The Australian of the Year - Well done!

Its Australia Day tomorrow, 26th January, which celebrates the arrival of the first fleet from the UK in 1789. It comprised mostly convicts sent here from the destitute life they lived back home and the petty crimes they were convicted of, some no more serious than stealing a loaf of bread because they were starving.

Many died on the voyage out and when they arrived at the new colony, Camp Cove in Sydney, they were met by some very angry native residents. The Indigenous Tribes had no idea what they were in for in the coming years.

This was their land and they are extremely attached to country from which they acquire their identity. The white men did not see it that way. It was declared 'terra nullus' or 'vacant land' meaning it was up for grabs. Many aborigines were enslaved, hundreds were shot, and many more were executed for stealing, and so on.

Its no different to the stories in just about every other country where whites settled. No previous inhabitant had any rights over and above those given to the invaders by king and country in Britain. Laws were established and within a hundred years thriving communities, agriculture, cities and governments sprang up throughout the continent.

Thousands more convicts arrived as did land grabbers, explorers and opportunists. The aborigines were wiped out in many places and the most notorious massacres were in Tasmania where there were no survivors.

Then came cultural overthrow as those in servitude were forbidden to speak their native tongue and children were snatched from parents who were often killed, either directly or indirectly for protesting. These little ones were often still babies and mothers who tried to follow them were done for.

Mostly sent on to orphanages or into servitude into homes of whites on the grounds they were being educated into our ways. Underneath was a brewing hatred for all things white and resentment for everything the country had become.

There was no reconciliation, no attempt on the part of governments to give anything back to the aborigine community. Not, that is, until their culture was recognized by art dealers and others who suddenly saw the bark paintings and primitive designs are great artistic works. Markets for them grew until painters from remote desert villagers were capable of earning sizable sums of money.

Other things too changed in the latter part of the 20th Century. A guy named Mabo took the government to court. He was a Torres Straight Islander who, without any legal representation, argued his case for land rights - AND HE WON.

The country was declared no longer to be 'terris nullus' but a place of habitation for indigenous Australians who depended on the land for survival and who had been displaced. They won rights over land and waters, and were awarded territories where they could fish and hunt for their traditional food.

Other things emerged from their communities. Great musicians sprang up. Paintings were selling for thousands is not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Aboriginal actors appeared in films and on the stage and the once considered primitive dances and body paints were sought after. Among them were great athletes and soldiers who fought in the wars for a fraction of the wages of white soldiers. These wrongs were then put right and compensations were paid.

Some traveled overseas, some met the queen, others went to Hollywood and many went to America. Children who were forced to live in the homes of white men became educated and some graduated from university. A few took achieved high office and the first Australian aborigine was elected to parliament.

Until mid 1960's, however, children were still being taken and placed in orphanages. A few went into boarding schools and some were adopted by white people to live a relatively good life. Underneath, however, was the burning resentment that their country was stolen.

They wanted an apology but no Prime Minister was prepared to give it. In November 2007 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was elected and a few weeks later he apologized in a ceremony in Parliament House that was broadcast around the world. Aborigines and whites cried in unison. We of the present generation did not do what happened to them and nor were we responsible but we all felt their pain.

One of the children who was sent to boarding school in the 60's was Mick Dodson. Both his parents died as he turned 10 years old. He was angry but he thrived in school, went on to law school at Monash University and became one of its best students.

He was an activist for the cause of the aborigines and many times was featured in newspapers leading marches and protests. He helped many overcome hardships and worked tirelessly for his people. He is now Professor of Law at the Australian National University and today he became AUSTRALIAN OF THE YEAR.

There were tears among those who watched on as he received his award, but it is not only for him. I feel that every aborigine is an Australian of the Year and it has made me more mindful of the plight of so many indigenous people everywhere. Well done to them all!

They inspire the rest of us to forget our aches and pains, our struggles and woes, and to put behind us any thoughts that we are in any way hard done by. All things can be overcome and yesterday I heard the story of how a song called From Little Things Big Things Grow, was the inspiration of many aborigines suffering these hardships. Well it did not start with such a little thing but something big has certainly grown from it.