In the 1830s and 1840s the influence of the evangelical altruistic was at its height and the British government at that time was taking a strong line for the protection of the persons and rights of `native peoples'.

The period of Governor Sir George Cipps was an essential one, with issues involving aboriginal protection raised very clearly and all parties in the conflict drawn in battle. A new policy was then places by a Protectorate of the Aborigines. In New South Wales, the local Commissioners for Crown Lands were given the job of Protectors in 1837.

From self-government to World War II, the Government policy towards the Aborigines changed. It was described by one authority as a policy `to smooth the pillow of a dying race'. The difference between the old protection policy and the new one was that it was protection without protectors.

Victoria's official...