ABSTRACT
Successive colonial and state governments of Western Australia adopted similar approaches to Aboriginal matters, primarily facilitating settler land acquisition and the procurement of cheap labour. This chapter focuses on the various government inquiries, including Royal Commissions, which were central to processes of administrative change. In Western Australia, Aboriginal land was divided into approximately 98 territorial blocs, excluding the Western Desert (the last area to come under European influence), and the population has been conservatively estimated at around 60 000. The British colonisers initially invaded the south-west coast of Western Australia in 1826, 38 years after the landing at Sydney Cove in 1788; they settled permanently in 1829. Although Western Australia eventually attained self-government in 1890, the British Government continued to retain control over Aboriginal affairs until 1898. In 1890, however, the then Premier of Western Australia, John Forrest, challenged the authority of Section 70, whereby the British Government retained control over Aboriginal affairs.
