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Source 6.10. “Natives” extract from Social Studies for Queensland Schools Grade 5
(Department of Education, 1959/1962/1966, p. 54)
In Source 6.10, the language use is largely respectful of both explorers and Indigenous
Australians, applying discourses of family to the group met by Sturt. The inclusion of this
narrative is legitimised to demonstrate a superiority of European built technology through the
provision of the iron tomahawk to replace the stone one the Indigenous family had. It is also
an example that demonstrates not all interactions between Indigenous Australians and
explorers were violent, and that in different parts of the country, reactions by the Indigenous
population to the explorers (and vice versa) were non-violent. This adds a level of complexity
to representations of these two groups.
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