Assessment No.

1
Trimester 2A/Semester 2 2021
Communication, Culture and Indigenous Cultures in Business (CCIB)
Activity:
Read and reflect on the news story “Rottnest Island: Black prison to white playground”.

Assessment (20%) of Unit marks:

Write 1,000-1,200 words on the importance of understanding and respecting Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander culture. Address the following prompts, noting the word count
expectations:

1. What impact did the settlers have on Aboriginal people in local communities around the
Swan River? Why were Aboriginal people sent to Rottnest Island / Wadjemup? 250-300
words

When settlers came to these lands, the Aborigines thought they were coming to protect them,
but it did not take long for them to realise that this was not the case. It was not long before the
settlers had a great impact on these lands (Melville 2016).
The arrival of the settlers had a major impact on the Aboriginal system of government and law.
The Aboriginal people had their own governance structure and the settlers began to impose
their rules over their own. These laws were detrimental to these territories, causing vegetation
and animals to disappear as they made decisions such as blocking water sources or clearing
land. These measures had a great impact on the economy of the aboriginal society, that would
have bad consequences (Melville 2016).

The arrival of the settlers also had an impact on the freedom of the people, as they began to be
marginalised and fences began to be erected to expel them from their territories without
explanation.This caused a division between the Aborigines and the settlers in which the settlers
had control of the territories and the Aborigines were forced to obey (Melville 2016).

The expansion of the British colonies began to be a competition for land which gave rise to
violence and the colonists were capable of murdering and torturing and even poisoning them to
achieve their goals. (toguether 2021)

One of the most immediate consequences of colonisation were the new diseases and epidemics
that swept through these lands. They started affecting the indigenous communities and
bringing with them devastating consequences such as the death of a large part of the
population (toguether 2021).
They arrested more than 3600 Aboriginal men who lived in appalling conditions working non-
stop. Many of them died of diseases or because they were tortured and all this was done with
the excuse of instructing the aboriginal race in useful knowledge (Mcglad 2018).
The authorities soon realised that the prisoners were distressed and depressed by their
imprisonment. It was when situation started to get worse that they decide to build the Rottnes
Prison and send them there. Once there, the prisoners would have more freedom and would be
able to continue hunting for food with limitations. (Melville 2016)

2. Explain the potential impact on tourism by sharing knowledge about the imprisonment
and deaths of Aboriginal people on Rottnest Island / Wadjemup. Should this history of
the island form part of tourism planning and/or activities? Explain your answer. 450-500
words.

Years after these terrible events Rottnes started to become a great holiday destination. It
became a paradise place to come and relax with wonderful beaches and amazing activities
(Brown 2018).This is due to the ignorance of the people, who do not know about the events
that happened in the past. For example, according to Kirsti Melville in her article "Rottnes Island
: Black prison to White playground" there is a campsite on the island that contains around 373
buried Aboriginal men and its visitors don't know about it (Melville 2016). Do you think people
would sleep in this camping if they knew the truth?

From my point of view, if the facts of what happened on this island in the past became public, it
would have a big impact on tourism. Not by that I mean that it would decrease or increase, but
it would change. Not many people would choose to spend their holidays there knowing that
there are cases like Glen Stasiuk, who got sick from visiting this camping(Melville 2016).
However I think the best option would be to close it because of the diseases that can be there.
But if they don't close it at least the people that visit it should be aware of where they are
going.

To continue, I believe that tourism on this island is not over, but they will have to give it
another focus. Rottnes would attract tourism that is more focused on other types of
activities.They could use this history as a reason for people to come and visit this island. There
are many people interested in history who would enjoy a tour around all the cemeteries or
areas formerly occupied by the Aborigines and museums.

It is likely that this island will never become a holiday island for Aboriginal people but we should
stop hiding or avoiding the past as these people deserve to be remembered. A museum should
be established to commemorate all the victims which would also attract a lot of tourism and
could become one of the most important museums in Australia. (Mcglad 2018)
Tourists who are informed about the history of this island and go to visit it with knowledge, will
choose their activities by being informed about the ancient events.They will avoid staying in
places like the camping or other places with Aboriginal remains or corpses.

In my opinion, I believe that people will stop visiting this island as a paradise place to rest and
spend a peaceful holiday, as they will choose other islands for that purpose. Their tourism will
be transformed and will attract a different public. I also believe that tourism will be more
passer-by, that is to say, more focused on visiting the island and returning rather than spending
a holiday there. They will enjoy a day there visiting the island riding a bicycle, visiting the
wonderful beaches that this island has or they will be able to visit the remains of the terrible
history of the Aborigines.

3. Reflect and write about your cultural background. Did your cultural identity impact your
reading or interpretation of the case? Explain your answer. 300-400 words

I am Spanish, a country known for its varied and ancient culture, it is remarkable that Spanish
culture has nothing to do with South American culture except in aspects such as language or
some customs.

Spain has a very familiar culture, people do a lot of things as a family. In my family we are all
very close and we love to make plans together whenever we can. For example when you have
holidays it is normal to spend them with your family, whether it is Christmas, summer or Easter
and enjoy a family holiday.

Most people are very open and friendly, it is normal for people to smile at you in the street and
greet you even though they don't know you, without forgetting to say good morning or good
afternoon.

The entertainment of the young population is to go out to clubs and discotheques with their
friends to dance and have a good time on weekends, we love to have fun and enjoy ourselves.

To continue we love gastronomy, we enjoy exquisite dishes from all over Spain and each
autonomous community brings us its most famous dish. It is very typical to go out with your
friends or family for lunch or dinner to have a good time. It is also customary to spend hours
after lunch chatting and having a good time. After lunch it is time for the famous Spanish siesta.
As for dinner, we usually eat very late, never before nine o'clock, and in summer when the days
are longer, even later around eleven o'clock.
Spain is a country with a lot of diversity, where everyone respects each other, it has a very
interesting mix of cultures where different cultures, beliefs and traditions from the ancient
peoples that inhabited it coexist. It is a laic country even though the majority of the population
is Catholic.

As for the article, it may have affected me when judging the behaviour or actions of the British.
This is because in my case I have been brought up in a country where respect for different
races, traditions and religions is very important. So I find it strange to judge someone because
of their race, and I can't understand how such violence can be used against a group of human
beings.

REFERENCES

McGlade , Hanna. “Rottnest Island ’tent land’ Closure an Important Day for Aboriginal
People.” ABC May 30, 2018. URL:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-31/quod-rottnest-
island-aboriginal-land-mass-burial-gravesite/9811930

Melville, Kristi. “Rottnest Island: Black Prison to White Playground.” ABC October 25, 2016.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-25/rottnest-island-black-prison-to-white-playground/
7962940?nw=0

Glen Stasiuk, « Rottnest Island Black Prison », Revue d’études benthamiennes 19 | 2021, Online

since 30 January 2021, connection on 26 September 2021. URL :
https://journals.openedition.org/etudes-benthamiennes/8177?lang=en DOI :
https://doi.org/10.4000/etudes-benthamiennes.8177

Brown, Cathy. “ (Brown 2018)CNN March 22, 2018.

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/rottnest-island-australia/index.html.

toguether , Australians. “Colonisation Dispossession, Disease and Direct Conflict.” Australians

Together August 4, 2021.
https://australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/colonisation/.