First Contact and Timeline

Dreamtime stories describe the times when the islands were linked to the mainland. See Derbal Nara (Estuary of the Salmon) - A Changing Coastline.

Shipwreck: Verguide Draecke, Ledge Point, north of Fremantle⁵

Volkerson explored the area in search of survivors from the Vergulde Draeck, and lost crew from Goede Hoop. Volkerson charted the Rottnest area.⁷

5 January 1697: Vlamingh landed on shore at Cottesloe.

9 January 1697: Anchored off mouth of the river, explored the river, which they named 'Swaane' after the discovery of Black Swans.

1801 Baudin and French Scientists on the Geographe and Naturaliste had been instructed to explore all parts of the continent.⁹ The Naturaliste remained at Rottnest for two weeks. They explored Berthelot, or Island of Seals, and further south another island as large as Rottnest, which they named Ile Buache (Garden Island). They also explored the Swan after difficult entry into the river over the bar after 3 unsuccessful attempts.¹⁰

Captain James Stirling reached Rottnest on the Success. Moored for night. Next day the Success was brought to within a kilometre of the entrance to Swan River before relocating and dropping anchor further to the west-south-west. Explored Swan River on small boat (gig). Also explored Garden Island by gig. During these explorations, had no difficulty crossing the bar at the river's mouth.

Stirling wrote that 'The entrance is flanked by two natural Piers or Heads'. The southern head he named Arthur Head, after the governor of Van Dieman's Land.¹¹

In April 1833 Yagan's brother, Domjun was shot as he tried to steal flour from a Fremantle store, and later died in custody from his wounds.¹³

The Department of Indigenous Affairs compiled the following¹⁴:

The next day in what was considered a revenge attack, Yagan, Midgegooroo and another Whadjuk leader, Munday, were implicated in the deaths of two settlers. They were declared outlaws, with a reward of £30 posted for the capture of Yagan. On 22 May Midgegooroo was apprehended, and executed without trial. Munday successfully appealed his charge.

Yagan remained elusive until 11 July when he and a group of Aboriginals approached Bull's farm in Upper Swan looking for some flour. They were met by brothers William (18-years-old) and James (13) Keates, who had been friends with Yagan, and accompanied them for the rest of the morning.

The brothers had reportedly wanted the reward for a passage back to England. At the Swan River, Yagan declined to go any further with the group and William took this opportunity to shoot Yagan through the head. In the fight that ensued William Keates was killed and another Aboriginal, Heegan, was mortally wounded.

In July, 10 Aboriginals prisoners were transported to Rottnest Island.¹⁶

The Island was used as a prison until the 1920s, in 1903 convict transportation to Rottnest ceased.¹⁷

The Native Welfare Act (W.A.) passed.

The Commissioner and Department of Native Affairs changed to the Commissioner and Department of Native Welfare. The Commissioner remains the legal guardian of 'native' children except where the child has been made a ward under the Child Welfare Act 1947. 'The Commissioner may from time to time direct what person is to have the custody of a native child of whom he is the legal guardian, and his direction shall have effect according to its tenor'. The Native Welfare Act 1954 was repealed by the Native Welfare Act 1963.²⁶

Federal referendum that asked two questions of the Australian public. The second question sought to amend the constitution as it related to Aboriginal Australians by amending two sections of the constitution.²⁷

The first amendment was to Section 51 paragraph xxvi that stated, "The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: .... (xxvi) The people of any race, other than the aboriginal race in any state, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws." The referendum proposed deleting the reference to 'the aboriginal race' as it was deemed discriminatory and denied the Commonwealth Parliament the opportunity to make special laws for Aboriginal people even if they were of an affirmative nature.²⁸

The second amendment proposed repealing section 127 of the Constitution, "In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a state or other part of the Commonwealth, aboriginal natives shall not be counted." It had been claimed that section 127 had been included in the Constitution because Aboriginal people in the late 19th century lived a mainly tribal and nomadic lifestyle creating "practical difficulties ... in satisfactorily enumerating the Aboriginal population". [Sir Robert Menzies, 11 November 1965, page 2638] Introducing the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginals) Bill 1967, Prime Minister Harold Holt, said, "The simple truth is that section 127 is completely out of harmony with our national attitudes and modern thinking. It has no place in our Constitution in this age." [1 March 1967, page 263]²⁹

90.77% of Australians voted to change the Constitution to allow the Commonwealth to make laws for Aborigines and to include them in the census.³⁰

Native Title Act was the Commonwealth Government's response to the High Court decision relating to the Mabo Case.

The Native Title Act does five things³²:

• It recognises and protects native title,
• It provides for the validation of any past grants of land that may otherwise have been invalid because of the existence of native title,
• It provides a regime to enable future dealings in native title lands and imposes conditions on those dealings,
• It establishes a regime to ascertain where native title exists, who holds it and what it is, and to determine compensation for acts affecting it, and
• It creates a land acquisition fund to meet the needs of dispossessed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who would not be able to claim native title.

Bennell vs. the State of Western Australia³³

Decision:

The question before the Court dealt only with an area encompassing Perth and surrounding non-urban areas ('Part A').

The full claim boundary (which includes Part A) begins on the west coast of Western Australia, at a point north of Jurien Bay, to a point approximately north of Moora and a point on the southern coast between Bremer Bay and Esperance (Wilcox J, Preceding Statement, 19 September 2006).

Subject to principles of extinguishment of native title (which were not considered by the Court on this occasion), the Court held that native title exists in all of the claim area 'but the off-shore islands and any other area below the low-water mark from the mainland'. (NNTT)

The Court found that the Noongar people held native title as a single, communal title.

The native title rights and interests which were recognised by the Court remains subject to the wording of the determination and the principles of extinguishment. However, the Court found that the Noongar people held rights to occupy, use and enjoy lands and waters (see below for specific rights and interests): [832 - 841].

Due to both the complexity and resource limitations presented by the question, the Court did not resolve whether the right to exclusive possession existed: [838 - 840].