people by the best of their race.
The prejudiced ones are less than we,
We want them no more than they want us.
Let us not be bitter, that is an empty thing,
A maggot in the mind.
The past is gone like our childhood days of old,
The future comes like dawn after the dark,
Bringing fulfillment.

Let Us Not Be Bitter

A woomera allowed the spear
to be hurled with extra force

Click on the picture to hear the sound of the didgeridoo.

A corroboree was a ritual dance ceremony

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Aboriginal Paintings

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