ABSTRACT
In 1788, when invading whites first stepped onto Australian soil, with no intention of leaving the country again, a policy of genocide towards the Aboriginal people of Australia had begun. Aboriginal men, women and children were slaughtered in massacres so blatant that much of the recorded history of these activities is found in letters written by perpetrators extolling their war crimes to family members back in England. The invasion of Australia took place a little over 200 years ago. The last recorded massacre of Aboriginal people by a state was in the 1930s. The policy of removal of children only ended in 1969. Aboriginal people have only been classed as citizens and eligible to vote since 1967. The effects of past government policies, however, are still very much a part of Aboriginal life. Many people have not been able to find where their traditional families came from and have remained dislocated from their tribal groups.
