The More You Know: How Understanding Australia’s Colonial Past Helps Us Move Away From Ignorance

Photo: Amnesty International

January 26 has become a date that divides the nation despite its attempts to unite it. 

January 26 marks the day in 1788 when the First Fleet landed in Australia. It is a day of mourning for many First Nation people and has become an increasingly offensive day to celebrate. 

In an article by The Conversation (see here), researchers conducted a survey with a representative sample of around 2,500 non-Indigenous Australians on issues related to First Nations. The sample group was also asked to complete a short quiz in relation to their knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history including self-determination policies, native title, and the 1967 referendum. Of this sample group, 72.9% failed to correctly answer more than half of the multiple-choice questions. Let me repeat that again. Three quarters of a random group of Australians failed a short quiz testing basic knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history. 

However disheartening these numbers are, it is not surprising. I myself graduated high school in 2013 with a school syllabus that still painted Captain Cook as a hero, not once mentioning the catastrophic loss of First Nations lives when the boats arrived in Australia. I had no idea what Welcome To Country was or how one people’s concept of what was advanced allowed terra nullius to be declared. We watched Rabbit Proof Fence and our sporting houses were named after First Nation words of the country for kangaroo (marloo) and koala (koolah) but by the time I graduated I knew more about the history of Nazi Germany than that of my own country. It wasn’t until I went to university and enrolled in an elective (not even compulsory!) on Indigenous Studies that I started to grapple with the impact colonialism has had on First Nation people within Australia. I wonder what my friends of similar age, who I would never consider racist people, that didn’t go on to further study would score on that test if they were asked to do it today? 

In the same survey by The Conversation those who scored highly and showed a deeper understanding of colonial history strongly supported changing the date of Australia Day. They were more likely to have voted yes in the 2023 referendum. They were also more likely to reject calls to remove Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags and reject bans of Acknowledgement of and Welcome to Country.

‘People who knew more of the nation’s history also tended to agree that colonisation has an ongoing impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and that reparations are needed to address these impacts.’

On the weekend of the 2023 referendum I was at pre-drinks before the Yours & Owls Festival and the topic of what each of us voted inevitably came up. I remember so clearly one of the girls said she voted no because she ‘didn’t really understand the whole thing and I just remembered the phrase' if you don’t know vote no?’ 

The effectiveness of that campaign, which preyed on people’s lack of education, would be impressive if it wasn’t so fucking heartbreaking. I was shocked that it managed to influence someone the same age as me, a demographic of people largely considered more ‘woke’ than previous generations. While I’d consider the school education of First Nation history to be insufficient, relative to those before me I know it was much better than that of my parent’s generation - a time when they were still actively removing First Nation children from their families due to government policies. Still, from what I hear from my teaching friends today, the syllabus is much better and it takes looking at the crowds of young people at Invasion Day rallies to trust in the reforms. 

Ignorance of historical racial oppression impacts our ability to acknowledge the present day racism that continues to exist within Australia. While it is not entirely our fault that our school education system perpetuated this ignorance, it is our responsibility to do better as individuals and as a nation. It is simple really. The more we learn, the better we understand. And when we understand and acknowledge this country’s colonial history, we can begin to move forward together.

Amnesty International has a catalog of amazing resources in whatever mode you prefer to get your information from, whether that is listening to a podcast or watching a movie. Scroll down to the ‘Get Informed’ section to take a look. On January 26th Monster Children will not be celebrating. We urge you to educate yourself, helping to move Australia from ignorance to understanding.