The VCAA study design requires students to identify significant Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals and groups involved in a chosen issue and analyse their responses. This note uses the Stolen Generations as the primary example.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Responses to the Stolen Generations issue span a wide spectrum — from survivors seeking acknowledgement and healing, to governments oscillating between apology and inaction, to community organisations working for systemic change.
| Person | Role/Response |
|---|---|
| Lowitja O’Donoghue (Stolen Generations survivor, former ATSIC chair) | Public advocate for apology and reparations; provided testimony to Bringing Them Home inquiry; recipient of Australian of the Year award 1984 |
| Neville Bonner (first Indigenous Australian in Federal Parliament, 1971) | Advocated for Indigenous rights within the political system; contributed to changing public awareness |
| Archie Roach (musician, survivor) | Used music (Took the Children Away, 1990) to bring the Stolen Generations story to mainstream Australian audiences; powerful cultural advocacy |
| Sally Morgan (author, My Place, 1987) | Personal memoir that brought the experience of mixed-race family suppression to wide readership; raised public awareness before the formal inquiry |
| Group | Response |
|---|---|
| Link-Up | Aboriginal organisation providing family reunion and counselling services to Stolen Generations members and descendants |
| Healing Foundation | National organisation supporting healing for survivors and their communities; funds culturally appropriate mental health services |
| Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner | Produces annual Social Justice Reports; monitors government progress; advocates for reparations |
| National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples (established 2010, closed 2019) | Represented Indigenous interests to government; advocated for treaty and constitutional recognition |
| Person | Role/Response |
|---|---|
| Justice Alastair Nicholson | Led the Bringing Them Home inquiry; his report was the first official acknowledgement of the scale of removals |
| Kevin Rudd | Delivered the National Apology on 13 February 2008; transformed political and public discourse |
| John Howard | Repeatedly refused a formal apology (1996–2007); framed the issue as historical, not requiring current government responsibility; his position polarised public debate |
| Paul Keating | Delivered the Redfern Speech (1992) — acknowledged colonial dispossession and its consequences; shifted the terms of public debate |
| Group | Response |
|---|---|
| Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) | Conducted the inquiry; published Bringing Them Home (1997); recommended apology, compensation, and services |
| Reconciliation Australia | Promotes public education and awareness; organises National Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day |
| Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation | Established 1991; produced Roadmap for Reconciliation (2000); advocated for both symbolic and practical reconciliation |
| Australian churches | Churches (Anglican, Catholic, Methodist) were often the agencies that ran missions from which children were removed; several have issued formal apologies |
EXAM TIP: When writing about responses, distinguish between types of response — political (apology, legislation), social (public events, Sorry Books), cultural (music, literature, film), and organisational (services, advocacy). This shows depth of understanding.
STUDY HINT: Learn at least two Indigenous and two non-Indigenous individuals or groups and their specific, named responses. Vague references to “Indigenous activists” or “the government” will not earn full marks — examiners want specific names and actions.
