Legislation, regulations, gazettes, committee reports, law
This guide will help you trace legislation and related government publications governing the relationships between Aboriginal people and government in Victoria from 1869 (the Aborigines' Protection Act) to the Aboriginal Lands Act of 1970. Current legislation and legal developments are covered in the section on current law.
The Library holds a comprehensive collection, increasingly supplemented by digitising projects from agencies such as AIATSIS (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies), AustLII (Australasian Legal Information Institute), and governments themselves.
Included are references to some New South Wales, Commonwealth and British resources as they either assess conditions or effect decision making in Port Phillip (later Victoria).
Sections of this guide are based on an article included in the May 2010 issue of the La Trobe journal - Indigenous Victorians : repressed, resourceful and respected.
For more guidance on legal information look at these other State Library research guides:
Batman's treaty with the Aborigines at Merri Creek. Accession No. H92.196
Superintendent La Trobe and the amenability of Aboriginal people to British law 1839-1846, by Frances Thiele - discusses the issues relating to the legal status of Aboriginal people in the first years of the colony of Port Phillip.
Provenance: the journal of the Public Record Office of Victoria, September 2009.
International journal of critical indigenous studies - with contributions from indigenous scholars around the world in the humanities, social sciences, health sciences, law and education.
Librarians have developed a guide to resources for informing discussions concerning the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Walata tyamateetj: a guide to Government archival records about Aboriginal people in Victoria - covers the collections of the Public Record Office Victoria and National Archives.
Right Wrongs is an initiative of the Indigenous Project Group of the national and state libraries. (NSLA)
It is a joint exhibition across the archives of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), NSLA and the ABC to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum which changed the way Aboriginal people were referred to in the Constitution.
There is a full list available of the items used in the exhibition.
Australian Indigenous Law Library - includes case law, legislation concerning Indigenous issues from all Australian jurisdictions, reports, a timeline and online full text journals.
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies - a centre for research, collections and publishing.
Constitutional Recognition of Aboriginal People - from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, sets out provisions in each state and Commonwealth.
Reconciliation Australia - includes links, news and commentary on current legislation.
Declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples - adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007, and by Australia in 2009.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources - from Parliamentary Library, Canberra. Also includes a list of key internet links.
Indigenous law research guide - from Melbourne University Library.
