Act 2 Scenes 8-10 Essay -- Aboriginals Moore River Australia Essays

Act 2 Scenes 8-10 The scene starts at superintendent’s office at Moore river Native settlement, the date set 10 April 1933. It represents an institution of white power-a place of forced confinement and conformity. The importance of the construction of this place is to give a medium for the Aboriginals to resist such conformity, as demonstrated by Joe and Mary escaping from white control. It reinforces the theme of the play –‘the refusal of aboriginal people to submit to the ways of European invaders’ The 1930’s represented two major political turning points of Western Australia. Firstly, the loss of the James Mitchell’s seat as the premier of Northam to the labor government epitomises changing white attitudes by electing a fairer government system. In previous scenes, Mitchell’s desperate attempt to win the election by sending the Aboriginals to Moore River as an act of racial segregation reflects his inequality and exploitation of his political hegemony. The second political concern at this historical point was the success of the secession referendum vote. This secession of the 1930’s was led by the organisation Dominion League of Western Australia and in success of secession, Western Australia would break away from federation and the rule of the Commonwealth of Australia, therefore having dominion status similar to that of New Zealand. Despite the favoured votes for the secession referendum, by 1935 the proposition to Parliament was denied and WA still remained pa...