flower33

My opionion only. But what will saying sorry do, it will not undo what has happened, and it will not bring families back together, sorry is never enough. I personally think that what happened to the Aboriginal community was disgusting and whats happening now is disgusting.

What annoys me most is that we have to say sorry for something that happened years ago. History is history. Move on, stop staying in the past and move on, the more we hark on about the bad past we are unable to move to the promising future. Sorry i repeat is never enough.

Potato_potato

If you don't believe me, do your own search.

Petty theft was the most common crime amongst those deported.

I'm not going to source every comment I make on here. This is not a university essay.

If you believe I'm wrong well so be it.

nickyjohnt

Not sure if it was the most common crime. But i have an origional newspaper from 1801. On one of the pages it lists all the trials that happend at the Old Bailey that week . There are a couple of people that had stolen a loaf of bread and one woman who had nicked a bit of dress making cloth. They were all deported to Australia, Seems anything more serious they were sentenced to death

Very interesting reading it is.

Nicky

kelbelinoz

so good to know that there are others with compassion out there!!

kelbelinoz

Hey!!
How bizarre that we were discussing this only last night and how heated politics can make this forum!!

I have been researching Australian and Aboriginal history as I find it really interesting and have always thought that they were very smart, as they survived this land for well over 40,000 years. What happened all those years ago maybe in the past, but it was just as damaging as was Hitler to the Jews and we don't tell them to get on with it do we, we recognise that they were treated appallingly.......

It now appears that Kevin Rudd also has a heart! (Or is this just his new game plan?!)

Well anyway. Thank goodness that it has now been recognised and may the appology go some way to heal those that still live with the awful memories of what happened to them. The ill treatment did not just happen when Brits first arrived here, but well into the 1950s. Many children were taken from their mothers and placed in care, their mother being taken away to ....never seen again. Can anyone imagine what that would feel like?

Sorry may not heal their pain or erase their memories, but to be acknowledged is a start. Also remaining ignorant to how all Australians came to be here is just that IGNORANT. It may not be your fault, but at least understand what happened and accept that they have a right to have been bitter.

kelbelinoz

people used to beg to be shipped here instead of suffering the death penalty!!

Amazulu

I think the deal was that only petty criminals got shipped here as if you did anything serious you were executed.
Some of the ex-convicts became model citizens, others carried on with crime - some were executed, others were sent to Port Arthur.

Vim Fuego

For my one and only posted opinion on this subject ...

Surely an open acknowledgement of our 'bad past' is more likely to lead to a promising future?

I don't think this is 'harking on' this is recognising, acknowledging and publicing stating that wrongs were done so we can move forward. The alternative is trying to bury it.

Saying 'sorry' does not fix anything material but I think it can be a catalyst for some good in the future.

esperanza

No I don't believe you that bread-theft was the most common crime. Petty theft may have been. I genuinely wondered if there was a link to something to back it up - but you were obviously just making it up!

Grayling

the most common 'crime' was probably political agitation. Hence the large number of Irish deported in the early days.

G

steve`o

maybe i`m just a cynic but my gut feeling was and still is that its nothing more than a publiciy stunt for the goverment
why in the middle of the speech did he go on about fullfilling this election promise ??
it was supposed to be an apolagy yet he turned into pro goverment propaganda ??

my opinion

regards steve

burtreynoldsisonit

Dear Nicky

Believing a previous post (quoted above) I went out and stole a loaf of bread and a bit of dress making cloth in hopes of being sent to live in Australia. Unfortunately, I was fined £5 and made to give back the stolen goods. I therefore send you a bill of £6 to pay for the fine and to compensate me and my family for the emotional trauma you have caused.

Yours sincerely

Burty.

esperanza

saveme

I copied a couple of bits from Google on 18th Century crime in Britain.

'By the 1770s, there were a massive 222 crimes in Britain which carried the death penalty, many of which even included petty offences such as the stealing of goods worth over 5 shillings, the cutting down of a tree, stealing an animal or stealing from a rabbit warren.[2] For example, Michael Hammond and his sister, Ann, whose ages were given as 7 and 11, were reportedly hanged at King's Lynn on Wednesday, the 28th of September 1708 for theft. The local press did not, however, consider the executions of two children newsworthy.[3]

The Bloody Code died out in the 1800s because judges and juries thought that punishments were too harsh. Since the law makers still wanted punishments to scare potential criminals, but needed them to become less harsh, transportation became the more common punishment.'

'Convict Crimes

Many of the Convicts were sent to Australia for quite odd crimes. For example, Irish catholics were transported for simply looking suspicious. Likewise, political reformers were transported to trying to form unions, suggesting politicians get paid and promoting the French revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity.

By today's standards, all of the Convicts sent to Australia had only committed trivial crimes. The serious crimes, such as rape, murder, or impersonating an Egyptian, were punished with the death penality.

As there was a sense of illegitimacy about whether the punishment fitted the crime, many Convicts decided that there was a difference between being a law abiding citizen, and being a decent human being. Such sentiments can be seen in verses of Convict poetry such as:

"The law locks up the man or woman
Who steals the goose from the common
But leaves the greater villain loose
Who steals the common from the goose "

And song verses like:

"He bade the judge good morning
And he told him to beware,
That he'd never rob a needy man
Or one who acted square,
But a judge who'd rob a mother
Of her one and only joy
Sure, he must be a worse outlaw than
The wild colonial boy. "

why

saying sorry means a great deal to indigenous people. from the horses mouth..

"it felt really good, now we can move on and start healing'

it was really important...i work with indiginous people and they feel good about it
my friend said people were queuing up to give her a hug and strangely i couldn't help giving her a hug too. it had a lot of meaning and spirituality to it. i now feel forgiven too