There was movement at the station: western education at Moola Bulla, 1910-1955

Abstract

Purpose The focus of this paper is to centre the lived experiences and perceptions of western education held by Aboriginal people who lived at Moola Bulla Native Cattle Station (Moola Bulla) in Western Australia, between 1910 and 1955. Of interest is an investigation into how government legislations and policies influenced these experiences and perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to promote the powerful narrative that simultaneously acknowledges injustice and honours Aboriginal agency. Design/methodology/approach The research from which this paper is drawn moves away from colonial, paternalistic and racist interpretations of history; it is designed to decolonise the narrative of Aboriginal education in remote Western Australia. The research uses the wide and deep angle lens of qualitative historical research, filtered by decolonising methodologies and standpoint theory. Simultaneously, the paper valorises the contributions Indigenous academics are making to the decolonisation of historical research. Findings Preliminary findings suggest the narrative told by the residents who were educated at Moola Bulla support a reframing of previous deficit misrepresentations of indigeneity into strength-based narratives. These narratives, or “counter stories”, articulate resistance to colonial master narratives. Social implications This paper argues that listening to Aboriginal lived experiences and perceptions of western education from the past will better inform our engagement with the delivery of equitable educational opportunities for Aboriginal students in remote contexts in the future. Originality/value This paper will contribute to the wider academic community by addressing accountability in Aboriginal education. Most important to the study is the honouring of the participants and families of those who once lived on Moola Bulla, many who are speaking back through the telling of their story.

Culture and education with Alice Rigney (1942–2017), Australia's first Aboriginal woman school principal

“…4. Bertram Grewar to Director, 20 April 1940, Education Department correspondence files GRG 18/2/1940/709, SRSA; see also Marsden (2018), Povey and Trudgett (2019).…”

“…Alice Rigney's life began in a period when “education for Indigenous people was deliberately positioned at the periphery of all educational provision” in Australia (Herbert, 2012, p. 95). While much research in the history of education followed suit, the emergence of new critical research into education policies and administration, curriculum and practices, along with the experiences of Aboriginal families and children across overlapping eras of segregation and protection (Povey and Trudgett, 2019), assimilation (Marsden, 2018) and self-determination (Thomas, 2021) is deconstructing histories of education in Australia. For example, Povey and Trudgett and Marsden focus on the agency of Aboriginal families and students regarding state schooling and the inherently racist curriculum in remote Western Australia and rural Victoria.…”

“…Likewise, this article will highlight the centrality of Alice Rigney's family and community in supporting her acquisition of cultural knowledge and engagement with state schooling. While these critical histories “reframe previous deficit representations of Indigeneity into strength-based narratives” (Povey and Trudgett, 2019, p. 77), it is also necessary to draw on scholarship into histories of women educators in order to address Alice Rigney's professional life and activism. Historical research into women educators in Australian state schools and kindergartens has focused mostly on white teachers (Whitehead, 2019) but a handful of Aboriginal women qualified as teachers in the 1950s, including May O'Brien (Hunt and Trotman, 2002), Nancy Barnes (Whitehead et al ., 2021a) and Amy Levai (Whitehead et al ., 2021b).…”

Examining Indigenous leadership in the academy: A methodological approach

“…Significantly, Indigenous Standpoint Theory (Nakata, 2007) is grounded in the resistance (and resilience) to racial oppression (Povey & Trudgett, 2019; Rigney, 1999) and the self-determination of Indigenous Australians. Furthermore, while Indigenous Standpoint Theory is a means of resolving conflict between colonial and Indigenous Australian knowledge (Al-Natour & Fredericks, 2016; Ardill, 2013).…”