Consent, marriage and colonialism: Indigenous Australian women and colonizer marriages

Abstract

In 1901, the year of Australian federation, the newly constituted State of Queensland restricted marriage between Indigenous women and non-Indigenous men. These amendments to the Aboriginal Protection Act legislation of 1897 criminalized the informal marital arrangements that criss-crossed Queensland's cultural and colonizing boundaries. The stated aims of the policy were to "protect" Indigenous women from sexual exploitation and to prevent the birth of "half-castes" or mixed descent children. Yet, as established or de facto marital relationships were considered a greater affront to the colonial/national project than casual sex, police only arrested those who "cohabited" with and openly acknowledged their Indigenous partners