3. Assimilation
•The policy of assimilation was based
on the belief that the Aboriginal culture
and way of life was inferior and it took
little notice of the long heritage and
traditional lifestyle of the Aboriginal
people.
•The policy of assimilation encouraged
many Aboriginal people to give up this
traditional lifestyle and move to towns
and cities to find work and to seek a
lifestyle that did not involve a protector or
government official making decisions for
4. How did the Assimilation Policy
effect Aboriginal Australians?
The Assimilation policy denied Aboriginal people,
their basic rights up until the 1960s.
It prevented them from: Marrying without permission
Raising their own children Eating in restaurants
From freely moving Entering a pub
Accessing education Swimming in a public pool
Receiving award wages or having the right to vote.
5. Source Questions
Write these questions in your book and answer
them for each of the three sources.
1. What aspect of the Assimilation policy is
seen in the source?
2. What do you think white Australians were
hoping to achieve by enacting this aspect of
the policy?
3. What impact do you think it had on the
Aboriginal people?
7. Assimilation: Source 2
This photograph of Aboriginal boys on a tractor
at Kinchela Boys Home in 1959 shows that
they were not expected to aim higher than
the work of a farm hand.
(National Archives of Australia: A1200, L31986,
'Aboriginal boys on a tractor, Kinchela 1959')
8. Assimilation: Source 3
Aborigines of "mixed blood" to be
issued with Certificates of
Exemption, releasing them from
the provisions of the Act and its
regulations.
These certificates, commonly
known as "dog tags", came at a
price as individuals were forced
to relinquish family connections.
They were not allowed to visit
their own families and were
gaoled if caught doing so.
Mary Terszak's (nee Woods) Certificate of
Exemption from the Western Australian
Department of Native Affairs. She has kept it as
a reminder of the past.
