Aboriginal History WA (AHWA) manages access to restricted State Government records created by agencies that were responsible for the management of Aboriginal affairs from the late 1880’s through to 1972.
Most of the items in this collection are administrative files created between 1886 and 1972 by previous State Government ‘welfare’ departments. We also manage access to some privately owned collections.
In Western Australia, successive State Government departments greatly restricted the lives of Aboriginal people from the late 1880s until complete citizenship rights were granted across the whole state in 1972. These restrictions were legislated under various acts, most notably the Aborigines Act of 1905 which appointed a ‘Chief Protector’ to ‘promote the welfare’ of Aboriginal people. The Act gave unprecedented power over many aspects of life for Aboriginal people, including employment, bank accounts, marriages, health services, and the authority to remove children from their families onto missions, reserves or into ‘service’ (work). This led to the large-scale forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families, who are now recognised as the Stolen Generations.
AHWA manages access to the official records created by these former government departments. The records span from 1886 to 1972 and can be categorised into 3 main record types listed below.
Personal files were introduced in large numbers with the creation of the Department of Native Affairs in the early 1920s. They contain highly sensitive and personal information on births, family history and relatives, health and medical information, social security, bank account balances, deaths, and altercations with the law. Personal files continued to be made until the Native Welfare Act 1963 was repealed and the department was disbanded in 1972.
Personal cards were created around 1918 as a set of summary cards to the personal files listed above. The cards continued to be made up until about 1952.
The original collection is held at the South Australian Museum, with the AHWA holding copies for family history applicants to access.
Search the Name Index to the Norman Tindale Collection.
The Elkin genealogies were created by anthropologist A.P. (Adolphus Peter) Elkin during fieldwork in the Kimberley region in 1928. In 2009 the owners of the genealogies, the University of Sydney, provided copies to AHWA to provide to family history applicants.
If you are seeking copies of your own personal or family history records, please see the family history page.
If you are a Native Title consultant, representative body, or a prescribed body corporate, please submit a Native Title Access Request Form.
If you are a member of the public or an organisation that does not fit into the above 2 categories, please submit a General research application form.
Policy for Access to Restricted Records Managed by Aboriginal History WA. Please note this policy is currently under review. If you have any questions please contact us.
Native Title Access Policy