The 1901 constitution still did not recognise the fact that Indigenous Australians owned the Australian land before the British settlers came. In fact, it stated that 'aboriginal natives' were not to be counted as Australian citizens. This meant that Indigenous Australians did not have federal protection. They could not receive federal government aid, such as pensions and could not vote in federal elections.
Each state made its own rules with regard to indigenous Australians. They made laws that banned them from going to certain places. They made it illegal for them to drink alcohol. They made laws that permitted children of Indigenous Australians to be taken away from their parents and brought up by Europeans.
Many Australians were not happy with the way the state governments treated Indigenous Australians. In 1957m, over 0 per cent of Australians voted to change the Constitution and give the federal government the power to make laws for Indigenous Australians. …
