NATIVE PARTY
.ABORIGINES FOE SYDNEY ILL-TREATMENT ALLEGED "COERCED INTO. COMING" [FROM OUR OWN COWIESPOXDP.XT] SYDXF.Y, Jan. oq Protests hnvo boon made to oflif.j a ] g about the treatment of a party 0 f 45 full-blooded aborigines brought to Svi ney from Menindie, in the far west 0 r New South Wales, to enact the rol Cs of the band of warriors at the cerento™ next Wednesday of Governor Phillip', landing. Friends said that .the aborig. ines had been "treated like.criminals" and the secretary of the AborigipL Protection Association, Mr. W.guson, said that they had been practical! v coerced into coming to Sydney f or the celebrations. One relative of a member of party said: "Wc had the greatest dig], culty in seeing him. We had not seen him for years, but a representative of the Aborigines Protection Board told us to go to .the Police Commis, sioner. Then -we were permitted only 15 minutes for our interview." Hero Black, leader of the aborigine said that they were not permitted to go anywhere by themselves*. Tie • quarters they had at the police depot were in the same yard as the police dogs' kennels, and the dogs wandered freely in and out of the aborigines' * sleeping shed. The aborigines were caci provided with three blankets, a mat. tress and a pillow. Sheets and pil! 0T slips were not provided. The aborigines would get no piiy or' money for thea part in the pageantry.- . The representative of the Aborigine Protection Board in charge of the partv said that he "had been instructed not to permit any unauthorised person access to any member of the party. A number of persons with' ulterior motives bad been desirous of getting in touch with the natives. "We do not want any trouble during their stay in Sydney," he added. An official closely associated with til welfare of aborigines stated recent!? that the Communist party had offered to assist the agitation for better con. ditions for the 50,000 or more aborigina surviving in Australia.
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22949, 29 January 1938, Page 10
Word Count
336NATIVE PARTY New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22949, 29 January 1938, Page 10
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