Sydney, June 29 (ANI): Councilors in Sydney have voted to officially declare the arrival of British settlers in 1788 as an "invasion," following strong pressure from the Aboriginal community.
In modern times, the Aborigines have insisted their land was stolen by the 'white fellahs' and the arrival of the ships was an invasion of their country.
Now, the Sydney City Council, by a vote of 7-2, has become the first local authority to recognize that Britain did indeed invade Australia, the Daily Mail reports.
The document will now replace the words 'European arrival' with 'European invasion'.
The document described the "devastating impact" to the local Eora tribe of the arrival of British settlers on the shores of Sydney Harbour in 1788, resulting in the "occupation and appropriation of traditional lands."
"Despite the destructive impact of this invasion, Aboriginal culture endured and is now globally recognized as one of the world's oldest cultures," the plan said.
The wording was fiercely debated before a public gallery packed with Aborigines, with some councilors objecting that terms such as "invasion" were emotive and divisive.
However, a spokesperson for Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said later that all councilors acknowledged the devastating impact European settlement had on the Aboriginal population.
"The Council of the City of Sydney recognized that, by acknowledging our shared past, we are laying the groundwork for a future which embraces all Australians - a future based on mutual respect and shared responsibility for our land," the paper the spokesperson, as saying.
It is estimated that there were nearly 1,500 Aborigines in Sydney at the time of European settlement, half of whom perished in a 1789 smallpox epidemic.
Many were killed under a program offering bounties for dead Aborigines and large numbers were forced into slavery for their 'white masters'. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
