The Stolen
Generation

Watch: ’Rabbit-Proof Fence’ Netflix

First off read about the true story behind the movie and the Stolen Generation right here:

Pre-reading 

The True Story Behind the Movie

Rabbit-Proof Fence is based on the true story of Molly Craig, her sister Daisy Kadibill and cousin Gracie Fields who, after being forcibly removed from their mothers in 1931, escaped from a mission settlement in order to find their way home. They make their journey by way of the ‘rabbit-proof fence’, which once stretched the length of Western Australia. 

Context: Stolen Generations

From the late 1800s to around 1970, the Australian federal and state governments forcibly removed many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. Some sources say one in ten children was removed; others say it's closer to one in three. They were often taken thousands of kilometres away to live in state care (orphanages or schools), or on church missions, or they were adopted by white families.

The aim was "assimilation": the government hoped that the children would adopt white culture and forget their Aboriginal language and heritage. Many of these children never saw their families again. For years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families lived in fear that authorities would try to take their children. Parents often disguised or hid their children in order to prevent them from being taken.

The events explored in Rabbit-Proof Fence take place in 1931, 26 years after the introduction of the Western Australian Aborigines Act under which all Aboriginal people were made ‘wards of the state’, with the Chief Protector of Aborigines becoming their legal guardian.

Further reading

Read the SBS explainer: The Stolen Generations and answer the questions: 

1. What did the Stolen Generation loose (first video)?

2. How was the woman hurt during the period of the Stolen Generation (second video)?

• Read some Testimonies by Stolen Generations Survivors