Framlingham, Victoria
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Framlingham was an Aboriginal reserve established by the Board for the Protection of Aborigines in Victoria, Australia in 1861. It was located near Warrnambool on the south-west coast of the state. It operated until it was closed in 1971.
Framlingham was originally established in 1861 as an Anglican mission, although shortly after it came under the control of the Government of Victoria, and was run as a Government station until 1890. After this time, government authorities ceased to have any permanent involvement with Framlingham, although it was still kept as a reserve.
When Framlingham was established, it was declared to be 3,500 acres (14 km²) in area, although its actual size may have been closer to 4,400 acres (18 km²). As parts of the reserve were sold to private landowners, its size diminished, until only 586 acres (2.37 km²) remained when it was closed in 1971. Some of this land was also set aside as a State Forest.
In 1957 the Board for the Protection of Aborigines was abolished, and in 1970 the Aboriginal Lands Act 1970 was passed by the Parliament of Victoria. Under the provisions of that act, ownership of Framlingham was handed over to a trust held by Aboriginal residents of the site on 1 July 1971. Along with Lake Tyers, in the eastern Gippsland region of the state, Framlingham was the last reserve to close in Victoria.
In 1987, the Victorian Labor government under John Cain attempted to grant some of the Framlingham State Forest to the trust as inalienable title, however the legislation was blocked by the Liberal Party opposition in the Legislative Council. However, the federal Labor government under Bob Hawke intervened, passing the Aboriginal Land Act 1987, which gave 1,130 acres (4.6 km²) of the Framlingham forest to the Framlingham trust. Although the title is essentially inalienable, in that it can only be transferred to another Indigenous land trust, the Framlingham trust has no rights to prevent mining on the land, unlike trusts or communities holding native title.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Framlingham. Koorie Heritage Trust
- ABORIGINAL LANDS ACT 1970
- ABORIGINAL LAND (LAKE CONDAH AND FRAMLINGHAM FOREST) ACT 1987
- Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements Project: Framlingham Aboriginal Reserve
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