Organisation Aborigines Welfare Board (1957 - 1968)
- From
- 1957
- To
- 1968
- Functions
- Government Department
- Categories
Summary
The Aborigines Welfare Board was established by the Aborigines Act 1957. This Act abolished the Board of Protection (first formed in Victoria in 1860). The new Aborigines Welfare Board had the function ‘to promote the moral, intellectual and physical welfare of aborigines (full blood and half-caste) with a view to their assimilation in the general community’.
Details
The Aborigines Welfare Board retained many of the far-reaching powers exercised by the previous Protection Board.
One signficant change is that the Aborigines Welfare Board did not have specific powers in relation to children. Aboriginal children came under the provisions of the Children's Welfare Act 1954. Any removal of Aboriginal children from their family and community by the government from 1957 was done under the 'mainstream' child welfare legislation.
The Aborigines Welfare Board was abolished in 1968 when the Victorian government established a Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs.
Related Entries
Timeline
1860 - 1869 Central Board Appointed to Watch Over the Interests of Aborigines
1869 - 1900 Central Board for the Protection of Aborigines
1957 - 1968 Aborigines Welfare Board
Published Resources
Pathways Exhibitions
- Mission voices, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Film Victoria and Koorie Heritage Trust Inc., 2004, http://www.abc.net.au/missionvoices/default.htm. Details
Prepared by: Cate Elkner
Created: 15 September 2009, Last modified: 25 September 2009