Mourning Day - 150th anniversary of white settlement

"MOURNING
DAY"
Aborigines In
Conference
"This is our day of mourning," said
Mr. Jack Pratten, president of the
Aborigines' Progressive Association, at
the opening of the Aborigines' All-
Australian Conference at the Austra-
lian Hall to-day.
"While the white man is enjoying
the Celebrations," he added, we
mourn over the frightful conditions,
under which the aborigine has exist-
ed and is existing to-day on this
continent, which once belonged to our
forefathers.
"Our people had a rough spin We
have been pushed about here and
there. We want ordinary citizens'
rights — old age pensions, maternity
bonus, relief work when unemployed,
and full rights to education for our
children. We do not want to be
herded in Government reserves and
treated as a special class. There are
10,000 aborigines in N.S.W., of whom
9000 are half-caste. These are the
children of white people as well as
black, in the Commonwealth there
are 60,000 full bloods, and 20,000 half-
castes.
"Regarding the Celebrations to-day,
the committee provided us with a
stand in Liverpool-street, and our
delegates saw the procession from it.
The display was gorgeous, but we do
not forget the rough deal we have
had from the white man."
There were over 100 present, in-
cluding delegates from Victoria and
Queensland. Telegrams were received
from leaders of the aborigines in
Western Australia, the Northern Ter-
ritory, and South Australia.
Mr. W. Ferguson (organising secre-
tary) said that he had travelled to
the different missions and seen the
sufferings of the people. They did not
ask for Parliamentary representa-
tion, as had been reported. They did
not need protection. They wanted
full citizen rights, and they wanted
the Aborigines' Board of N.S.W
abolished.
Rights As Citizens
Mr. W. Cooper (Victorian's Abo-
rigines' League) contended that abo-
rigines' protection boards did not act
in accordance with British Justice.
Mr. Patten said that there must be
some stepping stone if the abolition
of protection boards were to take
place. The aborigines could not be
thrown out of reserves and expected
to live like white men when they had
not had the same standard of educa-
tion.
Mr. W. Ferguson said that if the
aborigines had equal citizens' rights
colleges would be full of them in eight
or nine years. If the Government
could build houses for white people
it could build them for aborigines.
The following motion was carried
unanimously: "We, representing the
aborigines of Australia, on this the
150th anniversary of the white men's
seizure of our country, protest against
the callous treatment of our people
by the white men during the past
150 years, and we appeal to the Aus-
tralian nation to make new laws for
the education and care of aborigines,
and we ask for a new policy which
will raise our people to full citizens'
status and equality within the com-
munity."