LETTERS Back on track
Sir: I congratulate you on your leader of 30 May. I am a fifth-generation Australian whose ancestor came to Australia in 1806 as a free settler. He took up land in the Colony and subsequent generations have farmed in New South Wales and on the vast cattle leases in Queensland.
Whilst it is true to say that some Aborig- ines were treated badly, it is equally true that some children would not have survived if it were not for the white settlers. In the vast outback, settlers would come across Aboriginal tribes and it was not unusual for young mothers in their teens to thrust their babies on the white people, in the belief that this would increase their chance of sur- vival. There were many children, black and white, who ended up in orphanages for a wide variety of reasons. What are we sup- posed to be sorry about? At that time, both the Aborigines and the settlers were striv- ing for survival. Should we be sorry for those who perished or those who survived?
Our present government inherited an appalling state of affairs, where for years the Aborigines were encouraged to become debilitatingly dependent on government largesse. Somehow this government must right the wrongs of the socialists whose thoughtless actions have led to such degra- dation. An ancient and noble race must be put back on track.
Janet Holmes a Court
32 Mona Road, .
Darling Point, Sydney, Australia
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