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Source 6.41. “The life of an aboriginal tribe” extract from The first hundred years (Palmer &
MacLeod 1964/1964, pp. 47-49).
Although the image is a typical example of illustrations of Indigenous Australians, the text
provides an example of knowledge of traditional lifestyles from a different perspective. In the
case of this extract, two discourses are evident. The first, discourses of primitive lifestyles
(where the alternative reading is present); and second, discourses of displacement. The
second discourse provides an opportunity to juxtapose an emerging alternative reading, quite
radical for its time, with a dominant reading of attitudes towards Indigenous Australians.
Found within the same extract (see Source 6.41) this illustrates the tenuous nature of content
that seeks to challenge all dominant perspectives.
Through a discourse of primitive lifestyles, Indigenous cultures are established for the reader
through the narrative of an unnamed observer who “later became a Protector of Aborigines”
(Palmer and McLeod, 1954/1964, p. 47). His observation demonstrates a respect for
Indigenous knowledges and structure of traditional life, evident through the following extract:
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