Speaker
Purpose
 Aim to give an
account of the
history behind the
“An
relationship between
Australian
the Europeans and
history for
Aboriginal
us all”
inhabitants
1996
 Illustrate the need to
recognise
- Australia discrimination and
take responsibility
of the past, present
and future
 Encourage an open,
harmonious and
hopeful vision of
reconciliation as
opposed to focusing
on assigning guilt
 Traces Australian
history and focuses
on the relations
between Europeans
and Aboriginal
inhabitants through
reference to a series
Pearson
Context
Themes
Structure
 Law & history
graduate & an
Abo activist
leader.
 One of Aus’s
most influential
Abo in Aus’n
politics
 His speech was
inspired by the
High Court
decisions &
political
statements of the
time
 Newly elected
PM John
Howard –
proposed
amendments to
Native Title Act.
 Days prior to his
speech John
Howard
criticised
historians who
Racism
 Focuses
extensively on
the racist history
of Australia
 Shed light on
Aboriginal
relations with
European
settlers who
dispossessed the
indigenous
people on their
land and culture
 Outlined the
doctrine of
‘terra nullius’land belonging
to no one and
didn’t recognise
Aboriginal
inhabitants
 Doesn’t dwell
on the injusticeslooks to the
future and the
Structure of a
discussion.
Chronological
structure.
He deliberately
chooses to
appeal to the
intellect of his
audience, rather
then their
emotions
through the
language and
structure of
discussion. This
is apparent
through his use
of many
allusions to
authorities
including
Professor Bill
Stanner’s Boyer
lectures, Robert
Hughes, Henry
Renolds and
Quotes +
Techniques
 Uses critical,
academic, formal
language – befits
the formal
occasion “historiography of
colonial
relations”
 Colloquialism &
clichés – “hot
button issue”,
“live and let live”
to lighten the
mood & make the
speech more
accessible to the
audience.
 Pearson refers to
prominent
politicians,
historians and
other social
commentators
with direct quotes
– esp. John
Howard.
Reception
Original
 In the original
interpretation, Pearson
spoke at a time when
indigenous issues
were topical and
controversial in
Australian politics and
in the community
(Mabo, Wik & Native
Title decisions
occurred), and thus
the speech generated
coverage in the
national media &
evoked a mixed
reception.
 His speech was also
highly political as it
criticised the Prime
Minister John Howard
and other politicians.
 Pearson’s position
isolated him from
many member of the
Aboriginal
of scholars- who all
presented what
acknowledged the
he called the
injustices faced by
new ‘black
the Aboriginals
armband view of
Australian
 Argued that if
history’ which
reconciliation is to
emphasised the
be achieved there is
European actions
a need to recognise
of
the discrimination
‘dispossession,
that did exist and
exploitation and
still exists today and
violence’.
to take
Pearson was
responsibility for
against this view
this
– that we should
 Doesn’t advocate
acknowledge it.
the ‘Black
Following this,
Armband’ view of
there was a
Aus history- prefers
widespread
to deal with facts at
debate over the
hand
issue of how
 Told his audience
Aust’ns should
there is no need for
respond to their
them to feel guilt
past
over what occurred,
 He took a more
but they should
conservative
acknowledge that
approach to Abo
the injustices did
politics, strongly
take place and bear
criticising his
some responsibility
for this- calls for ‘an own community
for the high rates
opening of our
of substance
hearts’ as we strive
abuse and
to overcome the
reliance on
inequities of our
means to
overcome the
ongoing racism
within Australiapraises the move
forward
 Challenges his
immediate
audience and the
nation to ‘accept
responsibility for
and express
shame’ in
relation to our
past, believing
that this could be
the best path
toward
reconciliation
 Puts great
emphasis on the
need for the
Aboriginal and
European
communities to
reconcile in
order to move
forward.
War and Peace
 Denies the
history of
‘peaceful
settlement’ and
significant
 Inclusive language
political figures
is cleverly weaved
such as Paul
into the speech
Keating and
when he
John Howard as
repeatedly refers
well as legal
to ‘our nation’ and
references to
the action that
the Mabo case,
‘we’ have to take
Wik decision
to correct the
and Native
injustices of the
Title, to
past - Has the
extensively
effect of
illustrate his
reconciling the
profound ideas
divide between
& add weight to
Indigenous and
the argument of
European
his speech.
Australians;
unifying the nation
 Rhetorical
question - “has
the so-called black
armband view of
history been about
apportioning
guilt?”
 Cumulative list of
what has been
taken from the
Aboriginal people
in the past - ‘You
have taken from us
not just our land
and not just all of
the icons of
community and he
also found a lot of
criticism in the wider
community.
 Many Australian’s at
the time agreed with
John Howard’s
condemnation of the
“black armband”
view of history.
 There were and still
are some Australian’s
who feel we do not
need to take
responsibility for the
mistakes of our
ancestors and express
our shame.
 Therefore, Pearson’s
views would not have
found wide support
within the broad
Australian
community.
 More conservative
Australian’s would
have viewed
Pearson’s speech as
being biased towards
his own people and
cultural background.
 However, many
Australian’s would
have also appreciated
past and build a
future on the
foundations of
justice and equality
 Pearson’s
academic speech
aims to debate and
question the history
of Australia,
supports the role of
reconciliation, and
represents a step
forward in the battle
to improve relations
between Indigenous
and non-Indigenous
Australians.
 The debate is not
about the facts of
the past, but how we
should respond.
“The debate is
about how
Australians should
respond to the past”
 Main aim is to
analyse the issue of
Aboriginal
reconciliation and
its progress in
Australian Society
 He strives to
reconcile the
relationship between
welfare payouts
speaks out
against the
 Advocate of
doctrine of terra
increased
responsibility for nullius.
the Aboriginal
 Makes reference
community
to the ‘colonial
 Continuing work frontier’ and the
war that took
to find practical
place between
solutions to the
whites & Abo’s.
problems faced
by Abo’s  Audience is
placed him at the made to relive
centre of many
the atrocities and
political debates
injustices of the
war through the
 Youth and
accounts of
conservative
William Cooperapproach has
learn a
gained him
policeman shot
respect within
and killed 31
Australian
aboriginals in
community
 Asked to address revenge for
killing of a
an academic
single white man
gathering at the
Uni of Western  Brings the
realities of the
Sydney
war frontier to
 Chose to speak
life, he gives
on Aus’n
himself a
History platform from
focusing on the
which he can
relationships
more openly
between the
advocate the
European
need for peace
settlers and the
indigenous
Australia…” language creates a
divide between
indigenous and
European
Australians
throughout the
repetition of ‘you’
 Makes sarcastic
political allusions
to Prime Minister
Keating’s
‘recession we had
to have’- ‘the
turmoil and
confusion the
country had to
have’ - use of
political satire is
important in that it
alludes to former
PM Keating who
is a great
proponent of
reconciliation
 Refers to
Keating’s call to
‘open our hearts’
creating a hope
that reconciliation
can be achieved
 Series of legal
references to cases
Pearson’s attempt to
objectively trace the
history of Australia
and present a wide
range of views.
 His ideas of justice,
peace and the struggle
against oppression
would have been
received as
representing core
Australian values.
 There were two High
Court decisions –
Mabo and Wik which
were the first time
Australian legislation
and case law
recognised
Aboriginals as the
original inhabitants of
Australia.
 Some Australians do
feel responsible and
the need to take
responsibility for our
mistakes
 But many Australians
disagreed with the
seeing guilt as an
inevitable emotion
tied to an apology
Modern
Indigenous and nonAboriginal
indigenous
people
Australians and to
 Speech
acknowledge the
considered the
past injustices that
political context
the Aboriginal
 Followed the
population faced.
Mabo decisionwhich
Audience – educated
overturned the
academics, people
doctrine of Terra
interested in history,
Nullius (land
formal occasion,
belonging to nodelivered at Western
one)
Sydney Uni.
 Native Title and
Mabo- provided
a momentous
changed in
Aus’n history
and for the 1st
time legislation
and case law
recognised
Aboriginals as
the original
inhabitants of
Aus
and
reconciliation
Guilt and
Responsibility
 Most
controversial
theme
 Debate whether
Australians
should feel guilt
for their past
 Promotes the
idea that ‘guilt is
not a useful
emotion’ and
that Australians
should
collectively take
responsibility for
the ‘present,
future and past’
 Reminds
Australians that
they ‘celebrate
and share in the
achievements of
the past’ thus
should ‘feel
responsibility for
and express
shame in other
aspects of their
past’
and native title
 In the modern
claims
interpretation, his
youth and
 Emotive language
and negative
conservative approach
dictionhas gained him
‘derogation and a
respect within the
diminution’ and ‘a
Australian community
legacy of
and his speech is a
unutterable
call to all Australian’s
shame’ show
to “open their hearts”
historic suffering
to reconciliation,
of Aboriginal which still resonates
Contrasted with
today.
positive words
 His ideas are attacked
such as
by some Aboriginal
celebration, spirit
leaders and by
of compromise,
politicians on both
open and generous sides of politics.
- Tries to adopt a  Some people today
positive sense of
think John Howard is
harmony and
notorious for not
reconciliation for
apologising to the
the future
Aboriginals for past
injustices and that it is
the collective
responsibility of all
Australians to deal
with contextual issues.
 Everyone’s views
depend on their own
political beliefs and
our Aboriginal rights
beliefs.
 In 2008, Prime
 Requests that
Australians
acknowledge the
‘truths of the
past’ and accept
responsibility
 Controversial
position- not
many
Aboriginals held
this viewIsolated him
from members
of Aboriginal
community Criticised within
Australian
community Advocacy of
feeling
responsibility
rather than guilt
is symbolic of
his mature
approach to
reconciliation
Minister Kevin Rudd
gave a national
apology to the
Aborigines on behalf
of Australia for the
past injustices they
suffered and this
bought tremendous
relief to the
Aboriginal
community in moving
a step closer to
achieving
reconciliation.
 Due to this notable
event and others in the
1990’s people now
look at his speech in a
new context – one that
acknowledges
Aboriginal people
illustrating that
interpretations of a
text shift and change
with time and place.
International
Reception
 If Pearson’s speech
had been presented
internationally, it
would have generated
great interest.
 The international
community would
receive his speech as a
good representation of
the need to free the
oppressed and accept
responsibility for the
past in order to pursue
the future.
 The international
audience would be
free from
contextualisation &
distanced from the
references to
Australian politics, the
judgements of them
and also the
Australian legal cases.
 They would focus on
universal principles of
equality,
reconciliation and
freedom from
oppression found
within the speech.