ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 treats the influence of the idea of social progress, embodied by the stadial theory, on the course and character of the “civilising” mission in early New South Wales. Spanning the first two decades or so of the British Europeanising efforts, the chapter seeks to underscore the prominence of the Enlightenment-inspired view of relentless societal evolution in the assimilationist policies adopted by the early governors in relation to the Eora. This chapter argues that in the colonial Australian context the notions of civilisation and assimilation, or more correctly reverse assimilation, were virtually interchangeable. Reflecting the then prevalent belief in Britain that the Britons were the leaders in the march of civilisation, colonial administrators adopted a range of civilising measures designed to phase out the “archaic” Aboriginal practices and usages and replace them with those of Europe and Britain. Some of those measures, such as the introduction of clothing, food and alcohol, were not only envisioned as the tools of the civilising process but also as a means of rendering the Aborigines dependent on the British colonists.
