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Social Justice & Human Rights Issues:
A Global Perspective
Responses and initiativesIndigenous Australian Case Study:
Torres Strait Mer (Murray Island) and Eddie 'Koiki' Mabo4. Education
Traditionally each village or clan had its elders, headman, or on Murray Island, its powerful cult officials. These men were responsible for maintaining tribal traditions and educating youths in rituals, ceremonies and responsibilities of adulthood within the community.
In the 1870s missionaries, with assistance from their London Missionary Society headquarters in London, established mission-stations in the Torres Strait. This was seen as a step towards spreading Christianity among the native peoples of Papua. On Saturday, the 1st of July 1871, the London Missionary Society ship carrying the Reverend S. McFarlane and the Reverend A. Murray anchored at Darnley Island.
Eight Polynesian mission teachers and their wives accompanied them. This day is now celebrated annually throughout the Islands as the festival of "The Coming of the Light".
Similar posts were set up on other islands. Two mission teachers were established on each island and the missionaries obtained the protection of the island's headman for the native teachers and their families.
In the 1870s the Papuan Institute at Murray Island was established. This institute, or mission, contained homes for the missionaries, storehouses, a seminary and an Industrial School. The Institute was run by Robert Bruce and trained local mission teachers. By the 1880s, over one hundred boys and young men from islands throughout the Strait were being accommodated and trained at the Institute. Many went to serve as mission teachers in the Islands and Papua, the home of their former warrior enemies.
Formal education began for children and the building of schools occurred. Men started learning trades and working for the missions and pearling luggers.
The first local high school was built on Thursday Island in the 1960s and another on the mainland at Bamaga in the 1970s. These schools have boarding facilities for students from the outer islands. Islanders also send their children to private and church boarding schools in Cairns and Townsville, on the mainland. This is only been possible since the 1970s due to Abstudy assisting in the cost of boarding.
One problem facing Islander parents today is the lack of job opportunities on the Islands. This has resulted in a large number of educated Islanders leaving their homes to live and work on the mainland. Children have also been exposed to a different lifestyle on the mainland while attending boarding school.
The issue of independent statistics for Islander education is an issue. Once again the statistics available are for all indigenous people.
The basic statistics on Torres Strait Islander education from the 'Australian Bureau of Statistics' (1996 Census) are:
Higher Education
The proportion of Indigenous Australians attending a CAE or university has increased by 0.4 per cent in the last five years. Non-Indigenous people are still more than twice as likely to attend university as Indigenous people. The amount of Indigenous people who attend TAFE has also increased by 0.4 per cent (ABS 1996)
School Education
A higher proportion of indigenous children attend pre school, infant and primary school. This statistic is attributable to the different age structures of the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population (ABS 1996).
Attending or Leaving School
2.8% of Indigenous people never went to school, compared with 4.6% in 1991. This is 6.5 times the number for non-Indigenous Australians who have never attended school. A high proportion of Indigenous Australians leave school aged 14 or under. 60.6% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students leave school aged 16 or younger.
Eddie Mabo was also concerned about the education of Indigenous children on the mainland.
Gail Mabo tells the following story:
The Black Community School
My father pulled me out of Aitkenvale Primary School because he felt that Indigenous children were not being treated fairly in the mainstream school system. He felt that Indigenous children were being brainwashed, as they were not being taught the real history of Indigenous people. My father was angry that the school authorities were ignoring our culture. We were not allowed to speak our language at school, even in the playground.
In response to this my father established the Black Community School in Townsville in 1973. The school was established in a hall in South Townsville donated by Catholic nuns. There were two Indigenous assistants and two non-Indigenous teachers. There were also a number of volunteer workers who helped in the school.
One of these was my mother, Boneta Mabo, who taught art and was the 'aunty' who helped all of the kids. The school catered for students from Year 1 to Year 7. On average there would have been forty students attending the school each year. My father used to collect the children from all over Townsville area in the mini bus.
The curriculum of the school included the normal school curriculum plus Indigenous cultural studies. A major focus of my father was to educate us about other cultures from around the world. He used to invite guest speakers to the school to discuss where they were from, to share their language, to share their beliefs and to demonstrate their food and dress. Visitors included Balinese, Italian, Chinese, Indian and Scottish people. We in turn showed our appreciation to our visitors by performing traditional songs and dances of the Torres Straits for them. My father strongly believed in sharing and understanding all cultures with all people unlike the mainstream education system.
My father faced many political and community hurdles in establishing and maintaining the school. He was constantly lobbying the education authorities for funding. My father had to constantly justify spending and account for all funds to the government authorities. The government authorities opposed the school because they thought my father was teaching 'black power'. This was seen as a threat to the broader community. In reality it was a means of educating indigenous children about their heritage, culture and developing a love of reading and writing.
To maintain the school my father had to constantly fight the government authorities. The local media was constantly attacking the school. My father was always writing letters to the editor explaining and justifying the existence of the school. As well, my father had to endure attacks from some parts of the Indigenous community who were against the idea of segregation of Indigenous children. They felt it was a return to the old system of missionary schools.
Eddie Mabo was the Director of the Black Community School from 1983 to 1993. This was the first school of its kind established in Australia. The School was an independent school funded by the Commonwealth.
Today Murray Island has a state (primary) school, which was established in 1943. It has 99 students from OP to Year 7
Activity
Research and answer the following questions on Torres Strait Islander education.
1. In what ways have Islanders transferred and maintained their cultural and social life through education?
2. Was has been the impact of colonisation and subsequent events on Islander education?
3. What do the statistics tell us about the participation and outcomes of Islanders in education?
4. What are the mainstream government education programs and strategies to address Islander education issues, including culturally appropriate programs and strategies?
5. What Islander community-based initiatives are in place to address education issues?
6. What is the importance of regaining land, and cultural maintenance, in improving education for Islanders?
7. What social and political changes are necessary to improve Islanders' education opportunities and outcomes?
8. What are the similarities and differences in education issues for Islanders and Aboriginal peoples and communities?
To visit the Mer State School website
Click on the links below to investigate other topics in this Indigenous Australian Case Study:
1. Overview of the Torres Strait Islands
2. Overview of Mer (Murray Island)
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